Five Things to Know Today
NOTE: We will be posting more inauguration stories and galleries throughout today, so be sure to check the site this evening for the latest.
Beshear, Coleman sworn in, promise openness and bipartisanship
On a frigid December day, Andy Beshear and Jacqueline Coleman were sworn in as governor and lieutenant governor of Kentucky, promising to bring a new tone of openness and bipartisanship to Frankfort. (Forward Kentucky)
Beshear appoints all new Kentucky Board of Education; old board promises lawsuit
Gov. Andy Beshear signed an executive order Tuesday in his first day in office to create a new state school board. He said in the order that the current board has conflicting relationships, a lack of experience in education and did not conduct a nationwide search in 2018 when it hired current commissioner Wayne Lewis. Ten members of the current board said they would sue. (Forward Kentucky)
Beshear says he will sign order Thursday restoring voting rights of 100,000+ felons
In his inaugural address, Gov. Beshear said he will file an executive order restoring the voting rights of many convicted felons currently disenfranchised. (Forward Kentucky)
A teacher, an organizer, and an advocate walk into an inauguration …
What did some people at the inauguration think about their new governor? We caught up with teachers, union organizers, and a policy advocate to find out. (Forward Kentucky)
Lawmakers rip last-minute, $8 billion Medicaid contract awarded by Bevin administration
A recent award of $8 billion in state Medicaid contracts by the administration of Gov. Matt Bevin came under fire on two fronts by lawmakers on Monday. (Forward Kentucky)
Did you miss any of these?
Featured Content on Forward Kentucky
([new] indicates new since last Forward Five; 🔥 indicates lots of reads)
News
[new] Dorsey Ridley accuses Bevin of lying about him on way out – Dorsey Ridley says outgoing governor Bevin has been “throwing bombs” and telling at least one blatant lie about him on the way out of office. (read)
[new] KY school districts sue e-cigarette companies – Kentucky school districts are trying to stem the tide of vaping that not only is harming the health of their middle and high school students, but also is draining resources. (read)
[new] 🔥What did Kentucky get for Bevin’s $600,000+ contract to investigate Steve Beshear? – Gov. Bevin’s administration paid a law firm at least $600,000 to investigate Steve Beshear’s administration, but refuses to say what it got for the money. (read)
Outgoing Gov. Bevin fires off order aimed at curbing Rocky Adkins’ pension – In a move aimed squarely at House Democratic Leader Rocky Adkins, outgoing Republican Gov. Matt Bevin has issued an executive order attempting to block Adkins from getting a higher pension as he leaves the General Assembly to accept a job as a senior adviser with Gov.-elect Andy Beshear. (read)
🔥Experts: Matt Bevin’s ‘harvesting votes’ remarks were veiled reference to minorities – Gov. Bevin was using coded language to refer to minority voters when he blamed his election loss on liberals “harvesting votes,” political experts say. (read)
Commentary
[new] 🔥Impeachment, racism, and the Trump-Republican cult – Three historians look at how Trump uses racism as part of his appeal, and the loss of historic Republican values to the Trumpism cult. (read)
The (Millennial) kids are all right – I’m an old lady, a Boomer born in 1958. But it drives me crazy when I see my generation run down millennials. Here’s what they are getting right. (read)
🔥Bevin employs scorched-earth policy in classless exit from role as governor – If there’s anything to make out of Gov. Bevin’s round of interviews on conservative radio stations, it’s that 12:01 a.m. Tuesday can’t come fast enough. (read)
🔥‘Mad Matt,’ ever the ‘crass, classless, recalcitrant man’ – Matt Bevin is at it again. His time nearly up, Bevin has taken to the radio to dog whistle to the GOP faithful and to bash Beshear. (read)
Media
[podcast] Interview with Rep. Josie Raymond – This week, Jazmin and Robert spoke with J-town and Hikes Point Representative Josie Raymond specifically about her efforts around early childhood education in the legislature. She told us about her partnership with Bowling Green Republican Steve Sheldon, and how they were approaching making big changes to the way that Kentucky handles pre-K education, and what she envisions as the future of how we handle this important topic in our state.
In this episode, Jazmin and Robert also discussed the potential priorities of Attorney General-elect Daniel Cameron and several high profile appointments in Governor-elect Andy Beshear’s cabinet. (listen)
Posts with Most Social Media Shares in Past Fourteen Days
( 🔥indicates post with surge of recent shares)
- Bevin, still claiming election fraud, says liberals are ‘good at harvesting’ urban votes (873 shares)
- Matt Bevin accuses Andy Beshear of ‘selling’ appointment to campaign contributor (574 shares)
- Bevin employs scorched-earth policy in classless exit from role as governor (419 shares)
- What did Kentucky get for Bevin’s $600,000+ contract to investigate Steve Beshear? (376 shares)
- Experts: Matt Bevin’s ‘harvesting votes’ remarks were veiled reference to minorities (314 shares)
The Forward 5 is published Monday to Friday by Forward Kentucky, an independent media organization focused on progressive news and issues in Kentucky, and is re-posted with permission. You can sign up for the email version of the newsletter on their website.
