impact
Louisville Changes Public Nuisance Enforcement After KyCIR Investigation
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Codes officials will no longer issue premature violations or encourage landlords to evict their tenants to avoid hefty fines.
asset forfeiture
Bill To Strengthen Asset Forfeiture Reporting, Penalties Advances In Ky. Legislature
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A bill that would penalize law enforcement agencies that fail to report how much cash and property they seize through asset forfeiture is moving through the state legislature.
Interim U of L Exec, Fired From Last Job, Hired Permanently
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As KyCIR previously reported, David Parrott took the interim job after being fired from the University of Florida following an investigation into misuse of funds.
This Fired Ky. State Worker Wasn’t A Beshear Donor. Her Replacement Is
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The executive director was fired without the approval from the infrastructure authority’s board, contrary to the bylaws and the board’s past practice, and replaced with someone who has ties to Beshear but little experience in water infrastructure systems.
These Jail Officials Have Second Jobs — As Jail Vendors
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At first glance, Montgomery County Jailer Eric Jones’ side gig as a partner in Kellwell Commissary LLC doesn’t look like a conflict.
The jail Jones was elected to manage, about 35 miles east of Lexington, runs its own canteen. It doesn’t do business with Kellwell Commissary. But a closer look reveals that his business partners are the same people who operate Kellwell Food Management, which has provided food services for the jail since Jones first became jailer in 2011. Jones executed that contract with Kellwell Food Management without getting the county fiscal court approval required by law. In 2016, the food company’s owners launched their new commissary business.
Government
How Kentucky Jailers Profit From Selling E-Cigarettes To Inmates
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Elected Kentucky jailers have capitalized on the e-cigarette boom by forming companies that sell vaping products to inmates in other jails or by handing lucrative business in their own facilities to friends and family, KyCIR and ProPublica have found.
Fatal Flaws
Beshear Reinstates Worker Safety Board Bevin Dissolved
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Gov. Andy Beshear announced Friday that he has reinstated the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, which former Gov. Matt Bevin abolished in July 2018. “This is just one step that we are going to take to make sure that when our Kentuckians leave their family in the morning and head to work, it’s in the safest environment possible and that they know that they’ve got a state government that is looking out for their safety,” Beshear told KyCIR. The OSH Standards Board is responsible for adopting, modifying or suspending the state’s worker safety regulations. As a state-run OSHA plan, Kentucky’s worker safety regulations must be “as effective as” the federal standards. The board is chaired by Labor Secretary Larry Roberts.
Criminal Justice
For Louisville Offenders And Victims Alike, A New Label: ‘Public Nuisance’
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Louisville’s public nuisance ordinance is intended to provide a way to bust up drug houses and crime dens. But police and code enforcement officials have been increasingly focused on residential locations where crimes are reported — regardless of whether the victim or the offender lives there.
Government
After Rare Enforcement Action, Fixes Underway at Problem Kentucky Dam
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The Loch Mary dam was featured in a recent KyCIR investigation which found dozens of dangerous dams with no emergency action plan.
Business
Former Workers Say Ky. State Fair’s Ride Provider Lacks Safety Training
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Something went wrong with the Fireball ride at the 2018 Kentucky State Fair, and ride operator Duanne Haywood went underneath. Within minutes, Haywood was pinned. His was one of 19 worker injuries the ride company reported last year.
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