Dan Modlin

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the State Department of Education, is promoting dialogue about the future of education in the Commonwealth. The business organization says the goal of creating a more highly-skilled workforce will depend upon the success of new education initiatives in the state.

Tennessee-based FedEx will offer buyouts to U.S. employees in an effort to cut costs in a troubled economy. Company officials indicate that the majority of those offered buyout packages will be staff employees at FedEx Express and FedEx Services. The Memphis-based company says it hasn't decided how many employees it needs to cut.

The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety is working with law enforcement agencies across Kentucky to kick off a new campaign aimed at getting impaired drivers off the road.  That campaign, which involves police at the statewide and local levels, will officially start August 17th and run through the end of the Labor Day weekend. Officials say drunk drivers will be targeted, as well as drivers who are impaired by drug abuse.

A report released by State Budget Director Mary Lassiter reveals that receipts from both the state's sales and income taxes declined in July. Lassiter says she still expects the state to meet projections of modest revenue growth over the remainder of the new fiscal year, despite declines in general fund revenue for three of the past four months.