Opinion

There are three sporting events that attract non-traditional sports fans annually. Without question the Super Bowl ranks number one, the NCAA basketball tournament probably number two, and the World Series next. In the beginning of what is now a sports-crazy society, however, the World Series was king. The Super Bowl and NCAAs are a creation of television. As a 12-year-old sixth grader at Morningside Elementary in Elizabethtown, I had cleverly hidden my little turquoise transistor radio out of my teacher Miss Mason’s sight. Hearing constant static, I could barely make it out that my favorite team, the Brooklyn Dodgers had just scored the go-ahead run in the seventh and deciding game against...

When opportunity knocks, we should open the door. Over the years, Kentucky has made great progress in becoming a better place for business. So, when Churchill Downs and Keeneland announced they are joining forces to further invest in our state, the Kentucky Chamber was thrilled to hear the news. Churchill Downs and Keeneland’s multimillion dollar proposal to develop two new racing facilities in Corbin and Oak Grove will create hundreds of new jobs, bolster one of the Commonwealth’s signature industries and open the door for additional economic development. The companies anticipate the creation of 375 construction jobs and 175 permanent, full-time jobs between the two facilities in Oak Grove and Corbin. And...

In the interest of openness and transparency, the Kentucky Communications Network Authority (KCNA) would like to address some statements about KentuckyWired that have appeared in the public forum lately. KCNA would like Kentucky’s citizens to be properly informed. Misconception #1. Stopping the project A few have mistakenly argued that it would save Kentucky money to cancel the project now – to “cut our losses”. The contract signed by former Governor Steve Beshear’s administration carries significant financial obligations by the Commonwealth. It is critical to understand the money for this project has already been committed. Bonds to finance the project have already been sold. To cancel the project would be more expensive...

Legislation during this year’s General Assembly requiring disclosure of public retirement benefits for all current and former lawmakers, “including their name, status, and projected or actual retirement benefit payments,” passed the Republican-run state Senate with unanimous, bipartisan support from all 38 senators and flew through the Democratically controlled House State Government Committee with 19 of the 21 members who voted approving it. Only Reps. Derrick Graham, D-Frankfort, and Reginald Meeks, D-Louisville, voted “no” on Senate Bill 45 filed by Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Taylor Mill, which also had bipartisanship sponsorship as Republicans Joe Bowen, Danny Carroll, C. B. Embry Jr., Chris Girdler, Mike Wilson and Max Wise were joined as cosponsors...

Gov. Matt Bevin’s decision to veto legislation guaranteeing any Kentucky student a free ride to community college is one of his best for several reasons: · The commonwealth cannot afford such handouts. Even if it was a sound idea, how can Frankfort make a worthy case for providing free community-college tuition while facing a $35 billion unfunded pension liability that’s forcing state agencies and universities to cut spending to the point of furloughing workers? · It’s unending. The Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship program would forever cost at least $25 million per budget, resulting in a minimum of $125 million spent during the next decade alone on free college rather than stabilizing the commonwealth’s...

Lots of retired teachers bared their angry fists at me following my recent column about the soon-to-retire public school administrator who will, if he fulfills life expectancy, collect pension checks for longer than he worked, enjoy annual cost-of-living increases that most workers only dream about and amass a KTRS-funded $5.6 million fortune by retiring at 49 years of age after working 27 years. “Please be accurate rather than (highlight) one exceptional pensioner!” one retired emailer scolded. However, it behooves all of my retired-teacher friends to remember: the same shrinking KTRS kitty that’s billions upside down yet which they depend upon for their own pensions also struggles to fork over the money...

How unfair it was for former Gov. Steve Beshear to claim he was leaving the commonwealth’s bank account in much-better shape than he was handed when, in reality, the incoming Gov. Matt Bevin administration found itself staring at a shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars. This scenario resulted in the new governor’s first budget proposal containing across-the-board spending cuts of 4.5 percent during the current fiscal year and 9 percent in the next budget. Bevin’s budget pays the bills, adds an additional $1.1 billion in funding to the pension system and tucks away nearly $1 billion in savings to address future pension payments in a Kentucky Permanent Fund – $500...

By the time the polls opened at 10 a.m. Saturday for the Republican Presidential Caucus at Whitley County High School, there were at least 100 people already in line waiting to cast their ballots. Mind you, there was no unanimous consensus on whom those in attendance planned to vote for, or whether Kentucky should continue with a Presidential Caucus instead of a Presidential Primary in the future. However, there was one thing nearly everyone I spoke to at the caucus Saturday was in agreement about. They liked the idea of voting for their party's presidential candidate earlier in the process while they could still have an impact on who the nominee...

Should Kentucky pass a law that bans school districts from starting classes in early August? This is currently a question that the Kentucky General Assembly is pondering after Sen. Chris Girdler, R-Somerset, introduced Senate Bill 50, which would prohibit schools from opening any sooner than the Monday closest to Aug. 26. The idea is certainly a proposal with some merit. A recent study for the Kentucky Marina Association and Kentucky Travel Industry Association estimates that the drop in tourism from July to August 2014 cost the state more than $432 million in lost business. The study also found that about 6,000 tourism jobs ended in August and more than $45 million in local...