When grave new challenges emerge, it would be nice if existing ones would subside. Sadly, that is just not how the world works.

In the midst of COVID-19 chaos, it can be difficult to maintain a positive outlook. Reading about our city's and county’s decision to close certain public parks makes me empathize with the many Frankfort families who are currently trying to corral kids or get some reprieve from a certain spouse.

I don’t think any of us could have imagined what has transpired over the last few weeks. The coronavirus has not only plagued the world as a public health pandemic, but it has very quickly devastated our economy and upended our normal business and daily routines.

I’m a nonprofit attorney, and for the last four years, I’ve represented a lot of people who receive public benefits. But this year for the first time, I offered to help a close friend with her family’s application for food stamps (now called SNAP). 

I am just one of dozens of local businesspeople who I know all feel as I do, that the outpouring of support during this time of national crisis is endearing, heartwarming, uplifting — well, the list of adjectives goes on and on.

Rural communities of Kentucky and other states are not immune to COVID-19, or the coronavirus. The first known case of coronavirus in Kentucky was in Cynthiana, a town with a population of only 6,400 persons, and cases of coronavirus have been identified in several other rural communities. T…

According to the 2019 National Vital Statistics Reports, more than 14,000 firearm homicides were committed in the U.S. in 2017. While this number may seem small in a country that now has more than 320 million people, and it may explain why no politician has proposed an effective solution to …

The COVID-19 pandemic has already sparked an economic slowdown resulting from widespread shutdowns in the global economy and recent closures of dine-in restaurants, entertainment businesses, gyms and child care centers.

As the reality of our new normal is setting in, there is anxiety and uncertainty about how to proceed during this stressful time.

Setting the benchmark of your first 100 days is a good measure for most leaders. It is in those first few months that you get to set the vision, organize your team and set out to achieve your goals.

Mary got up today before dawn, bundled her two kids out the door for school and headed to her job in the service industry.

This week has been designated Sunshine Week 2020 and, by no coincidence, the Kentucky Open Government Coalition celebrates its one-year anniversary this week.

Can I just say how utterly sick I am of the political games regarding public education that have been and are currently being played in Frankfort?

In 1999, there was a major problem of infanticide and newborn abandonment growing all over the country. Mothers who could not take care of their newborns out of panic and fear were abandoning their babies, and, if not found in time, these little ones lost their lives, and these mothers were …

Frankfort is in the midst of private and public investment that is unprecedented for at least a generation or more — the federal grant to upgrade the Second Street corridor; the newly constructed Mayo-Underwood Building; Simon Warehouse Building and Marcus Building renovations; the opportuni…

Envision Franklin County respectfully disagrees with the planning commission's recent 5-2 decision to approve the zone change for the historic Blanton-Crutcher Farm at 690 Duncan Road.

Legislation passed by the Kentucky House of Representatives intended to provide long-term relief from steep increases in pension payments faced by quasi-government agencies like regional universities, health departments and rape crisis centers represents small steps in the right direction.

When I was elected attorney general, I committed to putting every resource I have behind our core mission to protect Kentuckians and defend the commonwealth. In my estimation, there is no greater purpose or requirement of government than the protection of its citizens. 

Addiction is a tragic and heavy-handed disease, affecting individuals of all ages, races, occupations and income levels. And as anyone who has been impacted by addiction can tell you, the decision to seek recovery is never an easy one.

As we welcome March at the Capitol, we anticipate that some of the legislature’s biggest challenges — such as the state’s biennial budget and priority legislation — will come to the forefront.

Recently Kentucky legislators introduced House Bill 1, the latest attempt to make accessing vital public programs even more difficult for the Kentuckians who need them most.

I commend the members of the city commission for the money they have pledged and the support they have voiced for a new YMCA in downtown Frankfort. 

Although I can count the times of our lengthy discussions on the fingers of both hands, C. Michael Davenport and I were fifth cousins through his mom, Margaret "Maudie" Hockensmith.

