Latest news with #KentuckyLegislature
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
In Our View: Memorial Day 2025
Memorial Day is here. What many consider the beginning of summer was once called Decoration Day — the day when Americans decorated the graves of those who died fighting our wars. In 1967, Congress changed it to Memorial Day. Its history dates back to 1868, when General John A. Logan created Decoration Day to decorate the graves of those killed in the Civil War. We've been decorating the graves of our veterans ever since. This area has always had a strong connection to Memorial Day. Ironton's Memorial Day parade is longest running Memorial Day parade in America. It starts at 10 a.m. today. Local veteran Mike Wurts is the one who leads the efforts to place an American Flag on each service member's grave. Thousands of flags are placed on graves each year. Wurts is a frequent attendee at city and county meetings to keep commissioners informed of local happenings for veterans. He doesn't seek attention, but he deserves it for his ongoing efforts. In 2010, the Kentucky Legislature created the Northeast Kentucky Veterans Cemetery located off the Industrial Parkway near I-64. It may be the prettiest cemetery in our area. We encourage you to pay it a visit. Kentucky created five veterans cemeteries around the state. The Northeast Kentucky Cemetery has 75 acres and nearly 2,000 burials and internments. Memorial Day is special. It is much more than a day for a cookout or the start of your vacation. We couldn't enjoy either if it weren't for those who fought for our freedoms.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fiscal Court presents $1 million check toward Fairgrounds project
Following a special-called meeting Wednesday, April 30, the Laurel County Fiscal Court presented a $1 million check to London Tourism and Parks in support of the London-Laurel Regional Fairgrounds project currently underway. The funding was secured by Senator Brandon Storm last year through the Kentucky Legislature, and the Laurel County Fiscal Court was the designated agency to receive and administer the funds. "We are extremely appreciative of all contributing stakeholders in the Laurel County regional Fairgrounds Project. The Laurel County Fiscal Court, City of London Tourism Commission, and the City Of London are working together to create a legacy project for our community that will be enjoyed by our locals as well as people from around the nation," said Phil Smith, Chairman of the London Tourism Commission. "Thank you, Senator Storm, for advocating for this project and other projects that help to improve the quality of life for this region." Executive Director of London Tourism and Parks Chris Robinson also commented, stating, "We are grateful to Sen. Storm for securing funding for this transformative project, and to the Laurel County Fiscal Court for their partnership in revitalizing the Fairgrounds into a space that will strengthen our community, support future economic growth, and boost tourism in our region." Although Sen. Storm was unable to attend due to scheduling issues, he expressed his support for the tourism commission, thanking it for "bringing this vision to [him] and allowing [him] to work on the endeavor to secure the financial funding last budget cycle." "I'm fully supportive of City and County Tourism and I absolutely love our community," Storm wrote. During the meeting, the county submitted a proposed budget for fiscal year 2025-26. "We can't pass this around because it's just a proposal," Laurel Judge Executive David Westerfield explained. "We can't hand it out until it's approved." Additionally, the county approved the accounts payables and an unspecified surplus item for online auction without further discussion. The Laurel County Fiscal Court regularly meets at 8:45 a.m. on the second Monday and 9:30 a.m. on the final Thursday of each month.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kentucky House Bill 520 is not good for police transparency l Strictly Legal
On two separate occasions in recent years, the Kentucky Supreme Court has applied the Kentucky Open Records Act according to its terms. In doing so, it refused to allow two local police agencies to impose a blanket "investigation" exception to the requirement that police produce records related to an arrest. But at the end of March, the Kentucky Legislature passed a law that effectively overrules those decisions. The result will be less transparency around police activities in the commonwealth. Until March 27 of this year, Kentucky police departments could withhold investigatory records only if "the disclosure of the information would harm the agency by. . . premature release of information to be used in a prospective law enforcement action[.]" In two separate Kentucky Supreme Court cases, Fort Thomas and Shively police departments attempted to invoke the exception, submitting affidavits attesting that release of the records would harm the agency. But in both cases, the police couldn't provide any facts to back up their assertions that they'd be harmed by the disclosure. Accordingly, the court ruled against the police departments each time. To the extent these rulings put police departments in a quandary, the simple solution would be for those departments to provide actual evidence of harm or simply not assert the exception so cavalierly. It doesn't appear that any harm came to Fort Thomas or Shively from releasing the records. But that's not what happened. Instead of insisting that local police departments get their own houses in order, Rep. Chris Fugate sponsored House Bill 520. Fugate spent 22 years with the Kentucky State Police, and according to the Louisville Courier Journal, was not even familiar with the court's decision in Shively. Fugate's bill, which was adopted without the governor's signature, changed the wording of the Kentucky Open Records Act so that it now reads: "Records of law enforcement agencies or agencies. . . [are exempt] if the disclosure of the information could pose an articulable risk of harm to the agency or its investigation by revealing the identity of informants or witnesses not otherwise known or by premature release of information to be used in a prospective law enforcement action or administrative adjudication." So now, rather than proving actual harm from the release of records, the police merely need to articulate a risk that could harm the department. That is a momentous change. It would be hard for me to prove that I am going to be in a car accident on my way home from work. I've worked in downtown Cincinnati for 43 years, and I have never been in a car accident on my commute. But could I "articulate" a risk that I could be in a car accident? Sure. Anything is possible. And that's the difference between "would" and "could." "Would" requires actual evidence. "Could" requires a vivid imagination. House Bill 520 makes it easy, too easy, for Kentucky Police Departments to evade the spirit if not the letter of the Kentucky Open Records law. March 27 was not a good day for transparency in the commonwealth. Jack Greiner is a partner at Faruki PLL law firm in Cincinnati. He represents Enquirer Media in First Amendment and media issues. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: House Bill 520 is not good for police transparency | Strictly Legal
