Two behavioral healthcare organizations that serve a combined 18 southern and western counties in Kentucky are merging.

Lifeskills, Inc. and the Pennyroyal Center announced the move Tuesday.

The new combined organization will continue to provide addiction treatment, mental health, and developmental disability services at all 26 service locations it currently operates.

Lifeskills President and CEO Joe Dan Beavers said the merger builds on years of informal partnerships between the two groups.

When Gov. Matt Bevin vetoed the pension bill that passed out of the legislature last month, he promised to call lawmakers back to Frankfort to do it all over again in a special legislative session before July 1.

But the timing of the yet-to-be-announced session is complicated, because state universities affected by the measure say they need clarity on whether they will face massive increases in the amount they have to contribute to the pension systems when they start writing their budgets on June 1.

A conservation group chose Earth Day, April 22, to announce the purchase of a massive property in Appalachian forest to protect habitat and help wildlife adapt to the challenges of climate change.

The property covers 100,000 acres of forest straddling the Kentucky-Tennessee border. The Nature Conservancy, the nonprofit that made the purchase, said it plans to restore forest health, lease land for sustainable forestry, and provide opportunities for locals to enjoy the wilderness.

Western Kentucky University is closing a program on campus that promotes Chinese language and culture. 

In an email to faculty and staff on Monday, WKU President Timothy Caboni announced the school is terminating its agreement with the Confucius Institute. 

The institute came to WKU in 2010 and helps place Chinese language teachers in local K-through-12 schools, while also serving as a hub for teacher training and curriculum development.

“Though activities will phase out over the next several weeks, we will continue our dialogue with key partners to work toward a solution that allows WKU to continue our programming,” Dr. Caboni said. “We hope to strengthen, deepen and broaden our relationships with partner institutions in China throughout this process.”

With about a month to go before Kentucky’s primary elections, all three major Democratic candidates for governor appeared together on stage for the first time on Thursday.

During a forum held by Louisville’s Rotary Club, candidates differed only slightly in their stances on a wide range of issues including preserving Kentucky’s Medicaid expansion, shoring up public education and allowing casino gambling to generate revenue for the state’s ailing pension systems.

U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell said he will introduce a bill raising the minimum age to buy cigarettes, vaping devices and other tobacco products from 18 to 21 across the country.

During a news conference in Louisville Thursday, McConnell said he will introduce the legislation in May.

“By raising the age you could legally purchase to 21, tobacco won’t be in most high schools, presenting fewer opportunities for children to get their hands on vaping devices,” McConnell said.