12.10.25

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Horn in folks, and welcome reading of Lexington Hairland Leader.
Today is Wednesday, December tenth and your reader is Rod Brotherton.
As you know, Radio I is a reading service intended
for people who are blind or have other disabilities that
make it difficult to read. Pretty material, not too long

(00:20):
to Christmas. Here's what's going on in the weather Today,
rain and snow, but the hi will be forty two.
Tonight it'll be overcast in twenty eight. Thursday is cloudy
and cold, back down in the thirties. High thirty four
to low twenty nine. Friday snow, cloudy and showers, high

(00:41):
forty one, low twenty seven. Saturday low clouds might break
open for a little sunshine and it'll be thirty seven,
but the low is seventeen. Sunday here it comes very cold,
high twenty five, low twelve. Monday a bit of snow

(01:03):
in the afternoon with a high of thirty low twenty four.
And Tuesday not as cold and there's plenty of sun.
Looking at the almanac, Yesterday's high and low thirty eight
and twenty normal forty eight and thirty one. Last year
it was sixty and forty one. The record high was
sixty eight and nineteen twenty two, and the record low

(01:24):
was minus four nineteen seventeen. Precipitation on Monday eleven hundreds
of an inch month to date point four six normal
one point one one. You're to date we've had a
whopper fifty seven point three inches normal forty six point
seventy five. Last year was forty five point nine two.

(01:46):
The record for yesterday's date was two point nine to
two inches in nineteen seventy eight. For snowfall on Monday,
we had one point one inch month to date two
point six. Normally we only get a tray of three
tenths of an inch season to date two point nine
normal is only seven tenths of an inch, and last

(02:06):
season we had about the same three point one. For
the sun and the moon, the sun rose today at
seven forty four, it will set tonight at five nineteen.
The moon will come up way late tonight at eleven
forty seven, and set tomorrow afternoon at twelve twenty one.
And our weather trivia for the day, on average, does

(02:29):
more snow fall at night or during the day, well
in the winter, at night since nights are longer a
trick question? All right, let's take a look at the
news today. Today's lead story the Kentucky Auditor to further
examine London's finances. Kentucky's top taxpayer watchdog found issues with

(02:55):
transactions during London Mayor Randall Weddle's first two years in
the road. The Office of State Auditor Allison Ball sent
the mayor a letter Thursday about additional examination procedures that
will be used to address concerns that arose during a
preliminary assessment done by the office in September. The Auditor's

(03:20):
Office began its preliminary udit of London the day before
Weddell was impeached and removed from office by the London
City Council on claims that he misused city funds, among
other things. Weddell was reinstated by an appeals court judge
in October, but he remains at the center of a

(03:40):
public feud with several members of the council. This week,
council members opted to conduct city business without Weddle after
an earlier special called meeting Laws canceled. Now, the Auditor's
Office says it is considering a special examination. It covers

(04:00):
city spending from the time Weddell took office in January
of twenty twenty three to August of this year, when
he was impeached. The examination will review a specific matter
brought to our attention. According to the letter Well received Thursday,
Deputy State Auditor Sherry Scott, who is leading the audit,

(04:23):
did not cite specific concerns. The office does not usually
comment on investigations until after it has published its findings,
but to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of the audit process,
we are unable to provide further details until the examination

(04:43):
has been completed, a spokesperson for the Auditor's office told
the hair Leader via email. A London resident and business
owner filed suit against the city in federal court on Wednesday,
alleging it overcharged for city trash pick up services to
the tune of more than one and a half million

(05:04):
dollars over the past two budget cycles. Weddle oversaw it
is unclear whether those allegations are included in the scope
of the special audit. Special audits may appraise the city's
tax collection and spending procedures and determine compliance with state

(05:24):
and local law or binding contracts. Weddell said his administration
is cooperating with the auditor's office. I've been in office
for three years, cleaning up as much as I can
and as fast as I can, he said. We're actually
glad that they're here and welcome any feedback that they

(05:45):
give if they find something that needs fixing. Councilwoman Kelly
smith Green and others have split with the mayor over
a suite of ordinances aimed at improving the city's financial footing.
Theance would establish a revised payscill for city employees that

(06:05):
couldn't result in layoffs, and conditioning the city fire department's
response to certaining life threatening emergencies on mutual aid requests
from other agencies. It doesn't surprise me that they found
discrepancies with the city's finances, smith Green said. After Weddell
canceled a special called meeting on Wednesday, claiming inadequate seating

(06:30):
and viewing opportunities would violate Kentucky's open meetings law, all
but one member of the council stayed behind and voted
to formally approve the controversial ordinances during a follow up
meeting on Thursday. The members who participated in Wednesday's votes
did not show up. Weddell told the audience that he

(06:51):
would report the rogue council meeting to the Kentucky Attorney
General's office. The ordinances have not been final law, according
to the city website, and it remains unclear whether Wednesday's
meeting and votes held the force of law. Since controversy
rose over Weddell's tenure as mayor, London City Council members

