Lexington, Kentucky News
Articles 71 - 80 of most recent articles
News briefs from around Kentucky at 5:58 a.m. EDT
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky authorities are considering individual global position devices for monitoring inmates and parolees out on home incarceration.The move comes as cash-strapped Kentucky government grapples with soaring prison costs and dwindling state revenues. Lawmakers earlier this year authorized state prison officials to begin looking for less costly alternatives to imprisonment, such as boosting participation in home incarceration for felons convicted of nonviolent and non-sexual crimes."We are definitely looking at using it in Kentucky," Justice Cabinet Secretary J. Michael Brown said of the GPS devices.Criminal justice experts from throughout the state got a firsthand presentation on the high-tech monitoring devices Monday.Under the plan, a portable GPS device would be strapped to an inmate on house arrest allowing authorities to track that person's every movement. The technology could notify authorities when a person had entered an off-limits area. Authorities could also get almost immediate notification if a user tampered with the device.
Kentucky.com – Aug 19, 2008 10:07 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky authorities are considering individual global position devices for monitoring inmates and parolees out on home incarceration.The move comes as cash-strapped Kentucky government grapples with soaring prison costs and dwindling state revenues. Lawmakers earlier this year authorized state prison officials to begin looking for less costly alternatives to imprisonment, such as boosting participation in home incarceration for felons convicted of nonviolent and non-sexual crimes."We are definitely looking at using it in Kentucky," Justice Cabinet Secretary J. Michael Brown said of the GPS devices.Criminal justice experts from throughout the state got a firsthand presentation on the high-tech monitoring devices Monday.Under the plan, a portable GPS device would be strapped to an inmate on house arrest allowing authorities to track that person's every movement. The technology could notify authorities when a person had entered an off-limits area. Authorities could also get almost immediate notification if a user tampered with the device.
Kentucky.com – Aug 19, 2008 10:07 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
Knox County audit referred to federal investigators
From millions of dollars in poorly documented spending to $4,144 in missing office furniture, auditors found a raft of problems in the two latest audits of the Knox County Fiscal Court. Shortcomings in record keeping and financial controls accounted for some problems, but other findings involve potential criminal, tax and ethics violations. State Auditor Crit Luallen's office referred findings from the audits to federal prosecutors, the Internal Revenue Service and the county attorney's office for possible further action. The audits reviewed spending by the county from July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2007. Luallen's office released the audits Monday. As with the three previous audits of the county, the latest two said there were so many accounting problems that there was a high risk of fraud in county spending and that auditors could not express an opinion on the county's financial activity.
Kentucky.com – Aug 19, 2008 07:00 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
From millions of dollars in poorly documented spending to $4,144 in missing office furniture, auditors found a raft of problems in the two latest audits of the Knox County Fiscal Court. Shortcomings in record keeping and financial controls accounted for some problems, but other findings involve potential criminal, tax and ethics violations. State Auditor Crit Luallen's office referred findings from the audits to federal prosecutors, the Internal Revenue Service and the county attorney's office for possible further action. The audits reviewed spending by the county from July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2007. Luallen's office released the audits Monday. As with the three previous audits of the county, the latest two said there were so many accounting problems that there was a high risk of fraud in county spending and that auditors could not express an opinion on the county's financial activity.
Kentucky.com – Aug 19, 2008 07:00 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
Police: New witness said Ragland threatened to kill DiGiuro
After Shane Ragland's murder conviction was overturned in 2006, a new witness came forward and said Ragland had told him that he planned to kill University of Kentucky football player Trent DiGiuro, the lead detective on the case testified Monday. That new detail emerged Monday morning during the first day of Ragland's wrongful-death civil trial in Fayette Circuit Court. DiGiuro's parents have sued Ragland over the 1994 shooting death of their son on Woodland Avenue. Ragland was not present on the first day of the civil trial, nor did he have any defense attorneys present. A judge has already ruled that Ragland is liable for the death because of his guilty plea to second-degree manslaughter last year. The trial will determine how much in damages DiGiuro's family is entitled to.
Kentucky.com – Aug 19, 2008 07:00 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
After Shane Ragland's murder conviction was overturned in 2006, a new witness came forward and said Ragland had told him that he planned to kill University of Kentucky football player Trent DiGiuro, the lead detective on the case testified Monday. That new detail emerged Monday morning during the first day of Ragland's wrongful-death civil trial in Fayette Circuit Court. DiGiuro's parents have sued Ragland over the 1994 shooting death of their son on Woodland Avenue. Ragland was not present on the first day of the civil trial, nor did he have any defense attorneys present. A judge has already ruled that Ragland is liable for the death because of his guilty plea to second-degree manslaughter last year. The trial will determine how much in damages DiGiuro's family is entitled to.
