A Letter to the Editor and an article worth noting, both underscoring the irresponsibility of the current budget.  Below is a member's call for tax reform that offers access to higher ed, and an article that shows how chronic underfunding of the Cabinent of Health and Family Services has compromised our ability to protect some of the state's most vulnerable. 

Amar Shah's Letter to the Editor in yesterday's Courier-Journal.  Shah is among the U of L students building support for affordable higher education.

Taxes and tuition

"Crit Luallen's opinion piece on the exorbitant costs of higher education in Kentucky could not be any more relevant. As she notes, Kentucky is among the least educated states in the nation and desperately must catch up. Luallen reports that tuition at our four-year institutions have risen by 96 percent over the past six years, forcing a massive decrease in enrollment. These tuition increases can be attributed to, at least in part, a refusal of our state government to raise the revenue badly needed to support higher education.

Luallen's figures demonstrate that the shortchanging of public higher education in Kentucky has been an ongoing trend, but our current governor and legislature must do everything in their power to reverse it. Simply put, raising revenue means raising taxes.

In this state, the wealthiest pay a smaller proportion of their income in taxes than do those who are merely eking out a living. In the end, it is the students who pay, in the form of sky-high tuition, as universities look for ways to shore up their budgets.

As a student at the University of Louisville, I challenge the readers of this newspaper to quit harking to the fear-mongering of anti-tax rhetoric and admit that the only way to an educated Kentucky is through economic justice and tax reform. Only when the state government has the guts to raise taxes on the wealthy will our public universities secure the funding necessary to ensure that higher education is affordable for all."

AMAR SHAH
Student
University of Louisville
Louisville 40217

And here is an article in the Herald-Leader about the effects of chronically underfunding the state wards, which care for the 2500 Kentucky adults who are unable to care for themselves.  Notice the incredible caseloads pointed out (and bolded) in the excerpt below:

Luallen said in an interview that the problems are not indicative of the quality of the employees hired by the state to handle guardianship cases.

      'These are committed, caring workers who are doing the best they can.' The problem, she said, is that there are too few of them.

A national study issued in 2005 recommended a ratio of one worker per 20 wards.  As of last year, Kentucky averaged one case manager for each 58 wards, the audit found. Since then, caseloads have increased to an average of one worker per 61 wards.

All this, and the Senate President isn't convinced that anyone is being cut to the bone.  These pieces, along with all the other calls for strengthening our investments our commonwealth, are cases for more inclusive, more participatory government, with elected officials who truly represent Kentuckians.  What are your thoughts? 

There have been plenty of news stories across the Commonwealth about Kentucky's big step forward in restoring voting rights to former felons who have served their time.

Here are a few:

• "Restoring voting rights eased," Lexington Herald-Leader

• "Regaining voting rights easier," Courier Journal

• "Beshear makes restoring felon voting rights easier," News-Enterprise

• "Felon Voting Rights To Be Restored," Kentucky Post

• "Beshear simplifies process to restore voting rights for felons," Herald-Dispatch/AP

• "Felon Voting Rights," WTVQ

The Restoration of Voting Rights Campaign has encouraged the Governor’s Office since early in the Fletcher administration to ease the extraordinarily difficult process by which former felons can request a gubernatorial pardon and get their voting rights back.  The changes Fletcher implemented have included the need for applicants to write an essay, give three character references, and fill out a second application just to be considered. 

Late last week, Governor Steve Beshear took a big step forward by eliminating the requirement for the second application, the $2 processing fee, the essay, and the character references, streamlining the process considerably.

Please take a moment to contact Governor Beshear to thank him for making this important change. 

This is a big victory for KFTC members who have pushed for this for years, but falls short of our main goal – to pass HB 70 to automatically restore voting rights to former felons who have served their debt to society. 

KFTC members say that this measure might grant hundreds or even thousands of people their voting rights back, but the next governor might close the door shut on further restorations. 

“It shouldn’t be up to this Governor or any other governor to decide,” says KFTC member Sally Evans.  “It’s a matter of fairness to give everyone their voting rights back – automatically when they’ve served their sentence.”