(07:14):
are regularly crowded with standing room only. Weddell lost a
bid to overturn an August City Council meeting about his
impeachment charges by alleging the meeting location was inconvenient and
violated state law because there was inadequate space, seating, and
acoustics in the room. According to the agency records, citing

(07:37):
a twenty oh four Kentucky Supreme Court ruling, Attorney General
Russell Coleman said that the fact that a large number
of citizens were able to attend the meeting demonstrates that
it was not an inconvenient location. A spokesperson for the
AG's office said they cannot comment on whether Weddell has

(07:58):
yet sought a decision regarding Wednesday's meeting, and next Perry
County Center will be refuge for free roaming horses. The
problem of Eastern Kentucky's free roaming horses just eased a
little bit thanks to the creation of a new refuge

(08:18):
in Perry County. The Appalachian Horse Center is a new
farm that will try to save Kentucky's wild horses as
it celebrates their cultural, historical, and economic significance in the region.
Our horses are part of our identity here in Eastern
Kentucky should said Shawnee Wade, executive director of the Appalachian

(08:43):
Horse Project. For years, we've dreamed of a place where
people can come to learn about them, care for them,
and connect with the land and the stories that shaped
our community. The Appalachian Horse Center makes that dream of reality.
The Appalachian Horse Project, the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky, and

(09:05):
the k EEP Foundation had been working on this problem
for years. It came to a crisis point this summer
when Breathitt County's Fiscal Court voted to remove the horses
living on abandoned strip mines outside Jackson. The horses, possibly
as many as a thousand, were causing problems with humans

(09:27):
in their cars. As the horses descended the mountain in
winter to look for food. Many of them are also
beset by malnutrition and health problems. There are similar bands
in Perry Pike and other eastern Kentucky areas where owners
allowed horses to roam for forage. However, sometimes they didn't

(09:48):
pick them back up, allowing them to breed and become wilder.
In Breathat County, they have become a tourist destination for
tour guides taking folks up to see the mine sites
to see the bands of horses. But Kentucky's stray hold
laws allow anyone to pick up horses even if they

(10:08):
are destined to go to kill lots, which happened to
some of the breath that horses. This new site can
ease some of those problems. The farm, which is on
eighty acres in Leatherwoods Community, will be a place to
bring with the wild horses to be evaluated before they
are fostered or adopted. The farm can probably house twenty

(10:30):
to twenty five animals. Elizabeth Jensen of the Kentucky Equine
Education Project. It will be open to the public in
May of twenty twenty six. It is vital that we
celebrate the Appalachian horses and insure communities in eastern Kentucky
have the opportunity to share in their economic and social value.

(10:51):
Jensen said. Through education, tourism, and equine programs, the Appalachian
Horse Center will help preserve the heritage of Kentucky's free
roaming horses while creating new opportunities for the next generation.
In the future, the center will house horses and educate students,

(11:12):
becoming an educational provider for year round programs such as
equine therapy, agriculture and tourism programs. This center is a
symbol of pride and progress from Perry County, said Perry
County Judge Executive Scott Alexander. It brings together our history,

(11:32):
our people, and our future in a way that will
attract visitors, inspire learning, and strengthen our economy. For more information,
go to https colon forward, slash forward, slash www dot
Appalachianhorse Center or one word Appalachianhorsecenter dot org. To donate,

(12:00):
go to Appalachian Ky dot fcsuite dot com, slash erp,
slash donate, slash, create, slash fund, question mark fun it
underline ID equals forty seven to ninety five. That was aboutful,

(12:24):
all right, let's take a look at the next story.
Obamacare users face higher deductibles and higher premiums. Millions of
Americans are confronting the highest health insurance costs in years.
With those enrolling in Obamacare for next year, the plans

(12:45):
will cover a considerably smaller fraction of their medical bills.
More and more people are discovering that they're deductibles are
rising significantly, worsening fears that they will will no longer
be able to pay for medical care. That's on top
of higher premiums they could more than double. With affordability

(13:12):
increasingly out of reach, Some people are facing the dire
prospect and dropping their insurance altogether, even if they're still
eligible for subsidies. Others may forego doctors' visits or trips
to the emergency room to avoid the expense. The contentious
debate in Congress over the future of the enhanced subsidies

(13:35):
under Obamacare that are set to expire this month has
largely focused on the rise in premiums. Most people will
still qualify for some federal tax credits in twenty twenty six,
but many will find that monthly costs are doubling. If
the generous subsidies are not extended. The Senate is expected

(13:59):
to vote on whether to extend the subsidies, although Congress
could wait until early next year, even after the subsidies
have expired. President Trump has floated supporting some sort of extension,
but it is unclear what kind of compromise would muster
enough Republican backing to pass. As medical costs have climbed,

(14:21):
self insurance at all levels has become more expensive. Contributing
factors cited or higher overall prices for prescription drugs, the
cost and the exploding use of obesity drugs, tariffs, and
increasing labor expenses. Because many plans under the quote Affordable

