Gov. Matt Bevin recently signed a measure into law to stiffen penalties for harming K-9 unit dogs, which serve as an incredible asset to Kentucky’s police forces.
House Bill 93, sponsored by Rep. Diane St. Onge, R-Lakeside Park, will make a person guilty of assault on a service animal in the first degree when they intentionally kill or cause serious physical injury to a service animal; or cause physical injury to a service animal by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument.
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Top Shelf Lobby has announced that Justin Clark is joining the firm as a partner effective April 1.
Clark has been general counsel for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services in the Bevin administration and previously was a partner in the Louisville law office of Stoll Keenon Ogden LLC.
“Top Shelf Lobby is excited to have Justin join our firm as partner,” said partner Marc Wilson. “His skill sets, his legal experience and knowledge of the process in state government is a tremendous asset that will help grow our first to the next level.”
Top Shelf Lobby, recognized by the Southern Political Report as the top lobbying firm in Kentucky, manages advocacy in Kentucky for some of the largest brands in the world, including healthcare organizations, trade organizations, and small business interests.
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Statement of Ben Chandler, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, regarding the 2017 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (the Rankings) report to be released on Wednesday, March 29, by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute:
“The Rankings show that people living in Eastern and rural Kentucky counties tend to have much poorer health than those in urban Kentucky counties. The Rankings also make it clear that good health is influenced by many factors beyond medical care, including whether we can find and afford healthy foods, whether we can exercise safely in our neighborhoods, whether we have health insurance and if that insurance covers preventive care, and how safe our water is to drink and our air is to breathe … for example, whether we are protected from secondhand smoke.
“Every community can take steps to improve the health of its residents. The most significant thing every community, employer and school system in Kentucky can do, if it hasn’t already, is to pass a smoke-free policy. Smoking affects nearly every organ of the body, and is responsible for more than one in five deaths in Kentucky. Every year, smoking kills 8,000 Kentuckians, and adds a financial burden of more than $22,000 per smoker in extra health care expenses, lost earnings and other costs. Reducing smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke is the single most effective thing Kentucky communities can do to improve health.”