Economists confirmed today that Kentucky's deficit is nearly $1 billion for the new fiscal year that starts July 1 — the largest deficit in the state's history, and large enough to legally obligate our elected officials to address, most likely in a Special Session in June.

Despite having made commitments during the general assembly to take up comprehensive tax reforms, Gov. Beshear, Speaker Stumbo, and some other legislators are once again passing the buck, claiming that now is not the time for revenue reform.  Instead, they're offering...well, not much.  Video slot machines that won't even bring in revenue for a year.

Now is exactly the time for comprehensive, progressive revenue reform.  Here's why:

• As Sheila Schuster of Advocacy Action told the press at yesterday's Kentucky Forward press conference, "They say to tighten the belt...We don't even have a belt to tighten anymore."  More cuts will jeopardize our ability to educate, keep healthy, and protect our families.
• The recession is hurting low- and moderate-income families.  Why is Kentucky continuing to ask these families to pay more in taxes than higher incomes?  We have an opportunity for revenue reforms that make our system fairer.
  
• Studies and expert testimony (here, here and here) show that during economic downturns, especially, state economies benefit from modest tax increases on the wealthy, and suffers from debilitating budget cuts.  (The studies rely on the work of Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz and Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag).

We have an opportunity to act!  Here's what you can do:

1. 1)  Contact Governor Beshear and tell him to make comprehensive tax reforms part of the agenda for the special session. Phone: 502-564-2611.  Fax: 502-564-2517.   Or use his online email form.   Message: As you write the call for the special session to address the budget crisis, please include comprehensive revenue reforms. Don’t box us out. 
   
2. Come to a hearing of the Appropriations and Revenue Committee hearing on June 4 at 1 p.m. in the capitol annex to show support for Rep. Jim Wayne’s tax reform bill, one that KFTC has pushed for several years. The committee will hear testimony on this bill, as well as other tax proposals (yet they say this is for information only and these proposals will not be part of the special session).
   
3. Watch KFTC member Dana Beasley Brown and Mary Ann Blankenship, executive director of Kentucky Educational Association, on Bill Goodman’s Kentucky Tonight show on KET, Monday evening (June 1) at 8 p.m. EDT.  Support them with your comments and questions, which may be emailed during the show to: kytonight@ket.org. Also on the show will be two guests representing anti-government and anti-tax groups.
   

To learn more about our work with the Kentucky Forward Coalition, check out these two articles in the Lexington Herald-Leader and the The Courier-Journal.

KFTC members living in Scott County have stepped-up in recent months to build our local campaign to restore voting rights to former felons.  Scott County members are especially influential in this issue because they are constituents of Senator Damon Thayer, chair of the State and Local Government Committee.

We've had small kitchen-table meetings, class presentations, conversations between members, and a few larger events like tabling at the Pete Seeger concert on Georgetown's campus a few weeks ago.  Scott County members have also been involved in all three of the meetings we've had with Senator Damon Thayer on this issue earlier during the legislative session.

Last night, we had our first ever KFTC Voting Rights Community Meeting in Georgetown, bringing everyone together to meet each other for the first time, develop an identity as a group, and plan more events.

Seventeen folks attended, including two former felons, three mothers of former felons, African American community representation, college professors, new folks, long-time KFTC members coming to their first meeting, and more.

"There are a lot of challenging public issues in which you have to carefully weight the pros and the cons.  This issue is different in that I just don't see any cons.  There's no reason for us not to be able to give these people the right to vote."                   - Linda Kubala, Scott County

We spent a lot of time talking about the Voting Rights issue, the path to win a constitutional amendment, the importance of Scott County in the fight, and some tentative ideas about what we can do locally to win.  

"I have a young son who is incarcerated...  When he comes out of prison, I want him to be able to make and impact - a real positive impact - on his community.  He needs to be able to start by being a part of his community and to be able to vote and that's why I'm here tonight" - Elwanda McNeal, Scott County

  

  

Eager to keep going, they pushed to schedule their big next meeting *next week* - just seven days from now on Thursday, June 4th at 6:30pm at the Ed Davis Learning Center - 151 Ed Davis Ln, Georgetown. 

Build Power, Build Chapters

KFTC Training

Join us on Saturday, June 20th from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. for a “Build power, build chapters” training in Frankfort. KFTC’s 28-year history of working for change is rooted in the strong grassroots work of our chapters. Whether the issue is improving neighborhoods, voting rights for all, a clean energy future, fair and adequate tax reform, or any other issue we believe in, KFTC uses strong, local chapters to make change.

During the day we will discuss:

1. the necessary ingredients for successful local chapters to thrive,
2. how other successful KFTC chapters work,
3. how we build relationships to build local power,
4. how to talk to new people about KFTC,
5. and how to plug to make all of our local and statewide work come together.

Paul Sawyier Public Library
319 Wapping St., Frankfort
Saturday, June 20th
10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Special workshop: New Power -- New Chapters

Want to have a local chapter in your area but unsure of how to get started?   Need a little guidance and advice from KFTC staff and members who have traveled down the path before?  Join us for a special afternoon workshop about what it means to be a chapter, what resources KFTC can provide, and other helpful tips to guide you along the way.