(14:42):
Care Act already carry a high deductible, people may not
be able to find cheaper policies to significantly reduce costs.
Nearly a third of the twenty four million people who
signed up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act last
year enrolled in the least expensive kind of plan available

(15:03):
to everyone, a so called bronze plan. These individuals already
pay a large share of their medical bills. The average
deductible for a bronze plan is climbed steadily to roughly
seventy five hundred dollars in twenty twenty six from under

(15:24):
seven thousand and twenty twenty one. According to KFF, a
health research group, they don't have that option to switch
to a lower premium plan with a higher deductible, said
Cynthia Cox, an expert on Obamacare for KFF. Some of
those affected retired early and must wait until they are

(15:45):
sixty five to enroll in Medicare. These people are really
in a difficult situation, she said. In addition to high deductibles,
some plans may require people to pay a large share
of out of pocket costs in other ways, asking for
co payments, which are fixed amounts when they go to

(16:07):
the doctor, or co insurance, which is a percentage of
their medical bills. Even the caps on how much people
have to pay in out of pocket costs are going up.
The out of pocket maximum, which does not apply to
those with the lowest incomes, will reach ten thousand, six

(16:27):
hundred dollars next year, about twelve hundred more than in
twenty twenty five. So much for affordable care run by
the government. In a KFF poll in early November of
people enrolled in Obamacare, a quarter reported that they were
very likely to go without coverage if their premiums doubled,
or if they had to pay fifty dollars more a

(16:49):
month if they had paid no premiums in twenty twenty five.
Half said finding another source of insurance if their Obamacare
coverage became unaffordable would be very difficult. Eric Littman, a
self employed chiropractor in New Jersey, knows he will be

(17:12):
paying more to ensure his family afore. The problem is
that what is also going up is the deductible coinsurance
and out of pocket amounts, he said. Absent federal tax credits,
Littmann could pay about thirty five thousand dollars in annual

(17:33):
premiums for a mid tier plan that will have a
higher out of pocket maximum of seventeen thousand dollars. A
cheaper plan further limits coverage, raising the specter of even
higher personal cash outlays. You essentially don't have insurance for

(17:53):
the small things. You only have insurance for the one
hundred thousand dollars hospital bill and say. With Republicans and
Democrats still as a stalemate over the free money subsidies,
expiration seems increasingly likely. Some Republicans say they plan to

(18:15):
develop an alternative to the Affordable Care Act, and Trump
has suggested replacing the subsidies with cash payments. And, finally
on the front page, Basher to lead Democratic governors and
rallies of candidates. Kentucky Governor. Basheer is now top dog

(18:37):
at the Democratic Governors Association. After a year as the
vice chair, Bashir was elevated to lead the DGA for
twenty twenty six, the organization announced at the close of
its meetings in Arizona this weekend. In electioneers like twenty
twenty six, the dghchair usually plays a crucial role in fundraising, messaging,

(19:00):
and coordinating party strategy. The upcoming election cycle will be
closely watched Democratic gubernatorial candidates for playing defense and offense
in kent key swing states, and the results could reveal
voter attitudes towards GOP President Trump. Basher's effectiveness might be

(19:21):
used as a measuring stick for twenty twenty eight, given
signaling that he'll explore a bid for president that year.
The statement posted the social media Saturday, December sixth, Vasheer
said he was honored to take the role. Together, we're
going to show that Democrats can win anywhere by focusing

(19:45):
on what Matters improving the lives of American families. Route
Basher is the fourth Kentucky governor to chair the organization.
The late Wendell Ford and John Y. Brown Junior served
in ninete, teen, seventy three, and nineteen eighty two, respectively,
and former Governor Paul Patten was chaired in twenty In

(20:06):
the year two thousand, the only person to have held
the role and later be elected to the White House
is former President Bill Clinton, who was governor of Arkansas.
As for how candidates for governor in twenty twenty six
should go about convincing Americans they're better suited to address
those issues, the Cheer offered some advice in Arizona. What

(20:31):
I would tell our candidates is get dirt on your boots,
the sheer told reporters. Make sure that you're showing up
in places that maybe Democrats haven't gone in far too long.
The past year, with Democrats realing from a twenty twenty
four cycle that saw them lose control of the White

(20:53):
House and the US House, the share Is regularly offered
his take on where Democrats should shift their focus issues
like the cost of living, healthcare, and infrastructure, topics that
affect all people should be emphasized more than cultural or
social issues. He said. The message focusing on meat and

(21:15):
potatoes political issues like infrastructure may ring a bell. It
was similar to how former President Biden pitched himself giving
his work on major legislation during his one term in office.
Biden ran for reelection before stepping aside after a poor
debate performance and concerns about his age. But Sheher's message

(21:40):
is a little different, he stressed in an interview with
The New Republic, one of many he's conducted with national outlets,
and his star continues to rise. For one, he thinks
showing up outside of the US capitoal or state capitol
buildings is worth emphasizing. Further, the Democrats can be seen

(22:00):
as the party of stilted bureaucracy. We've got to do
things faster. The mind administration passed a lot of good legislation,
has spurred a lot of economic development in my state.
But the Democrats need to admit that there are times
that when we are overregulated. We've created so many rules

(22:25):
that some programs that we believe are essential for American
people simply take too long, Mashear said. He sang a
similar tune to the press and the Arizona meetings. I
think we need an executive that can come in and
help prepare the federal government that this president has torn down.

