Kentucky News Now – June 6th 2014

RAND PAUL-2016

Paul weighing dual run for White House, Senate

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul says a state law preventing candidates from having their names appear more than once on the ballot won't deter him from staging dual campaigns for Senate re-election and president — if he decides to make a bid for the White House in 2016.

Paul told The Associated Press on Thursday he's still discussing with his family on whether to enter the presidential race.

But he insisted the Kentucky ballot law won't be an obstacle. The Republican with significant tea party support kept open the option of mounting a court challenge seeking to have his name on the Kentucky ballot for both races.

Legislation aimed at letting Paul run for both offices passed the GOP-led state Senate this year, but died in the Democratic-run House.

GREEN BUILDING SUMMIT

University to host green building summit

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky U.S. Green Building Council is hosting a summit in Louisville later this month on energy efficiency in construction.

The June 25 summit will be held at the University of Louisville's Clinical and Translational Research Building in the downtown area.

Speakers will include Rick Fedrizzi, the president and founding chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council, along with Roger McClendon, chief sustainability officer for Yum Brands and builder Carey Smith.

Fedrizzi will speak on the success of the global green building movement.

Fedrizzi will also preside at a ceremony to celebrate the LEED certification of U of L's The Nucleus Building, a new downtown structure.

SCENIC DRIVE CLOSED

Bike race closing scenic drive for the day

GOLDEN POND, Ky. (AP) — A bike race in western Kentucky will close the Kentucky Lake Scenic Drive to through traffic for most of the day on Sunday.

Land Between The Lakes says the annual White Lightning Mountain Bike Race will cover 11 miles of varied terrain along Canal Loop Trail at the northern tip of the national recreation area. Race lengths vary from 2 miles to 33 miles.

Barricades will be in place for the duration of the race, and the road will be closed to through traffic from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. CDT.

For more information, visit http://www.lbl.org.

AIRPORT GRANT

Cynthiana-Harrison County Airport getting grant

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Cynthiana-Harrison County Airport will be getting some safety improvements with the help of a $1 million grant.

Gov. Steve Beshear announced the grant Thursday. It comes from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Department of Aviation.

The plan is to use it for grade work for a new taxiway parallel to the runway. The taxiway will give airplanes a way to exit the runway and taxi back to parking.

The taxiway is expected to be finished by 2015.

MARINE SEX ASSAULT-OVERTURNED

Marine's sex assault conviction overturned

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A military appeals court says the Marine Corps' highest-ranking officer illegally influenced a jury with a series of talks about cracking down on sex assault cases and has overturned the conviction of an enlisted man.

In its May 22 ruling, the U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals says commandant Gen. James Amos' push against sexual assault was unlawful command influence. The court set aside the 19-year sentence at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, handed down to Staff Sgt. Stephen P. Howell in October. He was convicted in a South Carolina military court of rape and other charges against a Lexington woman.

The ruling comes as the military and Congress seek to crack down on sexual assaults in the ranks. In Amos' 2012 remarks, he said court-martial panels were becoming soft on such cases.

TEACHER CHARGED

Former teacher facing child porn charges

HARLAN, Ky. (AP) — A grand jury has indicted a former eastern Kentucky teacher on child porn charges.

Media report 42-year-old Kevin Crider of Evarts was indicted on 38 counts of distributing obscene material, 17 counts of distributing matter portraying a sex performance by a minor, and other similar charges.

Kentucky State Police said they arrested Crider on Tuesday after presenting evidence to the grand jury on Monday. Police say the charges stem from allegations that Crider was having inappropriate communications with students.

He resigned from the Harlan Independent School District in February.

Online jail records don't indicate whether Crider has an attorney.