Senator Charlie Borders
FRANKFORT — A budget plan tighter than the House version passed the Senate on a 36-2 vote Monday, paving the way for a conference committee to work out a compromise measure.
The Senate version of House Bill 406 included none of the revenue measures included in House Bill 262. "The budget we're proposing raises no taxes," said Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee Chair Charlie Borders. "I think that's extremely important."
By:
Ivan C. Potter Publisher West Kentucky Journal of Politics & Issues
Editorial Comments:
Kentucky entered the 21st Century on crutches. Without real leadership and a true vision of what the potential of the 21st Century held in store for our state, we became a state of ”walking wounded leaders.” The state political power structure was held captive by the impact of 9-11 in New York; the loss of ability to function during the last years of the Patton Administration; and the complete mishandling of the governor’s office during the Fletcher years.
By:
By John Gramlich, Stateline.org Staff Writer
Congress last December sharply reduced funding for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program from $520 million last fiscal year to an all-time low of $170 million this year. The reduction, part of a much larger appropriations bill signed by President Bush just after Christmas, caught many law enforcement officials by surprise; funding for the grants previously had not dipped below $415 million annually.
Fighting crime and drug lords in West Kentucky is a major responsibility for the Pennyrile Narcotics Task Force.
The Task Force is currently in its 20th year of operation and is now comprised of 16 counties covering Western Kentucky. Their area includes some 340,000 people.
The counties now include: Christian, Caldwell, Muhlenberg, Todd, Trigg, Hopkins, Webster, Lyon, Livingston, Crittenden, Calloway, Marshall, Graves, Fulton, Hickman and Carlisle. In the near future, Davis, McCracken, Monore, and Cumberland counties may join the Task Force.
Under the President’s plan, the operating budget for the Pennyrile Narcotics Task Force will take a 75 % cut.
Lexington Newspaper Poll Not Kind to Governor
The Lexington Herald Newspaper recently ran an online poll as to how Governor Beshear was doing as governor. This was in conjunction with Ryan Alessi's article on the first 100 days of the new administration.
Most times we do not pay much attention to online polls. It is too easy to fix or manipulate the outcome if your side works hard to push the numbers either up or down.
However, this poll seems to be interesting from the fact that (1) it was conducted by a major Kentucky daily newspaper (2) subject question goes to the heart of what is taking place in Frankfort and (3) the number of people who are not happy with the governor who read the Lexington Herald.
Clarke at early meeting of World Future Society
By:
Cynthia G. Wagner Managing Editor, THE FUTURIST
The Foundation named for him reports with quiet dignity on March 19: "After a prolific and esteemed career, Sir Arthur has passed away in Sri Lanka."
Best known as the author of the short story on which the film "2001: A Space Odyssey" was based, Sir Arthur C. Clarke was both an inspired writer and a source of inspiration for others.
In a poll of futurists for the Encyclopedia of the Future (Macmillan, 1996), Sir Arthur C. Clarke was ranked sixth of the 100 most influential futurists in history--ahead of Jules Verne and Isaac Newton.