(22:46):
Mashear said. I think the American people are desperate for
results quickly, and that's what democratic governors deliver. The forty
eight year old governor also appeared alongside Vice Chair Gretchen Whitmer,
the governor of Michigan, has also been rumored as a
potential presidential contender. When asked if either of them would

(23:10):
run in twenty twenty eight, Whitmer said, who knows. I'm
not going to share anything other than I think we
should have a Democratic governor be our candidate for twenty
twenty eight for president, Whitmer SAIDR Kelly, the former chair
and current governor of Kansas, repeated the line but Sheer

(23:30):
has been using lately. I have absolutely no doubt that
the candidate in twenty eight will be from the ranks
of the Democratic governors, either current or pasted. Kelly said.
House to vote on defense bill, release video of a
vote strike. Congress is planning to vote on the new

(23:53):
Defense bill, spending with a provision to persuade defense Secretary
Pete Hegseith into releasing unedited video of the US military
strikes in the Caribbean. The US House of Representatives is
set to vote on the annual Pentagon Spending and Policy
Bill this week with a request that the Defense Department
turnover video of strikes conducted against designated terrorist organizations in

(24:17):
the area of responsibility of the United States Southern Command. Thus,
Senate is expected to take it up by the end
of the month. Inside the National Defense Authorization Act, hag
Sith could face a twenty five percent cut to his
travel budget if his department fails to hand over unedited
classified video to the House Armed and Senate Service committees.

(24:42):
Lawmakers have differing opinions about what happened during a September
second military strike on an alleged drug boat where a
second strike killed two survivors on board. Hag Sith and
Admiral Frank Mitch Bradley, who ordered the strike, have faced
scrutiny over the attack. The first hit killed all but

(25:03):
two people aboard the boat before a second strike was ordered,
killing the survivors and sinking the vessel. I was told Hey,
there had to be an attack because there were a
couple of folks who still could be in the fight
with access to radios. It was a linked up point
of another potential boat drugs and were still there, I said,
Roger sounds good. HEG Sith has said regarding the attack.

(25:27):
Democratic Representative Adam Smith of the House Armed Services Committee
called HEG Sith's description ridiculous. They ought to release the video.
Smith said, if they released the video, then everything that
the Republicans are saying will be clearly be portrayed to
be completely false, and people will get a look at it,
and else we'll see it. Lawmakers have only seen portions

(25:51):
of the video, with Democrats calling the survivors helpless, saying
they should have been rescued to comply with international law.
As Republicans claimed, these survivors were trying to flip the
boat so they could still stay in the fight. There
have been twenty two attacks on vessels in the Eastern
Pacific and Caribbean c killing more than eighty six people.

(26:14):
The Trump administration started attacking what it called boats operating
by designated terrorist organizations on September second. Last week, President
Trump cold reporters he would consider releasing the video. I
don't know what they have, But whatever they have, we'd
certainly release, no problem, Trump said. Egseth countered over the weekend,

(26:38):
saying he was more concerned about exposing the US military
and its bespoke capabilities, techniques, and procedures in the video.
I'm way more interested in protecting that than anything else.
He said. It the Reagan National Defense Form. So we're
viewing the process and we'll see. Finally, police searched for

(27:01):
individuals who vandalized murals of three Kentucky officers killed in
the ambush. Police in eastern Kentucky are searching for a
suspect who vandalized a mural honoring three fallen officers and
a police dog. The mural honors Floyd County Deputy William Petrie,
Prestonsburg Police Captain Ralph Fraser, Prestonsburg Police Officer Jacob Chaffins,

(27:23):
and Drago, a German shepherd trained to detect drugs. All
three officers and the dog were killed in an ambush
attack while attempting to serve an emergency protective order in
the summer of twenty twenty two. According to Prestonsburg Police
Chief Ross Shirtliffe. The mural painted by Peyton Martin, the
son of a retired officer, was vandalized with spray paint

(27:44):
on each of the officer's faces on the evening of
December seventh, according to a Facebook post from the Department Ance.
Storart's forty nine of Allen was indicted in July of
twenty twenty two on twenty charges, including three counts of
murdering a police off officer in connection to the June thirtieth,
twenty twenty two shooting. Store's wife said he trapped her

(28:05):
in a bedroom, threw her around the room, slapped her,
and sexually assaulted her before she filed for the restraining order.
Stewarts could have faced the death penalty, but he committed
suicide in the bathroom at the Pike County Detention Center
in February twenty twenty three. Anyone with information about the
vandalism is called is to ask to call Prestonsburg Police
at six oh six eight eight six one oh one oh.

