10.17.25

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning everybody, and welcome to the reading of the
Lexington Herald Leader. Today is Friday, October seventeenth an Your
reader is Rod Brotherton. And as a reminder, Radio I
is a reading service intended for people who are blind
or have other disabilities that make it difficult to read
printed material. And here we are halfway through October and

(00:22):
the weather is still nice. Let's see what it's going
to do for the next week. Today Friday our high
as seventy three, and we will have high clouds and
Tonight partly cloudy in a low of fifty eight. Saturday
breezy and warm, high eighty three, low sixty three. Sunday
will have a rain storm and a thunderstorm with a

(00:43):
high of sixty five, so a big drop and a
low forty one. Monday, though plenty of sunshine, high back
to sixty seven, low fifty. Tuesday breezy with the shower
high sixty five, low forty two. Wednesday there's plenty of
sun high is only up to fifty eight with a
low of forty two, and Thursday brilliant sunshine high sixty

(01:07):
low forty four. Looking at the almanac, yesterday's high and
low were seventy three and forty eight with a normal
of sixty nine and forty seven. Last year it was
fifty five and thirty nine. The record high was eighty
eight more than a century ago in eighteen ninety seven,
and the record low was twenty seven way back in

(01:28):
nineteen thirty seven. Precipitation on Wednesday nothing but month to
date five point oh three with a normal of only
one point seven six. Near to date we're still by
bunch over normal, with fifty one point four to four,
with the normal being forty point three seven, And last
year we'd had forty one point three two, and the

(01:50):
record for yesterday's date was exactly an inch in twenty
twenty one. For thus sun and the moon, the sun
rose this morning at seven forty one, It will set
tonight at six point fifty eight. The moon came up
at four o'clock this morning. It will set at five
point fourteen this afternoon. And for our weather trivia, according

(02:11):
to folklore, the date of the first snowfall tells what
that will be the number of snowfalls that will occur
during the season ahead. All right, it's Friday. Let's take
a look at the news. The first story public to
weigh in on deadly section of New Circle Road. A

(02:35):
dangerous section of New Circle Road on Lexington's north side
will be redesigned to help eliminate crashes. The public has
been invited to weigh in on how to make the
roadway safer. The proposed redesign of the roughly one point
eight mile section between Development Drive and Bryan Station Road

(02:57):
includes shared youth use paths, better pedestrian crossings, and arcuts
which restrict right turns on roadways. The section of New
Circle Road is busy, with multiple traffic lights and lots
of pedestrian traffic. City data shows there were more than
two thousand, two hundred and eighty two significant crashes in

(03:22):
that area between twenty fifteen and twenty twenty one. In
addition to addressing the safety concerns, this effort aims to
redesign the roadway to better serve the needs of local
residents and ensure that all persons can utilize and cross
New Circle Roads safely and comfortably, said Chris Evilia, executive

(03:45):
director of the Metropolitan Planning Organization, which helps oversee transportation
planning for the area. Our goal is to produce a
roadway design consistent with the vision identified by Electington residents
within the Imagine New Circle Road Study, complete it in

(04:06):
twenty twenty two and incorporated within the Imagine Lexington twenty
forty five plan. The neighbourhoods most affected by the redesign
include Castlewood, Bryan Station, Elkhorn Park, Green Acres, Hollow Creek,
and Breckinridge neighborhoods in northeast Lexington. Community members can learn

(04:29):
more about the project and provide feedback at a public
meeting between four thirty and seven pm on November sixth
at Northern Elementary, which is at three forty Rookwood Parkway.
The meeting will be held in an open house style,
meaning residents can choose to arrive at any time during

(04:49):
the meeting. It's not clear when construction will begin. The
project is a joint effort between the City of Lexington
and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. The project was awarded a
twenty two million dollar federal grant from the US Department
of Transportation's Safe Streets and Roads for All program. It

(05:13):
is the largest federal transportation grant in the city's history,
and next the Senate money Race bar Leads Morris self
funds three million dollars. Lexington tech entrepreneur Nate Morris loaned

(05:33):
himself more than three million dollars to kickstart his campaign
for US Senate and Representative Andy Barr still has a
fund rating lead in the contentious twenty twenty six GOP primary.
According to new disclosures, Morris, who had not held office
before launching a high profile run, gave his campaign seven

(05:56):
installments totaling three million, twenty three thousand dollars in the
first three months of his campaign. That's three quarters of
the total funding he's brought in, according to a finance
report with the Federal Elections Commission. The report's detailing fundraising
efforts between July and September thirtieth show that Barr had

(06:20):
raised the most from donors during that time. He raised
more than one point three million dollars and received about
four hundred and fifty two thousand dollars from a related committee.
Morris cleared one million dollars from donors, and former Attorney
General Daniel Cameron raised four hundred and eleven thousand dollars.

