Commentary

The Civic Assembly’s three charter changes head to a June 18 council vote with broad support. Behind them stands D.I.R.E.C.T., a group whose own literature argues the exercise should end in replacing elected council government — and whose answers, asked directly, are revealing.

A council member called AI a far greater force for collective harm than good. After four years building free, open civic tools for Lexington with it, our founder makes the opposite case.

Follow the money in Lexington’s 2026 primary Our analysis of 2,080 campaign contributions shows three donor factions, an unannounced slate, and a mayor’s race that looks less like a blowout than the headline totals suggest. By The Lexington Times · April 22, 2026 · Data analysis Raquel Carter’s campaign reports $162,744 raised — more…

Commentary — the vice mayor finally showed some progressive grit at Tuesday’s opioid spending debate. The bar for what counts as grit says more about the last three years than it does about him. On April 21, 2026, at a routine council work session, something unusual happened. Vice Mayor Dan Wu picked a fight…

Lexingtonians have a beautiful way of processing our collective trauma. For the uninitiated: “anal beads” is what the internet has affectionately dubbed “A Common Thread” — the $900,000 mirror-polished sphere sculpture the city commissioned for Lexington’s 250th anniversary, now parked on the Robert F. Stephens Courthouse Plaza. The piece was funded out of 2023…

This is not advocacy. This is stigma dressed in scrubs. Let’s be honest about what happened Monday in the Council Chambers. More than 260 residents of one of Lexington’s wealthiest, most comfortable neighborhoods showed up to fight tooth and nail against a mental health facility moving in down the street. They brought attorneys. They…

A Lexington bank’s request to disqualify a Fayette Circuit judge has pulled back the curtain on a pattern of overlapping roles that has placed one man — and one law firm — at an unusual intersection of judicial, civic, and legal power in Lexington. James H. Frazier III is the CEO of McBrayer PLLC,…

Dottie Bean, who spent 25 years as a reporter and editor at the Lexington Herald-Leader and 20 more working for city government, died Saturday at 77. In her final years, she covered local government one more time — not from the press table, but from the public comment podium. Dottie Bean died on Saturday.…

A heartfelt endorsement from the parents and taxpayers of Lexington, Kentucky Dear Hazelwood School District, Congratulations! Word has reached us here in the Bluegrass State that Dr. Demetrus Liggins, our beloved Superintendent of Fayette County Public Schools, is a finalist for your open superintendent position. We could not be more excited for you —…

By House Democratic Caucus Chair Lindsey Burke The Kentucky House Democratic Caucus stands united in opposition to House Bill 2 — the “One Big Bad Medicaid Bill” — that would make it even harder for Kentuckians to access and keep the health care they depend on. At a time when families are facing rising…