Kentucky News Now – February 27th 2014

BLUEGRASS PIPELINE

House panel votes against pipeline land grabs

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A House committee has passed legislation that would bar private natural gas liquid companies from using eminent domain laws to acquire property.

Landowners from across Kentucky testified to the committee Wednesday that they have been harassed by companies involved in the Bluegrass Pipeline project and been threatened that the state's eminent domain laws would be used to seize their land if they refuse to sell.

Gov. Steve Beshear has said he would welcome the legal clarification.

A statement released from the Bluegrass Pipeline public relations team, RunSwitch PR, maintained that singling out natural gas liquid pipelines for exclusion from eminent domain laws is unnecessary.

The bill passed from the committee Wednesday on an 11-1 vote.

BAPTISTS-HIRING GAYS

Baptists say Sunrise homes short on funding

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Baptist Convention is starting a $5 million fundraising drive for the state's largest private child care agency.

Executive Director Paul Chitwood says Sunrise Children's Services, which is affiliated with the Baptist church, lost donations after the departure of its longtime CEO last year. Bill Smithwick resigned in December after floating a proposal that the agency open its employment to gays. The change was rejected by Sunrise's board.

Chitwood says "funding streams were severely damaged during the last three months of 2013." He said many donors did not give because they were unsure of Sunrise's future, and others withdrew donations in protest.

Chitwood says the agency has a funding gap of about $7.5 million. He is asking the state's 2,400 Baptist churches to raise about $2,000 each.

ALI-TWITTER

Muhammad Ali floats, stings and now tweets

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Before Cassius Clay fought Sonny Liston for the world heavyweight title, the Louisville boxer said he could "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." Fifty years later, Muhammad Ali is using another winged creature, the blue Twitter bird, to reach his fans.

The @Muhammad Ali social media account now has a blue checkmark, meaning Twitter has verified Ali is behind the posts. The Courier-Journal (http://cjky.it/1cR9LI1) says the account has been around since 2010 but previous posts were old Ali quotes, noted career anniversaries and posted news about Ali.

On Tuesday, the 50th anniversary of his fight with Liston, the account posted "I shook up the world against Liston, now 50 years later I'm taking it to Twitter."

The post was marked with #AliTweet. The account description says tweets "Originating from The Champ Himself" are marked with that hashtag.

GAY MARRIAGE-KENTUCKY

Final order expected in Ky. same-sex marriage case

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Attorneys for gay couples seeking formal recognition of their out-of-state marriages say a federal judge is expected to sign a final order in the case by the end of the week.

U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II earlier this month threw part of the state's ban on gay marriages. The ruling only applies to couples married in other states or countries.

A final order would mean same-sex couples may change their names on official identifications and documents and obtain any other benefits of a married couple in Kentucky. But Heyburn's ruling doesn't affect a related lawsuit seeking to force the state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

The Kentucky attorney general's office has not sought to delay the ruling as of Wednesday afternoon.

DEADLY STANDOFF

Police fatally shoot man involved in standoff

SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky State Police say a Shelby County man is dead after firing at officers during a standoff.

A police statement says officers with the Shelbyville Police Department were attempting to serve a warrant on they man Tuesday at a residence, but he met them at the door with a long gun.

City officers requested backup from state police, who established a perimeter around the scene and evacuated nearby homes.

The statement says negotiators spoke to the man by phone in an effort to resolve the situation peacefully, but when officers attempted entry, the man fired numerous times. Police said officers returned fire, killing the subject.

No names were released. State police says an investigation into the shooting continues.