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Governor Beshear will challenge Trump’s funding cuts to Kentucky health departments, health programs
BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS Kentucky’s health departments are set to lose nearly $150 million in health-related grants after the Trump administration announced it would cancel the state’s COVID-19 health care grants, Sylvia Goodman reports for Kentucky Public Radio. The grant money is used for childhood vaccines, suicide prevention, community health workers and addiction…
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Martin County ‘cheated’ out of water and wastewater funding
BY LISA STAYTON MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — When House Joint Resolution 30 came up for a vote in the state Legislature on Feb. 27, Representative Bobby McCool voted “no,” citing the bill’s failure to allocate funding to Martin County despite its long-standing water and wastewater issues. McCool congratulated the water and wastewater recipients listed in…
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Kentucky senator appointed to Southern Policy Committee
FRANKFORT — State Senator Phillip Wheeler, a Republican from Pikeville, has been appointed to the Economic Development, Transportation and Cultural Affairs Committee of The Council of State Governments Southern Office (CSG South), Senate President Robert Stivers announced. The appointment places Wheeler among a group of policymakers from 15 Southern states tasked with advancing regional legislative…
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McCool appointed to regional energy and environment committee
FRANKFORT — State Representative Bobby McCool of Van Lear has been appointed to serve on the Energy and Environment Committee of The Council of State Governments South (CSG South), House Speaker David Osborne announced on Feb. 5. “It’s an honor to have the opportunity to serve on the Council for State Governments South Energy and…
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Kentucky removes 250,000 dead voters from rolls
FRANKFORT — Kentucky has removed 250,362 deceased voters from its rolls since Secretary of State Michael Adams took office, bringing the total number of voter removals to 440,182 since January 2020, his office announced. “We’ve vigorously removed voters who have moved away, passed away or been put away,” Adams said in a statement. “We are…
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Kentucky labor unions want next administration to support PRO Act
BY NADIA RAMLAGAN Kentucky News Connection Labor groups in Kentucky and across the nation are pushing for the next administration to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize, or PRO, Act. The legislation would reform existing labor laws to clamp down on union-busting tactics and strengthen workers’ rights during organizing and bargaining with their employers.…
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Against the odds: Martin County Water chairman bids farewell after years of service
BY LISA STAYTON MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — It is a Tuesday night in mid-September. Martin County Utility Board’s outgoing chairman, Jimmy Don Kerr, is delivering a farewell speech in the same room where he spent years navigating the complexities of the public water and sewer systems. It is a job he was initially reluctant to…
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The Rural Americans Too Poor for Federal Flood Protections
A data-driven disaster tool shows “bias” against rural communities. by Claire Carlson and Elizabeth Miller / Climate Central, The Daily Yonder August 12, 2024 On the day he would become homeless, Wesley Bryant was awoken by his wife, Alexis. This story was produced through a collaboration between the Daily Yonder, which covers rural America, and…