By Lorie Hailey
Associate Editor
Later this month, Kentucky Utilities and Louisville Gas and Electric will ask the state Public Service Commission for permission to raise rates to pay for a series of generation and transmission upgrades made in recent years, reports the Lexington Herald Leader.
The proposal is the latest in a series of increases over the past couple of years. For KU customers, the proposal would amount to an increase of $82.4 million, or 6.5 percent. For a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours on average, a monthly bill would increase by $6.98, the paper reports.
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State Sen. Joey Pendleton of Hopkinsville wants to talk about industrial hemp, and he hopes the community will join in the discussion, reports the Lebanon Enterprise.
At 2 p.m. June 16, he will be giving a presentation about industrial hemp at the Marion County Extension Office. There will be a question and answer session after the presentation.
Pendleton has been urging the General Assembly to allow industrial hemp to be grown in Kentucky for several years, the paper reports.
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Union construction workers who had been working on Taylor Regional Hospital’s new surgical center went on strike Monday in Campbellsville, reports the Central Kentucky News Journal.
The strike should not delay the opening of the surgical center, set for Oct. 8, the hospital’s CEO told the newspaper.
The union workers are demanding the construction company, Wehr Constructors Inc., use all union carpenters.
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While hundreds of University of Kentucky staff are losing their jobs and positions are being eliminated, Marc Whitt, spokesperson for Eastern Kentucky University, said no EKU positions are being eliminated, reports the Richmond Register.
Although it is under a hiring freeze, EKU is simply is “not in that situation,” Whitt said, referring to layoffs and job cuts announced this week by UK.
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Morehead State University’s Board of Regents approved a $135.7 million operating budget, an increase of $200,000, for the 2012-13 academic year at its quarterly meeting on Thursday, reports the Ashland Daily Independent.
The budget also includes a 5 percent tuition increase for undergraduates and graduate students along with a 4 percent increase in student housing.
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