News

Embattled Louisville Metro Councilwoman Barbara Shanklin, D-2, will face an ethics hearing.

The city Ethics Commission voted unanimously on Wednesday to hold a trial-like proceeding on October 25 in response to a complaint filed by a state watchdog group.

It took the panel over an hour in private session to rule that it will hold a hearing to determine if the city lawmaker violated six separate provisions of the city’s code of ethics. Common Cause of Kentucky filed charges last month claiming that Shanklin used her office to benefit herself and her relatives.

Attorney Aubrey Williams is representing Shanklin in the case and objected to the commission deliberating in secret. He says the ethics panel has failed to properly explain its procedures, and is denying his client due process.

"In a court of justice—unless this is something other than that—when one party makes allegations, the court of justice allows the parties to debate and argue those questions," he says. "Why it is that the commission cannot allow argument and make rulings openly on those motions without going into executive session makes no sense."

Mammoth Cave National Park has named a new superintendent, and she is the first woman to serve in that capacity in the park’s history.

Sarah Craighead will replace Patrick Reed, who retired at the end of June. She’s currently the superintendent at Death Valley National Park, which straddles parts of California and Nevada. She’s also worked at national parks in Arizona, Oklahoma and Maine, among others.

The Kentucky Department of Education has released the latest ACT scores for graduating public high school students, which show slight improvements over the previous year.

But only half of students meet the state’s standards for college readiness. 

Kentucky's graduating seniors went from 19.2 to 19.5, which is still short of the national average. However, the national average includes private school results as well.

Louisville Slugger and Little League Baseball will pay a brain-damaged New Jersey boy $14.5 million to settle a lawsuit over the use of metal bats in youth games.

Steven Domalewski was struck in the chest by a line drive that stopped his heart while he was playing in a youth baseball game in 2006.

He was pitching in a Police Athletic League game when the batter rocketed a line drive off a metal bat. The ball slammed into his chest, just above his heart, sending him into cardiac arrest. Domalewski's brain went without oxygen for 15 to 20 minutes.

The city of Jeffersonville, Ind., has formed a study committee on public art. The committee will lay the groundwork for a new public art initiative. City council member-at-large Nathan Samuel hopes a public art initiative will help rally Jeffersonville citizens and leaders around a positive cause.

“I think Jeffersonville suffers from a self-esteem problem," says Samuel. "We don’t give ourselves enough credit for what we have here.”

Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Donna Hargens appeared live in our studios for a WFPL News Special today.

Last week, there was huge news for the coal industry. Kentucky coal producers signed a deal to export up to nine million tons of coal a year for the next 25 years, to the reported tune of $7 billion.

I’ve already covered why the deal is good news for struggling Appalachian coal producers (but not good enough news to turn the industry around), the extent of Rep. Keith Hall’s involvement, and what the increased coal exports could mean for the environment. But now I’m hearing conflicting opinions about why this deal actually happened in the first place, and whether or not it makes sense.

Social issues are becoming the focus of the Indiana gubernatorial race.

Democrat John Gregg has released a new television ad targeting Republican opponent Mike Pence over pay equity for women and access to Planned Parenthood’s preventative health programs. In 2011, Pence led the fight to to cut funding for the group.

Watch the ad:

The members of Louisville rock band My Morning Jacket appear in a new campaign by non-profit Earthjustice that opposes mountaintop removal coal mining.

Kentucky's two U.S. Senators, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, are some of the most vocal opponents of the Affordable Care Act.

The two co-headlined a Tea Party rally in Frankfort yesterday to protest the health care law. During the rally, Paul said he wants to not only repeal the law, but replace it with a different one. Other Republicans have taken a similar stance, but the details behind the Republicans' preferred approach are largely unknown.