(28:29):
Shehrtliff said, you can remain anonymous. Now, after a short pause,
I hope you will rejoin us for a continuation of
the reading of the Lexington Herald Leader for today. Thank
you for listening, and now please stay tuned for more
news right here on radio lot. And now we will
continue reading from the Lexington Herald Leader for this Wednesday,

(28:52):
December tenth. Your reader is Rod Brotherton, and as always
we start with the obituaries. Read only the name a
location if given, and if you would like further information
on any of the obituaries, please see the website or
call us during the weekday at eight five nine four
two two sixty three ninety and we will be glad

(29:13):
to read the entire obituary for you. Beat the number
at the end of the listings, and today's obituary index
starts with Philip A. Greasy seventy nine of Lexington, Joan
Weber ninety four of Lexington, and Jane Horton Huff Wilhoyt
eighty nine Bob Grayson. If you would like any other

(29:37):
information about the listenings, please visit legacy dot com slash
obituary slash Kentucky or you can call us at our
radioized studios at eight five nine four two two sixty
three ninety and we will try to read them to
you the phone. Now let's return to the news. The
next story is justice is here case on firing of

(30:00):
independent officials. The Supreme Court on Monday appeared poised to
make it easier for President Trump to fire independent government
officials despite laws meant to insulate them from political pressure,
in what would be a major expansion of presidential power.
Hearing a case dealing with Trump's attempt to fire a

(30:22):
member of the Federal Trade Commission, members of the Court's
conservative majority seemed ready to overturn or strictly limit a
landmark decision from nineteen thirty five that President said Congress
could put limits on the president's authority to remove some
officials of branch offices. Chief Justice John Roberts, who was

(30:46):
almost always in the majority in significant cases, said the
FTC that opinion shielded ninety years ago, looked nothing like
the modern Commission, which he said exercises in enormous executive
power and authority the Constitution reserves for the president. He

(31:06):
referred to the nineteen thirty five president as dried husk.
Even as they appeared receptive to Trump's administration's maximal position,
several key justices seemed intent on making sure that the
Court's eventual decision in this case did not threaten the

(31:26):
independence of the federal Reserve. The justices will hear a
separate case dealing with Trump's attempt to fire a FED governor.
In January, the court's three liberal justices warned of the
far reaching consequences for the structure of the modern government
if the majority sided with the Trump administration in the

(31:47):
FTC matter. A decision in the President's favor, they said,
would call into question the constitutionality of job protections extended
to leaders of more than two dozen other agencies Congress
has charged with protecting consumers, workers, and the environment. Justice

(32:08):
Atlanta Kagan said such a ruling would put massive, uncontrolled,
unchecked power in the hands of the president. Justice Sonya
Sutamayor told the administration's lawyer that you're asking us to
destroy the structure of government and to take away from

(32:30):
Congress its ability to insulate independent agencies from political pressures.
In response, d John Sower, the Solicitor General, said that
the sky will not fall if the Justices give the
president this new power. In fact, our entire government will

(32:54):
move toward accountability to the people, he said sentence. Returning
to the White House, Trump has fired government watchdogs, leaders
of independent agencies, and rank and file federal workers. Drawing
multiple legal challenges, the Supreme Court has generally allowed the

(33:15):
firings to take effect through temporary emergency orders. Monday's case
represents the first opportunity for the Court to issue a
conclusive ruling on the underlying legal questions of Trump's firings.
Next month, the Justices will separately consider whether the president

(33:36):
has the power to fire Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve
Board governor. The Justices have allowed Cook to remain in
her post for now, signaling that the Central Bank may
be uniquely insulated from presidential interference because of its history.
At issue Monday was Trump's firing in March of Rebecca

(33:58):
Kelly slaughterocratic member of the FTC. Trump said he was
removing her because she did not align with his agenda,
despite a law that says the president can remove commissioners
only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.
Slaughter promptly sued. Her lawyer, Admit Atarwal, a protected democracy,

(34:24):
told the justices Money that presidents of both parties had
long accepted that FTC commissioners could not be removed without
good cause, in part to ensure regulatory stability. Dozens of
institutions have been around for a long time, that have
withstood the test of time, that embody a distillation of

(34:46):
human wisdom and experience. All of those would go south
if the court abandoned past president. Agarwal said Congress intentionally
created such bipartisan commissions made up of experts who could
not be fired by the president without cause, to ensure
that policy decisions would be made free from politics. The FTC,

(35:11):
created in nineteen fourteen, protects consumers from deceptive practices and
monopoly power. Is led by five commissioners who serve staggered
seven year terms. No more than three can be members
of the same party. The FTC has been led by
only Republicans since March, after Trump fired a second Democrat,

(35:35):
Alvaro Bigoya, after initially challenging his firing. Pdoia resigned citing
financial pressures, and next Lexington Blue roofing company owner and
wife declare bankruptcy. The owner of failed Kentucky roofing company
Lexington Blue, has filed for personal bankruptcy. Pagel and his

