by Nadia Ramlagan, Public News Service A lengthy proposal aimed at reducing crime recently unveiled by Kentucky lawmakers has housing advocacy groups concerned about the impact on the homeless. The Safer Kentucky Act, currently in draft stages, is expected to be introduced when the legislature convenes next year. The proposal includes a statewide camping ban,…
by Nadia Ramlagan, Public News Service A new study of incarceration trends shows Black people in the Commonwealth are jailed at a rate nearly three times higher than their white peers, despite making up around 8% of the state’s population. The Prison Policy Initiative research found disparities in the criminal justice system have not changed over the past decade,…
Lexington, KY — A Lexington man, Gregory Scott Sizemore, 35, has agreed to enter a guilty plea to federal drug charges, including distribution of fentanyl that resulted in death. The plea agreement was filed on Tuesday in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Sizemore will plead guilty to two…
by Kentucky Health News Attorney General Daniel Cameron is among a large, bipartisan group of attorneys general suing Meta, the parent firm of social-media platforms Facebook and Instagram, for purposefully harming the mental health of youth in their states. The suit alleges that Meta knowingly designed and deployed addictive features that put Kentucky’s youngest residents at risk despite…
Lexington, KY — Leynner Andre Riascos Yepes, a Colombian national, entered a guilty plea in Lexington Tuesday to one count of a federal indictment, which charges him with promotional money laundering. A separate charge of conspiracy to launder drug trafficking proceeds will be dismissed at sentencing. The plea agreement was filed in the United…
by Paul Oliva, The Lexington Times LEXINGTON, Ky.–Lexington’s Opioid Abatement Commission met Friday in Council Chamber for its first regular meeting. The Commission’s purpose is to recommend uses for Lexington’s share of the National Opioid Litigation Settlement. The meeting featured a presentation that included nine strategies from Johns Hopkins for spending funds and a…
LEXINGTON, Ky. — A recent report by the Lexington Herald-Leader’s Taylor Six has shed light on a concerning issue: Lexington is becoming a regional hub for drug cartels. The report comes at a time when the city and the state are grappling with a surge in drug-related crimes and overdose deaths. Fentanyl: ‘the deadliest…
By Melissa Patrick, Kentucky Health News Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced the latest round of funding from the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission on Monday, with 34 organizations set to receive nearly $14 million. “I certainly am grateful for all of you all that have committed to fighting this opioid epidemic and there’s certainly no debate,…
by Sarah Ladd, Kentucky Lantern A class action lawsuit against Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron and the Fayette County Board of Education argues that students’ constitutional and privacy rights are violated by a new anti-trans Kentucky law and asks the court to block its enforcement in Lexington schools. Senate Bill 150, enacted by the…
LEXINGTON, Ky. — A California resident, Maria Rubi Ortiz-Lopez, entered a guilty plea on Monday to charges of federal possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Her co-defendant, Esteban Aguilar-Medina, was sentenced on April 25 to 190 months on each count to run consecutively, along with five years of…