The event is free and open to all KFTC members.  Lunch will be provided.  To RSVP and for more information contact Carissa Lenfert at 859-896-1277 Ext. 224 or carissa@kftc.org.

Almost 100 KFTC members and friends turned out on a rainy Saturday for the Madison County SpringFest. 

The event start off with a reading of the brand new book "Something's Rising:  Applachians Fighting Mountaintop Removal"  from authors Silas House and Jason Howard. 

Folks also enjoyed a delicious potluck dinner that featured locally raised meat and music from loved local band Mudpi. 

A friendly Derby pool and silent auction helped raise fun – and funds -- for KFTC.

"I enjoy having the chance to socialize with members and prospective members in a party atmosphere where there is a minimum of business to discuss.  I think that kind of outreach is as important as all the tabling, phone banking and chapter and committee meetings that we members do throughout the year."  -- Toby Wilcher, Berea.

The event was a great celebration of the strength and work of the nearly 500-member strong Madison County chapter.  Thanks to all who volunteered and helped make the event a success!

A new report released today reports higher rates of cancer and non-cancer risks for Americans living near landfills and coal ash dumps.  Unfortunately, this new report will shed light on one of the problems with East Kentucky Power Cooperative's proposed new coal-burning power plant, Smith 1.  EKPC is proposing to dump coal ash from Smith 1 using the same methods criticized in this report.  They plan to dump the ash in wetlands and streams near the plant, burying nearly 7 miles of streams, impacting 7 more, and filling 5 acres of wetlands.  Learn more about the Smith 1 plans and how you can get involved to protect Kentuckians health and the environment by clicking here.

About the report:

On Thursday the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) and Earthjustice will release government files withheld by the Bush Administration for more than seven years showing dramatically higher than previously reported cancer and non-cancer risks to Americans living near landfills and wet ponds used to dispose of ash and scrubber sludge from coal-fired power plants.  Each year, coal-fired power plants dispose of nearly 100 million tons of toxic fly ash, bottom ash, and scrubber sludge in landfills and wet ponds, such as the one that burst in Kingston, TN in December 2008.

The major new analysis by the EIP and Earthjustice of the long-sought EPA data on 210 coal-ash dump sites across the United States will show extremely high cancer and non-cancer illness risks to Americans as a result of arsenic, boron, cadmium, cobalt and lead and other toxics in drinking water contaminated by coal-ash dump sites. The new data to be reported by EIP/Earthjustice are based on information that the Bush Administration refused for years to disclose.  For example, a 2002 EPA screening study was not made public until March 4, 2009 -- seven years after its publication. Freedom of Information Act requests to EPA during the Bush Administration were denied or resulted in the production of documents with the cancer and noncancer risk estimates blacked out. The new EIP/Earthjustice report will show exactly what was being withheld by the Bush Administration and what it means in terms of health risks for Americans.

Five or more high-risk sites were found in 20 states: Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

   In celebration of Pete Seeger's birthday and in recognition of under-represented communities across the nation, Georgetown College students in Scott County organized a concert and  speak-out today on a range of issues.  KFTC members attended, raising awareness of our Canary Project and the campaign to restore voting rights to former felons who have served their debt to society.  Over 150 students and community members attended in-all.

  

   

   Because Senator Damon Thayer of Georgetown is such a critical vote on the Voting Rights issue, we put a lot of emphasis on getting people to sign postcards to Thayer or to sit down and write a letter to him as a constituent.  Sixty people signed postcards and almost two dozen wrote letters.

   

  

   Many Georgetown members are eager to start a series of KFTC community meetings in their city later this month to start laying the groundwork for a powerful Voting Rights campaign and more.

    Still one of our newest chapters, the Bowling Green chapter of KFTC is running strong, building campaigns and alliances while having a lot of fun doing it. 

   Whether it's a tour of the local coal-fired steam plant, a Haiku contest fundraiser, door-to-door campaigns around Housing work, running phone banks or coming out to ally events, Bowling Green KFTC members are full of energy and enthusiasm that's more than a little contagious.

   A mutli-tiered campaign around housing and tenant-landlord agreements is at the heart of the chapter's work, but supporting KFTC's statewide campaigns are increasingly a big piece of the work as well.

   Members have spent a lot of time lately building relationships with elected officials and are starting a process of intentional chapter development and strategic planning.

   Earlier today, many chapter members attended a city council meeting to weigh in on stimulus funds coming into the city to encourage them to be used for weatherizing low-income rental housing - where members have done a lot of door-to-door outreach and found that many tenants have outrageous electricity bills.

   If you live in Bowling Green, please consider coming out to one of our events.  We also welcome visitors from other chapters across the state like Joe Gallenstein (below) who visited from Lexington at our April Chapter Meeting.

    

- Housing Workteam meeting - Monday, May 11th at 7:30pm at Dana's House (1325 Indianola St.)
- Bowling Green Chapter Development Meeting - Tuesday, May 19th at 6:30pm at K-Scope
- Bowling Green Chapter Meeting - Tuesday, May 26th at 6:30pm
- Statewide Chapter Development Training - Saturday, June 20th, Lexington