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Opinion
Time to consider merged government?
Watching the Route 80 land grab unfold between Prestonsburg and Martin recently, as well as the fiscal court’s recent struggles to craft a balanced budget, we were struck by a thought. Given that local governments across Kentucky are having to make do with less, that cities are seeking to expand their borders in order to bolster tax revenues, and that technology and infrastructure have combined to erase many of the barriers that made nearby...
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Scandal season at the Obama White House
It’s not an easy task, defending President Barack Obama from his enemies. The “scandals” keep popping up like dandelions — all of them explainable, after a fashion. Taken together, the explanations begin to sound like “the dog ate my homework.” For example: No one would deny that the attack on our diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, that took the lives of four Americans, including our ambassador, was a serious matter. And no one woul...
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A legislative perspective
For nearly 150 years now, our nation has set aside a day to remember those who paid the ultimate price to protect our freedom. It is perhaps fitting that Memorial Day, which traces its roots to the Civil War, was itself the source of conflict for so many years. It is believed to have begun in the South, when Confederate widows decorated not only the graves of their loved ones but also those of Union soldiers, knowing their families were gri...
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JWT — Putting it together
It’s a clear, muggy day in May, and the sounds of saws, nail guns, birds, and music carry across the still air here. And that means preparations for the opening of Jenny Wiley’s summer season are well under way. The debris that had gathered during the fall and winter has been swept away and burned, the props shed is organized, and set construction has begun on the outdoor stage. It’s a fresh slate, a new start, for the new season, which ope...
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Uncle Sam: Please tax the titans
I’ve already told you the story of Mrs. Campbell, my well-meaning high school guidance counselor. In case you missed it, I’ll tell you again. High school seniors in Detroit, where I grew up, had career counseling before they were turned loose on society. You took “aptitude” tests (“Would you prefer arranging flowers or building a bridge?”) and read boring brochures in the name of finding out what you wanted to be when you grew up. I took th...
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Let’s not sacrifice our privacy on the altar of cyber security
In the name of protecting us from hackers, computer viruses and cyber-terrorists, the House of Representatives has passed a bill that would make it easier for sites like Facebook and Twitter and Internet service providers like Comcast and Time-Warner to share users’ private messages and files with government agencies. The House on April 25 passed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, or CISPA. The act aims to make it easier for...
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Medicaid expansion will put Kentucky, Floyd County on path to good health
On May 9, I announced what I believe is the most important single decision for the health of Kentuckians in our lifetimes; the expansion of Medicaid coverage to the approximately 308,000 uninsured Kentuckians. This expansion, coupled with the creation of the Health Benefit Exchange under the Affordable Care Act, means that for the first time in Kentucky’s history, every Kentuckian will have access to affordable health care. Who will be cove...
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A legislative perspective
Kentucky has gotten a lot of attention over the years when it comes to finding innovative ways to govern. Our education reforms of the 1990s were hailed as national models, for example, and we are the only state to permanently dedicate half of our annual tobacco settlement payments to agriculture, a move that has played a key role in the industry’s record sales in recent years. Two other programs took a step into the national spotlight earl...
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House week in review
There are five of them, each with a rich history, each separate but unified in preparedness “both in war and in peace,” to quote President Harry Truman’s proclamation of the first Armed Forces Day on May 20, 1950. What are they? The service branches of the United States Armed Forces, which are comprised of the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Coast Guard. And this Saturday, May 18—the second Saturday of Arme...
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Act a counterstrike in the War on Coal
Wherever I go in Kentucky, I see President Obama’s policies have raised energy rates, decreased domestic energy production, and cost jobs. A barrage of regulations from the EPA is strangling one of our state’s most important industries — the coal industry — and Kentucky miners and the thousands whose jobs rely on mining are feeling it. After more than four years, it is clear this administration has declared a war on coal. Kentucky’s coal ...
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All have a stake in healthier community
An event held recently in Colorado should be of particular interest here in the heart of Central Appalachia. Last week, the National Press Foundation hosted 16 journalists from around the country, including a representative of The Floyd County Times, for a four-day conference about obesity, including its causes, problems and potential solutions. The conference included presentations from some of the nation’s foremost experts on the conditio...
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Like Lake Cumberland, tourism moving upward
It’s May and Kentuckians everywhere are celebrating the return of spring and beautiful weather in the Bluegrass State. Kentucky has much to be proud of, especially when it comes to natural beauty and the outdoors. When travelers from other parts of the United States and other countries visit, they often tell us how lucky we are to live here. We are also celebrating National Travel and Tourism Week May 4-12 and I want to use this occasion ...
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A legislative perspective
No matter when spring falls on a calendar, it doesn’t feel like it truly hits its stride until the first Saturday of May, when the greatest two minutes in sports sends another Kentucky Derby winner into the history books. While all eyes were on the commonwealth earlier this week, the truth is that our single most-recognized tourism draw is only the start for those wanting something to do that is fun, relaxing or educational – or a mixture o...
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House week in review
It’s no secret that Kentucky is not the healthiest state in the Union. We have high rates of smoking, stroke, most cancers, and diabetes. With 10.1 percent of Kentucky adults carrying a diabetes diagnosis, the Commonwealth ranked sixth nationally and was tied only with Oklahoma for the percentage of adults with the disease in 2010, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Diabetes Report Card for 2012. For Kentucky, 10.1 ...
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Stopping the senseless carnage
It was a confusing week, dominated by the Boston Marathon bombing, the evil act of two young men who had been welcomed into this country and had repaid the kindness with unspeakable cruelty. Then, for grim comic relief, letters believed to contain the deadly poison ricin were sent to President Barack Obama, a U.S. senator, and a local judge. The FBI immediately arrested a serial letter-writer in Mississippi who is an Elvis Presley impersona...
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