(36:00):
wife Courtney, file for Chapter seven bankruptcy in Tennessee in November,
citing less than one hundred and seventy five thousand dollars
in assets with more than two point three million dollars
oh to more than fifty creditors. This is a separate
bankruptcy from the roofing business. Lexington Blue has been in

(36:22):
bankruptcy since June, after the company closed abruptly in April,
owing hundreds of homeowners for new roofs now Converted to
Chapter seven liquidation bankruptcy, Lexington Blue has declared more than
three point two million dollars in debts to former customers
and employers. The Pagels and the company are also facing

(36:44):
a consumer protection lawsuit from the Kentucky Attorney General's Office
and state court that could result in thousands of dollars
and penalties for hundreds of claims. According to the AG's office,
Lexington Blue may owe nearly five million dollars the homeowners

(37:04):
who paid deposits for unrepaired rules. The bank accounts of
the Pagels and some former Lexington Blue managers have been
frozen by a Fat Circuit County Court judge. No one
has been criminally charged, however, in the Lexington Blue case,
according to the new bankruptcy filing, the Pagels have two

(37:27):
ford f one to fifty trucks in a car Ford
Financing has filed a fifty four thousand dollars creditors claim
against one of the trucks. Among the personal assets listed,
eighteen thousand dollars in bitcoin, had about forty five thousand
dollars in IRA accounts. They also list unknown deposits and

(37:47):
three bank accounts in a robin Hood brokerage account. On
the bankruptcy document, brad Pagel said that in addition to
twenty five thousand dollars in earnings for twenty twenty five,
he made more than four hundred and twenty three thousand
dollars from his businesses in twenty twenty four, while Courtney
Pagel said she made fifty five thousand dollars in wages, commissions,

(38:11):
bonuses and tips in twenty twenty four. Brad Pagel also
said in the document that he retained more than one
hundred and nineteen thousand dollars from the sale of his
Lexington home in January of twenty twenty five, and withdrew
twenty five thousand dollars this year from a four toh
one K plan. They listed monthly income at eighty five

(38:33):
hundred dollars brad Pagel said he has been taking odd
jobs to make ends meet. The Pagels also said their
monthly expenses total eighty four hundred and ninety five dollars.
Brad Pagel said he owes the irs more than twelve
thousand dollars and an unknown amount to the Kentucky Department
of Revenue. Other liabilities listed as owed by at least

(38:58):
one of the Pagels and an either entity or person
includes unspecified claims to several homeowners, thousands in business related debts,
and thousands to former employees who filed Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission charges. Several of these debts are also listed on

(39:18):
Lexington Blues bankruptcy petition. There will be a meeting of
creditors Interim Trustee Evil Imits on December eighteenth at ten
am via zoom, according to the docket. According to the docket,
the meeting can be accessed at limay which is meeting
ID three seven two two eight nine eight four three

(39:43):
six with passcode eight seven seven nine seven six eight
nine seven seven, or you can call by phone at
six one five five seven zero twenty forty two and next.
Kentucky woman accused of abandoning ding a baby. A Kentucky

(40:06):
mother is accused of abandoning her one year old daughter
inside a vacant Madison County apartment. According to court records,
Sarah Vicker, thirty four, discharged Wednesday with a first degree
criminal abuse child twelve are under an abandonment of a child.
Court documents says she left the baby alone and without
food inside a playpen, wrote a goodbye note to her

(40:29):
significant other, and left the apartment on Villa Drive with
the front door on lock. Police found Vicar at the
Revival Tabernacle around one fifteen pm, nearly two hours after
she left the baby alone in the apartment. According to
court documents, she told police my flesh and spirit could

(40:49):
not take it no longer, so I left. The tabernacle
is about a mile and a half from the apartment
on Villa Drive. According to court documents, a playpen was
closed to a sixty five inch TV that was within
the baby's reach. According to court documents, the baby was
fed about two hours before Vickery left. Police did not

(41:12):
know the condition of the child on Friday. Vicker is
being held at the Madison County Detention Center on a
ten thousand dollars bond. According to court records, she is
scheduled to be arraigned in Madison District Court on Friday next.
Sisters killed in a multi vehicle crash. State police report

(41:34):
two women were killed Friday in a collision involving a
tractor trailer in Muhlenberg County. According to Kentucky State Police,
a crash happened around eleven to fifteen am December fifth,
at the intersection of US four thirty one and Keaton Road.
State Police and Maureene Cox sixty eight of Greenville was

(41:55):
driving on Cleayton Road when she failed to stop at
the intersection, entering the path of the vehicle and a
tractor trailer on US four thirty one. Cox and a
passenger in her vehicle, Virginia Grimes, sixty four, of Mansfield, Texas,
were pronounced dead of the scene, according to state Police.

