9.17.25

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning everybody, and welcome to the reading of the
Lexington Herald Leader. Today is Wednesday, September seventeenth, and your
reader is Rod Brotherton. And as a reminder, Radio Hi
is a reading service intended for people who are blind
to have other disabilities that make it difficult to read
printed material. Here we are fall will be honest next Monday.

(00:25):
We're in the middle of September. It's starting to get cooler.
Here's what the weather is this week. Today it will
be partly sunny and warm, with a high of eighty
nine Tonight clear low sixty one. Thursday, Sunday and very
warm high eighty nine, again low sixty two. Friday, mostly
sunny and hot, high ninety one, low sixty four, Saturday,

(00:48):
partly Sunday, and again high ninety one, low sixty seven Sunday. However,
there are a couple of thunderstorms, but the high is
still eighty six and the low sixty four warm with
sunshine high eighty seven, low sixty seven. And Tuesday partly
sunny and humid, high eighty low sixty three. And our

(01:10):
weather trivia is what seasons are The nights longer than
days in the Northern Hemisphere well, that's autumn and winter,
as everybody knows. So now looking at the almanac, yesterday's
high and low ninety one and sixty normally is eighty
one and fifty eight. Last year it was eighty seven
and sixty eight. The record high back in nineteen thirty

(01:32):
six was ninety seven degrees, and the record low in
nineteen eighty five was only forty three Precipitation on Monday
nothing month to date under an inch at point ninety
seven while the normal is one point sixty nine. Year
to date we've still had forty four point on point
one while the normal is thirty six point eighty eight.

(01:54):
But this last month was us specially dry, as you know,
last year we'd only had thirty five zero point sixty nine.
The record for yesterday's date in nineteen nine was one
point three five inches of rain. Looking at the sun
and the moon, the sun rose today at seven twenty two.
It will set tonight at seven forty three as we

(02:15):
approach the autumnal equinox, where sunrise and sunset will be
twelve hours apart. The moon came up at two forty
eight this morning, and it will set today at five
fifty In the afternoon. All right, let's look at the headlines.
Lead story, Israel launches ground offensive in Gaza City. The

(02:37):
Israeli military said Tuesday that it had launched a ground
incursion into Gaza City overnight, embarking on a risky operation
to take control of a key urban area even as
hundreds of thousands of Palestinian residents remain there. The ground
operation and intensifying Israeli bombardment risks steepening the humanitarian crisis

(03:02):
in the Gaza Strip in a nearly two year long
war that has already killed tens of thousands of people.
Windows were felt shaking in buildings as far away as
twenty five miles in Israel. We are all terrified, said
Monteser Badja, a former school teacher sheltering in an apartment

(03:24):
in western Gaza City, near the coast. Death would be
more merciful than what we're living through. The operation has
been building for weeks, with Israel saying that a takeover
of the city was necessary to prevent Hamas from regrouping
and planning future attacks on Israel. The plans for the

(03:47):
ground assault drew fierce international criticism and dimmed hopes for
a ceasefire. Agreement with Hamas that many foreign officials and
Israelis had pushed after intensifying air strikes in recent days.
On Tuesday morning, the Israeli military said that three divisions

(04:07):
of active duty and reserve troops had begun expanded ground
operations in Gaza City over the past day and to
target Hamas. More than twenty dead and dozens more wounded
people have been brought to Shifa Hospital, a major medical
center in Gaza City, since the offensive intensified overnight, according

(04:30):
to Mohammad bu Salimaya, the facility's director, Zahur al Wahidi,
a Gaza health minister official, confirmed that the hospital had
reported receiving more than twenty bodies since midnight. Local health
officials set ambulance and emergency workers were unable to reach

(04:50):
injured people stranded on streets or trapped under rubble from
Israeli strikes. Gaza is burning, Israeli's Defense Minister Israel Katz
said in a statement early Tuesday. Here's what else to
know Israel's aims. Israel officials have said that the planned

(05:11):
takeover of Gaza City aims to prevent Hamas from regrouping
and planning future attacks like the deadly one on October seventh,
twenty twenty three, in southern Israel that ignited the war.
About twelve hundred people were murdered and around two hundred
and fifty others kidnapped during the attack, officials say. The

(05:34):
UN Inquiry, a United Nations commission investigating the war in Gaza,
said Tuesday that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians, the
panel's most sweeping findings yet about the Israeli government's conduct
and the conflict. Israel has repeatedly rejected allegations of genocide

(05:58):
from scholars and human rights groups, saying the target of
its military campaign is Hamas. Then the humanitarian crisis. After
nearly two years of Israel's retaliatory war against Hamas, the
Gaza Strip has largely been leveled and parts of it
are experiencing famine. According to a recent report by the

(06:21):
United Nations, more than sixty four thousand Palestinians have been killed,
according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not
distinguish between combatants and civilians. Then there's diplomacy. Secretary of
State Marco Rubio warned Tuesday that time is running out
for negotiated into the war in Gaza. He spoke minutes

