Mill Creek Generating Station in Louisville.(Ryan Van Velzer / LPM) Kentucky’s attorney general alleges the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is exceeding its authority in calling for significant emissions reductions at fossil-fuel power plants across the country. Kentucky joined a coalition of 24 other attorneys general in asking a federal judge to review the agency’s new rule. In a release, Attorney General Russell Coleman said the new technology would be too expensive. “Kentucky families and job-creators will be cut off from affordable and reliable energy. We’re fighting this radical gr ..read more

Louisville City Hall(Roberto Roldan / LPM ) Invoice receipts obtained by LPM News show Louisville Metro has so far been billed about $108,000 by the law firm contracted to defend District 5 Democrat Donna Purvis against allegations she lied about a former staffer. The lawsuit was filed in May 2022 by Denise Bentley, Purvis’ former legislative aide. Bentley accused Purvis of illegally firing her and then launching a smear campaign against her, telling people she stole money from the city by falsifying time sheets and misappropriating funds. A jury ruled Purvis’ statements were not true and awar ..read more

Nearly 200 pedestrians have been struck and killed by drivers along Louisville's roadways since 2014.(Getty Images/iStockphoto) Police arrested an off-duty Jefferson County Public Schools security officer this week after police say he was drinking alcohol in his government vehicle. Upon a search, police also found hydrocodone and Ambien, neither of which the JCPS officer had a prescription for. Christopher “Mike” Minniear has four charges, including possession of an open alcoholic beverage in a car, tampering with physical evidence and possession of controlled substances. According to arrest r ..read more

Mayor Craig Greenberg speaks to members of the media on Oct. 20, 2023(J. Tyler Franklin / LPM ) All told, the independent art college in Louisville could see $6 million in government funding. The majority comes from the state’s budget. In the version signed into law by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, the Kentucky College of Art and Design will receive $5 million over the next two fiscal years. The money is to be used “to support ongoing operations and programming.” “Our leaders agree that the Commonwealth deserves a comprehensive, vibrant and innovative arts space that will bring opportunity, ne ..read more

Long Run Creek is one of Floyds Fork's tributaries. Louisville lawmakers are considering updates to development rules around the waterways in east and southeast Jefferson County.(Jacob Munoz / LPM News ) Stretching around 60 miles, Floyds Fork is one of Louisville’s signature waterways and anchors a popular parks system in east and southeast Jefferson County. Some environmental advocates and residents who live near the creek are concerned about how climate change and nearby development are in combination impacting its health. They point to issues such as rising rainfall levels causing increase ..read more

(Liz Schlemmer / LPM) Jefferson County Public Schools employees and community members say they were alarmed Wednesday when a school board member wrote an open letter reprimanding school and district leaders for voicing their concerns about transportation proposals. The letter, written by District 2 Jefferson County Board of Education member Chris Kolb, accused principals of “contributing to a damaging narrative about JCPS,” and warned that their actions “reflect very, very poorly” on JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio. The letter came a day after a heated board meeting, during which dozens of sc ..read more

Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Laurance B. VanMeter (left) at a 2024 Law Day event in the Kentucky House chamber in Frankfort, also attended by Justices Christopher Nickell, Debra Lambert, Angela Bisig, Michelle Keller and Robert Conley (right to left, in judicial robes).(Joe Sonka) Four Kentucky Supreme Court justices failed to file their required financial disclosure reports last year, despite a state law that potentially allows them to be thrown out of office for not doing so. This year, five of the seven justices failed to file their annual reports by the March 15 legal deadline, onl ..read more

A voter at Brandeis Elementary School fills in a ballot for the Kentucky primary election.(Justin Hicks / LPM) This year’s primary elections are just around the corner, and while the race for president may be at the top of the ballot, a number of important legislative and judicial seats are also up for consideration this year. All 100 state House of Representative seats are up for grabs, alongside 19 state Senate seats. And don’t forget about Kentucky’s six U.S. representatives that face re-election every other year too. That’s 125 state and Congressional legislative elections with 246 candida ..read more

Kentucky's primary election is May 21.(LPM) November elections get all the glory. But this year more than half of the state races in Kentucky will be decided by the end of the primary election. For some candidates, filing their paperwork to run has essentially secured them their office because no one else filed to run against them. In 20 races, the candidate who wins the primary will not face an opponent in the general election, meaning they’ll basically get the job. Last year, however, only 14.5% of Kentucky’s registered voters cast a ballot in the primary. Local, state and federal leaders ar ..read more

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