[MUSIC] State gas tax relief will continue in some Kentucky communities, but end in others.

[MUSIC] >> They reflect the pioneer spirit that defines Kentucky and its people.

>> Kentucky gets its official state dog.

[MUSIC] >> We know that kids need more than just good nutrition in the summer and the summer slide, and it is affected by nutrition, but they need things to keep their minds going.

>> How do you keep kids learning in the summer?

By making it fun.

[MUSIC] >> It's going to be something on our radar and we're a little bit stressed about.

[MUSIC] >> And we hear from a Kentucky farmer about a potential risk to his livestock.

[MUSIC] >> Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Millennium Fund.

[MUSIC] >> Good evening, and welcome to Kentucky Edition for this two day June 9th, I'm Renee Shaw.

We thank you for spending some of your Tuesday night with us.

33 Kentucky cities and counties will continue the gas tax suspension that began a month ago, but the rest won't on May 5th.

Governor Andy Beshear ordered the gas tax cut by $0.10.

He argued it was needed to give Kentuckians relief from higher gas prices triggered by the war in Iran.

At the time, he said, cities and counties had the option of continuing the tax cut past the 30 day mark.

He says five counties and 28 cities have opted to do that, and you can see them in yellow on this map, Beshear says there would have been more.

But.

>> But some of our Republican state legislators basically threaten them in an open committee meeting, saying they might pull their projects from the road plan.

Why?

For putting their families first.

So I want to thank everybody who had the courage to say, I want gas to cost less in my community.

The gas is going to go up in a lot of Kentucky by $0.10 where it didn't have to.

And you can thank your Republican legislator or potentially your county judge or mayor.

>> The remaining Kentucky counties and cities will see tax relief end on Thursday.

You can expect gas prices to go up by $0.10 in those places.

A leading Republican in Frankfort says Governor Beshear has overstepped his role by expanding and clarifying the list of conditions legally treatable using medical marijuana.

>> We want this for people who need it, who are in the conditions that we have established.

Some of us want to expand conditions, some of us don't.

There is a lawful process to do that.

The governor has skirted that law after he asked us to do it, and we said no.

So I'm asking you, as our chief law enforcement officer, to do all that you can do to make sure that the law is followed and that those who break the law, even under the understanding that they might be following an unlawful executive order, are prosecuted and they lose their license.

Thank you, Mr.

Chairman.

>> As always, Representative Nemes appreciate the input.

>> State Representative Jason Nemes, who you saw there, asked the Attorney General, Russell Coleman, to go after doctors on medical licensing boards that cooperate with Beshear's new standards.

The attorney general often issues advisories before prosecuting public agencies.

The attorney general also testified in Frankfort today that he's still committed to ending the life of a convicted cop killer under Kentucky's dormant death penalty law.

>> I just wanted to go on to the issue of the failure to issue a death warrant against Ralph Baze.

In the event that the governor does not issue this death warrant, should the General Assembly next session give you the authority to issue death warrants?

When a governor has neglected to issue this warrant?

>> At the end of the day, it's about Steve Bennett and Arthur Briscoe and providing justice to their families first and foremost.

And as you heard me say, we are litigating, using every tool in our tool kit, collaborating liaison with the Trump administration, seeking access both to the drugs will ultimately need and to cutting down the bureaucracy.

I can't tell you sitting today whether that gubernatorial role is a constitutional provision or it's statutory.

And so let's let's circle back on that.

>> Russell Coleman says his other targets are Medicaid fraud and social media platforms.

A Central, Kentucky Democrat is hoping to flip the state's sixth Congressional District blue, and he's received quite the lineup of Kentucky Democrats to endorse him in that effort.

Our Emily Prince was in Lexington today as Governor Andy Beshear touted his support for the candidate.

>> Governor Andy Beshear voiced his endorsement loud and clear today for Zach Dembo, a Democrat running for Kentucky's sixth congressional District, the duo have a working history.

Dimbo worked as the governor's legislative director before becoming a federal prosecutor.

>> He was a big benefit to the Beshear administration.