(06:46):
before departing Israel for Cutter and just as Israel was
launching a military assault on Gaza City. It is unclear
if Rubio knew at the time that the operation and
a long awaited one, had begun. The hostages family's fears
even before it began. The new military front in Gaza

(07:08):
divided Israelis, many of whom feared it would further imperil
about twenty hostages, whom Hamas has been holding since the
start of the war. A group of family members of
the hostages protested outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's house on
Monday night, some of whom set up tents in an

(07:29):
ongoing plea to the government against the ground operation in Gaza.
And our next story, which shows a picture of the
downtown courthouse on Maine and Upper Street. Courthouse costs thirty
two million dollars to renovate is now valued at two
point eight million dollars. When the former Fayette County Courthouse

(07:54):
reopened in twenty eighteen as a new multi use building
with offices, restaurants, and space, it was heralded as an
achievement in historic preservation. The final price tag for the
overhaul and facelift was north of thirty two million dollars.
Of that, twenty two million dollars came from the city.

(08:18):
The rest of the funds came largely from federal and
state historic tax credits. Yet Fayette County Property Valuation Administration
records show the property value assessment at only two point
seven to eight million, which has been its assessment since
twenty twenty two. PVA record show the building is run

(08:41):
by Historic Courthouse LLLP, a limited liability limited partnership that
was created so the city would receive historic tax credits.
Governments are not eligible for those tax credits, which are
then sold to companies or groups that need to offset
tax liabilities. According to Historic Courthouse lllllp's own financial records,

(09:08):
the building is worth thirty million dollars. The Herald Leader
obtained those financial records through the Kentucky Open Records Act request.
The Courthouse Group has maintained it is private and not
subject to the state's Open Records Act. The newspaper sued
the Courthouse Group in twenty nineteen, and the overseeing agency

(09:31):
voluntarily gave the newspaper its financial records. Group also voluntarily
gave the newspaper its financial records in August. Wes Holbrook
is Director of Revenue for the city who also helps
oversee Historic Courthouse llllp's finances. He said, an appraisal by Valbridge,

(09:54):
a Louisville based property advisor company, determine the building at
two fifteen West Main Street should be valued at three
point two million dollars. The report was complicated and completed
when Old National Bank, which held the tax credits, left
the partnership after those credits had been exhausted. That number,

(10:16):
according to its report, is based on the income the
building can generate through rents, a common way to assess
commercial properties for property tax purposes. Val Bridge also did
an assessment of the comparable sales data for similar types
of property. The former courthouse, which houses Visitlecs, Breeders' Cup,

(10:40):
Zim's Cafe, and The Thirsty Fox, and an event space
run by Bayou Bluegrass Catering, is unique. There are no
similar historic properties that generate commercial or market rents, said
David O'Neill, Fayed County PVA. Most commercial buildings are assessed
based on the rents it can generate, O'Neill said, when

(11:03):
asked if city officials involved with the former courthouse lobbied
O'Neil for the lower assessment. O'Neill said he remembered the
city send him information on courthouse rents at the time
that it was put on the tax rolls. That's not
uncommon when a renovated commercial building goes on the tax rolls,
he said. Commercial businesses do that too, he said. Still,

(11:29):
O'Neill also asked Historic Courthouse LLLLP for additional information about
the rents and the valbergs report. After The Herald Leader
asked questions about the assessment, O'Neill said, based on the rents,
he believes the two point eight million valuation is still accurate.

(11:51):
Government agencies don't pay property taxes. The city could make
the case the former courthouse is exempt from proper pretty taxes,
he said. Since the local government wholly owns the LP
that owns the property, a strong case could be made

(12:11):
that the property should be tax exempt, except for any
leasehole that may result from tenants paying below market rents,
which does not appear to be the case, O'Neill said. Still,
O'Neill said he would send the data to the state
Department of Revenue to make sure that the property value
is assessed correctly. A review of historic buildings surrounding the

(12:35):
courthouse shows PVA assessments similar to the former courthouse. Many
of those buildings are larger or have more square footage
than the former courthouse. An accurate or comparable to comparison
is tricky. The twenty one Sea Museum Hotel at one
sixty seven West Main Street has an assessment of thirteen

(12:58):
point nine million dollars according to PVA records, but it's
also more than eighty thousand, one hundred and seventy two
square feet. The courthouse is forty eight thousand, one hundred
and sixty one square feet. Of that, twenty nine thousand,
six hundred and fifty is rentable space. The remaining square

(13:18):
footage is common areas. The hotel can generate more money
because a larger percentage of its footprint the rooms it
rents nightly can generate more income, O'Neill said. David Kloiber
is an owner of the former Security Trust building at
two seventy one West Short Street. That building has a restaurant,

(13:42):
Frank and Dino's, and office space similar to the former courthouse,
but it's also bigger at seventy six thousand, three hundred
and sixty three square feet according to the PVA. Its
PVA value is five million according to the website. Kloiber

(14:02):
said he challenged his assessment and used the rents generated
from the building to determine the new location and the
valuation for the building. Kloiberg, a former Lexington City council
member who is now running in the Democratic primary for
the sixth congressional district, said using rents to calibrate property
rates is not uncommon. We went through this process recently