We've received a lot of news coverage over the last couple days about our recent committee hearings on the Stream Saver bill.  Here are some that we've run across:

• "Stream-Saver Bill gets hearing," Louisville Courier Journal
• "Ky. lawmakers weigh mountaintop mining," Associated Press
• "Stream saver bill headed for committee vote," Polwatchers
• "Decoy may save bill on streams," Lexington Herald-Leader
• "Coal representatives oppose stream saver bill," CHNI News Service
• "Vote on Stream Saver bill waits for full committee," Polwatchers
  

In the past few days the issues we work on have been featured pretty prominent in the news.

The Courier-Journal published an article on a legal battle around the expansion of a mountaintop removal/valley fill site in Leslie County and on the issue of MTR more generally.  It mentions Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, the Stream Saver Bill, and our I Love Mountains Day rally.  It is a really good article by James Bruggers with lots of good supplementary information and photos.

Also in The Courier-Journal recently was an editorial decrying the potential effects of proposed budget cuts on state services and the lack of leadership being shown by state legislators in solving this problem.

Finally, this weekend the Lexington Herald-Leader published several letters to the editor by KFTC members and others supporting HB 262, our Tax Justice legislation, which would make our tax system more fair and raise additional revenue for state services.  You can read the letters on the KEJA blog.

We have just begun the hiring process for two brand-new positions within KFTC, a Communications Associate/Writer and a Voter Empowerment Organizer.  Click the links for full job descriptions.  Please help us spread the word about about these positions.

Communications Associate/Writer

The primary role of the Writer is to help KFTC’s Executive Director and Management Team maintain consistent and effective communication with KFTC staff, leaders, allies, and funders.  The Writer will work closely with KFTC’s Executive Director and Deputy Director on foundation fundraising; correspondence with funders, staff, and members; and other writing projects as assigned.  The Writer will also work closely with other members of the Management Team (including the Organizing Director, Communications Director, and Development Director) on general and special writing projects.  As a member of KFTC’s staff team, the Writer will work to advance the organization’s overall mission and goals.

Voter Empowerment Organizer

The role of the Voter Empowerment Organizer will be to work with the KFTC leaders and staff to implement the organization’s non-partisan voter empowerment program including leadership development, research and communications, outreach to new and unlikely voters, and fundraising support.  As a member of KFTC’s staff team, the Organizer will work to advance the organization’s overall mission and goals.

UK Greenthumb, Kentucky Heartwood, KFTC members, and other students gathered today to keep pressure on the UK Board of Trustees over a proposed logging of 1,000 acres or more of Robinson Forest, a Forest in Knott, Perry, and Breathitt Counties owned by the University.  The rally brought out several dozen supporters as Board of Trustees members filtered past students in the Patterson Office Tower Plaza and into their monthly board meeting at 1pm today. 

For more information on the changing campaign, see the UK Kentucky Kernel story link below.
"Logging opponents to protest at trustees' meeting" - Kentucky Kernel

UK Greenthumb has also requested that allies take a moment to contact the UK Board of Trustees at (859) 257-1704 and leave a message letting them know that you oppose the current plan to log large portions of Robinson Forest.  You can also use the contact information below to contact individual UK Board of Trustees members.  

• Mira S. Ball, Chair -  (859) 268-1191

• Stephen P. Branscum, Vice Chair - (270) 866-5107

• Penelope A. Brown -  (606) 528-3073

• Dermontti F. Dawson -  (859) 514-3100

• Ann Brand Haney - (606) 636-6161

• James F. Hardymon - (859) 233-9965

• Pamela Robinette May, Secretary - (606) 432-0400

• Billy Joe Miles - (270) 926-1786 ext. 501

• Phillip R. Patton - (270) 651-2744

• Sandy Bugie Patterson - (859) 441-5810

• Nick Phelps (Student Government President) - 859-257-3191

• Erwin Roberts - eroberts@fbtlaw.com

• Charles R. Sachatello - (859) 272-4246

• C. Frank Shoop - (502) 863-3727

• Myra Leigh Tobin - (212) 675-0257

• JoEtta Y. Wickliffe - (859) 734-3316

• Billy B. Wilcoxson - (859) 266-4444

• Russ Williams - (859) 257-9432

Restoring a Right

Amendment would make it easier for felons to again vote.

