Kentucky News Now – April 25th 2014

SEVERE WEATHER

Severe storms loom across central US this weekend

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A large section of the Midwest and South are at risk for strong tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and flash flooding this weekend.

The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., on Thursday advised residents to be aware that dangerous weather is on the way and to make sure that they can receive weather warnings during their weekend activities.

Strong upper-level winds are forecast to move in from the west and merge with moist air moving north from the Gulf of Mexico, creating conditions that are favorable for tornado development.

Large hail and rain of up to several inches are also expected.

The storms are forecast to start Saturday from Nebraska to Texas and move eastward through Monday.

KENTUCKY-FATAL HUNGER STRIKE

Inmate's starvation death sparks lawmakers' review

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky lawmaker is pledging to hold hearings on prison medical issues after an inmate at a maximum-security facility starved to death on a hunger strike.

State Rep. Brent Yonts, D-Greenville, said Thursday he will ask during committee hearings later this year for an explanation of the handling of 57-year-old James Kenneth Embry. Yonts also said he would look into prison funding, staffing and the hiring of medical personnel.

An Associated Press story this week revealed Embry's hunger strike and death in January at the Kentucky State Penitentiary. Administrators fired the prison's lead doctor, barred a contract nurse from working there and put two other medical staffers on leave while the state moves to dismiss them.

Authorities also began considering a criminal investigation after the AP asked about Embry's death.

DEMOCRATS-ENERGY POLITICS

Keystone XL pipeline part of larger Senate fight

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Alison Grimes is the latest Democratic Senate candidate to call for building the Keystone XL oil pipeline. But the move hasn't cost her support among some environmentalists as she tries to win the seat now held by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

That's because, according to one environmentalist, those groups want Democrats to be running the Senate rather than McConnell after the November elections.

Even as Grimes told The Associated Press this week that she supports building the pipeline from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast, a San Francisco-based Super Pac, CREDO, which opposes the pipeline project, said it will spend $500,000 in Kentucky aimed at unseating McConnell.

The dynamic reflects long-standing partisan divides between environmental groups that generally align with Democrats and energy interests that generally support Republicans.

UK-ALCOHOL

UK relaxing alcohol ban on campus

The University of Kentucky says it will relax its ban on alcohol to allow legal drinking at some places on the Lexington campus.

The school said Thursday it will revise the longstanding campus policy to allow alcohol consumption under guidelines and conditions that weren't specified. The school didn't immediately say where alcohol would be permitted.

UK President Eli Capilouto also says the school will extend its code of student conduct to places off campus.

Rowdy fans have swarmed streets near the UK campus after Final Four appearances by the Kentucky men's basketball team. Some fans set couches on fire in incidents that have been embarrassing for the university.

Capilouto says the university wants to strengthen its relationship with campus neighbors and the broader community.

WHITE-NOSE SYNDROME

Disease attacking bats is on the move

MAMMOTH CAVE, Ky. (AP) — The disease that has killed more than 6 million cave-dwelling bats in the United States is on the move, and wildlife biologists are worried.

At Mammoth Cave National Park in south-central Kentucky, a sign lets visitors know they will have to walk on bio-security mats after touring the largest known cave system in the world. Shoes must be scrubbed to help contain the spread of white-nose syndrome.

The disease was discovered in New York in 2006 and has spread to 25 states, as far south as near Atlanta, and five Canadian provinces.

In Tennessee and elsewhere, some caves are closed to the public.

Biologists don't believe the disease poses a health risk to humans, but some say the loss of bats could cost farmers and the economy billions of dollars.

KENTUCKY GOVERNOR'S RACE

Crit Luallen will not run for governor

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Former state Auditor Crit Luallen says she will not run for governor in 2015.

Luallen has been mentioned as a possible Democratic contender as Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear finishes his second term.

In a written statement, Luallen said Thursday she is passionate about Kentucky's future but decided not to run because it was the best decision for her family.

Luallen's decision could open the door for Attorney General Jack Conway, a Luallen ally, to seek the Democratic nomination. Current state Auditor Adam Edelen is also considering running for governor.

Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo has asked Democrats to delay their candidacies until after the November elections, in which Alison Lundergan Grimes is running for U.S. Senate and Democrats are trying to keep control of the state House of Representatives.

SOCIAL WORKER CHARGED

Former social worker faces May trial

(Information in the following story is from: Kentucky New Era, http://www.kentuckynewera.com )

HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A former social worker in western Kentucky faces a May trial on a charge of tampering with public records.

The Kentucky New Era reports a trial date of May 5 has been set for former Cabinet for Health and Family Services caseworker Donna M. Currey.

Currey handled investigations into the high-profile abuse cases of 9-year-old Amy Dye and 3-year-old Alayna Adair, both of whom were killed.

Dye's older adoptive brother faces a new trial in her slaying after the Kentucky Supreme Court overturned his conviction. Adair's father, Charles Timothy Morris, was convicted last year of murder in her death.

Currey quit her job in 2011 after being accused by a state official of falsifying records. She has pleaded not guilty to the felony charge.