Kentucky News Now

TOBACCO SETTLEMENT

No grace period for retailers to sell banned cigarettes

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Retailers will not have a 60-day grace period to sell tobacco products from companies that have been banned by the state for failing to pay taxes.

Retailers had asked for the grace period because they said it was unfair for them to have to take a loss on products they had already paid for. But the attorney general's office warned the grace period could be viewed as not complying with the terms of a settlement agreement reached with some of the nation's largest tobacco companies.

If that happened, Kentucky could lose its annual payments of more than $100 million - money used for various public health and early childhood education programs.

Kentucky nearly lost the payments in a legal dispute with tobacco companies that was resolved last year.

CHARITABLE GAMBLING

Lawmakers OK electronic pull tab games for charities

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — People could gamble with an electronic version of the popular paper pull tab game under a bill that cleared the state legislature on Wednesday.

The bill would let Kentucky charities use an electronic version of the game played on tablet-like devices. The game emulates slot machines in that players try to reveal patterns that match a cash prize. It will become law if Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear signs it.

Kentucky's charitable gambling revenue has declined nearly 40 percent in the last decade. Charities asked for the legislation because they hope it will attract younger players.

Virginia legalized electronic pull tab games in 2011. In 2014, the games brought in an extra $213 million in state revenue.

Paper pull tab games account for about 74 percent of all charitable gambling revenue in Kentucky.

SCHOOL SNOW DAYS

Proposal relaxing school attendance laws clears House

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky lawmakers are advancing legislation that would relax school attendance laws due to widespread school closures caused by winter storms.

The proposal was attached to an education bill that cleared the House on Wednesday. The measure heads to the Senate for consideration.

Under the proposal, school districts unable to reach the threshold of 1,062 instructional hours for the school term by June 5 — even after maximizing instructional time — could seek a waiver from the state education commissioner. That action would waive the remaining required hours.

Supporters said it recognizes hardships for some districts in dealing with recent snowstorms. Education officials say some eastern Kentucky districts have missed more than 20 days this year.

Critics say the plan will deprive affected students of important instructional time.

DOG FIGHTING

Kentucky House votes to toughen laws against dog fighting

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A proposal to strengthen Kentucky's laws against dog fighting has picked up some late momentum by winning approval in the state House.

The House on Wednesday attached the anti-dog fighting proposal to another bill dealing with bees. The combined bill cleared the House on a 75-13 vote and goes back to the Senate for consideration.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo has pushed for tougher laws against dog fighting.

The House-passed language would expand the crime of animal cruelty to include people who own, possess, breed, train or sell "four-legged animals" for fighting purposes.

Supporters of the language say Kentucky is the only state without such a law. As a result, they say Kentucky has become a haven for people who breed and train fighting dogs.

BREEDERS' CUP

Lawmakers approve tax break for Breeders' Cup

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Lexington's Keeneland racetrack will get a tax break from the state for hosting the Breeders' Cup this fall.

The state Senate gave final approval to the bill on Wednesday, and a spokeswoman for Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear says he will sign it.

The bill would exempt the racetrack from the state's excise tax on pari-mutuel wagering. The exemption would cost the state about $1 million in tax revenue. But supporters say the two-day event will generate more than that with spending from tourists.

The Breeders' Cup is returning to Kentucky for the first time since 2011. Louisville's Churchill Downs has been a frequent host. But this will be Keeneland's first time hosting the horse racing championship.

ADDICTION MEDICATION

Federal lawsuit filed over access to addiction medication

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A federal lawsuit says Kentucky is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act because it prohibits drug addicts from taking medication for their addiction while they are out of jail on bond.

The Kentucky Enquirer reports Stephanie Watson filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Pikeville.

The suit names the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts, which runs the Monitored Conditional Release program that forbids those arrested and released on bond from taking drugs such as methadone and Suboxone, even though they have a prescription.

The Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts spokeswoman Leigh Anne Hiatt said on Tuesday that the office hasn't been served with the complaint and declined further comment.

Watson's lawyers say the outcome of the case could affect "thousands" of people in Kentucky's court system.

CRASH-OFFICER KILLED

Police officer killed in central Kentucky car crash

LANCASTER, Ky. (AP) — A central Kentucky police officer has died in a highway crash that also left four other people injured.

Kentucky State Police say 35-year-old Nicholasville police officer Burke Rhoads was killed Wednesday morning on U.S. 27 in Garrard County.

Police said Rhoads was involved in a three-vehicle collision. State police said a car pulling onto the highway hit Rhoads' cruiser, and Rhoads traveled into the oncoming lane and collided with a sport-utility vehicle. Four people were taken to area hospitals with injuries that police said didn't appear to be life-threatening.

Sgt. Scott Harvey with the Nicholasville department said Rhoads was an eight-year veteran of the department and was headed to training in Richmond when the crash happened.

Survivors include his wife and three children.

ALPHA NATURAL RESOURCES-BUILDING

Alpha Natural Resources' Va. headquarters building sold

BRISTOL, Va. (AP) — Alpha Natural Resources' corporate headquarters building in Bristol has been sold.

Developer Steve Johnson says the building was sold for $28 million to a limited liability company.

Johnson told the Bristol Herald Courier that the buyer is a publicly traded company in Kuwait that specializes in oil and gas.

According to a statement from a New York-based commercial real estate investment services firm, the all-cash deal closed in 21 days. The deed was filed Feb. 21.

Johnson said Alpha has a 25-year lease on the building. The remaining 22 years on the lease was inherited by the new owner.

In 2011, Alpha moved its headquarters from Abingdon to Bristol and the 130,000-square-foot building on a 31-acre bluff.

Alpha runs coal operations in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Wyoming.