(42:16):
The driver of the other vehicle and tractor trailer were
treated for injuries. State Police is investigating the wreck. No
charges have been filed. Grimes and Cox were sisters. According
to grimes obituary, she was a teacher, writer, and a
published author, and had three daughters. Next ex Letcher Sheriff

(42:40):
admits to shooting judge. In a new filing, the former
Eastern Kentucky sheriff caught on camera gunning down a district
court judge in his office last year, has admitted to
the slang, but claims his actions were unintentional. Attorneys for
former Leccher County Sheriff Shawn Mickey Steins said he lacked

(43:03):
the capacity to intend to shoot and kill District Court
Judge Kevin Mullins in September of twenty twenty four. Steins
has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder of
a public official, but his latest admission in a separate
civil wrongful death case last month supports criminal case filings

(43:24):
that suggest his attorneys are mounting a broad insanity defense.
Mullins was shot nine times behind his desk at the
Lecher County Courthouse in Whitesburg. The act was captured by
a CCTV camera mounted on his office wall. A motive
for Steins, who was arrested on the scene the day

(43:46):
of the shootings, quickly became the subject of public speculation,
fueled by Internet Sleuth's national news outlets proving mental incapacitation
extreme emotional distress could spare Steins from facing the death
penalty under Kentucky law, but standards of intent differ in

(44:09):
civil cases. Mullins's widow, who has been administering the former
judges estate, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Steins and
three other Leccher County Sheriff's Office employees on September eighteenth.
Kimberly Mullins and the couple's two daughters accused Stein's of
assault and battery, and say the three other sheriff's employees

(44:31):
failed to warn and protect the judge despite signs the
sheriff was violently paranoid, anxious, and psychotic leading up to
the incident. In his November twelfth answer to the civil suit,
Steins admits to shooting Mullins and says he believes he
was exhibiting paranoid and psychotic conduct. His attorneys laid out

(44:55):
a series of potential defenses that they may use in
court that hinge on his state of mind, concluding that
he had no control, suffered from pre existing conditions, and
did not intend malice. His attorneys also moved to dismiss
the case under the sovereign immunity doctrine, which protects government

(45:19):
officials from civil liability claims as long as they were
acting in their official capaccy as sheriff, he was a
county employee and therefore is entitled to the same sovereign
immunity granted to the county itself. His attorney's route. Based
on this, the official capacity claims against Sean Stein's must

(45:43):
be dismissed. Stein's attorneys also moved to dismiss negligence claims
against him on the grounds such as claims require intent.
Crucial to Stein's claims of insanity is a federal investigation
that targeted him in the months leading up to the shooting.
The probe was related to a lawsuit claiming Steins failed

(46:07):
to properly supervise a deputy who coerced a woman into
having sex in Mullen's office. In a deposition Steins gave
investors just days before he shot Mullins, the sheriff said
he had been suffering from dizziness, sweating, headaches, and memory

(46:28):
loss brought on by a California encephalitis, the neurological disease
caused by bug bites. A judge last week denied two
motions to dismiss the criminal case against Stein's Attorneys for
the ex sheriff argued prosecutors failed to inform a grand
jury about his mental state at the time of the shooting.

(46:51):
A grand jury proceeding was intentionally not recorded. Jlin take
records shoe Stein's was still in a state of pactics
psychosis days after the shooting. In October, attorneys for Sheriff's
office employees Jackson eccles, LASHAWNA. Frasier, and Christine Bowling also

(47:12):
moved to dismiss the civil claims brought against them by
the Mullens estate, claiming the sovereign immunity and that they
lack a special relationship with Stein's required to prove they
failed to uphold a duty to protect or alert others
of a potential crimes and Kentucky governor Attorney General spa

(47:38):
over whether the state can bring back the death penalty.
Kentucky's Attorney General is asking a Circuit court judge to
clarify a previous decision and rule that Governor Basher can
sign a death warrant for a man who's been on
death row since nineteen ninety four. Hearing Monday morning was

(48:01):
the latest in a year's long effort by Attorney General
Russell Coleman to reinstate the death penalty and the Commonwealth
starting with Ralph Bayes, a man sentenced to death more
than thirty years ago. Attorneys for Coleman and Bays debated
in a Franklin Circuit court room whether a previous ruling

(48:24):
prohibited Bashir from approving Beys' execution. Coleman's attorneys made clear
that they aren't requesting the judge order Bashir to issue
a death reward, but rather clarify that an injunction does
not stop him from doing so. Bys, a now seventy

(48:44):
year old man, was sentenced to death by a jury
in nineteen ninety four. Coleman's office has argued the governor
can signed Beyes's death warrant, which establishes his date of execution,
Butcher is and he can't sign the warrant because of
concerns over a lack of access to execution drugs and

(49:07):
questions about safeguards that would stop the state from executing
an insane or intelligently disabled person. Beyes's case went before
the US Supreme Court in twenty oh seven, as lawyers
questions the unconstitutionality of legal injection. The case prompted a

(49:28):
seven month pause on executions nationwide while the highest Court
considered a ruling. Lethal injections briefly resumed in many states,
including Kentucky, but not for Bays. The state's most recent
execution was in twenty oh eight. A twenty ten ruling

(49:49):
from Judge Philip Shepard halted executions in Kentucky, and Bayes's
administration argues that injunction still applies. Colmanar argues that injunction
is now moot, specifically for Bays, and the governor is
using the injunction to kick the can down the road.

