This has been an outstanding success story.
U.S.
Senator Mitch McConnell praises addiction recovery efforts in eastern Kentucky, and he's joined by the nation's drug czar.
The changes Lmpd is making when it comes to investigating officer involved shootings.
We had heard that if the children got some vaccinations, they would get a free bracelet, a vaccination for a free ride.
Why these kids believe it's a fair trade.
Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Endowment for Kentucky Productions, the Leonard Press, Endowment for Public Affairs and the KET Millennium Fund.
Good evening and welcome to Kentucky Edition on this Friday, August the 18th.
We made it to the weekend.
I'm Renee Shaw.
Thank you for joining us tonight.
Former Commonwealth's attorney Ronnie Goldie is now facing federal charges.
The FBI confirms Goldie was taken into custody this morning at his home in Moorhead.
He was indicted on 14 charges and was booked into the Woodford County Detention Center today.
Goldie resigned in February following accusations he traded favors with a defendant in exchange for nude photos of her.
He was later impeached by the Kentucky State Senate, making it the body's first impeachment hearing and trial and 135 years, according to a criminal indictment that was just unsealed.
The 14 federal charges are related to accusations that led to his impeachment praise for a group fighting drug addiction came yesterday from Kentucky's senior senator and White House drug czar.
Volunteers of America or VOA, is a nonprofit organization with Addiction Recovery Services across the Commonwealth, particularly in the eastern part of the state.
VOA hosted U.S.
Senator Mitch McConnell, the director of the National Drug Control Policy Office and state legislators in Clay County yesterday to celebrate the progress being made in the region and to identify what more can be done to fight the devastating opioid epidemic.
I think what I have seen over the years, it was like we are on such a downward trajectory.
The more we tried, it was like being in quicksand.
The more you tried, just the deeper you got.
But now you're starting to see a upward trend in positive results and you're seeing fewer people having substance use disorder.
You're seeing fewer deaths.
We have seen a 5% decrease in overdose deaths here in Kentucky, one of only eight states to see that modest decrease since the pandemic.
So we're continuing, as Dr. Gupta has advised us, to double down and triple down on our efforts.
We've invested more than $20 million in the region from federal, state and local support.
And we've created nearly 50 jobs here as we continue to grow a recovery ecosystem.
That includes Freedom House, Transitional housing, a family recovery court, and workforce Reentry services.
We also have our recovery community center right behind me, and we will replicate this or emulate this in Rock Castle, Pulaski and Lincoln Counties.
When you send money there and you wonder if it ever did any good, this has been an outstanding success story, funded in part by the federal government and also obviously by the state government.
Recovery is about economic opportunity.
Recovery is about housing.
Recovery is about food security.
Recovery is about making sure that you have the transportation to get to work.
All of those things is what we know is working to make sure happens to individuals so they can be successful.
The word of encouragement is, as you have had had seen and heard from some people here.
There are resources, there are avenues, there are people out there who are willing to help you.
Although Senator McConnell praised efforts to address addiction, he also said the federal government has his store bully not done well at addressing illicit drugs entering the country from the US-Mexico border.
Regardless, he says of who was in the White House.
Turning now to the Louisville Metro Police Department.
It's now putting new procedures in place when it comes to handling officer involved shootings.
The department announced Thursday that all officer involved shooting investigations will be led by its public integrity unit.
Kentucky State Police took over the investigations following Breonna Taylor's death.
Lmpd Police chief Jacqueline Gwen Barrow.
Well said.
Having the Public Integrity Unit oversee the investigations will allow the city to release body worn camera video of officer involved shootings to the public within ten business days.
The chief said she would personally oversee every officer involved shooting investigation and KSP, along with the Commonwealth Attorney's Office and Louisville's Office of Inspector General, will review all completed cases.
The chief said the changes are all in an effort to improve transparency and regain the public's trust in the LAPD.
These changes will not only improve efficiency of the investigation, but also they will ensure that there are third party reviews and safeguards built in to the process.
