LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — With the new year comes new legislation, and for Kentucky, a number of laws will begin affecting Kentuckians starting on Wednesday, January 1.

Starting in 2025, all Kentucky drivers seeking to renew their license will need to pass a vision screening.The exam will be the same as the one used for first time drivers. Free screenings are provided at driver license regional offices around the state.

The screening takes about a minute, and they do not require additional appointments.

“The important thing is we want you to be able to see well while driving, whether you need corrective lenses or not,” said Lori Weaver Hawkins with AAA Bluegrass.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 19 states already have a similar law as a measure to cut down on accidents.

“We know that vision, having clear vision, is important for drivers to be able to successfully maneuver through traffic and to reduce that incidents of traffic crashes,” said Hawkins.

Also starting January 1, retailers will only be able to sell certain vape products. It’s part of House Bill 11, which was passed in April of this year to curb vaping among young people.

Jerry Wayne, who manages Magic Vape in Jessamine County, said the new law will severely impact his business.

“We will be firing 25 employees, closing 8 locations, and taking that money what we can,” said Wayne, “Basically, we will be out of business.”

The bill states that the FDA must approve vape products that have nicotine, and if they’re not approved, they can’t be sold. Wayne said it cuts the product he can sell from 300 to two.

Medical marijuana can start being sold in 2025 as well. Two lotteries have already happened for growers and distributors. All products must be grown in the Commonwealth.

An alleged deadbeat dad who was on the run and owed more than $100,000 in child support was arrested last week as he exited a cruise ship in Miami, authorities said. 

Dominic Weaver, a Kentucky resident, had been on the lam for more than 10 years when his holiday vacation ended after being taken into custody and brought back to Louisville, WDRB-TV reported. 

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Detectives from a local child support division flew to Miami and eventually brought Weaver back to the Bluegrass State.

“I don’t know when he left, but he fled the jurisdiction, and from the date of his sentence until today, and even today, he’s not paid one cent of child support,” Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell said. 

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Dominic Weaver, 47, was arrested in Miami while exiting a cruise ship over thousands owed in back child support, authorities said. (Louisville Metro Department of Corrections)

Weaver, 47, owes somewhere between $114,000 and $120,000 in child support, according to O’Connell.

O’Connell said Weaver has a total of four cases with the child support division.

“Two more of those are ready for indictment again of more felonies,” O’Connell said.

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O’Connell said he planned to ask a judge to revoke Weaver’s original sentence and ask that he be sentenced to four years in prison. 

One of the most exciting players committed to the Kentucky in the 2025 class is five-star guard Jasper Johnson. He is a Kentucky native but plays his current hoops for OTE in Atlanta where he is playing some great basketball.

So far on the season, Johnson is averaging 21 points, 5.6 assists, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game. Johnson is shooting 50.4% from the field and 40.4% from three on the year. The sharpshooter has proven why he will be perfect for Mark Pope’s system.

Recently, in a game, Johnson had only a few seconds before the third quarter clock expired, so he threw up a shot from the three-point line of the other end of the floor and sank it for three. This is the type of shot that would send Rupp Arena into a frenzy.

Let’s take a look at the circus shot that Kentucky signee Johnson hit in one of his recent OTE games.

Here is the scouting report on Johnson from Adam Finkelstein of 247Sports, “Johnson is a southpaw scoring guard with solid positional size at 6-foot-4, a long 6-foot-8-inch wingspan, and a still lean frame. He’s smooth, slippery, and has extremely soft natural touch in all aspects of his individual offense. He’s a shot-maker first and foremost, with a high-arcing ball and great rotation. He’s capable of making some very tough shots off the catch and the dribble, including deep step-backs, and will also have a ton of gravity as a floor-spacing threat. He made 41% of his threes during his junior year at Link Academy, and while that number decreased to 28% during the recent EYBL season, that was more a reflection of his shot selection, with close to 8 attempts per game. He’s very crafty in the mid-range area, with a deep bag of runners, floaters, and wrong-footed finishes.”