Kentucky.com – Aug 19, 2008 07:00 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
Appeals court upholds sentence of coal operator
Federal appeals judges have upheld the three-year prison sentence of an Eastern Kentucky coal operator who lied to insurance companies in order to get lower premiums. A three-judge panel of the United States 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the judgment against Harold K. Simpson in an order issued Monday. Simpson, who lives in Ewing, Va., but has operated underground coal mines in Perry, Bell and other Kentucky counties, pleaded guilty to mail fraud last year, admitting he told insurance carriers he had far fewer employees than he really did. That meant he paid less for workers' compensation coverage than he should have, because premiums are based largely on the number of employees.
Kentucky.com – Aug 19, 2008 07:00 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
Federal appeals judges have upheld the three-year prison sentence of an Eastern Kentucky coal operator who lied to insurance companies in order to get lower premiums. A three-judge panel of the United States 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the judgment against Harold K. Simpson in an order issued Monday. Simpson, who lives in Ewing, Va., but has operated underground coal mines in Perry, Bell and other Kentucky counties, pleaded guilty to mail fraud last year, admitting he told insurance carriers he had far fewer employees than he really did. That meant he paid less for workers' compensation coverage than he should have, because premiums are based largely on the number of employees.
Kentucky.com – Aug 19, 2008 07:00 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
Some inmates could be tracked by GPS devices
FRANKFORT . Kentucky authorities are considering individual global positioning devices for monitoring inmates and parolees out on home incarceration. The move comes as cash-strapped Kentucky government grapples with soaring prison costs and dwindling state revenues. Lawmakers earlier this year authorized state prison officials to begin looking for less costly alternatives to imprisonment, such as boosting participation in home incarceration for felons convicted of non-violent and non-sexual crimes. .We are definitely looking at using it in Kentucky,. Justice Cabinet Secretary J. Michael Brown said of the GPS devices. Criminal-justice experts from throughout the state got a firsthand presentation on the high-tech monitoring devices Monday.
Kentucky.com – Aug 19, 2008 05:50 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
FRANKFORT . Kentucky authorities are considering individual global positioning devices for monitoring inmates and parolees out on home incarceration. The move comes as cash-strapped Kentucky government grapples with soaring prison costs and dwindling state revenues. Lawmakers earlier this year authorized state prison officials to begin looking for less costly alternatives to imprisonment, such as boosting participation in home incarceration for felons convicted of non-violent and non-sexual crimes. .We are definitely looking at using it in Kentucky,. Justice Cabinet Secretary J. Michael Brown said of the GPS devices. Criminal-justice experts from throughout the state got a firsthand presentation on the high-tech monitoring devices Monday.
Kentucky.com – Aug 19, 2008 05:50 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
Colleges challenge rule on minorities, panel says
SHAKER VILLAGE AT PLEASANT HILL . A conflict has developed over a state regulation that measures the public universities' progress in meeting equal opportunity goals. Some universities want to change a regulation that governs the campuses' progress in increasing the number of black Kentuckians among administration, faculty and staff, said Sherron Jackson, an assistant vice president for equal employment opportunity and finance at the state Council on Higher Education. He declined to identify the universities. Jackson said some universities want to be able to count out-of-state blacks in the figures, which he said would be contrary to a regulation.
Kentucky.com – Aug 19, 2008 05:50 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
SHAKER VILLAGE AT PLEASANT HILL . A conflict has developed over a state regulation that measures the public universities' progress in meeting equal opportunity goals. Some universities want to change a regulation that governs the campuses' progress in increasing the number of black Kentuckians among administration, faculty and staff, said Sherron Jackson, an assistant vice president for equal employment opportunity and finance at the state Council on Higher Education. He declined to identify the universities. Jackson said some universities want to be able to count out-of-state blacks in the figures, which he said would be contrary to a regulation.
Kentucky.com – Aug 19, 2008 05:50 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
Repairsbenefited Nighbert property
FRANKFORT . About $226,000 in state money was spent in late 2006 improving remote one-lane roads in Washington County that lead to property owned by the brother of then-Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert. A few months later, Nighbert and his brother, Edwin, formed a company and bought another nearby parcel. The company, Double Buck LLC, was referenced in a recent FBI affidavit that laid out details of an alleged bid-rigging scheme in the Transportation Cabinet that involved Nighbert. The road improvements aren't the first upgrades that state agencies where Nighbert worked have tried to bring to the area. A former Anderson County water official accuses Nighbert of trying to use his political influence in 2004 to bring water service to the remote region that straddles the line between Washington and Anderson counties. At the time, Nighbert was deputy local government commissioner in then-Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration.