So I called him.
The Lmpd is already working a case under the new policy and deadly officer involved shooting on August the third.
Body cam video of the shooting has been released to the public.
Turning now to education.
Elementary and middle school students return to the classroom today in Jefferson County after missing six days because of a disastrous rollout of a new bussing system.
Early reports indicate there were no major transportation snafus today.
School officials adjusted some stops and gave bus drivers with complicated routes a ride along person to help with navigation.
All students are expected in the classroom on Monday, getting to and from school, especially on Jefferson County.
You know, it has dominated recent headlines.
Jason Bailey, who heads the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, says for years, the state legislature has neglected to fully fund transportation, cross across the state for schools.
Starting in 2005, they they weren't paying the full 100%.
The number the percentage they would pay went down.
It went as low as 55% just starting in 2020.
Barely more than half of the costs were being covered by the General Assembly, and that has coincided with a bus driver shortage we've seen all throughout the state.
And that hit in turned into a crisis in Jefferson County last week.
So how much would Jefferson County have gained or how much have they lost over that period of time or in the last few years?
What does your data show?
It's about $104 million over the last four years.
Per year, it's $19 million.
And to put that in context, that's about $31,000 per bus driver.
So $31,000 per bus driver would be a lot of money to help hire, provide incentives, increase pay to put more drivers on the road.
And what Jefferson County had to do because they had shrunk from having 900 drivers to 600, is hastily pulled together a new plan using a technology that ended up not working.
With longer and longer routes and fewer drivers.
And it failed.
And so that money would have made a big difference in the last few years in terms of bringing on more drivers, training more drivers, and making sure that this this crisis had not occurred.
Are other school districts feeling as much pain, financial from the lack of state support for school transportation and have districts had to make up the gap?
No question about it.
We've heard this for years from particularly the rural districts across Kentucky about how they were hurting by the lack of transportation funding for so many rural districts.
Have to be bussed a long way.
So it's really important.
And those districts have less property wealth in which to tax to bring in local revenues.
They really, really rely on state money.
So to see the cut in this transportation funding has hit them really hard.
And they also have bus driver shortages.
They've been advocating very hard in the General Assembly for this money.
But still, even though there are billions now sitting in the rainy day fund, the state is still not funding these full costs.
So what would be the recommendation that you would make for the Kentucky General Assembly that convenes in January about school transportation funding?
What's the number that they should commit to?
Well, it's very simple.
I'd say it's just to follow the law and again, fund 100% of the costs as they as they did for years.
And there should be an easy lift for this next year's assembly.
They have $3.7 billion sitting in the rainy day fund.
It doesn't cost anywhere near that to fund 100% of those costs.
They also need to look, though, at raises for for bus drivers and other school personnel, because that also will contribute to helping attract and retain these drivers.
This problem is only going to grow more worse unless we put more money into compensation for these jobs.
How much is the General Assembly allocating for school transportation now and what should it be in 2024 when they craft that two year budget?
Well, it's about I believe the full cost now is around $389 million.
They're only funding 70% of that cost currently.
I don't know that the calculation has been done yet for the next budget, but I imagine it's a similar cost, perhaps more.
And so, you know, it would be well over $100 million that the General Assembly would have come up with on top of what they normally do to pay those full cost.
But again, if they were also raising the pay of bus drivers, which they should also do that, that would add to it.
But these are part time, part year jobs.
You have to provide enough pay because folks who are driving these busses have to do other things to get by.
So the pay has to be significantly higher than it has been and it's just been way, way too low.
Jason Bailey with the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, we appreciate your perspective on your time.
Yeah, Thanks, Renee.
Thanks for having.
Time now for our end of week review of some major political news in Kentucky.
We have a dynamic duo from Babbage co-founder, the government relations firm with the founder Bob Babbage, and the senior policy director, Rebecca Hart.
So it's good to have you both here.
