From Kentucky Public Radio’s Tony McVeigh
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear says Saturday’s 135th running of the Kentucky Derby will go off as scheduled.
He says the possible presence of swine flu in the state will not alter those plans.
“States around the nation are continuing to hold such major events. I’m talking about NBA playoff games, professional baseball games, the Jazz Festival in New Orleans. And so will we,” Beshear said.
State health officials say an infant in Western Kentucky may have contracted swine flu from a relative who recently traveled to Mexico. A sample from the patient has been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta for analysis.
A 30-year old Warren County, Kentucky, woman visiting Georgia has been confirmed as having swine flu. She, too, recently traveled to Mexico.
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Another probable case has been reported in Fayette County, and Indiana officials say the number of confirmed cases in the Hoosier State has risen to three.
Kentucky Secretary of State Tray Greyson has announced that he has formed a committee to explore a possible run for the U.S. Senate next year. Such a move allows candidates to raise money and enlist support for a potential election bid.
The Senate seat is currently held by Grayson’s political mentor, Republican Jim Bunning.
Grayson has said he won’t officially declare as a candidate in the GOP primary unless Bunning decides not to seek re-election.
Bunning continues to say he’s still running for another term, but pundits in Washington say Grayson’s move is a signal that the 77 year old Bunning intends to retire.
The Capitol Hill publication Roll Call reports that Bunning will announce his retirement plans at a Lincoln Day dinner in Louisville May 9th.
Bunning has raised relatively little money for race that he acknowldges will require at least $7 million to be competitive.
More details from NPR political junkie Ken Rudin
Thursday, April 30, 2009
The Equine Industry
You probably wouldn’t be surprised to learn the only equine business program in the world with the prestigious Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business accreditation is located in Kentucky. But would you be surprised to learn it’s not in the rolling hills of Lexington, but on the Belknap Campus of the University of Louisville? Since 1987, the Equine Industry Program has been preparing students for a variety of careers both in the equine industry and related fields. Join us on Thursday when we find out more about the program and the future challenges facing the industry from our spot at Churchill Downs.
Photo by Joshua Chavers
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The Bluegrass Airport Board in Lexington plans to hire new administrators next week. Several airport leaders resigned this year amid revelations of exorbitant spending practices.
Airport Board member Ed Lane says the council will consider filling two positions at its May 14th meeting.
“There will be a vote to approve a new auditor and a new finance director so those issues will be addressed and a lot of policies and procedures have been put in they’ve eliminated credit cards and a whole lot of other things at the airport board which encourages me to feel that they are on a very good path and doing very well,” he says.
Lane told council members a national search for a new airport director is underway. He says the interim director Eric Frankle is invited to apply for the permanent position.
(Thanks to WEKU’s Stu Johnson.)
Health officials in Indiana say no additional cases of swine flu have been confirmed in the Hoosier State.
One case tested positive this week in Indiana. Health officials won’t disclose how many other cases were being tested Thursday. Governor Mitch Daniels described it as “less than a handful,” but said more samples could be sent to the lab.
“We are watching it very carefully and we’ll take the necessary steps,” Daniels said. ”But at the same time people should be reassured that at the moment we have a manageable situation and we’ll keep you posted.”
The one confirmed Indiana case involved a Notre Dame student who has fully recovered.
From Kentucky Public Radio’s Tony McVeigh
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear says the state could be facing a revenue shortfall of up to one billion dollars next fiscal year, which begins July 1st. He says the situation calls for thoughtful and decisive action, and the quicker the better.
“It’s easier to cut if you have a full 12 months of a fiscal year to spread out reductions, rather than just over a few months. I’m confident that by acting together, we will get through this,” says Beshear. “We will survive and be poised to prosper when we come out on the other side of this world financial crisis. I know because we’ve done it before.”
Before taking action to reduce the projected deficit, Beshear wants the independent panel of economic experts known as the Consensus Forecasting Group to meet and make their own revenue projections. That will happen in May.
Beshear is already predicting the need for a special legislative session, but Senate President David Williams is not yet convinced of that need.
This week I produced a feature on methamphetamine in Louisville. I got the idea from the story at a press conference earlier this year. The Mayor, Sergeant Stan Salyards and other officials unveiled the new anti-meth campaign. I wanted to know if the increased arrests they were making were really due to extra vigilance, or if more people were making meth. It turns out that while there aren’t any exact statistics, Dr. Vito and Dr. Suresh’s preliminary numbers show that labs are being busted faster than they are being built.
The subject of meth is getting more play in world of TV, with AMC’s critically-acclaimed series ‘Breaking Bad.’ The show follows Walter White, a chemistry teacher who starts manufacturing crystal meth to pay for his cancer treatments. He’s joined by his former student, Jesse Pinkman, who sells the meth.
The show is good, and while it is set in America (Albuquerque), nothing like that is likely happening in Louisville. For one, Walter makes crystal meth in a very complicated mobile lab. According to Sergeant Salyards, the labs the LMPD finds are smaller, sometimes single-pot labs. These compact setups are still dangerous (lithium is combustible in moist air), but they produce a less pure, powdered version of meth. Also, Walter in Breaking Bad doesn’t use meth. Salyards says almost every lab busted was set up by a user who was making a personal supply.
I also interviewed a prosecutor for the story. None of her comments made it into the final product, but she offered insights into the meth community. She corroborated Salyard’s claim that local meth manufacturers make it for themselves, but she told me about Smurfs. Smurfs are meth users who help gather supplies for manufacturers in exchange for drugs. The Smurf system is particularly helpful in getting more pseudoephedrine for labs. Three people buying the legal limit of cold medicine from one pharmacy are less likely to be caught than one person buying the legal limit at three pharmacies.
In Breaking Bad, Walter and Jesse steal the chemicals they need for meth, rather than go to drug stores. But that’s fiction. There is crystal meth in Louisville, but it’s imported the same way crack, cocaine and heroin are. The people manufacturing those drugs are in other cities and countries, and are not often thought to be users of their own product, since their operations are for profits, not personal use.