(14:27):
and showed our rent rolls and that's what justifies the valuation,
kloiber said. The Valbridge report looked at commercial rents for
the downtown area. Courthouse rents are in line with other
commercial properties, with the exception of Bayou Bluegrass Catering, which
runs the top floor event space. The report said it

(14:48):
pays roughly six dollars and seventy five cents per square foot.
That price was negotiated at a lower rent to provide
a financially feasible rent for catering event space operator so
the space could be utilized by the public through rentolds.
The Valberg's report set, in other words, historic Courthouse LLLLP

(15:12):
wanted to keep the rent low so public groups could
afford to rent the space Wholebrook Set. The other tenants,
Zim's Cafe, The Thirsty Fox, Breeders Cup, and Visit Lex
have been in the courthouse since it opened in twenty eighteen.
Bayou Bluegrass Catering is the only new tenant signing its

(15:34):
lease in twenty twenty two. Financial records show Historic Courthouse
LLP's main revenue source is rents. Its total income for
twenty twenty three it was about five hundred and seventy
two eight ninety nine dollars. Its total expenses, including property

(15:54):
taxes of about thirty nine thousand dollars, were five hundred
and twenty thousand dollars. Its net income was fifty two
eight hund ten dollars in twenty twenty three. If there
is money left over at the end of the year,
that money is put back into the operating budget or
its reserves. Holbrook Set. The Courthouse receives no money from

(16:19):
the city for operating expenses. That's different than other buildings.
The city has helped renovate the Lyric Theater on East
third Street, which was overhauled and rebuilt using six million
dollars in city money. Reopened in twenty ten. It still
receives about one hundred and forty thousand dollars in operating

(16:43):
expenses each year from the city budget. Documents show Historic
Courthouse LLP board consists of community city officials and former
city officials. It does not report annually to the Lexington
Fayette Urban County Council on its finances and next nine

(17:09):
to eleven caller says dead baby was cold to the touch.
The person who called Lexington police last month to report
finding a dead baby in a closet near downtown Lexington
told dispatches the baby was called to the touch. The
detail marks the first indication that some time passed between

(17:33):
the baby's death and the August twenty seventh call to
nine to eleven. It was included and heavily redacted call
dispatch records obtained by The Herald Leader on Monday through
the Kentucky Open Records Act. The caller's name was redacted
in the records. Police found the baby soon after the call,
placed around ten thirty five am. The baby was wrapped

(17:56):
in a towel alongside cleaning items in a trash bag
in the closet of a home in the four hundred
block Park Avenue. The baby's mother, twenty one year old
Lacan Snelling, a then student athlete at the University of Kentucky,
was charged with concealing a birth, tampering with physical evidence,

(18:18):
and abuse of a corpse. During an interview with police,
Selling admitted to giving birth and to concealing the birth
by cleaning any evidence, placing all cleaning items used inside
a black trash bag, including the infant, who was wrapped
in a towel. The initial corner's report, released September three,

(18:41):
confirmed the baby was a boy. The report could not
determine the cause or manner of death, and further testing
is needed to determine those details, said Fayette County Coroner
Gary Jin. The report did not include the baby's gestational age,
and Lexington Police have decided to answer questions about the

(19:03):
ongoing case, citing an ongoing investigation. Snelling is originally from
White Pine, Tennessee. She was a senior at UK and
was a member of the university's stunt team, a relatively
new varsity sport that focuses on the technical and athletic
aspects of cheerleading. Snelling's next court date is scheduled for

(19:27):
September twenty sixth next. FBI head says note and DNA
linked suspect to the Kirk killing. The man accused of
fatally shooting Charlie Kirk wrote a note before the shooting
that said he had an opportunity to take out Kirk
and was going to make use of it, the director

(19:49):
of the FBI said Monday. The director, Cash Pattel, said
DNA matching that of the suspect, Tyler Robinson, was found
on a towel wrapped around the bolt action rifle that
was believed to be used in the shooting, as well
as on a screwdriver that was found on the rooftop
where the fatal shot was fired. Speaking on the Fox

(20:12):
and Friends television show Monday morning, Patel said that Robinson
had suggested before the shooting that he was going to
kill Kirk and a text message exchange and in a
written note. He said that the note was destroyed, but
that authorities were able to reconstruct it. The killing of Kirk,

(20:32):
thirty one right wing activist, stunned the nation last week
when he was struck by a single gun shot while
speaking to an audience of students at the Utah Valley
University in Aorum, Utah. Authorities began an intensive search, and
Robinson turned himself in about thirty hours after the shooting

(20:53):
at a sheriff's office near his home in southwestern Utah,
more than two hundred and fifty miles from the campus.
The motivation for these shooting has been fiercely debated, with
investigators and civilians alike scouring the suspect's online presence and
trying to gather information from his friends and relatives. Governor

(21:14):
Spencer Cox of Utah, a Republican, and Patel have said
people who know Robinson have told investigators that he subscribed
to what the two men called left wing or leftist ideology.
Cox has said that the suspect was a normally young
man who became radicalized after dropping out of college, and

(21:35):
that his family was a conservative. The governor also said
that the person who was initially described as a roommate
of Robinson's was actually his romantic partner, and that the
person was transitioning from being a man to being a woman.
That person, the governor said, has been cooperating with the

(21:58):
investigation and was shot by what Robinson had done. Friends
have described Robinson as a very smart, if somewhat quiet,
person who enjoyed playing video games, took an interest in
current events. He was registered to vote but unaffiliated with
any political party, and he had no previous criminal record.

