Constance Alexander: Vibrant arts experiences a testament to impact of arts on greater community
Lovett Auditorium levitated on Thursday night, capping off a week of vibrant arts experiences at Murray State University. The extravaganza began on Tuesday, with the arrival of author Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle. A teacher who belongs to the Eastern Bank of Cherokee Indians, a tribe of about 14,000, Clapsaddle is the author of the novel “Even As We Breathe.”
Recipient of this year’s Clinton...
Tucker Davis: Coal kept the lights on, despite Sierra Club blaming coal-fired generators for Dec. outages
Recently, the Sierra Club has been spreading a blatantly false narrative that the rolling blackouts experienced during Winter Storm Elliott in Kentucky on December 23 were the result of the failure of coal-fired generating units to meet demand. Nothing could be further from the truth.
In reality, it was the region’s remaining coal-fired power generation fleet that ramped up to meet the demand...
Joe Heller: A cartoonist’s view of week’s news — Old politicians, Chili, charging chords, Rogers/McCarthy
Joe Heller was the editorial cartoonist for the Green Bay Press-Gazette in Green Bay, Wis., from 1985 until being laid off in July 2013. He still draws several cartoons a week and distributes them through his own syndicate. Through Heller Syndication, his cartoons regularly appear in more than 400 newspapers, making him the most successful self-syndicated editorial cartoonist in the nation. His cartoons...
Mitch McConnell: U.S. allies buy American and by doing so strengthen our collective security
America’s example and the threats posed by Russia and China are leading major allies and partners in Europe and Asia to step up their commitments to collective security and dramatically increase investments in their own defense.
It’s worth pointing out once again that the United States is not shouldering the burden for European free-riders. In fact, when it comes to security assistance to Ukraine...
Bill Straub: Maybe Daniel Cameron was premature in taking on popular incumbent Andy Beshear
Word is that Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was hoping his protégé, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, would skip this year’s governor’s race and let someone else take on the popular Democratic incumbent, Andy Beshear.
It’s been speculated that McConnell, of Louisville, might have wanted Cameron to bide his time over the next four years by returning as attorney general and...
Al Cross: Tell us more, Mitch and Joe
Mitch McConnell, who has a policy of saying little, is exactly nine months older than Joe Biden, who says too much and will be 81 on Nov. 20.
The president’s rambling makes some people worry about his health, but we know a lot more about it than we do about the Senate Republican leader’s, even after recent freeze-ups forced him to reveal more than ever. But in both their cases, it’s still not...
Aaron Thompson: Students headed to college have many worries, value of education shouldn’t be one
If you or your child headed off to campus this fall, you’re probably worried about a lot of things. Whether college will be worth the cost should be the least of them.
We’ve read about students who racked up substantial student loan debt with no good job to show for it, or high school graduates earning six-figure salaries out of coding bootcamps. These people, like Powerball jackpot winners, do...
Constance Alexander: Penguin Project ‘miracle’ brings production of Guys & Dolls, Jr. to Playhouse stage
A miracle occurred at Murray’s Playhouse in the Park last week. In rehearsal on Tuesday, actors and their mentors were uncertain about lines, blocking, cues, and props. By Friday, however, the cast was mostly off book and in tune, their entrances and exits properly timed and executed. Some had even developed appropriate “New Yawk” accents for the upcoming production of “Guys & Dolls, Jr.,”...
Norma Hatfield: My heart aches for the children as kinship families wait for a champion in Kentucky
I recently spoke to a legislative committee about Kinship Care. As I sat at the table during the hearing, my heart was hurting for so many kinship families in Kentucky who are in serious need and seem to be forgotten. There are many kids in Kinship Care who’ve been abused, neglected and removed from their homes and placed with family or close family friends other than their parents.
In a moment’s...
Joe Heller: Cartoonist’s view of weeks news — 9/11, football season, Jimmy Buffett, Burning Man
Joe Heller was the editorial cartoonist for the Green Bay Press-Gazette in Green Bay, Wis., from 1985 until being laid off in July 2013. He still draws several cartoons a week and distributes them through his own syndicate. Through Heller Syndication, his cartoons regularly appear in more than 400 newspapers, making him the most successful self-syndicated editorial cartoonist in the nation. His cartoons...
Amye Bensenhaver: Bureaucratic indifference should not prevail in incident regarding a chemical spill
Should members of the community who have been alerted to “shelter in place” be required to submit an open records request to obtain details about the chemical spills that prompted the alert?
Following an August 5 chemical release in Louisville’s Rubbertown corridor, Courier Journal environmental staff writer Connor Griffin reported on deficiencies in the Louisville Emergency Notification...
Bill Straub: House Republicans are moving along, without sufficient evidence, on Biden impeachment
House Republicans, unrenowned for their lucidity these days, are hell-bent to impeach President Biden, perhaps before the year is out, and might very well do so without sufficient high crimes and misdemeanors to even cover the head of a pin.
GOP lawmakers, who hold a bare majority in the lower chamber, are instigating the effort to drive Biden from office for only one definable reason – their messiah,...
Hilda Legg: Reliable digital connectivity a lifeline for rural Kentuckians
According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau statistics, Kentucky remains one of the most rural states in the nation, with more than 41% of our 4.5 million residents living in small- and medium- sized communities.
I have been proud to devote my 40-plus-year career to serving the rural citizens of the Commonwealth through a variety of roles in the public, private and non-profit sectors. And from the fertile...
Jamie Ruehl: Federal parenting causes unintended consequences
As a parent, I wear many hats. Sometimes I’m the nurturer. Sometimes I’m the enforcer of rules. Sometimes a spectator. Sometimes I’m a cheerleader. Sometimes I’m a coach. Other times I’m a counselor. But I’m always “Dad.”
My wife and I supervise our children and are accountable for them. That will change as my kids mature and become more independent. Many of the decisions my wife and...
Constance Alexander: MSU Humanities head embraces connectedness to broaden perceptions
With anyone else, an 8 a.m. interview – without coffee — would be painful. Talking to Joshua Adair, however, was a welcome opportunity to spend an hour in the gracious space he has created within the cinderblock walls of his office at Murray State University.
Joshua Adair (Photo by Robyn Pizzo)
Dr. Adair’s range of expertise embraces a range of topics, reflected in his comprehensive research...
