Kentucky News Now – May 22nd 2014

Ag Department hires new apiarist

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A nationally known beekeeping authority and author has been hired as Kentucky's new state apiarist.

State Agriculture Commissioner James Comer says Tammy Horn of Lexington will join the Agriculture Department on June 1.

Horn currently serves as senior researcher and apiculturist in the Center for Economic Development, Entrepreneurship and Technology at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond. She is also director of Coal Country Beeworks, a project affiliated with EKU that develops pollinator habitat on surface mine sites. The Agriculture Department says she will continue her collaboration with EKU through the school's regional stewardship initiatives.

Horn was born in Harlan County and was introduced to beekeeping by her grandfather.

Dino skeleton to go on display at Creation Museum

PETERSBURG, Ky. (AP) — A new exhibit at the Creation Museum opening this weekend will feature a 30-foot-long fossil skeleton of an Allosaurus, which resembles a Tyrannosaurus rex.

A release from Answers in Genesis, the Christian ministry that owns the museum, says about 50 percent of the skeleton's bones were recovered when it was found in Colorado.

Keeping with its Bible-themed approach, the Creation Museum says the dinosaur died in a worldwide flood about 4,300 years ago. Scientists say the last dinosaurs roamed the earth more than 60 million years ago.

The new exhibit is called "Facing the Allosaurus," to help draw attention to the preserved skull. It opens Saturday.

The Allosaurus, with an almost fully preserved skull, was donated to the museum by the Elizabeth Streb Peroutka Foundation.

Proposed update to transportation plan available

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A proposed update to Kentucky's long-range transportation plan is available for public review.

The draft updates the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's 2006 long-range plan and was developed with help from more than 16,000 public survey responses.

The cabinet says the draft plan's goals include more emphasis on longer-lasting investments, use of emerging technologies to improve operation, responsiveness to needs of a growing population and its demographics, steadily increasing highway safety and innovation in raising revenues.

The proposal can be found at http://yourturn.transportation.ky.gov/ , and comments may be made in a survey available at the same site through June 23. Hard copies of the draft plan and survey are also available at Highway District offices, Area Development District offices, Metropolitan Planning Organization offices and the cabinet office building in Frankfort.

Unilever sells Ragu brand for $2.15 billion

AMSTERDAM (AP) — Unilever PLC says it has agreed to sell ownership of its Ragu and Bertolli brand sauces in North America to Japan's Mizkan Group for $2.15 billion.

Ragu is the best-selling pasta sauce in the United States. Unilever said in a statement Thursday the two businesses have combined annual sales of $600 million.

The deal includes ownership of two factories: a sauce processing and packaging facility in Owensboro, Kentucky, and a tomato processing plant in Stockton, California.

Mizkan is a privately held maker of condiments and sauces that started as a rice vinegar maker in central Japan more than 200 years ago. It is seeking to expand its international businesses to counterbalance poor prospects in its domestic market due to Japan's aging population.

Unilever said the deal will close in June.

W.Va. approves health insurance cooperative

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A Kentucky-based cooperative is preparing to enter West Virginia's health insurance marketplace.

Kentucky Health Cooperative, Inc. says in a news release that it has received approval from the West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner to offer health insurance in West Virginia.

The newly formed West Virginia Health Cooperative, Inc. will begin enrolling residents statewide in November. Benefits will begin Jan. 1, 2015.

Kentucky Health Cooperative chief executive officer Janie Miller will also serve as the West Virginia cooperative's CEO.

Cooperatives are non-profits that are owned by their members.

Currently, Highmark West Virginia is the only insurer participating in West Virginia's health insurance market.

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