Kevin Willis

Lawmakers from both parties appear eager to make changes to Tennessee’s teacher evaluation system.

The system puts a heavy emphasis on student test scores. The new system was put in place as state leaders secured millions of dollars in funding from the federal “Race to the Top” program. The Tennessean newspaper reports nearly 20 bills have been filed by lawmakers to alter the evaluation system, despite calls from Governor Bill Haslam to leave it alone for now.

A judge has ruled that Kentucky's election filing deadline will be postponed one week while he decides the constitutionality of new legislative districts in the Commonwealth. 

Franklin County Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday afternoon, hours before the original deadlines for legislative hopefuls to file candidacy papers.

According to a press release from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), a dive team working for KYTC is examining three piers of the U.S. 68/KY 80 bridge over Kentucky Lake to detect any critical shifting of the pier substructure. The inspection area includes Pier 6, which may have shifted when a cargo vessel crashed into the 80-year-old bridge Thursday night, ripping away a 322-foot span of the bridge. 

A decision could be near concerning the final design revisions to the downtown convention center planned for Owensboro. The Messenger-Inquirer reports two panels that will ultimately approve plans for the new center are meeting Tuesday at Owensboro’s City Hall.

Republican Presidential Candidate Newt Gingrich has filed papers to run in the Kentucky GOP Primary on May 22nd. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney qualified for the contest last week. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama has filed papers to be on the ballot for Kentucky’s Democratic Primary. The President, however, is not going to be opposed.