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[$] City trash fee is deceptive, even if it's legal

about 10 hours ago

Many folks have been questioning the legality of Frankfort’s new trash fee. I voted against the fee because it’s poorly conceived and applied, but I don’t believe that it is inherently illegal. The foundation for the fee is... Read Story.

[$] Your letters

about 10 hours ago

The State Journal encourages readers to submit letters to the editor for publication by noon Wednesday for the following Sunday’s paper. All letters must contain the writer’s full name, mailing address and telephone number for purposes of... Read Story.

[$] An ethical storm rises

about 5 hours ago

News of ethics complaints against City Commissioner Kathy Carter and City Manager Tony Massey came as quite a shock. They stand accused by two city employees of circumventing electric codes – serious charges if true.It’s surprising how rarely... Read Story.

[$] Too much borrowing

March 12, 2010

After performing fiscal gymnastics to cancel out a $1 billion-plus shortfall, the Kentucky House voted 65-33 Wednesday to pass a budget piling on $2.2 billion in pork-barrel debt. The paradox is astonishing, and the state Senate should waste no... Read Story.

[$] Debt goes on and on

March 11, 2010

Local government’s bailout of the Capital Community Economic/Industrial Development Authority is beginning to look like a credit card bill that just drags on and on.It started last year when county Judge-Executive Ted Collins delivered the news to... Read Story.

[$] A culture of payoffs

March 10, 2010

People seemed fairly receptive to the idea of health care reform before the political games used to bring it about started gaining momentum. Besides having doubts about the details of the massive legislation and the costs it would entail for future... Read Story.

[$] Free rides, high hopes

March 9, 2010

The Frankfort trolley, notwithstanding its aura of simulated antiquity, isn’t intended to be your grandfather’s bus. The ornate new addition to the city’s mass transit fleet, a $300,700 vehicle bought with federal stimulus money... Read Story.

[$] Garbage fee needed for many reasons

March 7, 2010

Well, garbage fees didn’t have to be as inevitable as death or possibly as constant as taxes, but the great majority of us paid one for the first time over the past couple of months.Or was it the first time? Over those same couple of months a... Read Story.

[$] Your letters

March 7, 2010

[$] To have and hold

March 7, 2010

Remember those old high school yearbooks? You know, the ones you stashed in the closet between the old shoes and the outdated tax forms. The back pages are inscribed with slightly teasing epistles from pretty girls, along with more acid missives from... Read Story.

[$] Making lemonade

March 5, 2010

Sports commentators occasionally sum up a sloppy game with a verbal shrug: “It wasn’t pretty, but at least they got the job done.” Which is probably about the best that can be said for legislative attempts to plug a shortfall of more... Read Story.

[$] Leestown revisited

March 4, 2010

It’s about time for a happy ending at Glen Willis, the old mansion built on land that was bought with blood more than two centuries ago and sold for a song this week after failure of a family business venture.The most recent owner, who... Read Story.

[$] Bunning's surrender

March 3, 2010

U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning, who’d been acting like a man with nothing to lose, finally conceded to political reality Tuesday night and dropped his objection to a spending bill he single-handedly held up for a week. The Kentucky Republican’s... Read Story.

[$] Sacrifice to survive

March 2, 2010

Kentucky teachers and school districts made a hard but necessary decision last week in agreeing to pay a bigger share of retiree health care costs. The Courier-Journal reported Rep. Carl Rollins, D-Midway, filed a bill Friday including the proposal,... Read Story.

[$] Here's to our health

February 28, 2010

The “bottom line” of a new report ranks Franklin County as the 8th healthiest of Kentucky’s 120 counties. Some of the in-between lines might make you wonder how we got there.“County Health Rankings,” put out by the Robert... Read Story.

[$] When did dressing down get out of hand?

February 28, 2010

Recently The State Journal printed an article by Froma Harrop entitled, “We’re a nation of slobs.” The writer lamented the decline in appropriate attire, pointing out that no one dresses up anymore even for weddings and funerals. She... Read Story.

[$] Your letters

February 28, 2010

[$] A tradition of cruelty

February 26, 2010

The General Assembly, having declined to consider expanded legal gambling as a potential solution to the state’s money problems, seems no more enthusiastic about cracking down on illegal (and untaxed) gaming that exploits innocent animals.The... Read Story.

[$] Pay city and vote

February 25, 2010

In a brassy gesture of citizen rebellion, Eric Burke stood before the City Commission Monday, looked its members in the eye and declared he would not – repeat, not – pay the city’s annual $60 garbage collection fee. He contended the... Read Story.

[$] 'Summit' for show

February 24, 2010

Thursday’s health care “summit” in the nation’s capital seems destined for disappointment. Democrats, who got a reform bill through the Senate just before losing their “filibuster-proof” majority, know it. Republicans,... Read Story.

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