Source: The Lexington Times

Dozens of drinking water utilities in Kentucky disconnected ratepayers who owed less than $50 among other “unreasonably punitive” practices and policies by utilities, a new report analyzing drinking water utility disconnections found. Staff at the Letcher County-based Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center who authored the 16-page report wrote that 114 drinking water utilities — from…

Kentucky communities are grappling with the prospect of hyperscale data center projects — massive, sprawling warehouses of power-intensive computer clusters — potentially moving in. A lot more of them could be on the way.  Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities, the state’s largest utility, told the Kentucky Public Service Commission in March that…

Lexington’s first Civic Assembly will present its recommendations to city council next week, marking a significant step in the city’s implementation of deliberative democracy practices.

Hearing backlash from residents, cities and counties across the country in recent weeks have blocked planned data centers amid concerns over rising electricity prices and environmental harms. The local actions come as state lawmakers also are looking to limit or repeal the incentives for the centers, which are sprawling campuses of computer servers that…

Fayette County Public Schools’ board approved a budget and short-term loan Wednesday as dozens of community members protested the firing of 120 employees, deepening divisions over how the district should address its financial crisis.

Gov. Andy Beshear announced a $10.3 million expansion of Abastos Wholesale’s Louisville operation that will create 20 new jobs for the distributor and supply chain company.

The Trump administration wants the U.S. Supreme Court to empower states to review their voter rolls for noncitizens just days before elections, a change that voting rights advocates say would risk disenfranchising Americans. The U.S. Department of Justice asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to wade into a legal fight between the Republican National Committee…

Lexington’s draft data-center zoning got tighter at the May 21 Planning Commission work session, with a new 1,000-foot buffer between data centers and rural agricultural land outside the urban service area. The hearing has been pushed to June 11.

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Planning Commission will hear a zoning petition Thursday from Mt. Laurel Lands Company seeking to convert Old Paris Road property to warehouse business use, though planning staff recommended postponement due to incomplete notice requirements.