So let's talk about the governor's race, which is always what we talk about.
There's no other way, nothing else going on, really, is it?
Rebecca So this week we've gotten a lot of unveiling of the teacher platform from both of the gubernatorial candidates.
The week prior we had the law enforcement piece.
These are some heavy constituent groups here, right?
Why so much focus on these two groups and particularly the education pieces that we're hearing this week?
Well, education and public safety, I think, are probably the most important issues to people right now.
And so kids are going back to school and also kind of ties into that perfectly well.
And we're still facing major issues.
I mean, you see what's going on and it's not getting kids back to school.
I mean, it's a it's a very significant issue and there are shortages everywhere.
General Cameron's plan for education really focuses on the COVID learning loss and how we're going to deal with that and recover.
Because what we're seeing everywhere is that it's really, really significant.
You know, Governor Beshear is still committed to giving a significant raise to teachers and something he keeps touting, and that's always going to hit home.
Well, with that, the teacher base, it's been largely supportive of him.
Right.
And of course, General Cameron is also advocating for teacher pay to be increased.
So they're allied on some things, Bob, but some things they're not.
And we're going to hear a lot from education groups, K groups even on Kentucky tonight, coming up on this coming Monday, about how they feel about the plans that have been presented.
How do you think this resonates with the non educator base?
Do they care about these issues as much as those particular communities do?
Well, this is what we rely on state government to do.
Education and public safety, certainly to an extent, is an issue everywhere around the country, probably around the world.
But education and basic fundamentals of education are key to voters.
Both candidates had very strong plans.
You've got to give them credit for getting them out there, getting them early.
And now we have a couple of months to get into the details, discuss those and see what people prefer.
But to higher education as well.
You've got a tremendous investment and a major chunk of the state budget goes to this every time a budget is written.
Yeah.
And it also affects people dramatically wherever they are, whether they have kids at school or not.
They depend on an economy and a Kentucky that works and it works because of education.
So we have the P through 12 kind of plan from both of the candidates somewhat, but not so much about higher education, what the role of higher education should be.
Is it meeting workforce needs and other needs?
We haven't heard that yet.
We haven't, but we will and they really should be separate.
It's probably best to start with K through 12 because people understand that so well.
You know, they're not always an issue before us that we're an expert on like national defense or international security or those kinds of things, cybersecurity.
But everybody's an expert on education because they went through it, right.
We'll probably have a day shortly where both candidates bring their ideas on higher education, and that will be important.
There is some feeling among voters that higher education should be watched because of its spending and growth levels, that we totally rely on higher education to produce the workforce of the future, whether it's Certificate 66 or a Ph.D. at U. K, we are also hearing kind of the subtext of the conversation about education from General Cameron as well.
I'm the one who can work with the Republican controlled legislature to get things done because I am a Republican.
Andy Beshear Not so much.
And we even heard Chairman Tipton released a statement saying similarly to that effect that while the governor has never really talked to us about his plans, but we know that the likelihood of General Cameron's getting through the legislature are much higher than that of Governor Bashir's.
Is that a convincing argument for the electorate?
I think it is to certain extent it can.
I think the level of sort of the working relationship of the General Assembly and the governor is something that's a little bit of a something that maybe most voters don't approach or think about as significant.
They're more concerned about education or whether or not they have a job, All of those sorts of issues, public safety, whether there's a good working relationship, is maybe not the main concern, but it is certainly something that is compelling.
You know, people are tired of the negativity and tired of governments that don't work.
And so if there is a place for someone who can have a really strong relationship and also having Robin Mills as his candidate, his lieutenant or lieutenant governor candidate is significant because of his relationship with the General Assembly.
And, you know, he's the chairman of a major committee, the state government committee, and that might be something that people do.
Look at it.
Just how many is is the question?
Well, we always ask the question about what will drive the voters to the polls.
I mean, we know that these off year elections have lower voter turnout.
But what will get them there?
