Five Things to Know Today
— Publisher’s Note —
Good morning! We’re still waiting on the final results from the primary, but you may have seen an update yesterday: Charles Booker has taken a lead over Amy McGrath.
Here’s the thing, as noted by Robert Kahne and Jazmin Smith on this week’s My Old Kentucky Podcast, which you can listen to here – those results are meaningless.
Absentee ballots are still arriving at county clerk offices across the state. Those ballots are still being opened and counted.
And both Jefferson and Fayette counties have said they won’t announce any results until Tuesday, June 30. So, we wait.
BUT – while you are waiting, one thing you can do is call the Secretary of State’s office at (502) 564-3490 and leave a message for SOS Adams, asking him to use no-excuse absentee voting and early in-person voting in the fall. (And expand voting hours to 8 PM, as well.) He needs to hear from us.
It’s time for Kentucky to make it easier to vote, not harder. The primary this week showed the way.
That’s how #TeamKentucky should run an election.
Bruce Maples, publisher
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Today’s show
AgriTech in Kentucky – plus, some Scary Stats
This week Gov. Beshear announced a new “agritech” partnership. What is that, and is this a big deal? On this week’s The State of Kentucky, we talk with Jonathan Webb, CEO of AppHarvest, about their vision and about working with both Kentucky and the Dutch. (The Dutch?!?) Then, in our second segment, we’re going to look at some Scary Stats, and what they could mean for Kentucky. Join us at noon at one of the links below!
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Quarantine advisory if you’ve been to Myrtle Beach; LTC openings – 6/25 update
Advisory issued if you’ve traveled out of state; some new openings for care facilities; cases rise slightly; plus other news. (Forward Kentucky)
Social media posts say ‘armed patriot groups’ will rally Saturday in downtown Louisville
Counterprotesters that include “armed patriot groups” may come to downtown Louisville Saturday, according to social media posts and a Facebook event acknowledged by police. The posts suggest a counterprotest to the ongoing racial justice demonstrations in Jefferson Square Park over the Breonna Taylor shooting. (Courier-Journal)
Fancy Farm picnic won’t have political speeches this year
Fancy Farm’s annual picnic is still a go for August, but without the political speeches, organizers said this week on social media. (Forward Kentucky)
The Breonna Taylor rally in Frankfort – a photo gallery
You can read about the rally on a number of other news outlets. We just wanted to share the pictures, as we think they speak for themselves. (Forward Kentucky)
Related: Breonna Taylor rally: Common, Rapsody join 500-plus in vowing to stand up for Black women (Courier-Journal)
Related: Muhammad Ali’s cousin blasts Mitch McConnell, Daniel Cameron during Breonna Taylor rally (Courier-Journal)
‘I rise because I was Breonna Taylor’s congressman …’
The U.S. House passed the “George Floyd Justice in Policing Act” yesterday. Here are remarks on the House floor from Congressman John Yarmuth (KY-03) in support of that act. (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] How fake accounts constantly manipulate what you see on social media – and what you can do about it – Misinformation, disinformation, confusion, and ultimately division – the goals of trolls, bots, and sock puppets. What can you do? (read)
[new] Six unexpected connections between Coronavirus & Environment – Here are six important connections between the coronavirus, the environment, and sustainability. Watch and share! (watch)
[new] The 15 remaining cases on the SCOTUS docket – Here is a list of the cases that have not yet been decided by the Supreme Court, along with predictions about who may be writing the decisions. (read)
#HealthyAtSchool: Masks, social distancing, temperature checks – KY Department of Education released their “flagship document” on schools reopening on Wednesday, spelling out some of the requirements for local schools. (read)
— Commentary —
CFA encourages investment in food security through redirecting police budgets – Community Farm Alliance is advocating for local communities to redirect funds from police department budgets toward food security efforts and other preventive programs that make our communities more safe. (read)
Tick tock – it’s past time for passing the Heroes Act! – Senator McConnell – The clock is ticking. Pass the HEROES Act now! (read)
— Policy —
A new program, Pandemic EBT, puts food on the table for Kentucky’s children – Tens of thousands of Kentucky children are food-insecure, and school closings have made things worse. Enter P-EBT! Read on to learn more. (read)
— Media —
[new podcast] The primary election got weird – This week, Robert and Jazmin discuss the primary election (which went viral for weird reasons), the ongoing protests (a police officer was fired this week in conjunction will the killing of Breonna Taylor), and COVID-19 (it’s still happening, folks). (listen)
🔥 [videos] The closing ads for Booker, Broihier, and McGrath – Here are the final ads before the primary for each of the Democrats running to take on Mitch McConnell in the fall. These were taken straight from their YouTube channels. (watch)
🔥 [photo gallery] Booker campaign stops in Lebanon, Danville – The Charles Booker campaign bus tour stopped in Lebanon and Danville on Sunday, and Nick Lacy was at both stops to capture them in photos. (view)
[videocast] #DefundThePolice on ‘The State of Kentucky’ – Here’s our show on #DefundThePolice, an important topic that we all need to learn more about. Rep. Attica Scott and Emily Galvin-Almanza (founder of Partners for Justice) help us understand the topic. (watch or listen)
Posts with Most Social Media Shares in Past Fourteen Days
(🔥 indicates post with surge of recent shares)
- 🔥🔥 Would everyone please get the Louisville voting story straight? (26,000+ shares )
- Kentucky cousins both running for House seats this year (3,000+ shares)
- The Louisville voting story – an update (2,000+ shares)
- Black Lives Matter in Crab Orchard, Kentucky (751 shares)
- No mask? You’re a bad neighbor. #WearTheDamnMask (543 shares)
- 🔥 ‘I rise because I was Breonna Taylor’s congressman …’ (386 shares)
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