Kentucky

Kentucky Supreme Court hears arguments in redistricting lawsuit

Published

1 year ago

September 19, 2023

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Kentucky Supreme Court hears arguments in redistricting lawsuit

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) – Kentucky’s Supreme Court heard arguments on gerrymandering Tuesday.

Democrats believe Republicans violated the state constitution when setting new district lines.

Political experts say, while not surprising, cases like these have become part of a national movement.

The congressional district and state House district maps are at the center of this lawsuit.

Districts, which define the area an elected official represents, are adjusted every ten years by the Legislature to reflect changes in population and often favor the party in power.

“You know our constitution asked us to pay homage to the proposition that counties shall not be split. We all agree that no longer works. It doesn’t matter if the Democrats did it when, then and now ya’ll are doing it now. It just no longer works,” said Justice Michelle Keller.

One map puts Frankfort in the same district as most of western Kentucky. It’s represented by prominent GOP Congressman James Comer.

“Even if we did switch to a map that didn’t have that Comer Hook, stretching from West Kentucky up to Franklin County, it’s really unlikely it would make any difference to our congressional delegation,” said Dr. Stephen Voss, an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Kentucky.

Democrats say the other map breaks up more Democratic areas like Lexington for representation in the state House. They claim both maps give the GOP an unfair and unconstitutional advantage.

Republicans maintain they followed the law. Their lawyers argue it’s just a Democratic reaction to being the super minority.

“The lawyers here and elsewhere are hunting big game. They’re looking down the road to a national Supreme Court case that permanently changes how districts get drawn in states around the country. So, really, Kentucky is just a small battle in a much bigger war,” Dr. Voss said.

Some states have non-partisan commissions that draw up districts. So far, Kentucky hasn’t adopted that method of drawing the lines.

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Kentucky

Survey: Kentucky children’s dental decay rates surpass national average

Published

8 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Press Room

Survey: Kentucky children’s dental decay rates surpass national average

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 7, 2024) — The University of Kentucky College of Dentistry’s 2023 Kentucky Early Learners’ Oral Health Surveillance Project survey found dental decay rates for Kentucky children ages 2 through 5 are significantly higher than the national average. 

The survey, funded by the Kentucky Department of Public Health, evaluated the prevalence of dental decay and treatment needs among children and identified populations most at-risk in the Commonwealth.  This is one of the largest state-level oral health surveys of children in Pre-K and Head Start programs ever conducted.

“The oral health of young children is essential to health equity as it not only sets the trajectory for oral health across the lifespan but also influences an individual’s overall health and development,” Stein said. 

Project team members screened 6,660 kids across 106 Kentucky counties. Local dental hygienists were hired to serve as screeners and coordinate project efforts at the regional levels. Screeners contacted daycares and Head Start programs in their area. If the daycare or Head Start facilities agreed, screenings were scheduled for the children.  

The screeners were trained to standardize their identification of treated decay (cavities that already had fillings) and untreated decay. If a child was identified to have untreated decay the screener classified the severity of decay and determined the urgency of when the child should receive treatment. 

Each child’s screening results were documented on a report card and sent to their parents/guardians. All report cards contained referral information for local dentists and contact information for the regional coordinator for parents to contact for assistance if their child was identified as needing dental care. 

The project team concluded that dental decay rates for Kentucky children ages 2 through 5 are considerably higher than the national average and were comparable to the highest risk group in the U.S. which is children living at or below 100% poverty. 

Multiple, interconnected demographic, geographic and social factors influence tooth decay rates among the children screened. Region was the strongest association for untreated decay followed by age, facility type and rural location.  

Additional findings show race, ethnicity and fewer economic resources compounded risk for dental decay. Higher decay rates were found in children attending rural Head Start facilities and Black children in poor ZIP codes in Jefferson County.

The data from this survey should impact the dental care of young Kentucky children in the future. At a state-wide conference to discuss survey findings on Nov. 1, community and health leaders from across the state discussed strategies to reduce the level of dental decay in our youngest Kentuckians.

“The University of Kentucky College of Dentistry has a statewide mission to increase oral health care access for all Kentuckians,” said Jeff Okeson, D.M.D., professor and dean of the College of Dentistry. “The survey’s findings can help guide and refine our continued efforts in reducing dental disease in children as a part of that mission. It’s just as important to educate everyone about good oral health practices as it is to improve access to oral health care.”

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) recommends that children see a pediatric dentist and get established when the first tooth appears, or no later than their first birthday, and continue every six months with preventive care. 