(06:41):
Bar had by far the most cash on hand at
the end of the period, with close to six point
seven million dollars. Much of that total came from a
sum he'd accumulated over the years of fundraising for his
US House campaigns in Kentucky's sixth Congressional district, which can
be transferred to Senate campaigns. Morris ended the reporting period

(07:06):
with almost one one million dollars on hand, having spent
three quarters of what he'd brought in. Given that rate
of spending, he likely has the ability to refill his
campaign coffers quickly. Morris is wealthy, having made forty one
million dollars in twenty twenty two when the company he founded, Rubicon,

(07:28):
went public. Cameron ended September thirtieth with six hundred and
thirty thousand dollars on hand, a fraction of Bars figure.
In every publicly available poll of the race, Cameron has
been the clear leader, with bar in second place and
Morris in third. Michael Ferris, another GOP candidate who was

(07:50):
speaking at campaign events across the state, ended the reporting
period owing more than fifteen thousand dollars. He had raised
about thirty one one thousand dollars between February and September thirtieth.
In the GOP race, all three candidates have had political
action committees spend in the race to support them. Some

(08:12):
political action committees have even directed fire at other candidates,
like the one affiliated with the conservative group Club for
Growth that has targeted Bar. Democratic candidates for US Senate
Logan Forsyth, Joel Willett, and House Minority floor leader Pamla Stevenson,
the Democrat of Louisville, are all expected to file their

(08:35):
reports covering the latest financial quarter, but those have yet
to appear publicly as of early Thursday. The Andy Barrs
report contains information of fundraising featured, and it listed a
bunch of prominent players in Kentucky politics and in Washington.

(08:55):
It includes lobbyist, top donors, and one sitting governor. Montana
Governor Greg gen Forte, who served alongside Bar in the
US House GOP Caucus, and his wife both gave Bar
the maximum thirty five hundred dollars contribution. Another national conservative

(09:16):
figure who gave the maximum donation was Ross Perot Junior,
the son of third party candidate and billionaire Ross Perrot.
Notable names in Kentucky politics who gave high dollar donations
were Patrick Jennings, who regularly ranks among the highest paid
lobbyist in Frankfort and Representative Hal Rogers. Chief of staff

(09:38):
Karen Kelly Rogers, was an early endorser of Bar's campaign.
Former Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawrence Van Meter, a
Lexington resident who left the bench after not seeking reelection
in twenty twenty four, gave Bar one thousand dollars. Van
Meter's son, also an attorney, gave Bar the maximum contribution.

(10:03):
Bill Butler, who founded Northern Kentucky development giant Corporex, gave
the maximum contribution. In Lexington, one of the city's most
prominent philanthropists, William T. Young Junior, gave Bar thirty five
hundred dollars. Chip Rupp, the grandson of legendary University of
Kentucky basketball coach Adolph Rubb, also made the maximum contribution.

(10:29):
A large number of political action committees, including many that
had donated to Barr's previous campaigns for US House, also
gave maximum contributions to Bar's campaign. Donations from committees include
packs representing industry and other candidates or advocacy groups. Barr's
campaign also received about four hundred and fifty two thousand

(10:53):
dollars from the Friends of Andy Barr Committee, a joint
fundraising group that has been supporting BAR since twenty six seventeen.
Some of the top donors in the state and the
financial world continue to help fund the committee. Thomas Winn,
the chief operating officer for Alliance Resource Partners, Joe Craft's

(11:13):
mining company, and Lexington developer Brett Setzer gave the committee
more than twenty thousand dollars in the first months of
the year. Texas billionaire Darwin Deeson and his son Doug
gave the group a collective thirty five thousand dollars in September. Overall,
the BAR campaign has received one point two eight million

(11:36):
dollars in transfers from other committees like Friends of Andy
Barr since twenty twenty five. BAR spent about one point
two to three million dollars from July through September. Though
the bulk of Nate Morris's funds came from his own pocketbook,
Bar's hall from outside donors did not outpace Morris by

(11:58):
a wide margin. Moors has strong experience raising money both
for business ventures and other political campaigns. Morris's more than
one million dollars in contributions came from all over the
country and from some of the biggest donors in the state.
During this reporting period, Morris received thirty five hundred dollars

(12:20):
from former US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft,
who had previously given the maximum amount to Bar. That
leaves Cameron is the only one without a check from
one of the leading in state donors. Cameron Beatcraft in
the twenty twenty three GOP gubernatorial primary. Kenny Trout, the

(12:41):
billionaire owner of Windstar Farm, and his wife Lisa, gave
Morris the maximum donation. Like Craft, they also gave maximum
donations to bar Several of the top dollar donations to
Morris came from Texas. The Lone Star state is home
to the family of Morris's wife, Jane Mossbacker Morris. She

(13:03):
is the daughter and granddaughter of a Texas businessman and
cabinet official who served under the administrations of George H. W.
Bush and George H. W. Bush. Multiple members of the
Moss Baker family gave Morris a thirty five hundred dollars donation.
Other big names in Texas include Javier Layer, who became

(13:24):
the first Hispanic NFL owner when he purchased a minority
stake in the Houston Texas and the family of the
late Texas power broker Walter Mishner, noted early adopter of
the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, Mike Kamaransky also contributed the maximum amount
to Morris's campaign. While Cameron's fundraising totals aren't exactly dwarfed

(13:50):
by Barr and Morris, he does not have the luxury
starting with millions from a previous campaign account like Bar
or the ability to self fund Morris. Still, Cameron's six
hundred and thirty thousand dollars on hand puts him well
behind the competition in a race that will undoubtedly get expensive.