(22:20):
Messages that the suspects sent after the shooting, which were
obtained by The New York Times, showed that he joked
with friends about the fact that he resembled the person
being sought by the FBI. He said in the messages
that his doppelganger was trying to get me in trouble
and joked that he needed to get rid of this

(22:41):
manifesto an exact copy rifle that he had lying around.
On Thursday, about nine hours after sending those messages, he
turned himself in after his father recognized him, and higher
quality images were released by authorities and as a follow

(23:04):
on story, Charlie Kirk death comment leads Kentucky school district
to act. Floyd County School officials are taking undisclosed action
against an employee who made social media posts regarding the
death of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. Superintendentanya Horn Williams said Monday.

(23:25):
District spokesperson Bobby Acres clarified Tuesday that the employee is
a teacher. Kirk Wash shot and killed September tenth by
a gunman while speaking at an event on the Utah
Valley University campus. There have been various reports of employees
across the US being disciplined for making disparaging online comments

(23:46):
in the aftermath of Kirk's death. That includes in Lexington,
where the University of Kentucky is investigating one of its
employees after he made an offensive comment about the death
of Kirk. In Floyd County, horn Williams said in a
news release that a district employee posts have been brought
significant and unwelcome scrutiny to the district. She did not

(24:11):
include the comments in question in the news release. She
also did not immediately respond to an email from the
hair Leader asking if the employee hadn't been placed on leave.
While we respect the rights of individuals to express themselves,
all employees of Floyd County Schools are held to a

(24:31):
high standard of professionalism, both in and out of the workplace,
horn Williams said when personal conduct outside the school environment
creates disruption or negatively impacts the integrity of our schools,
we are obligated to act in accordance with district policies

(24:51):
and state guidelines. Horn Williams added, we believe that all
life is precious, and we value the importance of listening
to the voices of our community and stakeholders. Floyd County
Schools is committed to ensuring that our schools remain safe, respectful,

(25:12):
and inclusive environments where every student and staff member feels supported.
She said. Due to the nature of the situation, which
involves personnel matters, the district is unable to provide additional details.
The situation, she said, is being addressed through established personal
procedures as outlined by Floyd County School's policy and the

(25:36):
Kentucky Department of Education's Code of Ethics for certified school personnel.
Horn william said because the matter was a confidential personal issue,
no further statements will be made by the district at
this time. Kentucky Department of Education spokesperson Jennifer jen said Tuesday,
we haven't heard of any personnel actions related to Charlie

(25:59):
Kirk posts, and finally, University of Kentucky adopts neutrality policy
under Anti DEI bill. The University of Kentucky Board of
Trustees has approved a statement of neutrality as required by
the state's new law banning diversity, equity and inclusion on
public college staff campuses. UK statement prohibits discrimination on the

(26:22):
basis of an individual's political or social viewpoints and promotes
intellectual diversity within the institute. According to meeting materials, universities
had to be in compliance with House Bill four, which
requires public universities and the Kentucky Community and Technical College
System to dismantle and defund all DEI initiatives by June

(26:43):
twenty seventh of this year. UK's neutrality statement says it
will be impartial facilitators as an institution of broad perspectives,
and the university's website will be free of political statements. Additionally,
the university he does not take official positions on or
issue public statements about societal issues and events that do

(27:06):
not directly impact the mission or function of the university.
The statement was approved by the board on Friday, with
four board members abstaining from the vote. Two members voice
concerns about the impact of a neutrality stance that could
have on the university, asking the board to monitor how
neutrality is applied on campus. We have a neutrality policies

(27:31):
that's required by state law in an environment where neutral
circumstances don't exist, Trustee Clark Williams said, so the thread
is that the neutrality policy will cause a drift into
some greater discrimination. In August, conservative think tank the Goldwater
Institute accused UK of being out of compliance with the

(27:52):
law because President Eli Cappoluto had created the statement of
neutrality but it had not been yet approved by the
bull The university argued it was in compliance as it
had adopted the neutrality stance last August when it disbanded
its Office of Institutional Diversity. At that time, the board

(28:13):
delegated authority to the President to craft the neutrality statement.
And now, after a short pause, I hope you'll 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 LIE.

