Alana Watson

New research suggests side-effects from the COVID-19 vaccine among south central Kentucky residents mirror the results of clinical trials conducted last year. 

A project by Bowling Green-based Med Center Health, Western Kentucky University, and the University of Kentucky College of Medicine - Bowling Green Campus was conducted through the Western Kentucky Heart and Lung/Med Center Health Research Foundation. 

Researchers wanted to see if the response to the vaccine in regional vaccine clinics matched the responses seen in patients during the clinical trials of the vaccinations last year.

The results of the study found that side-effects from the vaccine seen in ambulatory clinics did in fact mirror the side-effects seen in those trials. 

On June 19, hundreds of people gathered in Bowling Green to celebrate Juneteenth for the first time as a federal holiday. 

In January of 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. The proclamation declared “all persons held as slaves are and henceforward shall be free.” Unfortunately, this only applied to states that had seceded from the United States during the Civil War.

It wasn’t until June 19, 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, that the remaining enslaved people in Texas learned they were freed. Juneteenth marks that moment of history.

One of the many communities celebrating Juneteenth was Bowling Green. There were numerous free events, including block parties and concerts. The Bowling Green-based group “Essence in Harmony” sang at a local NAACP pre-Juneteenth event. Through the songs they sang, the group showcased what makes Juneteenth a different type of holiday than what we would normally see on Memorial Day or 4th of July. Those holidays celebrate a collective national history. 

In a letter sent to Governor Andy Beshear, seventeen Kentucky organizations are urging him to commit to keeping federal unemployment benefits that are set to expire in September.

Beshear has indicated that he would not pull Kentucky from the federal program, known as the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, that provides extra 300-dollar weekly payments for unemployed workers. 

Governors in Indiana, Tennessee, and Ohio have decided not to continue with the extra federal payments. 

The coalition of labor, health, education and community organizations say the benefits still serve as a critical role in recovering Kentucky’s economy. Some of those organizations include the Kentucky Equal Justice Center, Kentucky Voices for Health, Forward Kentucky, Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky, and the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy.

Kentucky’s workforce diversity is growing, but there are still significant incomes disparities between racial and ethnic groups, according to a new report by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE). 

Black, Asian, and Hispanic workers in the state earn less than white workers over a lifetime, even with an advance college degree. The Council’s president said that in some cases, minority workers need to work two lifetimes to match the income of a white peer. 

“These inequities betray our values as a state and diminish the hard work of too many Kentuckians,” said CPE President Aaron Thompson in a press release. “If we want to encourage college-going and build a workforce for the future, we need to make sure all workers receive the financial rewards that befit their education.”

Colleges and universities across the country recently celebrated graduates from the spring class of 2021. Those degree-holders are entering a job market that looks to be improving, given the wide availability of effective COVID-19 vaccines.

That’s very different from the job market seen by those who graduated last year, as an unchecked pandemic was wreaking havoc on the economy. Many graduates from the class of 2020 have had their job prospects curtailed by the pandemic and are still figuring out how to move forward. 

One class of 2020 graduate from Western Kentucky University has been focusing on the positives during what she called her unexpected hiatus. 

Roughly a million students attend college around the Ohio Valley, and the student-age population has an especially high rate of coronavirus infection. That’s why some public health advocates say schools should require that students be vaccinated. 

However, a review by the Ohio Valley ReSource found that of 400 colleges and universities in Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia, only three have indicated that they will mandate COVID-19 vaccinations this fall.

The age group with the highest share of COVID-19 infections is under 30. About a fifth of all U.S. cases have occurred in people ages 18 to 29. In late April the American College Health Association, an organization that works to improve the health of college students and college campuses, recommended that schools make COVID-19 immunization mandatory for students. 

A new all-inclusive playground that allows children with disabilities and special needs to play alongside their peers is now open to the public in Bowling Green.

The Play and Learn Village was created to allow children of all abilities to play together without any boundaries. Bowling Green Parks and Recreation partnered with the city of Bowling Green, PNC Bank, United Way, and the state of Kentucky to provide the community with the playground. 

The city’s parks and recreation director, Brent Belcher said the project has been in the works for the last 40 years. 

The village is wheelchair-accessible, sensory play, and playground equipment specifically for children with disabilities. Playground equipment supplier, PlayPros, helped designed the playground and provided accessible equipment.

Election reform efforts to expand ballot access made little headway around the Ohio Valley, as only one state in the region made voting easier, according to a voting rights expert. 

Several state governments around the nation are making major changes to voting laws following the 2020 presidential election.  

Kentucky is the only state in the Ohio Valley that passed significant voting changes. Lawmakers in the state passed a bipartisan election reform bill, House Bill 574, that made a few pandemic-era voting changes permanent, with some adjustments.

A left-leaning public policy group in Kentucky says a student loan debt plan from President Biden would have a huge impact on the state’s college graduates. 

A new analysis from the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy finds that 80 percent of Kentucky student loan borrowers could have all of their loans forgiven if a plan becomes a reality. 

Student loan forgiveness has been on Biden’s agenda since announcing his presidential bid. Because of the increased attention to the student debt crisis, the president is reportedly working to clarify his power to cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt. Originally, his goal was to cancel $10,000 in student loan debt.

The federal program known as the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) is resuming, and has been extended by the American Rescue Plan Act recently signed into law by President Joe Biden. 

Multiple state organizations report that the extension will significantly help Kentucky families and communities by providing extra nutrition assistance. The help comes at a time when one in four Kentucky children are suffering from food insecurity. 

Some families have already received their P-EBT payments, according to the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Distribution of those payments began on March 15, and will continue through June 25 to cover back payments. The payments will also cover October 2020 through the end of the current school year. 

When the first coronavirus cases were reported last year, Warren County, Kentucky, Jailer Stephen Harmon knew there was going to be a COVID-19 outbreak in his jail. It was just a matter of when.  

“We tried our best to keep it from happening,” he said. “However with this many people in a fairly small spot, we knew that that was going to happen at some point so we responded to it as best we could.” 

New cleaning regimens and masks helped the jail prevent an outbreak until December, when Harmon’s prediction came true. More than 300 inmates and about 45 staffers tested positive before the outbreak was contained.