(14:12):
Several of Cameron's top donors came from people west of
Interstate sixty five, including donors in the Bowling Green area
and further west. He also saw some big donations from
northern Kentuckians. One example is Keith Dickens of Paduca, the
president of massive beveridge distributor Pepsi Mid America. While Cameron

(14:34):
is not running ads on television like his top two opponents,
he has been spending on direct mail. Mail advertisements to
the tune of about one hundred and thirty seven thousand
dollars made up a big chunk of his campaign spending.
In the past quarter, which totaled three hundred and twelve
thousand dollars and finally on the front page, Lexington advances

(14:58):
regulations on and sober living homes. The Lexington Council moved
forward new regulations for sober living homes after some neighborhoods
complained about the proliferation of recovery residences. The Lexington Fayed
Urban County Councils Social Services and Public Safety Committee voted

(15:21):
unanimously Tuesday to move forward the new regulations to the
full council. Under the proposed regulations, sober living homes would
have to pay a city licensing fee of two hundred
dollars for the first house and one hundred dollars for
each additional house. The new ordinance would also require sober

(15:42):
living home operators to show the city they have complied
with all state regulations, including its certification process. A final
vote is expected next month. Recovery home operators will have
six months from the effective date of the ordinance to
get certification. The ordinance also limits the number of people

(16:04):
and a home to eight, which follows other city ordinances.
Council on Tyler Morton, who sponsored the ordinance, said it
has been working on Since April, Morton and other council
members developed a work group to help fine tune the
ordinance that regulates recovery residences and protects those in the

(16:25):
homes and neighborhoods. Dozens of neighbors told the committee in
August that some neighborhoods have been overrun by the private,
largely for profits, sober living homes typically used by people
who are coming from inpatient treatment centers. City records show
there are more than one hundred and fifty sober living

(16:47):
homes operating in Fayette County. Many of those homes are
concentrated on the city's north and west sides. Neighbours said
because there are no zoning restrictions on sober living, the
homes can pop up with no notice. During the August
committee meeting, operators and residents of several sober living homes

(17:10):
told the committee too many regulations could limit or close
the number of sober living homes in Lexington. Many said
those recovery residents help them stay sober. The city cannot
legally restrict where sober living homes go or require special zoning,
such as a conditional use permit for recovery housing lawyers

(17:33):
for the City of sid Under the Americans with Disabilities Act,
people with substance use disorders are classified as having a disability.
The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities.
That means the city can't make land use rules that

(17:53):
only apply to entities that serve people with substance use disorders,
which would be a discriminate nation under the Fair Housing Act,
said Michael Cravens, a lawyer with the city, during the
council's August committee meeting. This city also cannot dictate how
many sober living homes can be in a neighborhood or

(18:14):
a certain area, commonly called a density restriction. Craven said,
this is not a one size fits all solutions. Craven said,
we cannot address every problem that arises from recovery residences.
This is a good start. Cravens said. The ordinance allows

(18:34):
the city to have say some say over recovery residences.
Recovery residences have to comply with all other city ordinance,
including building codes. The ordinance was revised and tweaked since
the August twenty sixth meeting and after hearing feedback from
neighborhoods and operators. Morton said. One of the changes includes

(18:57):
requiring operators to file a a rehousing plan in case
the home shuts down unexpectedly. The ordinance also requires a
sixty day notice prior to a home closing. Other cities,
including Somerset, have seen operators shudder abruptly, leaving some of
those former sober living home residents homeless. Vice Mayor Dan

(19:22):
Wu said the city could make tweaks to the Recovery
Residence Ordinance after it is passed. The city did something
similar with short term rentals and accessory dwelling units. We
can always go back, tweak it and make it better,
Woo said. The ordinance also does the following, require operators

(19:45):
to obtain a City Recovery Residence License renewable annually, and
provide information and documents in support of the license application
for purposes of examining compliance, and require hire operators to
get a zoning compliance permit, which would show they have
met all the state and city regulations. Neighbors would be

(20:09):
notified of a filing for a zoning compliance permit. Those
operators who do not comply with city regulations could be fined.
There is also an appeal process, and next Israel marks
two years since October seventh, as fragile ceasefire holes. Israel

(20:32):
marked a national day of commemoration Thursday for the victims
of the moss Led murderous October seventh, twenty twenty three
attack on southern Israel and for those who died in
the ensuing war. Almost a week after a ceasefire in
the Gaza Strip was declared, a central state ceremony was
held Thursday, which was two years after the twenty twenty

(20:55):
three attack. According to the Jewish Calendar, It took place
at the National Cemetery Mount Herzel in Jerusalem. Several hundred
people attended, many in Israeli military uniform. Even if this
isn't the end, said Israel's President Isaac Herzog, speaking on

(21:16):
stage and referring to two years of war, we have hope.
We are nearing it with throats choked with tears and
grief intertwined with moments of relief. Since the ceasefire, Hamas
has released the twenty remaining living hostages who had been
held in Gaza, and Israel has freed nearly two thousand