(28:34):
Now we will continue reading from the Lexington Herald Leader
for this Wednesday, September seventeenth. Your reader is Rod Brotherton
and as always we start with the obituaries. Mean only
the name, age and location if given, and if you
would like further information on any of the obituaries, please
see the website or call us during the week days

(28:57):
at eight five nine four two two sixty three nine
and we will be glad to read the entire obituary
for you. I'll repeat the number at the end of
the listings. Today's obituary and dex starts with John D.
Keefer eighty five of Lexington, Jerry Leach seventy seven of Richmond,
Charles Todd Strecker eighty five of Lexington, and Marilyn Stuckwish

(29:24):
eighty five of Lexington. If you would like any further
information about any of the listings, please visit legacy dot
com slash obituary, slash Kentucky and as I said, you
can call us at Radio I at eight five nine
four two two sixty three ninety and we will try
to read them to you over the phone. Now, let's

(29:45):
return to the news and our next story, which is
also an obituary, is of national importance and of interest
screen idol became Oscar winning director and activists, and that
is Robert Redford was born in nineteen thirty six and
died yesterday. Robert Redford, the big screen charmer turned Oscar

(30:07):
winning director, whose hit movies often helped America make sense
of itself, and who offscreen evangelized for environmental causes and
fostered the sundance centered independent film movement, died early Tuesday
morning at his home in Utah. He was eighty nine.
His death in the mountains outside of Provo was announced

(30:29):
in a statement by Cindy Berger, the chief executive of
the publicity firm Rogers and Cowan PMK. She said he
had died in his sleep, but did not provide a
specific cause. He was in the place he loved, surrounded
by those he loved, The statement said, with a distaste
for Hollywood's dumb it down approach to movie making, Redford

(30:53):
typically demanded that his films carry cultural weight, In many cases,
making serious topics like grief, familial, and societal and political
corruption resonate with audiences in no small part because of
his immense star power as an actor. His biggest films
included Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid from nineteen sixty nine,

(31:17):
with its loving look at rogues in a dying West,
and All the President's Men from nineteen seventy six, about
the journalistic pursuit of President Richard M. Nixon. In the
White House and the Watergate era, Redford played Bob Woodford
and used his cloud in Hollywood to bring Woodford and

(31:37):
Carl Bernstein's book to the screen. In Three Days of
the Condor from nineteen seventy five, he was an introverted
CIA codebreaker caught in a murderous cat and mouse game.
The Sting from nineteen seventy three, about Depression era grifters,
gave Redford his first and only Oscar nomination. As an actor,

(32:03):
Redford was one of Hollywood's preferred leads for decades. Whether
in comedies, dramas or thrillers, he had a range. Studios
often sold him as a sex symbol, although he was
a subtle performer with a definite magnetism. His body of
work as a romantic leading man owed a great deal

(32:25):
to the commanding actresses who were paired with him Jane
Fonda and Barefoot in the Park from nineteen sixty seven,
Barbara streisand In the Way We Were of nineteen seventy three,
and Meryl Streep and Out of Africa of nineteen eighty five.
Redford has never been so radiantly glamorous, said critic Pauline

(32:47):
Cale wrote The New Yorker when as when we saw
him through Barbara Streisand's infatuated eyes. He branched into directing
in his forty and won an Academy Award for his
first effort, Ordinary People from nineteen eighty about an upper
middle class family's disintegration after a son's death. Ordinary People

(33:08):
won three other Oscars, including for Best Picture. His next
film as a director, The Malagro Beanfield War from nineteen
eighty eight, a comedic drama about a New Mexican farmer
denied water rights by uncaring developers, was a flop, but
Redford stubbornly refused to pursue less esoteric material. Instead, he

(33:33):
directed and produced A River Runs Through It from nineteen
ninety two, a spare period drama about Montana fly fisherman
pondering ex exstential questions, and then Quiz Show from nineteen
ninety four, about a notorious nineteen fifties television scandal. Quiz
Show was nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture and

(33:56):
Best Director. Perhaps Redford's greatest culturally impact was as a
make it up, as he went independent in film Impresario
in nineteen eighty one, he founded the Sundance Institute, a
nonprofit dedicated to cultivating fresh cinematic voices. He took over
a struggling film festival in Utah in nineteen eighty four

(34:19):
and renamed it after the Institute. A few years later,
the Sundance Film Festival in Park City became a global
showcase and free wheeling marketplace for American films made outside
the Hollywood system. With heat generated by the discovery of
talents like Steven Soderberg, who unveiled his sex lives and

(34:41):
videotape at the festival in nineteen eighty nine, Sundance became
synonymous with the creative cutting edge. Redford did not like
to be called an activist, a label he found too severe,
but an activist he was. And next locally democrat with

(35:02):
Secret Service and legal background launches US Senate bid in Kentucky.
Kentucky Democrats will have a choice to make in the
twenty twenty sixth primary for the US Senate. Logan Forsyth,
a Lexington attorney and former US Secret Service agent, entered
the race to replace GOP Senator Mitch McConnell on Tuesday morning,

(35:26):
and alongside House Minority Leader Pam Stevenson, Democrat of Louisville.
Forsyth is the second Democrat with a professional campaign to
join the race. He told The Hair Leader he's running
on a message of affordability, health care, and education and
got in the race because he believes his background will
help him resonate with voters. Forsyth, who is thirty six,

(35:50):
is under no illusion about the conservative leanings of Kentucky,
a state that President Trump won by more than thirty
percentage points in twenty twenty four, and no Democratic senator
has won since Wendell Ford's nineteen ninety two reelection. He
said his story of reliance on programs Trump's proposed cutting