A lot of the success I talk about, he was a big part of it, but he's going to win.

This is an opportunity to flip this seat and to give this area the type of government and governance they deserve.

>> 40 year old Dimbo has held various jobs, including a public school teacher and Navy JAG officer.

He set himself apart, defining himself not as a career politician but as someone looking to focus on the day to day issues of Central Kentuckians.

>> You all have probably heard the governor say you need to spend 80% of the time focusing on what matters to 100% of your constituents.

I could not agree more.

And that's why things like the price of gas, the price of diesel, the price of groceries, these tariffs that are crushing our local and national economies, our industries like bourbon, like the horse industry, like the largest Toyota manufacturing plant in the world, Congress needs to be standing up for us, y'all.

>> Dimbo will be going up against Republican challenger Ralph Alvarado in the general election.

Alvarado is a former Kentucky state senator.

He ran for lieutenant governor with Matt Bevin in 2019, then served as the commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health.

>> Let me start with this for Ralph Alvarado bless his heart.

What did Ralph Alvarado do after we in this room trounced him and Matt Bevin?

He ran to Tennessee, and I hope he likes it there, because that's exactly where he can stay when we beat him in November.

>> Alvarado has received an endorsement from President Donald Trump, as well as speaker of the House Mike Johnson.

Dimbo denounced that endorsement, saying Alvarado would be a, quote, rubber stamp for the president.

>> I think career politicians are a big part of the problem.

The reason what's coming out of DC is allowed to hurt us.

The reason the senseless war in Iran is allowed to go on is because these folks are too scared to stand up to the white House, and they only want to get reelected.

>> A slew of other high profile Kentucky Democrats also stumped to the crowd in support of Dimbo, including Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman and former Governor Steve Beshear.

Dimbo said those endorsements have boosted his confidence and his success come November for Kentucky Edition.

I'm Emily Prince.

>> Thank you, Emily.

Governor Beshear said he can expect to be seen at many more campaign events with Dimbo leading up to the general election in November.

Kentucky state lawmakers join Kentucky Housman to celebrate Senate Bill 37, designating the Treeing Walker County as the official state dog.

The bill also recognizes dogs and cats adopted from shelters as the official pets of the Commonwealth.

More about this and tonight's legislative update.

[MUSIC] >> We want to welcome everybody to this ceremony celebrating Senate Bill 37, which started out as a one topic bill and ended up embracing a lot of other good things here in the Commonwealth.

Sometimes some people say, don't y'all have better things to do?

And we do a lot of good.

You know, we we had a budget year.

I worked many hours on that.

But I've worked on this bill for several years now.

And it it just means a lot to me personally.

I wanted to get it done before I retired or died.

I worked very closely with the American Kennel Club and have been their legislator of the year, and I'm very proud of that.

And this, the Tree and Walker Coonhound is the only breed that Kentucky can lay claim to.

As far as registration.

>> Today we celebrate an important piece of our heritage by designating the Tree Walker Coonhound as Kentucky's official state dog walker.

Coonhounds history runs deep in Kentucky, developed from here, from early American foxhounds and refined through generations of careful breeding.

They reflect the pioneer spirit that defines Kentucky and its people.

This designation will help to preserve a tradition that is part of our culture, while educating future generations about our outdoor heritage.

>> Sometimes when a bill goes to the House late in the session, we're like, oh man, you know, it's not going to make it.

It's going to run out of time.

We call them a Christmas tree, but we like this Christmas tree.

It came pretty good.

>> Sometimes people think that bills like this are small, but I believe moments like this matter, because they remind us that we can all find common ground together.

And I think that this bill has the spirit of collaboration and bringing things together and something that's important.

State symbols.

They may seem small, but they're what brings us together.

They're our common values, our common cause, and things that we can come together on.

I've carried this bill.

Several other people have carried this bill over the past several years.

And today, this session, we honor Senator Webb for the collaboration and including the shelter animals and the advocacy for shelter pets across the state.

It is an honor to be here today and to recognize adopted shelter dogs and cats as the official pets of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Every day, shelters and rescue organizations across Kentucky help animals begin a new chapter.