(50:10):
Bees's lawyers wrote in a response to the motion that
there is no reason to revisit the Commonwealth's disagreement with
this Court's order yet again, particularly when nothing has since
changed other than the Attorney General requesting an execution worn
on Bays and the Governor then exercised his discretion to

(50:34):
not now schedule Bayes's execution. Shepherd said the dispute before
him was legally abstract, and question what was different now
from earlier this year when he ruled on the same
matter but for a different death row prisoner. In that case,

(50:54):
Shephard agreed with the Attorney General that parts of his
earlier ruling were no longer in effect, but he declined
to lift the injunction in its entirety. Shepherd said the
issue at hand was an argument about separation of powers
between the two top officials and the state's executive branch.

(51:15):
The Attorney General interprets it one way, and the governor
doesn't agree with him. Shepherd said, it's almost like the
AG's office is now asking the court to direct the
governor to set their legal precedent. The governor is the
chief executive officer and the AG is the chief legal officer.

(51:38):
It's not proper duck orum to weigh in on that. Certainly,
in the situation we have here, I am not sure
how much more I can say than what I haven't
said in the last order that I issued, Shepherd said.
Shepherd also said he was not comfortable making a definite
ruling on whether the drugs are available. Several pharmaceutical companies,

(52:03):
such as Methilil, Alvagin, and Primal Critical Care sent letters
to Kentucky in recent years saying they would not provide
the drugs for capital punishment. For example, Chicago based Methelil
wrote to the state that while it takes no position
on the death penalty itself, the company objects to the

(52:25):
use of its products in capital punishment. However, on President
Donald Trump's first day in office, he signed an executive
order that ordered US Attorney General Pam Bondi to ensure
that each state that allows capital punishment has a sufficient

(52:46):
supply of drugs to carry out lethal injections. Jack Hayburn,
Kentucky's principal deputy solicitor General, said the drugs did not
need to be available before a death warrant was signed.
He did not foresee there being an issue getting the
drugs necessary, as forty four executions have been carried out

(53:08):
of the United States this year alone. Fourteen of those
used pinnobarbital, the drug used in Kentucky to administer executions.
David Baron, Attorney, the attorney for Bays, said that while
some states were able to acquire the execution drugs, sometimes
it costs millions of dollars or veterinary versions of the

(53:31):
drug had been purchased. Some states, executions were ordered and
then later stayed after the drugs could not be obtained.
Shepard will issue a ruling at a later date. My
regret is that this case has taken so long. I
am frustrated by it, and I am tempted to say

(53:53):
I am as frustrated as you, but I have not
lost a loved one, Shepard said Monday to the victim's family.
We are going to do our best to move this
case toward a resolution. When we deal with legal questions
that are life and death, our legal systems are not

(54:13):
equipped and it often becomes bogged down in a whole
lot of legal questions. And finally, New Orleans restaurants feel
squeezed by the Border patrol. Eateries with a largely Hispanic
customer base are choosing to close down temporarily. Cooks and
dishwashers are staying home out of fear, delivery drivers are

(54:36):
sitting out shifts, and customers are finding that some menu
items are no longer available because somewhere along with supply chain,
someone was afraid to report toward. As Border Patrol agents
have fanned out across New Orleans over the past week
to enforce the Trump administration's deportation agenda, their presence has
at a particularly chilling effect on the city's many restaurant

(54:59):
tours and their suppliers. Hal marees Conning Herndon, a co
owner of Palm and Pine, an upscale restaurant in the
city's French Quarter, said that a few of her employees
had chosen to stay home regardless of their immigration status.
They're working legally. They've hunkered down and not coming in
to pick up their paycheck. She said. The restaurant is

(55:21):
struggling to keep offering all the items on its menu
with the cuisine we do, We're very dependent on our
Latin markets for a lot of ingredients, Herndon said, But
many of those suppliers are short on staff and running
out of inventory. One of the stores we go to

(55:42):
they get a lot of driven in from Houston. Those
trucks aren't coming in, she said. They don't want to
risk coming into our city right now. There's a lot
of layers. Those ripple effects lay bare just on how
heavily New Orleans has come to depend on an immigrant

(56:02):
workforce to be the backbone of its robust culinary industry,
which in turn helps sustain the city as a bust
link tourism magnet. Any of the city's restaurants rely on
workers living in the country illegally or migrants with the
temporary legal status, which often comes with a work permit
to do jobs at few US citizens and legal residents

(56:24):
are willing to take at cleaning dishes. Some of these
workers have been with their employers so long and that
they've become like family. The border patrol operation leaves the
restaurant owners in a bind either protect employees by letting
them stay home from work, or press them to come
in to keep the business afloat and thereby increase the

(56:46):
risk that they will be detained. And this concludes the
reading of the Lexington Herald Leader for today, Wednesday, December tenth.
Your reader has been Rod Brotherton. Thank you as always
for listening and now please stay tuned for sports news
right here on RADIOI