(36:12):
will resonate with voters on the recently past One Big
Beautiful Bill, Trump's marquee piece of legislation. In the early
months of his second term, federal spending on both Medicaid
and food stamps was decreased. Fourthsythe was raised by a
single mother in poverty in Lyon County, a rural community

(36:35):
in Western County. I was on Medicaid, I was on
food stamps from the time I was growing up. I
relied on those things for as I said, I'm a
first generation college student, first ever ever to go to
law school. And I could only do that because of
those initial programs growing up that kept us alive, kept

(36:57):
us in housing when we needed in, kept me healthy
enough to continue to grow. Anytime I went to the doctor,
Medicaid was there for me. And then after that I
relied on grants, scholarships, and student loans, Forsyth said. Forsyight's
campaign launched video leads with that background and a vote

(37:18):
and a note of bipartisanship. He says he would have
taken a bullet for the two presidents, a Republican and
a Democrat he helped protect as a secret Service agent.
The video also highlighted Foresight's hard working roots. Then he
started stripping tobacco at age seven and learned how to

(37:38):
fix engines at thirteen. In his senior year, his family
lived in a van. Somehow through it all, I kept
my grades up. I played baseball and basketball, and I
made it to college and then got into law school.
Forsyth said he thinks the Republican's running for the office

(37:59):
are shortsighted their adherence to Trump. They're all trying to
out maga each other. He said. The current people running
to support the current administration. They want to do away
with all these programs. So while the math might be
daunting and it might seem discouraging, I think that when
people get to know me and get to know this campaign,

(38:20):
see what I'm fighting for, and hear my story, I
think that message will resonate and we'll see what the
numbers look like at the end of this. Forsyth is
now a personal injury attorney based in Lexington. In his
time as a Secret Service agent, Forsyth said he worked
across the country, one time driving a decoy version of

(38:43):
the presidential's iconic Beast his limousine. He left the Secret
Service to become an attorney after suffering injuries from a
car crash. In twenty twenty two. Forsyth graduated from the
University of Kentucky and completed his legal training at Northern
Kentucky University for Scythe's firm Morgan, Collins, Yeast and Sailier

(39:06):
recently made a twenty five thousand dollars donation to Governor
Basher's Personal Action political Committee. In this together, he told
the Hair Leader he yet to speak with Bashir, whom
he revers or Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in the
Democrat of New York. The person who pushed him to

(39:27):
make the decision. In a roundabout way, it was his
thirteen year old son. He said, one evening early in
the campaign of the Trump presidency, his son approached him
and asked if his law firm was one of the
many that supported the Trump administration with pro bono work.
His firm was not one of them, but he the

(39:50):
discussion prompted the question where was he in all of this?
No matter what I said to him to justify it,
there was never going to be a good nu f
reason as to why I wasn't doing anything. Forsyth recalled.
Forsyth said he's leaning into another familial connection of the
campaign trail. His wife works in public education, core pillar

(40:14):
of his message. The main idea focus more funding on education.
Kids should have buildings that they go into that don't
make them sick because they're not infested with mold. They
should have up to date school books, they should have
computer tablets. Teachers should be paid a wage that actually

(40:36):
is reflective of the work that they do. And there
should never be a question in America, in any state,
that education is one of our highest priorities. Forsyth shi
when asked how he differed from mainstream Democrats, most of
whom other than Basher have fallen flat in Kentucky. Forsyth

(40:58):
didn't have much to say, aside from emphasizing a focus
on ideas that would help Kentuckians. One of those ideas,
he said, is to raise the federal minimum wage that
Mark hasn't budge from seven dollars and twenty five cents
an hour in years, though a very small percentage of
American workers make that little with starting wages in most

(41:20):
service industries in the teens four sizes. Differed on one
hot topping in politics, foreign aid. When asked about the
US Israel relationship, he expressed skepticism of the longtime US
ally and of all foreign aid, calling himself a Kentucky
and America first kind of person. I don't think we

(41:44):
should be allocating billions of dollars to any foreign country
when states like Kentucky or any state has larger needs
here at home. So I'm a Kentucky and America first
kind of person in terms of our spending. Also, I
can't support any government, any organizations, anybody that doesn't commit

(42:04):
some of the acts that Israel has committed, and I
would never stand up and try to defend how they
have treated Palestinians, not just here recently, but for many,
many years for sy sid. As of late twenty twenty four,
the US had given Israel two hundred and twenty eight
billion dollars in military aid dating back to the nineteen forties.