Kentucky.com – Aug 19, 2008 05:50 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
FRANKFORT . About $226,000 in state money was spent in late 2006 improving remote one-lane roads in Washington County that lead to property owned by the brother of then-Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert. A few months later, Nighbert and his brother, Edwin, formed a company and bought another nearby parcel. The company, Double Buck LLC, was referenced in a recent FBI affidavit that laid out details of an alleged bid-rigging scheme in the Transportation Cabinet that involved Nighbert. The road improvements aren't the first upgrades that state agencies where Nighbert worked have tried to bring to the area. A former Anderson County water official accuses Nighbert of trying to use his political influence in 2004 to bring water service to the remote region that straddles the line between Washington and Anderson counties. At the time, Nighbert was deputy local government commissioner in then-Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration.
Kentucky.com – Aug 19, 2008 05:50 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
State Games approach No. 25
The Bluegrass State Games have always been a place to see up-and-coming Kentucky athletes, such as sprinter Tyson Gay, who competed in the Olympics last week, and javelin thrower Dana Pounds, who just missed a trip to Beijing. Perhaps more important, the Games have also been a place for the rest of us . folks who think they just might be able to run, jump, ride a bike or throw a corn-hole bag a little better than their fellow Kentuckians. Organizers are making plans now for next year's 25th anniversary of the nation's second-oldest state Games, which are held each July and early August in Lexington. They will be making a presentation Tuesday to the Urban County Council, hoping to build interest in the anniversary Games and remind officials of the estimated $6.5 million in economic impact on Lexington from the event each year. Chairman Sam Dunn says it's bigger than the Sweet 16, and over the years has boosted Lexington's economy by more than $110 million.
Kentucky.com – Aug 19, 2008 05:50 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
The Bluegrass State Games have always been a place to see up-and-coming Kentucky athletes, such as sprinter Tyson Gay, who competed in the Olympics last week, and javelin thrower Dana Pounds, who just missed a trip to Beijing. Perhaps more important, the Games have also been a place for the rest of us . folks who think they just might be able to run, jump, ride a bike or throw a corn-hole bag a little better than their fellow Kentuckians. Organizers are making plans now for next year's 25th anniversary of the nation's second-oldest state Games, which are held each July and early August in Lexington. They will be making a presentation Tuesday to the Urban County Council, hoping to build interest in the anniversary Games and remind officials of the estimated $6.5 million in economic impact on Lexington from the event each year. Chairman Sam Dunn says it's bigger than the Sweet 16, and over the years has boosted Lexington's economy by more than $110 million.
Kentucky.com – Aug 19, 2008 05:50 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
Business Notes
Kentucky Bank of Kentucky Financial's dividend increases to 28 cents The Bank of Kentucky Financial Corp. has declared a semiannual cash dividend of 28 cents a share, payable Sept. 19 to shareholders of record on Sept. 5. The increase is 4 cents a share or 17 percent. The company is based in Crestview Hills and operates the Bank of Kentucky. Its stock trades over the counter as BKYF.OB. national
Kentucky.com – Aug 19, 2008 05:50 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
Kentucky Bank of Kentucky Financial's dividend increases to 28 cents The Bank of Kentucky Financial Corp. has declared a semiannual cash dividend of 28 cents a share, payable Sept. 19 to shareholders of record on Sept. 5. The increase is 4 cents a share or 17 percent. The company is based in Crestview Hills and operates the Bank of Kentucky. Its stock trades over the counter as BKYF.OB. national
Kentucky.com – Aug 19, 2008 05:50 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
Sheriff picks up wrong fugitive
MORGANTOWN . A sheriff in south-central Kentucky drove to California to pick up a fugitive, then found out after he got back that he had the wrong man. Butler County Sheriff Joe Gaddie and a deputy took the 4,100-mile trip to find a man named Joe Oros, who was wanted for fleeing and evading police and drunken driving. A man named Joe Oros was in prison in Tehachapi, Calif., awaiting release when a check showed an outstanding warrant in Kentucky. Officials notified Gaddie, who came and got him. But the Joe Oros whom Gaddie brought back this month wasn't the man he was looking for.
Kentucky.com – Aug 19, 2008 05:50 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
MORGANTOWN . A sheriff in south-central Kentucky drove to California to pick up a fugitive, then found out after he got back that he had the wrong man. Butler County Sheriff Joe Gaddie and a deputy took the 4,100-mile trip to find a man named Joe Oros, who was wanted for fleeing and evading police and drunken driving. A man named Joe Oros was in prison in Tehachapi, Calif., awaiting release when a check showed an outstanding warrant in Kentucky. Officials notified Gaddie, who came and got him. But the Joe Oros whom Gaddie brought back this month wasn't the man he was looking for.
Kentucky.com – Aug 19, 2008 05:50 AM [GMT] ¦ comment?