Is there a main driving issue and have we seen it yet?
You know, on the national front, we're looking at ways and the Republican Party that voices that don't have much going for them in the presidential race can change.
And be more relevant.
And they're on a different time scale, right This time of scale, if you're behind or barely ahead.
And that's kind of a synopsis of the race.
You've got to focus on things that do motivate people, do matter to people, prove your case, prove you can lead change and you can get things done.
The governors and legislatures around the country don't always work smoothly, even when they're completely along party lines, just like our own General Assembly with super majorities has its moments.
But you have to outline a vision that is captivating for people.
What will you do?
What you stand for?
And that's where we'll be looking at national candidates shortly.
As we look at state candidates through this cycle of just, what, 70 or 80 days right now.
And as Bob has said many times on Katie, that it is also about personality and if people feel like they can identify with you.
Right.
So if you think about the demeanor of these two gubernatorial candidates, it's similar in some ways.
It is.
You know, in this sort of world where we kind of have the more bombastic, the loudest, maybe even caustic person getting the most airtime or even winning elections.
You know, you can take away the policies and the ideologies of both General Cameron and the governor.
But when you see them, they're they're composed, they're collected, they have positive messages.
You know, I sit there and watch the GOP primary debate and marveled at sort of the chaos that was going around the side of General Cameron.
And he stayed smiling.
He was collected and he stayed on message.
And I think a lot of people were impressed with that.
And the same can be said for the governor.
I mean, how many things, as he, you know, confronted in terms of floods, tornadoes, COVID and still stays on message and stays positive.
So what does that say about us as the broader electorate?
Are we kind of moving away from that model and going towards people that we tend to think we can just at least talk to and work with?
Yeah, both have a very positive and magnetic way about them.
They are both projecting the kind of energy and the kind of focus and the kind of embrace of the future that voters certainly want to see.
It's a matter of getting beyond the personalities right, which could both be ranked positive to see what else is there and what matters to you.
Yeah, we've got how many weeks to dissect it all before we go.
So it's November 7th.
So I didn't major in math yet.
We'll let you all come up with the answer there.
Thank you both Rebecca and Bob for being with us.
Thank you.
Have a good weekend.
Thank you so much.
The food, rides and entertainment are all back at the Kentucky State Fair, which kicked off yesterday.
But it isn't all about the fun.
Fairgoers are also taking advantage of the numerous health screenings being offered where we find individuals that they make this their doctor visit for the year.
We like coming to the fair because everybody of all walks of life all across the state, they come here.
That's one of the reasons we want to be here and we want to reach everybody in Kentucky.
And this is one way to do it in like one stop shopping in a way.
And we just keep adding to what we do because we find that while we're here, there's a lot of people that do not stay up to date with their cancer screenings.
The sooner we catch anything, the better treatment options, the better survival rate.
So again, this is why we're here.
We want people to understand you don't need to be afraid to go get checked.
Families are also taking advantage of free vaccinations for children, and kids are getting a big incentive to rolling up their sleeves and getting a shot.
We've been doing this for three years, so it started out right in the height of the public health emergency with COVID and things that were going on there.
Our emphasis now is really working on those vaccines that got missed during the public health emergency.
So that's what we're trying to help with those childhood immunizations that people can just for whatever reason, either couldn't get to the doctor or other things were going on they didn't do.
You might have seen some of the news coverage about the measles outbreak that took place in Ohio and then came here.
We recently had a outbreak of whooping cough in Fayette County, and we've done a lot of work with the Jefferson County Public School system.
And there are a lot of kids that are behind on their vaccines.
So that's the principal reason we're here today is is to help them get caught up.
So in particular, measles, mumps, rubella, that's that Tdap, which is tetanus, diphtheria and some other shots.
Then we also have blue and cobalt shots available.
There's no place in Kentucky where people come together more than the state fair.
And we also got a unique opportunity because of what's happening with JC Epps right now.
