Kentucky now has its own chapter of the Legal Marketing Association (LMA), a professional organization that claims more than 3,100 members from across the United States and 11 other countries. “The legal marketing professional’s responsibility has changed significantly over the past decade,” said Mary C. Hendrix, president of the Kentucky chapter and director of business development for Greenebaum Doll & McDonald PLLC. “Once relegated to event coordination, advertisements and company information packages, the job has expanded to include competitive intelligence, industry analysis and one-on-one sales coaching.”
A national assessment of adult literacy released recently shows that literacy levels of Kentucky adults have improved while nationwide levels have held steady. According to The National Assessment of Adult Literacy: Indirect County and State Estimates of the Percentage of Adults at the Lowest Literacy Level for 1992 and 2003, the percent of Kentucky population lacking basic prose literacy skills improved seven percentage points from 19 percent in 1992 to 12 percent in 2003. In 2003, 21 other states had a higher percent of population lacking basic literacy skills than Kentucky, compared to five states in 1992.
The Kentucky Cattlemen’s Foundation Inc. has been approved for $1 million in Kentucky agricultural development funds to create a large/food animal veterinary incentive program to support licensed veterinarian/technicians practicing large/food animal medicine in the commonwealth. The program will provide approved recipients with $6,000 per year for a maximum of three years or $18,000 of the students’ veterinary college loans.
The Council on Postsecondary Education has approved 2009-10 tuition and mandatory fee ceilings for resident undergraduates at the state’s public colleges and universities. The tuition ceiling at the Kentucky Community and Technical College System was set at 3 percent and the state’s six comprehensive institutions will be allowed to increase tuition up to 4 percent, while the tuition cap for the two research institutions – the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville – was set at 5 percent. The CPE said the tiered approach reflects the different cost structures associated with the different missions of the three sectors.
The state has launched a new initiative designed to help citizens age 50 and older become more technologically literate. “Making Age an Asset in Your Job Search” is a new six-week, online course offered by the Kentucky Community and Technical College System that teaches workers how to tailor their resumes to each job application and network in the digital age. The cost of the course is $42. Registration and information is available at ed2go.com/workafter50.
Gov. Steve Beshear has signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor that gives Kentuckians drawing unemployment insurance benefits an additional $25 per week. The agreement provides money through the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act, which passed as part of the federal economic stimulus package. Under the act, Kentucky receives federal funds to increase both regular and extended unemployment benefits by $25 per week through June 30, 2010.
Kentucky’s seasonally adjusted preliminary unemployment rate for January 2009 climbed to a 22-year high 8.7 percent from December 2008’s revised 7.6 percent. Extended shutdowns at manufacturing plants combined with numerous layoffs and plant closings led to a 10,300 decrease in industrial employment. The January unemployment rate was the highest in Kentucky since the 8.9 percent jobless rate recorded in March 1987.
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