But the most important part of that story happens when someone chooses to adopt.

Anyone who has welcomed an adopted pet into their family knows the joy they bring.

They greet us at the door after a long day, make us laugh when we need it most, sit beside us through life's hardest moments and remind us to appreciate the simple things.

This recognition celebrates more than dogs and cats.

It celebrates second chances, the families who say yes to adoption, and the belief that a pet's past does not define its future.

>> Senate Bill, 37, also designates the eastern spotted skunk as the official state nongame mammal and the eastern hellbender, a large salamander as the official state amphibian.

Now, you know, we have reaction to Congressman Thomas Massie's speech yesterday about the 1967 attack on the USS liberty in the Mediterranean Sea.

Israel attacked the ship during the Arab Israeli Six-Day war, saying it thought the American boat was from Egypt.

34 Americans died yesterday on the House floor.

Massie described the attack and called for a new investigation.

He questioned whether it was an accident or a deliberate effort to stop the U.S.

from seeing Israeli actions during the war.

Massie said many prominent Americans, including then Secretary of State Dean Rusk, didn't accept the explanation that the attack was an accident.

Adam Mosoff wants the legal counsel for the Heritage Foundation responded to Congressman Massie's speech.

He said, quote, Massie has fully gone down the rabbit hole of anti-Semitism and Jewish conspiracy theories via the modern American anti-Semites favorite boogeyman, Israel, end quote.

There are growing concerns among cattle farmers about a threat to their livestock.

It's a parasite called, quote, New world screw worm that thrives in open wounds on animals.

There are now a small number of cases in the United States and Kentucky.

Farmers are preparing in case it spreads further.

Our Laura Rogers has more from Warren County in south central Kentucky.

>> Joe Kenneth Low is in Angus beef producer with the Seedstock operation that aims at improving genetic quality.

>> Cattle you see out in the countryside, a lot of times they'll go buy a bull from someone like us to breed their cattle.

They're tested for their genetics and evaluated.

So you have a reasonable expectation of what those calves are going to be like.

>> As for expectations, his concerns have recently shifted from the weather.

>> Up until 2 or 3 weeks ago, especially here, we were really, really worried about.

>> Drought to a fly called New World.

Screw worm on the move north from South and Central America and Mexico into the southern United States.

>> A newborn calf, something like an exposed navel is where it's really prevalent.

If you were calving in the at a time of an outbreak, you know, it would be a big, big concern.

>> New world Screwworm is a parasitic fly that lays eggs in open wounds and abrasions.

When those eggs hatch, they feed on living tissue.

>> Equate this to a maggot.

Basically.

You know, maggot will thrive on dead flesh.

The new world screwworm will thrive on live flesh.

>> We can't control flies.

We can control cattle.

>> Low already dead worms is heard three times a year.

And he's had conversations with his veterinarian about prevention and treatment.

If it comes to.

>> That, there's products on the market that are very effective that our vets are familiar with, that we're very familiar with that.

If we have an issue with New World Screwworm in Kentucky, we have the treatments, we have the knowledge of the product to use it.

It just becomes a labor challenge for the producers.

>> While the risk remains low, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and USDA are working to spread awareness, urging people to monitor their animals for symptoms.

>> It will kill our animals and it will create a problem.

And so what we are trying to work through is with the USDA, through our state vets office, of putting together the best protocol possible, that if we were to get a case in Kentucky, how do we deal with it?

>> Commissioner shell says protocols are in place and they've provided them to surrounding states and the ones currently affected.

>> So that they know what our policies are going to be.

On bringing cattle or animals into the state.

>> There's a lot of research that goes into it.

There's a lot of planning that goes into it.

So when there's an outbreak, how do you contain that area and prevent the spread and eliminate the population?

>> The good news is consumers shouldn't lose confidence in our food supply.

>> In no way does it affect the meat in the grocery store.

The meat you buy from a local producer, consumers, the only thing they need to think about it is that we might be working a little harder to put beef on the plate.

It's not affecting the quality or the safety of that beef.

