Tagged: Kentucky

The involvement of a state representative in a major coal deal in Kentucky is raising some eyebrows.  The $7 billion contract signed yesterday creates a 25-year standing order to ship 9 million tons of Kentucky coal annually to India. Pike County Representative Keith Hall was instrumental in brokering the deal—but he also has several coal-related businesses. He also sits on the board of FJS Energy—the New Jersey-based company that signed the contract. Hall says his involvement in the deal was both as a state lawmaker and a businessman.

Some Tennesseans hope their state will change alcohol sales regulations at grocery stores after a federal court in Kentucky found beer only sales at grocery stores unconstitutional. Tennessee Grocers and Convenience Store Association President Jarron Springer says the current law is outdated, and that Tennessee is missing out on 30 million dollars of annual revenue with the low alcohol content level.

The Army Corps of Engineers is dredging the Elvis Stahr Harbor at Hickman, Kentucky this week. Low water levels on the Mississippi River have led to a buildup of silt on the harbor. It has been closed for over a month. 

The recent federal court ruling that Kentucky’s law against selling wine in grocery stores is unconstitutional may affect a similar law in Tennessee. Tennessee Grocers and Convenience Store Association President Jarron Springer says their campaign “Red, White and Food” has long addressed this and that Kentucky’s court ruling will hurt Tennessee’s revenue if it doesn’t soon follow suit.

Kentucky's Lieutenant Governor is pushing clean energy. In a speech to energy officials Wednesday, Abramson said the state is lacking green initiatives, and it needs to adapt as coal's decline continues.

Coal mines in Kentucky and West Virginia will send millions of tons of coal to India, under the terms of a 25-year contract that was signed Wednesday. As Kentucky Public Radio’s Erica Peterson reports, the deal is being hailed as a sign of hope in the coal export market.

A federal judge's ruling could open the door to the sale of hard liquor and wine in grocery stores.

Currently state law allows grocery stores to only sell beer, while liquor stores and drug stores can sell beer, wine and liquor. After years of unsuccessful lobbying to change the law, grocery associations sued in federal court last year. U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II in Louisville handed down a ruling in their favor today, declaring that the ban is unconstitutional.

Installation of software and cameras for Kentucky’s new driver’s license will require a one-day suspension of license-issuing activity in the McCracken County Circuit Court Clerk’s office Thursday, Aug. 23.

Other operations of the Circuit Clerk’s office are not affected, and the office will be open all day. Driver’s licensing operations will resume on Friday, Aug. 24, and the new license will be available to McCracken County residents.

Kentucky teachers are being pushed to find more resources online as more and more textbooks become outdated and are not being replaced. The problem stems from a state budget that hasn’t allowed for full textbook funding in several years.  Todd County school superintendent Wayne Benningfield says teachers have no choice but to move away from textbooks. He says teachers are always searching for materials that they can, in his words, beg, steal or borrow.