(42:29):
That total for Ukraine, which is currently rebuffing an invasion
by Russia, is seventy one billion, according to the Council
on Foreign Relations. Though party Orthodoxy is still to shy
away from criticisms of Israel, Butshir has avoided the subject.
More Democrats have offered sharp words for the country, given

(42:51):
the rising death toll and faminine Gaza. But before any
of those policy stances can matter, Forscyth would have to
fur get out of the Democratic primary, having never run
for office or held office, before he faces a significant
challenger in Stevenson was one of the highest ranking Democrats

(43:13):
in the state, and as a previous unsuccessful statewide run
under her belt when she fell short to Attorney General
Russell Coleman. I admire her service to the country, to
the state. She does have a very impressive resume, and
I like her as a person. I believe that Kentuckians

(43:33):
deserve a choice, and I believe that with my background
I can resonate with Kentuckians from anywhere, from all over.
I want Kentuckians to have as many choices as they
can coming into this to give us the best opportunity
to flip this force. I sid Another candidate rumored to
be eyeing the races Joel Willett, a Louisville native and

(43:56):
former CIA officer, detailed to the White House wait room
during Democratic President Obama's second term. He recently made headlines
when his security clearance was revoked by the Trump administration.
And our next story as set dispute looms as bankruptcy

(44:17):
specialist hired for a troubled Tennessee distillery, popular whiskey brand
Uncle Nearest and Nearest Green Distillery could be inching toward
filing for bankruptcy as the dispute looms over which assets
the receiver can tap into. New filings late last week
by the receiver appointed in August to take over the

(44:39):
ailing business, which owes Kentucky lender farm credit more than
one hundred and eight million dollars indicate that a firm
specializing and turning around distress businesses sometimes goes through bankruptcy
has been hired the receiver, Philip G. Young already is
empowered to command its bankruptcy on behalf of Uncle Nearest.

(45:03):
New Point Advisor's Corporation is the financial consultant for the
appointed receiver, which also has hired Thoroughbred Spirits Group as
the operational consultant. Belcher, Sikes and Harrington has been hired
to serve as Alcoholic Beverage Council. In addition to Receiver
Philip G. Young Junior's own law firm, Thompson Burton of Nashville,

(45:27):
a separate French law firm has been hired to assist
in the evaluation and or liquidation of the estate's French assets,
and another firm has been hired to assist in the
evaluation and or liquidation of the estate's Massachusetts assets. Uncle
Nearest founder Vaughn Weaver's purchase of a Cognact distillery in

(45:49):
France and a house in Martha's Vineyard have been called
into question by the bank, which sued Uncle Nearest Nearest
Green Weaver and her husband Key in federal court in Tennessee.
In late July, Louisville based Farm Credit min America PA
sued the Weavers, Nearest Green and Uncle Nearest, alleging they

(46:12):
had defaulted on more than one hundred million dollars in
loans and inflated the value of whiskey barrels used as
collateral by at least twenty four million dollars. The Weavers
have blamed a former executive, and they said they are
the victims of fraud. The highly successful black owned whiskey

(46:32):
brand is named for Nathan Nearest Green, a black formerly
enslaved distiller who talked distilling techniques to Jack Daniels, founder
of Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey. The Weavers and Farm Credit
are expected to dispute which assets the receivership covers, according

(46:52):
to another filing. The receiver filed the motion asking US
District Judge Charles E. Hley Jr. For verification, saying that
during investigation of financial records, several entities have been identified
that appear to be somewhat related to Uncle Nearest, Inc.
And may fall within the scope of the court's order.

(47:15):
Those assets and entities include Uncle Nearest Real Estate Holdings LLC,
which was listed in the original complaint but not specifically
listed in the judge's order, creating confusion. Shelbyville Barrel House
Barbecue LLC, believed to be owned by Keith Weaver, which

(47:37):
operates from the Uncle Nearest nearscreen property but appears to
be separate financially. Humble Baron, Inc. A Delaware corporation that
appears to be owned by a blind trust that benefits
Keith Weaver. Upon information and belief, this entity must be
owned by a blind trust in order to keep its

(47:58):
restaurant license separate from Uncle Nearest's distilling life. It operates
from the Uncle Nearest Nearest screen property, but appears to
be financially separate from Uncle Nearest. According to the filing,
Grant Sydney Inc. Apparently owned entirely by Fawn Weaver, is
the largest shareholder of Uncle Nearest and has contributed capital

(48:21):
to Uncle Nearest. The receiver believes that this company also
owns interest and other spirits unrelated to Uncle nerst. According
to the filings, Uncle Nearest Spurs six, a Delaware LLC
that the receiver said turned up in a general record search,
but it's unclear how this entity is related to Uncle Nearest,

(48:44):
Quill and Cask Owner, another Tennessee LLC owned by Fawn
and Keith Weaver that has contributed capital to Uncle Nearest
from time to time and has purchased barrels of spirits
from Uncle Nearest. Nash another Delaware corporation also owned by
Fawn and or Keith Weaver that operates trolley bed and

(49:08):
breakfast in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Classic Hops Brewing Company apparently a
concept Keith Weaver started, but it's unclear if it was
ever incorporated or fully operational. Shelbyville Grand LLC, a Tennessee
company owned by Fawn and or Keith Weaver that also

(49:30):
operates from the same location several other Weaver owned corporate entities.
It is unclear what this entity does, but it appears
to certain corporate records according to the receiver's filings. Then
there's the Weaver Interwoven family foundation. Ownership and function unknown,
but also appears in certain corporate records of Uncle Nearest.