>> Commissioner shell says there's a division of emergency management within the office of the state veterinarian to limit the potential impact of diseases like this one.

>> We're one of the quickest states when it comes to quarantining and closing down those issues, because we have two goals.

One, we want to limit the exposure and impact to our general public as much as possible when something like this arises.

But two, we want to get farmers back to work as quickly as possible.

>> Farmers like Joe Kenneth Low, who is keeping a watchful eye on his cattle and his vet on speed dial.

>> We know what to look for and how to take care of the cattle, and if anything looks like something we haven't seen before, guess what?

They're going to get a phone call about it.

>> For Kentucky Edition.

I'm Laura Rodgers.

>> Thank you Laura.

This parasite isn't just a cattle problem.

It can also affect other livestock along with pets, wildlife and very rarely people.

The only reported cases in the U.S.

are in Texas and New Mexico.

[MUSIC] A town hall is planned to discuss a big data center headed to northeastern Kentucky, and there's new fallout after a deadly police involved shooting last month in Louisville.

Our Toby Gibbs tells us more in this look at headlines around Kentucky.

>> Officer Nathan Stotts has resigned from the Louisville Metro Police Department in late May, according to police officer.

Stotts shot and killed Martin Nitkin junior Nitkin was naked, unarmed and believed to be having a mental health crisis at the time.

Last week, Police Chief Paul Humphrey announced he was starting the process of firing Stotts.

According to Louisville Public Media.

The city announced Stotts resignation yesterday.

Prosecutors are reviewing the case for potential criminal charges.

[MUSIC] State police accuse a convicted murderers brother of perjury, the Kentucky Standard reports state police picked up Nick Houck, brother of Brooks Houck, last Thursday.

Brooks Houck was convicted in the murder of Crystal Rogers of Bardstown.

Nick Houck, a former Bardstown police officer, is accused of making a material false statement while under oath.

[MUSIC] Nick Houck has now bonded out of jail.

From the Daily Independent.

Terre Wolfe plans a job fair and a town hall about the data center headed to the East Park Industrial Park in Boyd, Carter and Greenup counties.

The job fair is Tuesday, June 16th at the Ashland Community and Technical College's Technology Drive campus.

The Town hall is Wednesday, June 17th at the Boyd County High School Gym in Cannonsburg.

Tara Wolfe plans to build what could become the largest data center on the site of an abandoned strip mine turned industrial development site near Ashland.

It's expected to have more than one gigawatt of full time electrical capacity by the year 2030.

A new distillery is opening in Somerset with a festive 4th of July kickoff.

The Courier-Journal says.

Horse Soldier Bourbon is opening horse Soldier Farms, a 250 acre distillery with a production facility and event space.

The team behind the new distillery founded American Freedom Distillery in 2015.

The co-founders are former Green Berets who rode horseback while serving in Afghanistan, hence the name Horse Soldiers.

[MUSIC] With headlines around Kentucky, I'm Toby Gibbs.

[MUSIC] >> Last night on KET.

We brought you preventing the summer slide and Education Matters program about making sure kids.

Don't forget what they've learned over the summer.

There are summer programs to help keep students learning, and the key is combining work and some play.

>> This started years ago.

I was one of the commissioner at the time, was interested in how we could boost reading during the summer, and it kind of was happened out of that, and a collaboration with the Office of Teaching and Learning and their interest in ensuring students keep their reading and math skills stimulated and growing during the summer.

We know that kids need more than just good nutrition in the summer.

The summer slide and it is affected by nutrition, but they need things to keep their minds going.

>> I was talking with my food service director, and we knew that that Grant option was available to help our students recoup some of the learning loss that they have during the summer months.

We do not have a lot of activities for students to do during the summertime.

We have the the Rocky Adkins.

I know they do a camp at next door at the library, our family resource and our youth service center are also doing camps this summer.

So we wanted to sort of combine the Summer boost program with.

We're we're also doing the meal bundles this year.

We've never done that.

To be able to just offer some resources to our students and families, along with their food bundles that they're going to be getting.

