NEWS ROUND-UP -- THURSDAY MORNING 29 DEC

by Michael Monks 
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'SIMPLE' GAMBLING BILL TO BE OFFERED NEXT WEEK

When the state legislature returns Tuesday, Governor Beshear expects someone to get gambling on the table, though he does not yet know who will sponsor the bill:

Beshear said earlier this month that a constitutional amendment is the best way to go."People don't want to look at a 14-page amendment to determine whether they are going to vote on it or not," Beshear said. "We need a fairly simple approach to this."If the legislature approves such an amendment, voters could decide the issue at the polls next November.

Herald-Leader/Jack Brammer  
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MEANWHILE...
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NKY Legislators make their priorities known:

Funding the replacement for the 50-year-old Brent Spence Bridge tops many local legislators’ list of projects. The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and many in the Northern Kentucky delegation will advocate for the state to set aside about $15 million a year for the project. (snip) 

Thayer will make funding for the middle section of Ky. 16 reconstruction in Taylor Mill and South Covington a priority. Many also hope at least a portion of the Northern Kentucky Convention Center expansion will get funded. Westwood said he hopes the General Assembly can fund at least $3 million for design work. The Northern Kentucky Convention Center turns a profit and is a good investment for the state, he said.

Check out the full, comprehensive article:
Cincinnati Enquirer/Scott Wartman  
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SEE ALSO: Beshear to use leftover campaign funds to help Democrats win legislative seats Herald-Leader
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KY SUPREME COURT TO HEAR FEN PHEN CASE
Remember the diet drug made in Cincinnati that ended with a lawsuit that then ended with three attorneys being disbarred and possibly costing Stan Chesley his career? It's the pill that won't quit:

A group of people sickened by the diet drug fen-phen will get a chance to argue that a $42 million judgment awarded to them from their one-time attorneys should be reinstated. The Kentucky Supreme Court has agreed to take up the case brought by former clients of three now-disbarred lawyers who once represented them in a $200 million settlement.

WKYT 
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NEWLY ELECTED AGRICULTURE COMMISH SUPPORTS INDUSTRIAL HEMP
Great news:

“Once the bill passes and becomes law in Kentucky, then I will go with Senator [Rand] Paul and a group of our federal delegation to Washington and try to get Kentucky to be able to have a pilot project to grow industrial hemp,” he says.
A bill that was passed and signed into law a decade ago allows the University of Kentucky to grow industrial hemp for research purposes. Comer says research is no longer necessary, and wide-scale farming will be an economic boon for tobacco growers who are looking to diversify their farms.

Finally, Kentucky may take advantage of one its resources.
WFPL  
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BENGALS FANS LOVE THE TEAM, THEY JUST HATE MIKE BROWN
National media finally take note of why Bengals fans are not going to the games in spite of the fact that the team is having an exciting season:

So this hurts, this special season. The Bengals got rid of most of the prima donnas, mainly because they were too expensive -- Brown doesn't make football decisions; he makes money decisions, and if the football part of it happens to work out, so be it -- and replaced them with cheap rookie talent. Who knew second-round pick Andy Dalton and even first-rounder A.J. Green would be this good, this fast? Or that a defense of mostly unrecognizable names would come together so quickly? Or that kicker Mike Nugent, after failing at four franchises, would become Pro Bowl-caliber in Cincinnati?
Mike Brown didn't know any of that, so stop right there. This is the guy who hired Dave Shula and drafted Akili Smith and signed injured receiver Antonio Bryant for $28 million -- and believe me, I could go on -- so don't look at the Bengals' 9-6 record this season and decide that Mike Brown became football-savvy overnight. He didn't. There's a saying: Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. That's Brown, and those are the 2011 Bengals.

Ouch. Read it all:
CBS Sports/Greg Doyel  
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For the record, Sunday's game is sold out, so if you're not at Paul Brown Stadium, you'll be able to watch it on TV.

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LOCAL AUTHOR WEIGHS IN ON 'GOVERNMENT FUNDED COMEDY'

Popular local writer Rick Robinson got a piece online in the conservative 'Daily Caller' where he takes aim at three Indian-American comedians headed to Mumbai for a comedy routine:

What is making this tour unique enough to get international attention is that — wait for it — it’s being paid for by the United States government. [laugh track](snip)
Funnily enough, the interesting thing about the “Make Chai Not War” tour is my lack of offense at the fact that tax dollars are being spent to make people laugh. We use tax dollars for a lot of things that make me laugh — a press secretary for Joe Biden, for instance. Still, the cost of the entire tour won’t even pay for the warhead on one surface-to-air missile.

It's a funny piece of analysis. Read it here:
The Daily Caller/Rick Robinson 
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Can't believe I just linked to The Daily Caller...
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Moving on...
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SPEAKING OF COMEDY - DON'T MISS THE BULLDOG IN COVINGTON TONIGHT
Local attorney, radio host, personality Eric Deters takes the stage at Tickets Sports Cafe on 6th Street for a comedy routine with special guests. And prizes!

Thursday, December 29 at 7 p.m. at Tickets Sports Café in Covington, I’ll do a Witty and Wise Comedy Show! First fifty people get a free t-shirt or hat. (I have a box I want to give out.) Sensible Don and TC will be there. Also, hear Greg Amburgy sing some original songs including: “Everyone Must Get Sued.” If you are wondering, yes, you will belly laugh and it’s a clean show and different material than the last show.

Bulldogs Post
|KY STATE POLICE OFFERS TIPS ON THROWING HOLIDAY PARTY
No, seriously:

Request identification from anyone who appears 30 years of age or younger. Guests who cannot present a valid form of ID should not be given any alcohol.

Hear that people? If you're hosting a New Year's Eve bash, you need to card your guests. I never read that in any Martha Stewart book! Thanks, KSP!

More tips, including why you should serve 'fruit juice', at the link!

Kentucky State Police 

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OLDEST CAKE GETS A PARTY OF ITS OWN

A cake that was baked in 1911 is aging quite well. So well, that the man who found it tucked away in a St. Louis closet, decided to throw a party for it:

He told ABC: 'Usually, you throw a birthday party and bring a cake, but this party was for the cake.'

Click the link and check out the guy's photo and you'll think, 'Yep, he looks like someone that would throw a party for a cake.' Oh, and a 70-year old fruitcake that was baked in a Kroger store is up for auction. Both stories at the link below.
The Daily Mail  
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WANT TO SEE WHERE THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES LIVE?
Of course you do.
NY Times 
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CLOONEY CRAZE IN CINCINNATI/NKY MAKES DERF'S WORST OF 2011 LIST
The local satire publication says:

2. Clooney Watch 2011: The twitterverse, which, by the way, loves referring to itself as the twitterverse pointed out every 1.3 seconds that George Clooney was in town. It also let us know which bar stool he was sitting in and which restroom stall he used. It kept us up on his whereabouts day after day after day after day after day. Way to make a small town look like a giggling school girl that has never seen a celebrity before.

Full list at the link.
Derf Magazine