(49:54):
Then there's Park four Park Street LLC, another Delaware corporation
also owned by the Weavers that maintains bank accounts at
similar banks as Uncle Nearest, and the Weavers are signatories
on those bank accounts. Its purpose and function are unknown
to the receiver. According to the filings, based on conversations

(50:20):
with Fawn and Keith Weaver, the receiver expects them to
argue that these other entities and their assets should be
beyond the scope of the receivership. Therefore, the receiver seeks
this court's guidance on the issue. According to the receiver's filing,
the original court order defined the assets as including all

(50:42):
of Uncle Nearest's assets, including proceeds property of whatever kind,
including the Nearest Green Distillery, real property plus domain denatole
related to the Cognac We've purchased s one Organic Vodka,
un House, m V, Uncle Nearest Ventures, and Nearest Green

(51:02):
Historical Preservation and Cultural Fund. No response or ruling has
been filed as of noon September fifteenth. Meanwhile, an online
blog called the Bourbon Dry Club dot com, which has
covered the Uncle Nearest saga exclusively, has written that Uncle

(51:22):
Nearest employees have come forward saying they were directed by
distillery management to purchase multiple copies of Fawnweaver's book Love
and Whiskey through their private Amazon accounts using Uncle Nearest
company credit cards. The orders would have not only inflated sales,
but also could have funnel corporate money into Fawnweaver's royalties.

(51:48):
The blog indicated and our next story, Trump redirects millions
to HBCU charter schools. The Trump administration announced Monday that
it will inject nearly five hundred million dollars into historically
black colleges and tribal universities, a windfall funded largely by

(52:11):
cuts to programs elsewhere for minority students. The administration will
also redirect money to other political priorities for President Trump,
including aim extra one hundred and thirty seven million dollars
for American History and Civics education and sixty million dollars
more for charter schools. The increases follow a White House

(52:33):
request for a fifteen percent budget cut to the Department
of Education next year as Trump seeks support to permanently
shutter the agency. History programs will now receive about seven
times or expected funding for this year, and charter schools
will see a thirteen percent increase. To pay for the changes,

(52:56):
the administration cut money from other parts of the education budget.
The details of the changes were described by three people
familiar with the plans, who insisted on anonymity to speak
about private discussions. The biggest cut and announced by the
Department last week is the three hundred and fifty million
dollars hit programs to support minority students in science and

(53:18):
engineering programs, schools with significant Hispanic enrollment, and other federal
grants at minority serving institutions. The administration also cut money
from Gifted and Talented programs, which it said used racial
targeting and recruitment in some cases, and from Magnet schools,
which have been used as a tool to combat school segregation.

(53:43):
In a statement announced in the new funding for the
Trump's political priorities, the Secretary of Educational Linda McMahon said
the department was redirecting financial support away from ineffective and
discriminatory programs toward those which support student success. The halt
of three hundred and fifty million dollars in federal funding

(54:03):
last week targeted seven grants for minority serving institutions, which
are colleges with significant minority student enrollment. The Trump administration
eliminated the funding, saying that the programs with racial quotas
were inherently racist and violated civil rights law. Instead, that
money will be put toward historically black colleges and universities

(54:27):
which were created to educate black students at the time
when other colleges will not serve them and are open
to students of all races. These institutions will receive one
point three four billion dollars this year, forty eight percent
more than was budgeted, according to the Department. Loreed drisk Murray,

(54:47):
a senior vice president at UNCF previously the United Negro
College Fund, said the extra money is a godsend for HBCUs.
They have been underfunded their inception, he said, and about
seventy percent of their students come from low income families.
We welcome the additional resources, he said, adding that he

(55:10):
believed the money could be substantial enough to make a
difference on campuses, even if it is a one time boost.
Mary Beth Gasman, executive director of the Rutgers Center for
Minority Serving Institutions, said that new spending should not come
at the expensive programs aimed at supporting black and Hispanic
students at other schools. She said minority serving institutions educate

(55:37):
more than half of all students of color, and she
urged Congress to push back against the executive's branch unilateral
attempt to allocate money. None of these institutions should be
pitted against each other, which seems to be what the
Trump administration is doing, said Gasman, the Associate Dean for

(56:00):
Research in the Rutgers Graduate School of Education. Tribal colleges,
which are typically controlled and operated by Native American tribes
and receive federal support, will also get about one hundred
and eight million dollars this year, double their expected allotment

(56:23):
from the Education Department, federal officials said. And finally, UK
sets record enrollment graduation rates in the fall of twenty
twenty five, The University of Kentucky is reporting yet another
year of record enrollment, with more than thirty eight thousand,
seven hundred students enroll this fall. According to preliminary data.

(56:45):
Along with the growing overall enrollment, UK also recorded a
record number of first year students at sevenenty twelve and
a record number of first generation students at nearly nineteen hundred,
About twenty seven percent of the freshman class our first
generation students. And this concludes the reading of the Lexington

(57:06):
Herald Leader for to day, Wednesday, September seventeenth. Your reader
has been Rod Brotherton as always thank you for listening,
and now please stay tuned for sports news right here
on Radio LI