However, most children start going to the dentist too late, and it usually is due to complaints of pain associated with decay. Although dental decay is a preventable disease, it remains the most common chronic childhood disease, approximately four times more prevalent than childhood asthma. 

Other data collected from UK Dentistry’s mobile programs for preschool-aged and school-aged children have seen tooth decay rates decline over the years and could be an effective early intervention toward improved oral health that necessitates further examination.    

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Kentucky

Kentucky voters decide where medical cannabis businesses will be allowed

Published

15 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Press Room

Kentucky voters decide where medical cannabis businesses will be allowed

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – In more than 50 cities and counties, voters said “yes” to medical cannabis businesses, including 11 in WKYT’s viewing area: Anderson, Bourbon, Clark, Clay, Jackson, Knox, Menifee, Mercer, Morgan, Scott and Woodford.

“Each year we went to Frankfort, we got less no’s than the year before. So we always knew the time would come when the dominoes would fall the rest of the way,” said Kentucky NORML Executive Director Matthew Bratcher.

The Kentucky General Assembly passed a bill legalizing medical marijuana last year. It will be enacted on January 1, 2025.

“I’m not surprised at all that everybody wanted to have a cannabis business in their area.”

But voters still had to decide where the businesses, like cultivators and dispensaries, will open. So, 53 cities and 53 counties let voters decide whether the businesses should be allowed to open in their communities, and it was a yes from all of them.

“With the large cultivation firms, you can see upwards of 100 jobs of more. Processors are going to need lots of people. Dispensaries are going to need a lot of people. These are good jobs with benefits that probably pay a lot more than some of your more entry-level positions. It’s going to be great for our workforce and the communities they’re in.”

The Executive Director of Kentucky NORML, Matthew Bratcher, has been pushing for this change for years.

“We’ve got such a high number of disability cases here in Kentucky, as well as higher rates of cancer and other things. This is going to really help bring some of those numbers down.”

Kentucky has already started distributing licenses to medical cannabis businesses via a lottery system, including Limestone Processing.

“There were 290 people in our category. Only 10 were chosen and we were one. By definition, we’re really lucky and we feel fortunate,” said Gary Hilliard, the co-owner of Limestone Processing.

If you have a qualifying chronic condition, like epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, or post-traumatic stress disorder, you can become a medical cannabis cardholder.

“Get people back on the path to healthiness,” Bratcher said.

Kentucky NORML will host registration fairs in different counties starting in January.

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Kentucky

Winners haven’t been named in some Kentucky races. When will results be finalized?

Published

24 hours ago

November 6, 2024

Press Room

Winners haven’t been named in some Kentucky races. When will results be finalized?

Results are in for most significant races of the 2024 election, with Donald Trump set to return to the White House after being elected the 47th president of the United States.

However, at the state level, winners for several Kentucky House and Senate seats still remain unknown.

Here’s what we know about races that have yet to be called in the commonwealth as of Wednesday afternoon.

Kentucky race results remain unknown after Election Day 2024

Most state races were called by late Tuesday, but winners remain unknown in a handful of House districts, where candidates are separated by as little as 30 votes.

Uncalled districts include:

District 31, where Republican Susan Tyler Witten leads Democrat Colleen Davis with 50.7% of the vote
District 38, where Democrat Rachel Roarx leads Republican Carrie Sanders McKeehan with 50.7% of the vote
District 45, where Democrat Adam Moore leads Republican Thomas Jefferson with 50.3% of the vote
District 67, where Democrat Matthew Lehman leads Republican Terry Hatton with 50.1% of the vote
District 88, where Republican Vanessa Grossl leads Democrat Cherlynn Stevenson with 50.5% of the vote

Stevenson conceded to Grossl in a social media post Wednesday.

The winner of District 29 in the Kentucky Senate also remains unknown, with Scott Madon leading among 11 write-in candidates vying to fill the late Sen. Johnnie L. Turner’s seat.

When will Kentucky winners be finalized?

Kentucky Secretary of State spokesperson Michon Lindstrom said the state Board of Elections is working to gather final results for races that have yet to be called.

“The counties have to finalize their results to us by noon on Friday,” Lindstrom stated.

How can Kentucky candidates get a recount, recanvas?

Lindstrom said to receive an automatic recount, a race must fall within 0.5%.

Candidates can also request a recount but have to pay for it if they don’t meet the recount threshold. Costs vary and are set by the court, Lindstrom said.

Races within 1% can qualify for recanvassing, and candidates seeking a recanvas must make a request, Lindstrom said.

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