(21:40):
Palestinian prisoners from its jails. Among those freed were two
hundred and fifty Palestinians convicted of terrorism offenses or acts
of violence against Israelis, and roughly seventeen hundred more who
were detained in Gaza during the war and held in
Israel without charge charge. On Thursday, Israel said it had

(22:04):
identified the bodies of two more people than Hamas handed back. Wednesday.
Israel said the two had been killed in the October
twenty twenty three attack and taken to Gaza. Last week's
truce agreement called for the immediate handover of all remaining
bodies in Gaza, though both sides acknowledged that some could

(22:26):
be difficult to locate and may take more time to
retrieve because of the destruction across the enclave. The Palestinian
militant group has so far handed over at least nine
bodies that Israel has identified, while the bodies of nineteen
more Israelis remained in Gaza. According to a spokesperson for

(22:47):
the Prime Minister's office, Israel has returned at least ninety
bodies of Palestinians to Gaza. According to statements by the
International Red Cross, the Israeli military had withdrawing some of
its forces to an agreed uponline inside Gaza, and some
Palestinians have begun returning to their homes or to where

(23:09):
their homes once stood. At the state ceremony in Jerusalem,
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would achieve
all of its war aims. He has previously said. Those
aims include disarming Hamas, which has been a red line
for the group and remains an unresolved issue in negotiations

(23:31):
to in the war. Netayahu added that Israel had struck
its enemies with hammer blows, vowing that anyone who raises
their hand against us will pay a heavy price for
their aggression. About twelve hundred people were killed on October seven,
including Israeli civilians and security personnel, and about two hundred

(23:55):
and fifty were taken hostage. In the subsequent wara, at
least sixty seven thousand Palestinians have been killed, but that's
according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish
between civilians and combatants, and over four hundred and sixty
Israelis have been killed in the war since it started,

(24:17):
according to Israel's National Security Council and the next story,
four hundred job data center outfitter coming to Glasgow, Kentucky
amid the AI Boom, a manufacturer that outfits the massive
data centers powering artificial intelligence, announced Wednesday it was opening

(24:37):
a four hundred job facility in Barron County. Tate, a
company specializing in the interior infrastructure of data centers, said
it will make a sixty one point two million dollars
initial investment in a seven hundred and sixty four thousand
square foot facility in Glasgow. According to a release from
Governor Basher's office, Mosheer joined the company leaders in the

(25:00):
Irish firm Kingspan Group Plc, the parent company of Tate,
for the announcement. The Governor is currently touring Europe this
week meeting with business leaders. We are thrilled that Tate
plans to make Glasgow their new new Kentucky home, the
largest job creation project we've seen in Barron County in
almost twenty years, Baser sent in a news release. Kentucky

(25:24):
has secured our place as a manufacturing leader with our
skilled workforce and prime location, and companies across the globe
were taking notice. According to the release, the facility will
focus on manufacturing high performing thermal management and airflow solutions
for data centers. Equipment used to cool the servers housed

(25:45):
at data centers is essential to the high amount of
heat that servers generate. Data centers use fans, liquid cooling system,
and raised floors to mitigate the intense heat. Tate per
its expenditures and its website focused on raised floors, airflows,
specialized ceilings, and more. Capital expenditures on artificial intelligence reach

(26:06):
an estimated three hundred and sixty eight billion dollars through
August of this year. According to Goldman Sachs, companies like
Tate aimed at serving the AI data centers popping up
across the country, including construction related firms like Caterpillar and
energy suppliers of all stripes, have thus far been eager

(26:28):
to expand on capitalize on that investment. No massive data
centers have yet begun operating in Kentucky. One is being
built in South Louisville and another is being discussed in
Mason County, where officials say they are working with a
Fortune one hundred company to land a one billion dollar
data center. The release claims the foreigner jobs planned in

(26:50):
the Tate facility marked the highest job total announced in
Barren County in eighteen years. This project brings four hundred
high quality jobs, significant capital investment, and new energy to
our growing industrial community. We look forward to the partnering
with Tate teams as they established, to expand their operations,
create lasting opportunities for our residents, and strengthen our local economy.

(27:12):
Marine Carpenter, President and CEO of the Barren County Economic
Authorities sit in the release. The Glasgow location won't be
far from the two highest job announcements during Bashir's tenure,
though those electric vehicle battery ventures have phased uncertainties due
to lower demand than anticipated and Tariff's Levitt levy by

(27:36):
President Trump. The five point eight billion dollar plant in Glendale,
a joint venture between Ford Motor Company and the South
Korean firm sk On, is expected to employ five thousand
people at full production. A two billion dollar plant in

(27:57):
Bowling Green from the Japanese company envision AESC is expected
to employ roughly two thousand people. And now, after a
short pause, I hope you'll rejoin us for a continuation
of the reading of the Lexington hairl Leader for today.
Thank you for listening, and now please stay tuned for

(28:19):
more news right here on RADIOI. Now we will continue
reading from the Lexington Herald Leader for this Friday, October seventeenth.
Your reader is Rod Brotherton, and as always we start
with the obituaries and read only the name, age, and
location if given. If you would like any further information

(28:42):
on the obituaries, please see the website or call us
during the weekdays at eight five nine four two two
sixty three ninety and we will be glad to read
the entire obituary for you. I we beat the number
at the end of the listings, and thankfully today I
are obituary index only has one name in it and
it is Elizabeth Libby and Gettis ninety two of Lexington.

