Tag: Opinion

Drafting, voting on, and executing comprehensive tax reform legislation is no easy feat for lawmakers, regardless of their political affiliation. The fact that any tax reform bill was able to pass both the Kentucky Senate and House of Representatives – to help modernize the Commonwealth’s tax structure – is an accomplishment in itself. It is […]

The world watched in awe this month as divers rescued 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave system in Thailand.   Residents of Kentucky—the land of Mammoth Cave, Lost River Cave, Diamond Caverns and other natural wonders—are familiar with cave rescues. One of the most famous attempts occurred here in 1925, when […]

After a long school year, students have earned their summer vacations. But for many, and particularly for children from low-income families, it’s a time for summer learning loss, causing students to fall behind their classmates and leading to ever-widening achievement gaps. Research shows quality summer learning programs can combat learning loss and keep children on […]

For months, Kayla Rahn of Montgomery, Alabama, had contended with abdominal pain and weight gain. After repeatedly being told that she simply needed to lose weight, doctors discovered an ominous cause for her symptoms.   In late June, surgeons removed a 50-pound ovarian cyst from her abdomen.   “This is one of the largest I […]

A bourbon storage facility in Bardstown owned by the Barton 1792 Distillery collapsed recently, sending thousands of barrels of aging whiskey rolling down a hillside.   Throughout Kentucky history, distillery disasters have made headlines. Few, however, were as descriptive as a November 1886 distillery fire at the John Thixton Distilling Company in Owensboro. In that […]

In a recent article in the “New York Review of Books,” historian Garry Wills wrote that the Chicago Historical Society has digitized more than 5,600 interviews conducted by Studs Terkel, the author and radio host who died in 2008.   Among Terkel’s legacy was his popularization of oral histories. In many instances, Wills writes, “Terkel […]

Sayonara, GOP. My wife and I are now officially Independents. Ten years ago, I knocked on doors for Mitch McConnell and John McCain. In 2010 I interned with Trey Grayson’s U.S. Senate campaign. In 2011 I served as campaign manager for Bill Johnson for Kentucky Office of Secretary of State. I have gone door to […]