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EXCLUSIVE
COVINGTON'S DAYTIME CURFEW THWARTS SEXUAL ABUSE OF TEEN
EXCLUSIVE: The recently adopted daytime curfew for minors in Covington is being credited with stopping the sexual and physical abuse of a teenager. The teen was stopped during daytime hours by Covington Police and it was later revealed that the teen was trying to escape an abusive household. The revelation led to the arrest of an adult on sodomy charges. Click the link for more on this exclusive story from The River City News.
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$500,000 MISSING FROM KENTUCKY DEPT OF AGRICULTURE
Ahh... so this is what that bipartisan audit of Richie Farmer's old office is about:
According to inventory records obtained by the Herald-Leader, more than 100 state computers are missing, including some issued personally to former Agriculture Commissioner Farmer, who took office in 2004. The state issued Farmer four new Dell laptops in 2010 and he has not returned any of them to the Department of Agriculture, according to the inventory records.
(snip)
In all, the list of missing inventory obtained from the Department of Agriculture details 171 items worth about $334,000, including computers, digital cameras, printers, copiers and other equipment.
And the Republican Party thought this guy should be Kentucky's Lieutenant Governor. What a bullet we dodged. What. A. Mess. Read the whole disgusting thing.
Herald-Leader
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SEN. RAND PAUL RETURNS $500,000 TO FEDERAL TREASURY
This is apparently only a coincidence, and not related to the same amount of money missing from the Agriculture Dept:
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul today announced that he is returning $500,000 to the United States Treasury - money unspent from his official operating budget. The total amount being returned is more than 16 percent of Paul's original office budget. As far as is known, no U.S. Senator has returned as much to taxpayers.
"I ran to stop the reckless spending," said Paul. "And I ran to end the damaging process of elected officials acting as errand boys, competing to see who could bring back the biggest check and the most amount of pork."
Senator Rand Paul
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SEE ALSO: Sen. Paul says he is not interested in being Vice President:
Paul, speaking Thursday morning in Louisville, said he’s “seen the chatter on the Internet” about the possibility of being tapped as the GOP nominee’s running mate. But he said for now he is focused on helping U.S. Rep. Ron Paul’s campaign for the GOP nomination. “I haven’t really considered it yet,” Rand Paul said. “I’m focused on trying to help my dad.”
Associated Press via Cincinnati Enquirer
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MORE DETAILS ON TIER 1'S NEW COMMITMENT TO GROWING IN COVINGTON
The performance solutions company will take up a big chunk of space at the RiverCenter Towers:
Tier1 signed a 10-year lease for 12,500 square feet of space on the ground floor or Corporex Cos.’s RiverCenter. Greg Harmeyer, co-founder and CEO of Tier1, said the RiverCenter space will be more efficient, designed specifically for the company’s uses, and it gives the company room to grow. Before this deal came together, Tier1 was looking at moving out of Covington. “We were looking elsewhere for sure. We were pretty far down the path to going elsewhere,” Harmeyer said. “I have to give Covington a lot of credit.”
Business Courier/Tom Demeropolis
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DRIVE SAFELY OUT THERE
The roads are slick due to the snow coming down tonight. Here's a safe-driving announcement from the Kentucky State Police at the link.
KSP
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GATEWOOD GALBRAITH REMEMBERED IN LEXINGTON
The perennial candidate and character in Kentucky politics died this week:
Congressman Ben Chandler recalled that when Galbraith was making one of his early runs for office, he sought advice from Chandler's grandfather, former Gov. A.B. "Happy" Chandler. Galbraith wanted to know what the two-time governor thought of his idea to legalize marijuana and make it a Kentucky cash crop.
Ben Chandler said his grandfather replied, "I think it's a great idea ... and then you get to tax the hell out of it."
Artist and blues musician Rodney Hatfield said he'd known Galbraith since the 1960s when "we were young men together ... with all that implies."
"I thought his concession speech after his last campaign was absolutely Jeffersonian, one of the most elegant speeches I ever heard," Hatfield said. "It would have been wonderful if he had won one of those races, just to see what he would have done in office."
Herald-Leader/Jim Warren Photos from the memorial here.