(29:08):
And if you would like any further information, please visit
legacy dot com slash obectuary slash Kentucky or call us
at Radio I hear at A five nine four two
two sixty three ninety and we'll try to read them
to you over the phone. Now let's return to the
Herald Leader. The next story is Kentucky lawmakers intend to

(29:30):
file a bill creating Charlie Kirk Day. Kentucky Republican lawmakers
say they will file a bill on the first day
of the twenty twenty sixth legislative session to wander the
life and legacy of Charlie Kirk by designating October fourteenth
as Charlie Kirk Day in the Commonwealth. Senator Steve Rawlings

(29:51):
and Representative TJ. Roberts, both of Burlington in northern Kentucky,
will sponsor the legislation in the House and Senate. According
to a Tuesday press release, Kirk, who was thirty one,
was a right wing political influencer who founded the student
organization Turning Point USA and hosted the Charlie Kirk Show podcast.

(30:15):
He was fatally shot last month at an event on
the campus of Utah Valley University. Tuesday would have been
Kirk's thirty second birthday, and in their press release, the
lawmakers lauded Kirk as a tireless free speech advocate who
helped preserve the First Amendment. The planned bill will be

(30:35):
a tribute to Kirk's lifelong work defending free expression and
advancing the conservative cause. Charlie Kirk dedicated his life to
ensuring that every American could speak freely and think boldly,
Rawlings said in the news release. Even after his passing,
his influence will continue to be felt through the countless

(30:58):
young people he inspired and the enduring strength of the
ideas he championed. Robert said Charlie Kirk Day would remember
Kirk's life, but also as a renewal to the commitment
to uphold respectful dialogue, courage in the face of adversity,
and the conviction that faith and truth endure. Charlie Kirk's

(31:21):
legacy reminds us that free speech and faith and one's
convictions are the cornerstone of a free society. Ralling sid
it's only fitting that Kentucky recognized his impact and lasting
contributions to our nation's civic life. Similar legislation has been
introduced elsewhere to memorialize Kirk. House Bill one thirteen in

(31:45):
Florida would require all state colleges and universities to rename
a campus roadway after Kirk, with state funds being held
from non compliant schools. In a related sty, the US
says it revoked visas some people who criticized Kirk. The

(32:07):
United States revoked the visas of at least six foreign
citizens whom we are accused of celebrating the assassination of
right wing activist Charlie Kirk, the State Department said in
a series of social media posts on Tuesday. Since Kirk
was fatally shot last month, US officials have said they

(32:27):
were searching for foreigners who had made public comments, cheering
or joking about his death, and called on the public
to help identify them and warned that they would be
barred from the United States. The State Department's account on
Tuesday posted screenshots of or excerpts from online comments by

(32:49):
six people had said had celebrated Kirk's death and said
they were no longer welcome in the United States, but
raising questions about First Amendment protections. The United States has
no obligation to host foreigners who wished death on Americans,
it said. The Department was continuing to identify visa holders

(33:10):
who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk. It added
The New York Times could not independently confirm the people's identities, nationalities,
or US visa status. The department's posts did not include
the individual's names, nor had them redacted. The State Department

(33:32):
did not immediately respond to a request for comment on
Wednesday morning. Kirk, a prominent right wing political activists and
close ally of President Trump, was killed last month while
speaking to thousands of people at a college in Utah. Trump,
who has used the assassination to escalate his effort to
stifle political opposition, on Tuesday awarded Kirk a posthumous Presidential

(33:57):
Medal of Freedom, the nation's Highestavilian honor. Last month, Secretary
of State Marco Rubio said, if you are here on
a visa and cheering on the public assassination of a
political figure, prepare to be deported. You are not welcome
in this country. Judges have rebuked Rubio from taking similar

(34:21):
actions against pro Palestinian activists and have ordered them freed
from detention. Among the examples the State Department listed Tuesday
was an Argentine who said that Kirk devoted his entire
life spreading racist, xenophobic, misogynistic rhetoric and deserves to burn
in hell. Visa revoked. Other examples were a German who

(34:47):
the Department said had written outline online that when fascists die,
democrats don't complain, and a Brazilian who posted that Kirk
died too late and the next story drivers rejoice. Interstate
seventy five construction near Richmond is almost finished. Drivers traveling

(35:13):
on Interstate seventy five through Madison County have been slowed
by construction in recent months. By Friday, there will be
an improvement in the flow of traffic in the area
as the project is nearing completion. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
announced Wednesday that officials have almost finished the thirteen and

(35:34):
a half million dollar highway improvement project on Interstate seventy
five near Richmond. Contractors began removing barrels from the closed
northbound lanes in the northern section of the construction zone
on Wednesday, and planned to remove the barrels from the
south lanes afterward. The barrel removal is expected to be