Kentucky’s rural health care facilities are in crisis.

Each time it passes new legislation, Kentucky’s General Assembly has an opportunity to address barriers faced by Kentuckians of color and promote policies that allow all of us to thrive, or it can take steps that exacerbate disparities.

Both projects at the heart of this legislative edition of Liberty Boosters and Busters offer reminders of the costly, if unintended, consequences of government involvement in undertakings better left to the private sector.

As we approach the midpoint of the Kentucky General Assembly's 2020 Regular Session, legislators continue engaging with stakeholders, organizations and constituents who are making their way to Frankfort.

As we see the cost of groceries, insurance and other household expenses continue to go up each year, many families struggle to offset these additional costs. 

No one asks to be a crime victim. For many, the experience is the worst situation they will ever face. And for some, it is also their last.

In 2017, the City of Frankfort applied for and, in 2018, was awarded a U.S. Department of Transportation grant from the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program.

Throughout more than six decades of working with people — first as a pastor and now as a counselor — I have never grown tired of hearing people’s stories and walking with them as they map out the course of their lives.

At the start of a new decade, Frankfort is poised to make transformational changes. People can sense the possibilities, and suggestions from the public are flooding city government. 

Kentucky is a national anomaly. While most states are safely reducing their levels of incarceration, ours continues to surge.

Manufacturers and retailers who sell Juul and other brands of e-cigarettes, or “vapes,” wonder why health advocates won’t just leave them alone. We have at least three reasons: Kids, kids and kids.

It was a somewhat cool January, but things are beginning to heat up in Frankfort. The Kentucky General Assembly resumed its duties as members wrapped up week four of the 2020 Regular Session, bringing the first month of the new year to a close.

Regarding (“Frankfort Plant Board votes to resubmit Tanglewood reservoir plans,” Jan. 22), there are a number of troubling issues about the proposed reservoir replacement that concern me.

We are Ben Abell and Bree Pearsall, a husband-and-wife team running a mid-sized diversified farm in Oldham County.

The character of a community is defined as much by its built environment as the people who inhabit it. Though the strip development approaching Frankfort ties it to almost anywhere in the U.S., its downtown and residential districts as well as its rural beauty beyond the suburbs give it a ve…

So it looks like we will be getting a new YMCA sometime in the future. This is exciting news for our community and for all of us swimmers, cardio equipment users and group fitness class participants!

The compilation of complaints and suggestions made by local developers over past two years was sent to me and other magistrates dated Dec. 20 under cover letter of Danny Willis Kentucky Capital Development Corp. board chairman.

Kentucky’s economy is changing: This year, an estimated 60% of jobs will require post-secondary education. Accordingly, Kentucky has set an ambitious goal to graduate 60% of Kentuckians with a college credential by 2030.

Isn’t it an interesting phenomenon how some on the left care little about spending until the proposed program offers a piece that doesn’t fit their philosophical puzzle?

The Kentucky General Assembly wrapped up week two of the 2020 Regular Session. We have officially voted on two bills, and Frankfort is already buzzing.

In an article appearing in the Jan. 16 edition of The State Journal (“Griffith running for office again”), Frankfort City Commission candidate Shannon Griffith mistakenly implied that sex offenders staying at the ACCESS Men’s Shelter and Soup Kitchen pose a danger to Second Street School students. 

As 2020 came, many of us counted down with hopes that the new year would bring new experiences and new ways forward. Despite the calendar telling us it was 2020, Frankfort’s calendar still said 1990.

In U.S. Rep. Andy Barr’s recent State Journal column ("Guest columnist: Trump was impeached because Democrats don't like him," Jan. 2), he cleverly crafts a massive barrage of long, lawyerly arguments to make you believe that President Donald Trump is completely innocent in his handling of t…

In 2018, the General Assembly and Kentucky voters demonstrated their strong support for crime victims when they overwhelmingly adopted the Marsy’s Law constitutional amendment. Their intent was as clear as their message: “You deserve better, we support you, and your voice matters."