Ashland Daily Independent Editorial

A proposal to allow casino-style gambling in Kentucky is not the only constitutional amendment that will be debated by the 2008 Kentucky General Assembly. But if the chances of placing the gambling amendment on the November ballot are uncertain, the odds of the amendment being proposed by Rep. Daryl Owens, D-Louisville, and Rep. Jesse Crenshaw, D-Lexington, being placed on the ballot are even longer.

That’s because few politicians are willing to speak out on behalf of convicted felons who cannot even vote. Restoring the right to vote for felons who have served their sentences is exactly what the amendment proposed by Owens and Crenshaw would do. Kentucky is one of only two states — with Virginia being the other — that do not automatically restore the voting rights of most criminals who have served their time and not been charged with or convicted of new crimes.

While Owens recognizes that his amendment will take a back seat to the expanded gambling amendment, he sees no reason why both amendments cannot be on the November ballot. He said both the House and the Senate can propose two constitutional amendments.

 Read the complete Editorial in the Ashland Daily Independent here

Alecia Webb-Edgington (R) has won the race for the 63rd District House seat 2,632 votes to opponent Dan Wolff's 2,333 votes.  This was a surprisingly close race in heavily Republican Northern Kentucky. 

Sannie Overly (D) won the 72nd House seat with 3,255 votes compared to 2,054 votes won by Bryan Beauman (R) in Central Kentucky.

We contacted KFTC members and friends in both of these districts leading up to the election to encourage them to learn about the candidates and vote.

Both Alecia Webb-Edington and Sannie Overly will immediately represent their districts in the General Assembly - where KFTC members are already hard at work building support for legislation such as our streamsaver bill, comprehensive tax reform plan, and restoration of voting rights for former felons constitutional amendment.


In other Election news, John Mccain and Hilary Clinton won the critical New Hampshire Primary yesterday.  Both have been hailed as come-backs as polls projected Clinton would lose to Obama by 10 points as recently as the morning of the Election and McCain's campaign had been floundering leading up to the primary.

In both parties, it seems that the Presidential Election is still very much open, as different candidates have won different states in the past week.

A Matter of Justice

Louisville Courier Journal Editorial

Kentucky voters may yet get a chance to consider a constitutional amendment that would restore voting rights to certain categories of felons, once they've served their time.

But the possibility of that happening in 2008 looks slim indeed. Earlier this year, a proposal to restore felons' voting rights passed the state House, then died without a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Fortunately, Rep. Darryl Owens, D-Louisville, who sponsored House Bill 70 along with Rep. Jesse Crenshaw, D-Lexington, is determined to keep hope alive. He believes the proposal can muster the three-fifths majority needed in both houses of the legislature to put it on the ballot.

However, as The Courier-Journal's Joseph Gerth reported the other day, getting the job done isn't going to be easy.

For one thing, there will be the expected resistance from a gaggle of Frankfort lawmakers who want no part in appearing to be weak on crime. In addition, even if Gov. Steve Beshear supports such an amendment, he may be pressed by opponents to resist it -- opponents whose help he will need in putting an expanded gambling amendment on the ballot.

It is easy for politicians to oppose restoring the vote to convicts -- even those who have paid their debt to society. There is not much of a constituency for ex-prisoners.

Some harbor racial motives for not wanting ex-felons to vote, but they don't have to admit that. They can just talk about how undeserving criminals are. Others oppose restoration of voting rights on the assumption that, just because so many criminals come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, they likely will vote Democratic, but, publicly, they can posture against giving criminals this kind of "break."

What these and other opponents should remember is that it's called the "justice" system for a reason. It prescribes punishment, but it also, in most cases, holds out the possibility of rehabilitation and re-entry into legitimate society.

Read the Complete Editorial in the Louisville Courier Journal here