Kentucky
Child labor, food assistance bills stall in Kentucky Senate committee but could get another chance • Kentucky Lantern
FRANKFORT — A Senate committee on Thursday blocked House bills that would loosen state restrictions on child labor and tighten eligibility for food assistance, but the measures are not necessarily dead.
The committee could consider both bills again at a specially-called meeting Friday, said Sen. Max Wise, chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Economic Development, Tourism, & Labor.
House Bill 367, which anti-hunger advocates had warned could lead to greater food insecurity in Kentucky fell short of the votes needed to advance to the full Senate, despite changes to the bill made by its sponsor.
The bill sponsor aimed to increase workforce participation with the legislation. It would, among other things, give the General Assembly power over decisions about work requirements for Kentucky’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP.
Since his bill cleared the House in February, Rep. Wade Williams, R-Earlington, said he made it “a much narrower bill.”
He deleted a section of the bill that would have restored the federal asset test, ending the Cabinet for Health and Family Services’ ability to waive asset limits through the Broad Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE). This would have excluded households with savings worth $2,750 as long as there are no disabled or elderly people in the household and excluded seniors and people with disabilities who had $4,250 saved.
The edits weren’t enough to convince some senators.
Sen. Jason Howell, R-Murray, said that he does not question the intention behind the legislation. But, he said, it “works against everything that we’ve done in the last few years” to address benefits cliffs.
“All this does is it places another wedge between people who are working and are trying to do what is best for them and what we want them to do policy-wise for the commonwealth,” Howell said. “It throws another wedge in there to keep them down in a lower economic demographic; keeps them from … being able to build any wealth, to build any assets.”
“I think it flies in the face of everything that we’ve been trying to do as a policy for the Commonwealth of Kentucky for the last few years,” Howell continued. “And I’m a solid no.”
Dalla Emerson, the director of food service operations for Bowling Green Schools, previously told the Lantern the bill could result in children going hungry. Access to free and reduced school lunches is tied to community poverty levels and participation in programs like SNAP.
“I commend our legislators in making the best decision for the commonwealth,” she said Thursday.
Jordan Ojile with Feeding Kentucky said his organization feels “encouraged” about the changes to the bill.
“However, the remaining provision would still leave Kentuckians hungry, and we are glad the Senate Committee chose not to pass through the amended legislation,” he said. “Obviously, the fight to protect SNAP is not over, but today is worth celebrating.”
Rev. James Todd Smith, the chair of the Justice and Advocacy Commission and of the Kentucky Council on Churches and the pastor of Wesley United Methodist Church, also praised the committee members who voted against HB367.
“It is my prayer,” he told the Lantern, “that the committee will not take it up again and that hungry people in the commonwealth will continue to have access to SNAP benefits without impediment.”
Child labor
Rep. Phillip Pratt’s House Bill 255, which would allow some teenagers to work longer and later hours, also fell short of the votes needed to advance to the Senate floor..
Lobbyist Gerald Adkins, speaking for the AFL-CIO and Kentucky State Building and Construction Trades Council, told the committee that labor is working with Pratt to improve the bill and asked the members to vote “in hopes of making it better on the floor” through amendments.
The measure would repeal Kentucky’s existing child labor laws and align them with federal laws, which are less restrictive for minors aged 16 and 17.
Dustin Pugel of the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy testified that the bill would not increase teen employment by opening up the the job market for younger workers but would lower guardrails that protect young workers from hazardous conditions and unlimited hours.
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The semifinal stage is set for No. 1 seed Kentucky volleyball, as the Wildcats prepare to take on No. 3 seed Wisconsin in the NCAA Final Four on Thursday, Dec. 18, at 9:00 PM ET inside the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
Kentucky has been dominant throughout the NCAA Tournament, including a 3–0 sweep of Wofford, a sweep against Cal Poly in the Sweet 16, and a sweep over Creighton in the Elite Eight. Their only dropped set came in the Round of 32 against UCLA. Outside of that brief hiccup, Kentucky has controlled matches from start to finish and remains undefeated at home this season.
Wisconsin arrives in Kansas City after a statement win over No. 1 Texas in the Elite Eight. The Badgers earned a measure of revenge against the Longhorns, who handed Wisconsin one of its four losses during the regular season. Kentucky accounted for Texas’ other two defeats, beating the Longhorns in both the regular season and the SEC Tournament championship.
Thursday’s matchup also carries historical weight for Big Blue Nation. Wisconsin was the team that ended Kentucky men’s basketball’s perfect 38–0 season in the 2015 Final Four, denying the Wildcats an undefeated national title.
Now, Kentucky volleyball has an opportunity to write a different ending against the Badgers on the sport’s biggest stage.
If the Wildcats advance, they’ll face the winner of the other national semifinal matchup, which sees No. 1 seed Pittsburgh, who actually handed Kentucky one of its regular-season losses, take on No. 3 seed Texas A&M, whom the Cats defeated in College Station.
With a spot in the national championship match on the line, the Wildcats will look to continue their dominant run and settle an old score. The national championship game is Sunday, Dec. 21, on ABC at 3:30 PM ET.
Kentucky has had a week off following their 82-55 win over Central Michigan, and now, the Cats retake the court down in Nashville to take on the Belmont Bruins. This is the second game of a home-and-home series between the two programs. Kentucky won its contest against Belmont last season by just six points at home — an 84-78 game in which the Bruins gave Kentucky all it could handle.
Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s Belmont squad and the upcoming game.
Bio Blast
Belmont is 4-5 on the season, but this isn’t your average 4-5 Missouri Valley Conference team. Three of those five losses came to AP ranked teams and Princeton, who they also lost to, was the first team outside of the AP Poll in the latest release. So, make that four of their five losses that have come to AP top 26 teams.
Amidst those losses came a defeat to McNeese. That’s their only real stinker on the season. For most of the game, Belmont kept it close against No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 18 Tennessee, No. 21 Ohio State and Princeton who, again, is right outside the AP top 25.
Kentucky is 4-0 all-time against Belmont, and all of those matches have taken place since 2014. Georgia Amoore had 23 points and five assists in last year’s win over the Bruins. Amelia Hassett had a notable outing as well, scoring 16 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and getting two steals as she played in all 40 minutes of the game.
Scouting Report
Speaking of last year’s game, guard Jailyn Banks had 23 points against the Wildcats, and she could very well put up a similar number this time around. As a junior, Banks is averaging 14.9 points, 3.3 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game. She has scored in double figures in all of Belmont’s games this season except for one, when she put up seven points against the Buckeyes.
Avery Strickland has been a big contributor for them as well, averaging 11.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game this season. Tuti Jones, who had 11 against Kentucky a year ago, is putting up 9.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.2 steals per game.
Hilary Fuller is another name to watch for Belmont. She’s currently averaging 11.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 37.5% from deep. As a team, Belmont is shooting just 30.6% from three-point range, but she’s one of their players that can get hot in a hurry from the perimeter.
Belmont Bruins roster
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Projected Kentucky Starters
#5 – Tonie Morgan
5-FOOT-8 – GUARD – SENIOR
12.4 PPG – 8.5 APG – 2.9 RPG
#0 – Jordan Obi
6-FOOT-1 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT
12.2 PPG – 6.2 RPG – 1 APG
#32 – Amelia Hassett
6-FOOT-4 – FORWARD – SENIOR
9.7 PPG – 6.1 RPG – 2 BPG
#7 – Teonni Key
6-FOOT-5 – FORWARD – SENIOR
11.5 PPG – 5.7 RPG – 1.6 BPG
#13 – Clara Strack
6-FOOT-5 – CENTER – JUNIOR
15.2 PPG – 10.2 RPG – 2.7 BPG
Phoenix’s Prediction
Score: 76-60, Kentucky
MVP: Amelia Hassett
Belmont’s 4-5 record is deceiving, and I would expect them to give Kentucky some trouble on the road. I don’t think they’ll ever truly threaten to win the game, but at the same time, I don’t think Kentucky is going to blow this team out to the point Gabby Brooks gets any PT. Give me Amelia Hassett to put up a team-high 20 points in the win.
How to Watch/Listen
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Want to interact with the KSR crew during tonight’s game? Consider joining the conversation on KSBoard, where we’ll be sharing live updates while also answering questions and providing real-time analysis (and probably complaining about the officiating).
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Fernando Mendoza’s Heisman Trophy triumph made noise as far afield as Rupp Arena on Saturday night.
Indiana could not claim too many fans in the building, in the Hoosiers’ first regular-season game against Kentucky in 14 years, unsurprising given the venue. But the ones who made the trip east on I-64 made themselves heard more than once during a 72-60 loss.
That included what has become a familiar chant among IU fans, one that broke out not long into the game and yet owing absolutely nothing to what was happening on the floor.
As news filtered through the arena that Mendoza had won his program’s first Heisman Trophy, fans seated in small clusters — including one group just a few feet away from the media seating area — began loudly chanting “Heis-Mendoza!” at the news.
It was the latest reminder of IU’s brave new world, with football and basketball co-existing so significantly, so late into the calendar. Curt Cignetti’s team, the No. 1 seed in this year’s College Football Playoff, will next play in the Rose Bowl, on New Year’s Day in Los Angeles.
The Hoosiers await the winner of the 8/9 game between Oklahoma and Alabama, in Norman.
In the meantime, they’ve spent the pre-Christmas period resting on the field, while cleaning up off it. Mendoza and Cignetti were named Big Ten offensive player and coach of the year, respectively, while Carter Smith won the conference’s lineman-of-the-year award.
Cignetti has also won multiple national coach-of-the-year awards, with more potentially on the way.
Mendoza added a clutch of trophies to his mantle this weekend in New York, including not just the Heisman Trophy but the Davey O’Brien Award for nation’s best quarterback and the Maxwell Award for nation’s best player. Mendoza is also the first Hoosier to win the O’Brien Award, and the second (after Anthony Thompson) to win the Maxwell.
More than a dozen Hoosiers have landed All-Big Ten and/or All-America honors since their Big Ten championship game triumph a week ago. A handful — including Smith, Aiden Fisher, Riley Nowakowski, Pat Coogan, Isaiah Jones and others — traveled to New York to celebrate with their quarterback.
Alberto Mendoza, Fernando Mendoza’s backup and younger brother, also made the trip. Both brothers became visibly emotional when Fernando referenced his younger brother during his acceptance speech.
The Hoosiers ultimately left Rupp Arena empty handed Saturday. But their football program once again left them celebrating, nonetheless.
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