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KY GOP MAY CHALLENGE NEW HOUSE DISTRICTS IN COURT
The Republicans in the House are not happy with what the Democrats there did to the districts. The Democrats in the Senate won't be happy with what the GOP has in store for them there. Ah, Frankfort.
|SEE ALSO: Boy, if you thought Covington was upset with what was proposed to happen to it, wait till you read about how some Republicans feel. This piece is great: Daily Independent/Ronnie Ellis |
SOME KY KINDERGARTENERS COULD START SCHOOL A YEAR LATER
That's if a new bill passes, pushing back the birthday requirement by two months:
Senate Bill 24 would require that kids turn 5 by Aug. 1 to enroll in kindergarten that fall. If approved, it would take effect with the 2013-2014 school year. The bill cleared the first hurdle Thursday with near unanimous approval by the Senate Education Committee. The current Oct. 1 cutoff has been in place since 1980, said Lisa Gross, spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Education. She said the change could increase enrollment, but her department doesn’t have a strong stance on the legislation.
State-Journal/Katheran Wasson
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RECORD YEAR FOR KENTUCKY BOURBON TOURS
I'll drink to this:
The Kentucky Bourbon Trail passport program saw 11,757 visitors to all of the six distilleries on the tour in 2011, setting a new record for a single year. It was the second consecutive year a record was set.
Business First/Stephanie Clouser
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UK GAME KNOCKED OFF AIR BY HUNGRY ANIMALS
The surprisingly close basketball game last night between UK and Auburn was not seen for a while in the Lexington market because some varmint chewed through a power line:
Mike Kanarek, WKYT's vice president of operations, said the animal ate away at a line on the station's property and caused an electrical outage. The station has a backup generator that kicked in within a minute, but it took 10 to 12 minutes for its transmitter to cycle back up and resume broadcasting the game, he said. Coverage of the game was out from 9:27 to 9:42 p.m.
Herald-Leader/Scott Sloan
|TSA FINDS $400,000 IN LOOSE CHANGE LAST YEAR
Bet you've never had this happen when you tear through your couch cushions:
TSA found $409,085.56 in spare change last year that was unclaimed by passengers, according to figures released by the agency. Historically, if no one comes back to get the leftover money, it stays with the TSA.
(snip)The airports where passengers left the most spare change were New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, where $46,918.06 was found, and Los Angeles International Airport, which collected $19,110.83.
The Hill/Keith Laing
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WE MAY SEE MORE BENGALS GAMES EVEN IF THEY DON'T SELL OUT
Senator Sherrod Brown is urging the FCC to change the blackout rules:
“We are one step closer to ending the blackout rule,” Brown said in a news release. “Today, the FCC announced that it would begin taking public comment on the blackout rule, an outdated rule which is unfair to the teams, the fans, and especially the taxpayers. Although the Bengals season ended last week, I’ll keep fighting to repeal the blackout rule.”
(snip)
But it didn’t make much difference for the Bengals this year. Despite making the playoffs this season, the team had the three smallest crowds in Paul Brown Stadium history in 2011.
Business Courier/Steve Watkins
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in case you missed...
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THE CASE AGAINST CONVENTION CENTER EXPANSIONS
As state legislators weigh the funding of various proposed projects, NKY's wish list includes two in Covington: convention center expansion and development of Gateway's urban campus. City Journal makes a case against convention center expansions. Click the link, check it out, and share your thoughts on which is more important.
A Case Against Convention Center Expansions
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THIS AFTERNOON'S NEWS
New grant money may help allow for food stamps at the Covington Farmers Market; Yet even more bad news for Omnicare today; Dayton (OH) is worried about Cincinnati's syphilis problem (SRSLY); Plus, a new license plate option for fans of historic preservation in KY! Those stories and more at the link. |
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JAMES FRANCO TO STAR IN NEW MAPPLETHORPE MOVIE
The artist Robert Mapplethorpe had died by the time his work created a firestorm/embarrassment for the City of Cincinnati.
Background on the Cincinnati Mapplethorpe episode here. |
OBAMA WONDERS WHY HE HAS TO INITATE PHONE CALLS WITH NCAA CHAMPS
LOL:
"They are national champions. I'm president of the United States. Am I crazy to think that one of the first things they'd want to do is call me? I'd just like to know I'm on their minds for once."
The Onion
