Whitney Jones

Small businesses and agriculture operatives have less than a month left to apply for federal economic injury disaster loans as result of this summer’s drought. The deadline for the Small Business Administration assistance is March 12.  Loans through the program can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as four percent for eligible small businesses and three percent for nonprofits.

Some new state legislators were elected after promising to refuse a state pension, but now find the law does not allow them to opt out. However, State Rep. Diane St. Onge has introduced a bill that would allow them to make good on their promise. The Madisonville Messenger reports that the measure would allow any lawmaker to opt out of the state pension system and would prevent any new legislator elected after July 1 from entering it. Incumbents would not have to drop the pension plan under the legislation.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is studying options for improving or replacing the aging Cairo Bridge that connects Wickliffe, Ky., and Cairo, Ill. The bridge carries about 5,400 vehicles daily across the Ohio River. The 76-year-old bridge is considered “functionally obsolete” because it doesn’t meet modern traffic standards.

The nearest alternate upstream river crossing is the Ohio River Bridge in Paducah, and it requires a 2-hour detour. Downstream, it’s the Dorena-Hickman Ferry and the Mississippi River Bridge.

Sen. Julian Carroll has filed a bill that would pay for state employee raises by doubling fines for traffic and misdemeanor offenses. The Madisonville Messenger reports that if Senate Bill 171 passes it would raise enough money to pay for a four percent salary increase for state employees by 2015. Carroll says the cost would be about $20 million.

From NPR: An Indiana farmer looking for cheap soybean seeds for a second, smaller harvest has been taken to the Supreme Court by the largest seed company, Monsanto. 75-year-old Vernon Hugh Bowman signed a contract with the seed giant to not save and replant any of his harvest.

Monsanto wants to be his sole provider, but their seeds are “Roundup Ready” and more expensive, especially for a small second planting. Bowman bought a motley of seeds from his neighbors for his second harvest thinking Monsanto wouldn’t care. Boy, was he wrong.

An industrial hemp bill that sailed through the Kentucky Senate is facing a more skeptical House. The top House leader has doubts about the crop and a committee chairman has lots of questions. The bill's next stop is expected in the House Agriculture Committee. Its chairman, Tom McKee, hasn't made up his mind about the bill, which would regulate the crop if the federal government lifts its ban on hemp.

Republican Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey is opposing a National Rifle Association-backed effort to block public access to the state's handgun carry permits. Ramsey says the ability to scrutinize the identities of people with handgun carry permits strengthens gun advocates' arguments that they are worthy of carrying loaded firearms in public.

A court fight over the name of legendary bluegrass musician Bill Monroe isn't over yet. The Ohio County Industrial Foundation has filed a petition with the Kentucky Court of Appeals seeking a rehearing on whether a nonprofit organization can use Monroe's name to promote The Jerusalem Ridge Bluegrass Music Festival and for tours of the musician's home place in western Kentucky.

Gov. Pat Quinn wants taxpayers to take advantage of a newly expanded tax credit. The Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit provides low-income families with tax relief and an incentive to work. But the nonprofit Center for Economic Progress estimates between 10 to 20 percent of eligible taxpayers didn't file for the credit last year. 

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam's proposal to create a school voucher program is drawing mixed response from lawmakers and educators.

Proponents say it’s another option for parents seeking to provide a better education for their children. Those opposed say voucher programs are unproven, and they don't like the idea of taking funds from public schools and giving them to private institutions.