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Six indicted in Eastern Kentucky meth and fentanyl trafficking conspiracy
LEXINGTON — A federal grand jury has indicted six people on charges alleging a wide-ranging methamphetamine and fentanyl trafficking operation that stretched across multiple Central and Eastern Kentucky counties and involved repeated drug sales, firearms, and plans to forfeit cash, vehicles and real estate tied to the alleged crimes. The indictment, returned Dec. 18…
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Lexington man charged in federal wire fraud case tied to alleged exploitation of elderly woman
LEXINGTON — A Lexington man has been charged in federal court with wire fraud after prosecutors say he exploited a trusting relationship with an elderly woman, siphoning more than $300,000 from her accounts over several years while she was suffering from dementia. Donald Charles Beaty is charged in a single-count federal information filed in…
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Lexington Board of Adjustment reverses staff, approves Pyke Road setback variance after lengthy debate
LEXINGTON — The Lexington Board of Adjustment on Monday overturned a staff recommendation and approved a controversial setback variance for a corner-lot home on Pyke Road, capping a meeting that underscored how subjective land-use decisions can hinge on neighborhood context and board interpretation rather than staff guidance. The board voted to grant homeowner Scott…
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Lexington police and fire pension board weighs new investment managers as funding pressures mount
LEXINGTON — The board overseeing Lexington’s Police and Fire Pension Fund spent hours Wednesday interviewing global investment firms and then moved behind closed doors to deliberate potential hires, underscoring the high stakes facing a retirement system already carrying hundreds of millions of dollars in unfunded liabilities. The Police and Fire Pension Board met Dec.…
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Planning Commission Approves Paris Pike Subdivision Overhaul, Postpones Senior Living Plan
LEXINGTON — The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Planning Commission unanimously approved a revised 50-lot subdivision along Paris Pike on Thursday, following scrutiny over a redesigned traffic access point, while granting a one-month postponement for a proposed senior living development due to unresolved design and density issues. The primary action item was Quintana Estates (PLN-FRP-25-00032), a…
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Lexington Mayor’s Race Heats Up Early With Challenger Leading in Fundraising
LEXINGTON, Ky. — In the nascent stages of the 2026 mayoral race in Kentucky’s second-largest city, a first-time candidate has surged ahead in fundraising, amassing over $100,000 while the incumbent mayor signals a deliberate pace ahead of her formal campaign launch. Raquel Carter, a prominent real estate broker, reported $104,508 in contributions as of…
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Funny How the “Difficult Decisions” Never Start at the Top
The superintendent stood at the podium this week and did that thing administrators do when they want gravity without fingerprints. “These are tough decisions,” Demetrus Liggins said, as families pleaded for their schools, programs, and communities. Mergers. Closures. Right-sizing. The whole greatest-hits album of institutional sorrow. And yet — funny thing — none of…
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When the Cover Charge for Public Office Is Generational Wealth
Some weeks, Lexington feels less like a city and more like an invitation-only club — velvet rope, bouncer, and all. This week’s guest list: the people who can actually afford to stay in public office. Hannah LeGris left the stage recently. Not for lack of love for the job, but because the numbers simply…
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Lexington man to plead guilty in Hamburg hotel drug, gun case after failed evidence challenge
A Lexington man accused of moving fentanyl and cocaine around Central Kentucky has agreed to plead guilty in federal court after losing his bid to throw out evidence from a June arrest at a Hamburg-area hotel, where agents say they found a kilo of cocaine, nearly a pound of fentanyl and a loaded Glock…
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Federal prison lieutenant pleads guilty to falsifying records in cover-up of inmate assault
PIKEVILLE, Ky. — Former USP Big Sandy lieutenant Michael J. Childers pleaded guilty Monday to a federal felony for falsifying records in what prosecutors describe as a coordinated cover-up of an April 2021 assault on a vulnerable inmate seeking protective custody. Childers, 37, entered his plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward B. Atkins after…