Kentucky News Now – June 11th 2014

KENTUCKY REVENUE SHORTFALL

Kentucky officials expect budget shortfall

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky officials said Tuesday the state will likely end the 2014 fiscal year with a multimillion-dollar shortfall.

Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear will have to make budget cuts to balance the budget. House budget chairman Rep. Rick Rand said the governor would likely not call the legislature back for a special session.

State officials won't know the size of the shortfall until next month. But with state revenues falling 2.1 percent in May, Kentucky would need an 11.7 percent increase in June to avoid a shortfall. The fiscal year ends June 30.

State Budget Director Jane Driskell blamed the shortfall on individual income tax collections. The state's largest source of revenue has grown by 0.5 percent this year. State officials expected it to grow by 2.4 percent.

KENTUCKY-PENSION

Pension board to discuss bankruptcy ruling

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Retirement System board of trustees will have a private meeting Wednesday to discuss a recent bankruptcy ruling that could threaten the financial future of the system and its more than 300,000 participants.

A federal bankruptcy judge ruled last month that Seven Counties, a private community mental health center that has filed for bankruptcy, is free to leave the Kentucky Employees Retirement System. State officials fear the decision will allow other community mental health centers to also leave the system and require taxpayers to cover the cost.

The Kentucky Employees Retirement System is the worst-funded major public pension system in the country, according to Fitch Ratings. It has an unfunded liability of $17.1 billion.

CIVIL RIGHTS NOMINATIONS

Nominations sought for Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Commission on Human Rights is seeking nominations for the 2014 Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame.

The deadline for nominations is July 15. The commission says it’s a chance for people to nominate one or more individuals for their work in advancing civil and human rights. The commission is planning the induction ceremony for this October.

The nomination form and instructions can be found at the top of the commission’s website at http://www.kchr.ky.gov.

The Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame was established in 2000 to recognize men and women who have been leaders in the struggle for equality and justice in the state.

UPS-DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT

8 UPS employees claim racial discrimination

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A group of eight current and former employees of United Parcel Service in Kentucky have sued the company saying they faced racial discrimination, poor treatment based on race and retaliation after they complained.

The men also contend an effigy of a black UPS employee hung from the ceiling outside the manager's office for four days.

The suit, filed Friday in Fayette County Circuit Court in Lexington, names three managers and the company as defendants.

A message left for a UPS spokesman was not immediately returned Tuesday.

The men say they were punished more severely than white employees for "alleged workplace infractions." Two of the employees were fired; two others resigned, which the lawsuit says constitutes "constructive discharge."

The men are seeking unspecified damages from Atlanta-based UPS.

FIREFIGHTER CHALLENGE

Firefighters to compete in Lexington event

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Firefighters from across the country will be in Kentucky this weekend for strength and skills competitions.

The Firefighter Combat Challenge simulates real-life firefighting with races and other tasks, including climbing a five-story tower and rescuing a 175-pound victim. Firefighters will be wearing their full gear and breathing equipment during the competition.

The event at the Hilton Suites in Lexington is sponsored by the Kentucky Fire Commission. It begins Saturday. More than 250 competitors have signed up for the two-day challenge.

Kentucky Fire Commission Executive Director Ronnie Day says the events will give the public a chance to see the physical demands of the job.

UK-DINING SERVICES

UK looks to shift dining services to company

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — The University of Kentucky is poised to sign a contract providing it with tens of millions of dollars in new dining areas and other perks in return for hiring a company to handle its dining services.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports the proposed 15-year contract with Aramark would guarantee about $245 million in buildings, renovations and commissions to UK. The deal would lower dining prices for students.

Outsourcing UK's dining services came up when it became clear a private developer building dorms on campus would not build commensurate dining services. That led UK to search for a company big enough to take on new construction in return for its food business.

UK officials say all current dining employees will continue to be employed as long as they want to work for Aramark.

SOUTHERN BAPTISTS

Arkansas pastor is new Southern Baptist president

BALTIMORE (AP) — An Arkansas megachurch pastor was elected Tuesday to lead the country's Southern Baptists. The Rev. Ronnie Floyd got 52 percent of votes to beat the Rev. Dennis Kim, pastor of a bilingual Korean church in Maryland.

The election comes as the conservative denomination tries to turn around declining membership, church attendance and baptisms. It also faces increasing conflict with mainstream culture, especially over its conviction that gay sex is immoral.

Also on Tuesday, the nation's largest Protestant denomination approved a resolution opposing the idea that gender identity can be different from biological sex.

The group declined to consider a motion made from the floor by one delegate asking that a Southern California church be disciplined for perceived support of homosexuality. Denomination officials ruled the motion out of order.

WHISKEY WARS

Tenn. drops investigation into Diageo storage case

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Alcohol regulators have abruptly ended their investigation into whether liquor giant Diageo violated state laws by storing whiskey made in Tennessee in neighboring Kentucky.

Assistant Attorney General Kyle Hixson said in federal court in Nashville on Tuesday that the state would not pursue penalties against Diageo subsidiary George Dickel after hearing testimony from master distiller John Lunn, who said about 16,000 barrels of non-branded whiskey had been shipped to Kentucky in the previous five years because of a warehouse shortage at the distillery.

Hixson declined to elaborate about the reasons for dropping the investigation. Diageo attorneys, who argued the storage law violates interstate commerce protections, said he wants the state to agree not to seek penalties against Dickel if it has to send whiskey out of state in the future.

KENTUCKY SENATE-GRIMES COAL

Report: Grimes did not talk coal in DC speech

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes did not mention coal in a speech at a Washington fundraiser with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, according to a recording obtained by Politico.

Grimes' campaign said last week she planned to use the event to demand the Senate take action to invest in clean coal technology. But when she did not mention coal in her speech, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell's campaign questioned Grimes' commitment to the coal industry.

Grimes campaign spokeswoman Charly Norton said Grimes did not break her promise because she spoke to Reid privately about the issue. Reid said in a statement that Grimes has spoken with him many times about her opposition to the Environmental Protection Agency's new emission standards for coal-fired power plants.

MUHAMMAD ALI-CONCERT

Ali concert to mark 40 years since Foreman fight

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Muhammad Ali is renewing his ties with the Democratic Repub;lic of Congo, the African country where he won his epic "Rumble in the Jungle" fight against George Foreman 40 years ago.

The museum and cultural center that bears Ali's name announced plans Tuesday for a Sept. 20 benefit concert featuring Grammy winning singer Bruno Mars.

The show will be in Ali's hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, and will air via satellite in the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of a weeklong music, sporting and cultural festival called CONGO14.

A concert in Kinshasa will take place in the same stadium where Ali defeated Foreman to reclaim the heavyweight boxing title.

Ali says in a news release that he hopes CONGO14 will support growth and harmony in the African country and beyond.