<br/> The Capitol building in Frankfort, Kentucky, on Friday April 5, 2024.(Ryan Van Velzer / LPM) With less than four weeks to go until Kentucky’s primary election, political action committees and the interests that fund them are prepared to spend heavily on Republican races for the state legislature — re-opening divisions within the GOP caucus in Frankfort. At least a half dozen races pit candidates from the “liberty” wing of the GOP against what are often considered more mainstream or “establishment” Republicans. The liberty faction distinguishes itself from Kentucky’s GOP establishm ..read more

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg presented his budget to Metro Council and an audience of city workers Thursday afternoon.(Roberto Roldan / LPM) Mayor Craig Greenberg presented his $1.1 billion budget proposal to Metro Council Thursday afternoon, saying the city needs to invest in workers while addressing its biggest challenges. His spending plan for the coming year includes raises for first responders, as well as non-union employees. He is also promising new funding for libraries and parks. Greenberg said he’s spoken to residents in all 26 council districts over the last year, and they share ..read more

The Louisville Philharmonia Spring concert will feature several pieces, including one featuring a high school senior as soloist.(Breya Jones / LPM) The Louisville Philharmonia is made up of serious amateur and semi-professional orchestral musicians. Those same musicians are given a large say in how the organization is run, with playing members even comprising the Philharmonia’s board of directors. “We're trying to be as democratic as possible,” said Tony Smith, a clarinet player in the Philharmonia and its program director. “I will send surveys to the orchestra, sometimes taking a poll on whi ..read more

A couple of houses in Louisville's Highlands area, a common location for short-term rentals in the city.(Jacob Munoz / LPM) The Jefferson County Property Valuation Administrator’s office reassesses homes and businesses at least once every four years. It analyzes properties based on nearby sales and characteristics like a structure’s age and condition. Because those assessments affect property values, they also impact how much taxes go into public services. Kentuckians are required to pay their property taxes by the end of each year. Three of the county’s nine market areas are being reassessed ..read more

Rep. Nima Kulkarni, D-Louisville, asks a question about House Bill 47, an act related to religious liberty on Feb. 21, 2024.<br/>(LRC Public Info) A judge denied a petition Thursday that sought to disqualify Democratic state Rep. Nima Kulkarni’s candidacy over a filing error. Jefferson Circuit Judge Mitch Perry ruled that although one of the signatories to Kulkarni’s candidacy filing was a registered Republican at the time, she quickly changed her registration to Democrat before the Kentucky secretary of state’s office certified the candidates in the race. The petition to disqualify Kulk ..read more

Five of Indiana’s six Republican gubernatorial candidates showed up to the primary’s final debate Tuesday, as U.S. Sen. Mike Braun opted to stay in Washington, D.C., for a foreign aid vote. And with Braun absent, many of the attacks were aimed at Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch. Of particular focus in those attacks was her campaign’s tentpole issue, a pledge to eliminate Indiana’s income tax. Former Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill said the state needs a comprehensive approach to tax reform. “The income tax 'axe the tax' proposal is a gimmick,” Hill said. “It’s not realistic.” Former state Comme ..read more

The Conemaugh Generating Station in New Florence, Pa., is among the nation's coal-fired power plants that face tough new regulations to limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.(Gene J. Puskar / AP) The Environmental Protection Agency finalized rules on Thursday to limit the pollution from power plants that drives climate change. Power plants are the second biggest source of planet-heating greenhouse gasses behind transportation, according to the EPA. Under the regulations, existing coal and new natural gas-fired power plants that run more than 40% of the time would have to eliminate 90 ..read more

Wildfire smoke from Canada caused dangerously unhealthy air quality in New York City and across much of the U.S. in 2023. While air quality has improved greatly in the U.S. in recent decades, wildfire smoke and other climate-influenced problems are endangering that progress.(Ed Jones / AFP via Getty Images) Over one-third of Americans, or about 130 million people, routinely breathe in unhealthy air, according to the newest State of the Air report from the American Lung Association (ALA). That number is larger in 2023 than in years past, despite significant long-term and ongoing efforts to clea ..read more

Susan Hall looks through binders of FEMA paperwork she’s filed and received over the past year and a half to get financial assistance to repair their home in Hindman, Kentucky, on Feb. 28, 2024.(Justin Hicks) Lance Damer and Susan Hall’s home was just one of many hit by the 2022 floods that killed 45 people in eastern Kentucky. They followed the instructions government officials repeated: Apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency aid to help fix your home so that it’s safe, sanitary and functional. If you don’t think the outcome is right? Appeal, appeal, appeal. In the meantime, Damer and ..read more

(Mary Meehan) Before the legislative session ended last week, Gov. Andy Beshear signed a bill that prohibits healthcare providers from being prosecuted when honest mistakes are made on the job. Kentucky has become the first state to enact a law preventing healthcare workers from being criminally charged for medical errors. During the legislative session that ended last week, Gov. Andy Beshear signed HB 159, which prohibits healthcare providers from being criminally charged when honest mistakes are made on the job. The bill follows a 2022 Tennessee case in which a nurse was convicted of crimina ..read more