(35:55):
completed and the interstate be fully reopened by Friday. Insportation
Cabinets said motorists are still encouraged to drive with caution
as there is still work to be done and there
will be reduced speed limits in the area. The project,
which began in March, sought to improve all six lanes
of Interstate seventy five from mile marker eighty six south

(36:18):
of Richmond to mile marker ninety eight near the clays
Ferry Bridge. The Transportation Cabinet said workers applied to sixty
thousand tons of blacktop and formed six hundred and sixty
five cubic yards of concrete into barrier walls. This project
required substantial construction to provide safer, smoother travel and extend

(36:42):
the life of the interstate so everyone can safely get
to work, school, and everywhere they need to go and
well into the future. Kelly Baker, the Chief District Engineer
for the Kentucky Department of Highways District seven, said in
a news release, we appreciate the public's pay as we've
worked to complete these important highway upgrades. The final touches

(37:05):
for the project include work along shoulders and applications of
thermoplastic arrows and striping. The Transportation Cabinet said there could
be intermittent lane and ramp closures during the work, but
the traffic impact is expected to be minor and in
short durations. Next Supreme Court debate future of the Voting

(37:29):
Rights Act. The Supreme Court may help the GOP keep
control of the House of Representatives next year by clearing
the way for Republican led states to redraw election districts
now held by black Democrats. That prospect formed the backdrop
On Wednesday, as the justices debated the future of the

(37:51):
Voting Rights Act in a case from Louisiana, the Trump
administration's top courtroom attorney urged the justices to rule that
partisan politics, not racial fairness, should guide the drawing election
districts for Congress and state legislatures. This court held that

(38:13):
race based affirmative action in higher education must come to
an end. Solicitor General D John Sower wrote in his brief,
the same is true, he said, for using the Voting
Rights Act to draw legislative districts that are likely to
elect the black or Latino candidate. Too often, he said,

(38:36):
the civil rights law has been deployed as a form
of electoral race based affirmative action to undo a state's
constitutional pursuit of political lens. The Court's conservatives lean in
that direction and sought to limit the use of race
for drawing district boundaries, but the five member majority has

(38:57):
not struck down the use of race for drawing district lines.
But the Trump administration and Louisiana's Republican leaders argued that
now was the time to do so. If the Court's
conservatives hand down such a ruling in the months ahead,
it would permit Republican led states across the South to

(39:20):
redraw the congressional districts of a dozen or more black Democrats.
There's reason for alarm, said Harvard law professor Nicholas Stephanopoulos.
The consequences for minority representation would likely be devastating. In particular,
states with unified Republican governments would have a green light

(39:41):
to flip as many Democratic minority opportunity districts as possible.
Such a ruling would also up end the Voting Rights Act,
and it had been understood since the nineteen eighties. As
originally enacted in nineteen sixty five, the historic measure put
the federal government on the side of blacks in registering

(40:02):
to vote and in casting ballots. But in nineteen eighty two,
Republicans and Democrats in Congress took note that these new
black voters were often shut out of electing anyone to office.
White lawmakers could draw maps that put whites in the
majority in all or nearly all of the districts. Seeking

(40:24):
a change, congressome ended the law to allow legal challenges
when discrimination results in minority voters having less opportunity to
elect representatives of their choice. In decades after, the Supreme
Court and the Justice Department pressed the States and the
South in particular, to draw at least some electoral districts

(40:48):
that were likely to elect a black candidate. These legal
challenges turned on evidence that white voters in the state
would not support a black candidate. But since he joined
the Court in nineteen ninety one, Justice Clarence Thomas has
argued that drawing districts based on race is unconstitutional and

(41:10):
should be prohibited. Justice is Samuel A. Alito, Neil M. Gore, Sutch,
and Amy Coney Barrett dissented with Thomas two years ago
when the Court, by a five to four vote, approved
the second congressional district in Alabama that elected a black Democrat.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts wrote the opinion, Justice Brett M.

(41:35):
Cavanaugh casting the deciding fifth vote, but also he was
open to the argument that race based redistricting cannot extend
indefinitely into the future. That issue is now before the
Court in the Louisiana case. It has six congressional districts
and about one third of its population is black. Prior

(41:58):
to this decade, the New Orleans area elected a black representative,
and in response to a voter's rights suit, it was
ordered to draw a second district where a black candidate
had a good chance to win, but to protect its
leading House Republicans, Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise,

(42:19):
the state drew a new elongated district that elected Representative
Cleo Fields, a black Democrat. Now the state and the
Trump administration argue the court should strike down that district
because it was drawn based on race and free the
state to replace him with a white Republican. And next,

(42:41):
a lawsuit accused as a Kentucky school bus driver of
using phone when hitting and killing a child. A little
more than a year ago, fifteen year old mckinna Letcher
was hit and killed by a Clark County school bus
while crossing the road. Mckinna's mother, in a lawsuit filed
last fall, makes several laciations against the bus driver. The

(43:02):
most serious accusation is that bus driver Paul Holland was
streaming video on his phone when he hit McKenna, and
several incidents in Holland's work history, including multiple suspensions at
a previous job, should have prevented him from being hired
by the Clark County School District. According to the suit
filed October eighteenth of twenty twenty four, the driver denies

