Even before the full impact of Hurricane Sandy is known, some Kentucky volunteers are on their way to lend a hand. The Bluegrass Chapter of the Red Cross has sent out six trained responders. Two of them are helping out in New York, one in New Jersey, and two others are being positioned in West Virginia.
The first shipment in a huge deal to export coal to India hasn’t yet left Appalachia. The deal was announced in August: Kentucky-based Booth Energy agreed to send up to nine million tons of coal a year to India for 25 years, at an estimated value of $7 billion. The first shipment was supposed to be on its way by the end of September.
For the first time, the state has official figures on how much money Kentuckians bet online or over the phone on horse races that take place in the commonwealth. State Senator Damon Thayer says about $47 million was wagered in the first half of the year.
Kentucky's agriculture commissioner says the state's four-year-old fuel and pesticide testing lab has not lived up to its initial billing. James Comer told members of the state's interim joint committee on agriculture that his predecessor, Richie Farmer, sold the fuel lab as a great investment and moneymaker for the commonwealth.
A public figure with extensive state and local government experience is among those people who will help Eastern Kentucky University find a new president. EKU President Doug Whitlock announced in August he would retire next summer.