So I think a lot of families and parents are looking for something to do over the next few days since the kids are out of school today due to the vaccine problem, we took advantage of being able to come to the fair and the children got in free.
We had heard that if the children got some vaccinations, they would get a free bracelet to ride all their kids they wanted to ride.
So we took advantage of that today.
And these two got flu shots today kind of herd.
But, you know, it's worth it.
I did get a lot.
All the kids that come today and get a shot are eligible to get a ride pass for unlimited rides at the state fair.
Then we've also got a wheel that you can spin and you can either get a gift card, food at the state fair or some other giveaways.
Such cute kids.
The Kentucky State Fair runs until August the 27th.
Blockbuster is at the ballpark and a festival with a real jolt.
Toby Gibbs has a look at some of the events happening this weekend around the Commonwealth.
Tomorrow, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Market Hall Square in Paducah will transform into the kids Creative Arts Street Fair.
There'll be an array of artistic activities like tie dyeing, bracelet, making ribbon dancing and more can explore downtown Paducah and unleash your inner artist.
Tomorrow is the 241st anniversary of the Battle of Blue Lakes, which is considered to be the last battle of the Revolutionary War.
Of course, the Blue Lakes battlefield State Park has a lot going on to commemorate tonight as the characters of Blue Lakes Living history play.
Tomorrow, there are events running all day.
Check out the cooking.
Demonstrate and museum tours and, of course, a reenactment of the battle at 4 p.m.
Happening in Lexington tomorrow is the Cold Brew Coffee Festival.
Over 20 coffee shops and roasters will have cold brew samples and specialty drinks available.
Vote for your favorite and help determine the best cold brew in Kentucky.
It runs from 830 to 2 p.m..
So come on down and kick off you Community Education.
Invite your family to blockbusters at the ballpark tomorrow night.
Bring your blankets to the Bowling Green ballpark and watch Sing two in this unique venue.
The movie starts at 7 p.m., but the playground and carousel will be open at six.
There's a kids animal costume contest, so pack your menagerie in the minivan and enjoy this night out on the field if you want to see one of a kind antique cars and trucks, then you should head over to Erlanger tomorrow and check out this over 220 vintage vehicle collection.
You'll need at least an hour to see all these amazing automobiles.
And it's all for a good cause.
100% of the donations will support the housing opportunities of northern Kentucky.
Make your way to Birdsville tomorrow for a river festival at Celebration, All about the Cumberland River.
You can of course paddle and float down the river, but there will also be over 100 vendors to shop from foot races, a fishing tournament and even a crosscut saw competition roll on down to the river for a great weekend.
And that's what's happening around the Commonwealth.
I'm Toby Gibbs.
Thank you, Toby Gibbs Young athletes may be learning good sportsmanship on the field, but that's not what many are saying off the field.
I see parents getting frustrated at the calls that we may fans arguing with fans and more so yelling at officials.
Over the years, things have kind of escalated.
Coming up Monday on Kentucky Edition, how one Kentucky county hopes to keep spectators who were being bad sportsmen at youth games.
Tune in for that story and more on Monday night at 630 Eastern, 530 Central on Kentucky Edition, where we inform, Connect and Inspire.
We hope you'll subscribe to our weekly email newsletter and watch full episodes and clips at KET dot org.
And you can also find Kentucky edition on the PBS video app on your mobile device and Smart TV.
And we hope that you'll send us a story idea.
Public Affairs at KET dot org.
And follow us all the way as you see on your screen there.
Facebook X, formerly known as Twitter and Instagram, Stay in the loop.
Thank you so much for watching.
We'll see you Monday night at 630 and then again at 8 p.m. Eastern time for Kentucky tonight.
Well, we talk about K-through-12 education issues.
You don't want to miss that discussion until I see you again.
Have a fantastic weekend and take good care.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7sa7SZ6arn1%2BrtqWxzmiYrp%2BlqMFufZdmaWlqY2KxjoS1sX5o