(43:26):
he was streaming videos. Instead, he said during an interview
related to the lawsuit that he was playing a musical
playlist on his phone. Holland turned off his phone after
hitting McKenna, and he did not leave the bus to
check on McKenna, in violation of district guidelines. According to
the interview, Holland has not been charged with the crime

(43:48):
in the crash. Clark County Schools has not responded to
multiple requests for comment about Holland's employment status. The lawsuit
also accuses Darren Snell, director of the Logistics when Student
Support Services, which oversees the district's transportation division, of negligent hiring, training,

(44:08):
and supervision. John McNeill, the lawyer representing Holland and Snell,
did not respond to a request for comment. Mckinna's mother,
Kerrie McIntosh, seeks an unspecified amount of damages for wrongful
death and negligence in the lawsuit filed in Clarks Circuit Court.

(44:29):
She is represented by John Holland, an attorney with Sam
Aguilar Injury Lawyers. Holland did not immediately respond to a
request for comment. The lawsuit is ongoing and the next
scheduled court appearance is November twentieth. Where's where the case stands.
The crash happened on September third of twenty twenty four

(44:51):
at Veterans Memorial Parkway and Ironworks Road. McKenna, a freshman
at George Rogers Clark High School, was trying to cross
Veterans Memorial when she was hit by the bust and
she was pronounced dead at the scene. She was described
as a caring, joyful, and creative child who dreamed of
being a mechanic. Holland had just picked up his final

(45:12):
student on the morning route and was headed to Concrete
Elementary School, about two miles from the crash scene. Nine
elementary school children were on the bus along with the
bus trainee. Holland told investigators that conditions were consistent with
the September morning. The road was dry, but it was dark.
According to a police report on the crash, McKenna entered

(45:36):
the intersection with the right of way as a pedestrian
and she was in the intersection for about seven seconds
before the crash happened. Said Holland. McKenna's mother in law,
mother's lawyer. Holland had a red light for at least
fifteen seconds as he approached the intersection, and he attempted
to do a rolling stop instead of coming to a

(45:57):
complete stop, as Kentucky's school bus drivers are trained to do.
McKenna was in the intersection before the light turned green,
according to the lawsuit, and Kentucky school bus drivers are
also trained to yield to pedestrians even after a stoplight
turns green. According to the suit, Holland told investigators blight

(46:21):
was red as he approached the intersection, but he sped
up after it turned green. The police report says Holland
was driving between forty and forty five miles an hour
and a fifty five mile an hour zone. Holland hit
McKenna in the right lane of Veterans Memorial Parkway. Holland

(46:41):
told investigators mckinna dashed out in front of him and
that there was no time to avoid the collision. According
to a police report, there were no vehicular, environmental, or
human factors that caused the collision. Holland was tested for
drug and alcohol use, and he was not impaired while driving.

(47:03):
Holland's actions reflect a grave and reckless disregard for the
safety of the general public, which directly led to the
preventable crash which took the life of mckinn Letcher. According
to the lawsuit, Holland was hired as a bus driver
by Clark County Schools in January of twenty twenty three.
Before that, according to the lawsuit filed by McKenna's Fletcher's mother,

(47:27):
he worked for a Paris Independent Schools as a bus
driver and was suspended multiple times for incidents related to
personal and professional conduct. After serving his final suspension, Holland
resigned while another misconduct investigation was ongoing. According to the suit,
some time after being hired by the Clark County Schools,

(47:51):
Holland was promoted to be a trainer of other bus drivers.
Court documents say in April of twenty twenty four, Snell
told Holland he needed to focus on improving training. Holland
was also involved in a human resources action related to
de escalation two weeks before the collision that killed McKenna.

(48:11):
According to the suit, last month, Hollin was sighted in
Fayette County for driving sixty six miles an hour in
a forty five mile an hour zone and failing to
maintain insurance court records show and next. When will Central
Kentucky see its first fall frost? It may be sooner

(48:33):
than you think. It may just be starting to feel
like fault with temperature highs and Lexicon hovering the seventies
this week and climbing toward eighty degrees Saturday, but a
wave of autumn storms is expected to soon change that. Gardeners, farmers,
and even homeowners hoping to slow down on mowing are

(48:54):
likely anticipating the first frost of the season, and while
several actors need to line up to make that happen,
there is a chance of it next week. If you're
looking ahead to a winter filled with fluffy, white snow,
the best chance for it is in January, if at all.

