Former Kentucky Tourism Commissioner Mike Cooper of Lexington was found in violation of the state ethics code Monday for misusing state resources for his own financial gain, the Lexington Herald Leader reports.
In a settlement agreement with the Executive Branch Ethics Commission, Cooper admitted that he traveled to London, England, without notice or prior approval of his agency, and that he participated in events organized by a company that had a $179,900-a-year contract to promote Kentucky tourism in the United Kingdom, the paper says.
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Kentucky and Indiana will provide $20 million to help increase public bus service in the Louisville area to help ease the unequal impact of bridge tolls on minority and low-income residents, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports.
Federal officials ordered the investment last month after a study found that placing tolls of $1 or more on two new Ohio River bridges would be roughly twice as burdensome on minorities and the poor.
A survey of more than 500 Louisville-area households in five counties found that, based on their incomes, the cost of each river crossing — including tolls and vehicle expenses — would jump 21 percent to $8.16 for residents from high-poverty areas such as those mostly clustered in western Louisville and pockets of Southern Indiana, the paper says.
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The Better Business Bureau of Central & Eastern Kentucky is warning about a text message promising a free gift card that is hitting cell phones throughout the area, the Richmond Register reports.
Calls have flooded BBB phone lines from people who got the texts, which say they can “claim” their “Free Target Gift Card” worth $500 to $1,000. This message is not from Target stores, according to the BBB.
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Gov. Steve Beshear on Monday signed into law a bill designed to spur job creation and significant investments in Kentucky’s automotive and parts manufacturing facilities.
Kentucky is home to 440 automotive-related industries that employ 68,100 people. Additionally, Kentucky ranks third highest in auto industry-related employment as a percent of total state employment among the top motor vehicle producing states in the United States.
Filed by Rep. Larry Clark of Louisville, House Bill 400 amends the 2007 Kentucky Jobs Retention Act (KJRA) to allow manufacturers engaged in automobile, automobile parts, or automobile supplies manufacturing to seek incentives regardless of location in the state.
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The owners of a Grayson auto dealership have filed a $12 million federal lawsuit against Nissan North America, the Ashland Daily Independent reports.
In the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Ashland, Kentucky Automotive Center of Grayson LLC alleges Nissan thwarted its attempt to purchase a bankrupt Ashland auto dealership.
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Some of Somerset’s key commercial development spots and established businesses stand to benefit from last week’s landmark alcohol vote, the Commonwealth Journal reports.
Interest in locating in Somerset has picked up considerable since voters opted to go “wet” this past week, allowing the sale of alcohol by the drink in restaurants and in packages in retail stores, according to some developers, the paper says.
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