>> Power Scholars Academy is an international summer learning loss prevention program that is geared towards students and current K through eighth grade.

It is really focused on reading and math with incorporation of enrichment activities.

So we want to make sure that they're learning but having fun at the same time.

>> Go go go.

>> The first half of the day is primarily academics, but we do infuse some fun, some Stem activities, some engagement activities within that first half.

And then the second half of the day is enrichment opportunities.

And so they get to have fun.

Some of our scholars last year had a chance to build rockets and to shoot those rockets off.

They also got to test water quality in a in a stream that was nearby.

And so we try to get creative about the kind of opportunities that our scholars are experiencing.

The program also comes with some intentional opportunities for community time, where we ask community members to come in and talk to our scholars about whether it's their career or their passion or their hobby, but we want to expose them not just to the curriculum and the academics, but also to the community and building those relationships.

>> It's been, you know, very noticeable throughout the years that I've been in education, that there is that summer learning loss.

And even as a teacher, that's something that the that we always noticed based on student observations when they came back based on our assessments, when we did diagnostic or summative or screeners, you know, coming in from the fall assessments that there was always a, a loss compared to where they left off in the spring.

>> On average, schools usually anticipate learning loss when kids come back from the summer.

It's estimated that that's about two months worth of regression.

Our locally Power Scholars Academy is demonstrating two months gain in students within a 4 to 6 week summer program.

So when you think about not just combating the learning loss, but having an opportunity for kids to participate in a summer program that is demonstrating gains on average, it's beneficial for everyone.

The students succeed, the schools get kids who are on grade level and ready to learn, and the community benefits from students who are ready to learn and who can continue their elementary or middle school education at an appropriate level.

>> The number and the age range of kids that come out and stay to do activities.

I can remember being, I think I was in Bullitt County a few years ago, and it was it was a gazebo in an apartment complex.

There was no pool there.

And it was not it was a it was a hot day.

It was.

We were in shade, but it was still quite warm.

And we had kids that came out for the meals and the enrichment from kindergarten through about, I think the oldest one was maybe 17.

And they stayed.

They stayed.

I think they liked the social aspect.

They loved the the math skills that the high schoolers were doing.

I couldn't have solved, but they were having a great time with that and kind of competing and enjoying that time together.

And I was just impressed because kids didn't come out and get a meal and run back into the a C, they stayed outside to have that, that time doing something that stimulated their minds but was fun, and spend time with other kids in their in their little neighborhood.

So, and I've seen that played out over and over.

It's just a really good, I think it's a really good partnership that we have with Summer boost.

>> Just having those resources and like I said, hands on materials that in the home that can strengthen, you know, that parental involvement with our students, that they have those resources that we can give those that the students can, you know, like I said, have the hands on with the books.

And I know there's resources that they're giving with the math as well, but just that the students can have time and it can strengthen that, you know, that that student interaction with their parents during the summer, especially at our younger age.

>> When you can change that trajectory, when you can reverse that regression and say, even if they didn't progress at at an average of two months gain, they didn't lose either.

That is monumental for schools, for teachers, and for the students success.

>> You can learn more about how to prevent the summer slide by watching our Education Matters program online.

On demand@ket.org.

[MUSIC] Fayette County Public School layoffs take effect July 1st, with the date looming.

City officials are stepping up.

>> You know, these are our friends.

They're our neighbors, and they're losing their jobs.

So we're here to help.

>> How the city of Lexington is working to help those laid off amid the district's ongoing financial crisis.

We'll tell you more about that tomorrow on Kentucky edition, which, you know, to join us for at 6.30 Eastern 5.30.

Central where we inform, connect and inspire.

We hope that you'll connect with us all the ways you see on your screen.

Stream our content online at KET dot ORG.

Download the PBS app so you can view all your favorite programs on demand, wherever you are, at the touch of your fingers.

Send us a story idea at the email on your screen.

Of course, we're on the social media channels, Facebook and Instagram.

I'm Renee Shaw, thank you for being with us.

Have a great night and I'll see you right back here again tomorrow.

Take good care.