By AP
Lexington, KY – Kentucky's home for Big Bird and "Antiques Roadshow" is bracing for a crucial vote in Congress that threatens to pull the plug on federal funding for the network. Kentucky Educational Television warns that the loss of nearly $2.9 million in federal funding, 14% of its budget, would "dramatically alter" its operations. The cutback is part of a proposal by congressional Republicans to eliminate the federal subsidy for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Lexington-based KET has mounted a counteroffensive aimed at building opposition to the proposed cut. KET Executive Director Shae Hopkins has urged the network's supporters to contact members of Congress. She says the federal funding to KET amounts to about 76 cents for each Kentuckian.