(49:15):
According to this year's outlooks, the weak Lia Nina conditions
in effect aren't likely to influence Kentucky's chance for a
snow your winter. Here's what we know about when to
expect the first frost of the season in Central Kentucky
this year. Local topography plays a big role in frost formation,

(49:37):
as explained by Kyle Wilkins, Meteorologists with the National Weather
Service in Louisville, it usually needs to get pretty cool
before urban areas like Lexington see their first autumn frost.
Frost actually happens when you have clear skies that allow
for radiative cooling, calm winds, and low enough temperatures. Wilkins

(50:00):
road in the hair liter in an emailed response. Generally
you see that happen first in the valleys where cold
air sinks, or grassy areas surrounded by trees to block
the wind. We will need to see lows in the
thirties before you see frost in the cities. According to
the agency, a frost forms with an air temperature range

(50:22):
between thirty three and thirty six degrees fahrenheit, along with
light winds. It can inflict at least minor damage to plants,
but tender plants are especially vulnerable. Freezes and hard freezes
occur when the temperature drop below thirty two degrees. They
inflict more significant damage to exposed plants. Hard freezes will

(50:46):
kill most seasonal plant varieties, as well as possible damage
exposed outdoor plumbing and undrained sprinkler systems. The latest NWS
forecast shows temperature hides around or above seventy degrees for
Lexington this week, including a high of eighty degrees on Saturday,
October eighteenth. Nightly lows throughout the week will be cool,

(51:09):
but nowhere near the thirties. That pattern could change Saturday, however,
with the arrival of showers and thunderstorms overnight Saturday and
into Sunday. According to WYT Chief Meteorologist Chris Bailey, the
weekend coal front will bring below normal temperatures to our
area along with more autumn storms. This pattern may very

(51:34):
well bring frost with it at some point next week,
Bailey wrote in an October fourteenth forecast. Along with keeping
your eye on warnings, watches, and advisories from the Weather Service,
there is a set of conditions to watch for when
trying to anticipate frost. As far as overall setups, having

(51:54):
an upper ridge with surface high over us would help
with frost formation because it would clear the skies and
keep winds light, allowing for cool nights. Wilkins route a
lot of times behind coal fronts. You have these conditions.
Looking at historical averages compiled by the NWS, frosts and

(52:16):
freezes in the Lexington area may become increasingly likely by
the tail end of October and early November. NWS data
between nineteen ninety one and twenty twenty show there's a
forty percent chance temperatures will fall to thirty six degrees
fahrenheit by October sixteenth. By October nineteenth and twenty first,

(52:38):
the chance is fifty to sixty percent, respectively, but by
October thirtieth, it's almost a guarantee, with a ninety percent chance.
When it comes to records, the Weather Service reports the
following for the Lexington area. The earliest fall frost of
thirty six degrees is September twenty third, eighteen ninety six,

(53:01):
September twenty third, nineteen seventy four, and September twenty third,
twenty twelve. The earliest fall freeze of thirty two degrees
was September thirtieth, eighteen ninety nine. The earliest hard fall freeze,
which was twenty eight degrees, was October third, nineteen seventy four.

(53:21):
The latest first fall frost of thirty six degrees was
November ninth, nineteen twenty two, and the latest first fall
freeze of thirty two degrees was November twenty seventh, nineteen
oh two, and the latest first fall hard freeze of
twenty eight degrees was December fourth, eighteen ninety nine, and

(53:44):
next Z's rare earth shock gives Trump a chance to
win over allies. President Trump's Tair four alienated longtime allies
and gave China an opportunity to woo the world. Now
bej Jing's hardball tactics are sparking a global pushback. China's

(54:04):
decision to unveil unprecedented export controls on the rare earth
supply chain dominated meetings. At an annual huddle of global
economic chiefs in Washington this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Descent
hinted at an emerging coalition, saying US officials were speaking
with our European allies, with Australia, with Canada, with India,

(54:27):
and the Asian democracies to form a fulsome response. Japan's
Finance Minister Katsunobu Katu called for a group of seven
countries to unite and respond to China's moves, while his
German counterpart touted a potential joint response to the block.
Australia's Prime minister will head to Washington next week in

(54:49):
the hope of negotiating a deal over critical mineral supply
chains as countries seek to diversify all That marks an
abrupt u turn from six months ago, when President Xi
Xemping was rallying countries to stand together against the highest
American tariffs unleashed since World War II, while China justified

(55:12):
its latest curbs as a response to an expansion of
US controls. The measures demand even more foreign exporters get
permits to ship products anywhere in the world containing traces
of certain Chinese refined minerals. The biggest risk is that
the Chinese government overplays its hand, said Christopher Better, Deputy

(55:34):
China Research director at GAV called dragonomics. Disrupting the global
rare earth supply chains could create the impression Beijing is
inflicting pain on a wide swath the countries for no
obvious reasons. The tension comes as Xi and Trump prepare
for their first set downs in six years this month

(55:54):
in South Korea, but that in fact may not happen.
Negotiators from both sides are expected to huddle next week,
providing an opportunity for the rivals to find an off
ramp from the latest tensions and allow their rolling tariff
truce to extend the US leveraged its network of global
democracies to enforce the long arm justification which China wants

(56:17):
to cry. Now, boosted by its initial success in finding
leverage through rare earths earlier this year, Beijing is not
only embracing that approach, but taking it one step further.
It's unclear how Chinese officials would handle the sheer volume
of paperwork such a system would entail, meaning they might

(56:38):
enforce only measures when wanting to pressure a particular partner.
And this concludes the reading of the Lexington Herald Leader
for today, Friday, October seventeenth. Your reader has been Rod Brotherton.
Thank you for listening as always, and now please stay
tuned for sports news right here on Radio I