Health commissioner worried that too many Kentuckians think COVID-19 doesn’t pose danger
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News Dr. Steven Stack, the state commissioner of public health, said in an interview recorded…
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Al Cross: On Memorial Day, we will get to see a story that was almost never told
Fifty-one years ago last month, my Clinton County High School classmate Paul Conner and I got on a bus in…
Al Cross: As Trump’s virus work drags them down, Republicans seem frantic
Republicans facing an election amid a century-rank catastrophe made worse by their president are throwing anything they can against the…
Al Cross: McConnell risks riling public employees with pension, bankruptcy remarks
Ever since he became leader of Republicans in the U.S. Senate, Mitch McConnell has used that post as his most…
Grayson County story of a rumor is cautionary tale for small towns in uncertain times of COVID-19
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News When a rumor becomes a news story, it often has a larger story to…
Latest models for Kentucky COVID-19 impact vary; estimates how counties will deal with disease
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News Projections of COVID-19’s impact on Kentucky continue to vary, but one model has begun…
Al Cross: Coronavirus politics are tough and will get tougher
We figured the ides of April would be the first crucible of Andy Beshear’s governorship, with a Republican legislature rendering…
Al Cross: McConnell again makes a boulder out of a pebble, then makes political hay of crisis
It’s a time for us to be apart literally, and a time to be together figuratively. But politics long ago…
Outlier Massie becomes pariah, forcing colleagues to gather against public health advice for stimulus vote
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News Thomas Massie, the congressman from Kentucky’s Fourth District, has long been at the limits…
Al Cross: Governor Andy Beshear is showing what he’s made of; it’s sterner stuff than you thought
In a crisis that could be a catastrophe for millions of Americans, politics may seem irrelevant. But politics probably made…
Clinicians suspected Kentucky’s first case of coronavirus, but patient didn’t qualify for testing
By Melissa Patrick and Al Cross Kentucky Health News Kentucky found its first case of the new coronavirus, in Harrison…
Al Cross: List of possible constitutional amendments lengthens (includes new taxes); only four are allowed
“No man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session.” That quote, one of many falsely…
Commentary: Is our political system properly serving public-health system? We need reason, not a rant
By F. Douglas Scutchfield and Al Cross Kentucky Health News The new viral disease, Covid-19, began in China, which continues…
Al Cross: McConnell surely cannot approve of Trump’s inappropriate behavior; why not say so?
Last Friday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell scheduled a press conference in Louisville, which he had to cancel because his…
Commentary: Graham casts ‘mainstream media’ as primary evil; not true really — but all have sinned
By Al Cross Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues “The Lies of Mainstream Media” is the headline over the…
Al Cross: ‘Modest’ or ‘moderate,’ Gov. Beshear’s budget plan is a small risk for him
The last time Kentucky had a governor of one party and a legislature of the other party, the governor proposed…
Al Cross: We have waited patiently for the moment that Mitch McConnell would come to his senses. . .
More than once, this space has said Mitch McConnell would face a day of reckoning in his relationship with Donald…
Al Cross: Continuing the tradition of gifts for public officials; hoping for a 2020 in which facts matter most
The tradition of a Christmas-gifts column for public figures in Kentucky was started almost four decades ago by the late…
Al Cross: Start of new governorship always leans to theatrics, but — really — it’s a new day in Frankfort
The start of a new governorship necessarily involves theatrics, which help signify the importance of a historic event, establish comity…
Al Cross: Of course we agree with McConnell that we need more ‘civility’ in our public discourse — from all
“Elections have consequences” is a favorite saying for politicians of all stripes, and for those of us who try to…
Al Cross: For Andy Beshear, ‘I’m not Matt Bevin’ actually mattered; Bevin now knows words do too
What seemed like Andy Beshear’s unspoken campaign theme – “I’m not Matt Bevin” – turned out to be sufficient after…
Al Cross: The values that drive voters will be the key as Kyians prepare to head to the polls Tuesday
Gov. Matt Bevin told The New York Times that Tuesday’s election won’t be close – that he will beat Attorney…