Earl Scruggs and his late partner Lester Flatt have been nominated for inclusion in the Nashville Songwriters’ Hall of Fame:
Hank Williams Jr. is one of the nominees up for induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in the songwriter-artist category. Additionally, 10 others are nominated for induction in the songwriter division. Also nominated in the songwriter-artist field are J.J. Cale, Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, Amy Grant and Tony Joe White. The songwriter nominees are Paul Craft (”Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life”), Bob DiPiero (”American Made”), Kye Fleming (”I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool”), Larry Henley (”The Wind Beneath My Wings”), Mac McAnally (”Old Flame”), Earl “Peanut” Montgomery (”We’re Gonna Hold On”), Bob Morrison (”You Decorated My Life”), Thom Schuyler (”16th Avenue”), L.E. White (”After the Fire Is Gone”) and Lawton Williams (”Fraulein”). Two from the songwriter category and one from the songwriter-artist category will be inducted during ceremonies on Oct. 14 in Nashville.
After reading this, I have one question:
Attorney General Greg Stumbo and Gov. Ernie Fletcher have locked horns again, this time over whether Fletcher has appointed too many Republicans as trustees at the University of Kentucky and the University Louisville.
In a letter to Fletcher, Stumbo demanded the resignations yesterday of several Republican board members at Kentucky’s two research universities, saying the governor ignored state law when he appointed them.
If Fletcher, a Republican, doesn’t comply within 10 days, Stumbo, a Democrat, said he will file suit to oust three unnamed Republicans on the UK Board of Trustees and two unnamed Republicans on the U of L board.
Fletcher’s spokeswoman, Jodi Whitaker, issued this statement in response: “Governor Fletcher is committed to appointing the best and brightest individuals to serve in these positions. The governor has followed the law.”
The matter involves interpretation of a state law that says the governor’s appointments to the UK and U of L board shall “reflect proportional representation of the two leading political parties” based on voter registration. The issue hinges on whether this law requires specific numbers of trustees from each party, or whether the law is a guideline that can be interpreted more broadly.
Republicans currently outnumber Democrats on both boards, although more than half the voters in the state are registered as Democrats.
“We certainly hope that the governor will look at the statute and see that it is very clear,” said deputy attorney general Pierce Whites. “The appointments are clearly out of balance.”
Why not just let certain members of these boards change their party affiliations? Seems like an easy fix. Party affiliation is, at least in Kentucky, a pretty arbitrary characteristic.
Indiana is examining the possibility of eliminating property taxes:
The state could eliminate property taxes if lawmakers increased the sales tax from 6 percent to 9.5 percent and raised the income tax from 3.4 percent to 6 percent, a state agency says.
Increases at those levels would raise the estimated $6.2 billion needed to replace the money that schools and local governments receive this year from property taxes, according to data that the Legislative Services Agency provided yesterday to the Commission on State Tax and Financing Policy.
Indiana may consider doing it in this way:
- Increasing the individual income tax from 3.4 percent to 9 percent, a 165 percent increase. For a family with a taxable income of $75,000, that would be an increase of $4,200 annually. An individual with taxable income of $25,000 would pay $1,400 more.
- Increasing the state sales tax from 6 percent to 13.2 percent, a 120 percent increase. It would mean a pair of $30 jeans would cost $2.16 more. A $15,000 vehicle would cost an extra $1,080.
- Increasing the sales-tax rate to 11.1 percent and expanding it to cover all services except medical costs. That would add a $2.22 tax to the price of a $20 haircut or add $555 to a $5,000 legal bill.
When is AG (Attorney General) AG (Alberto Gonzales) leaving officially? September 17, Constitution Day.
I like getting things done ahead of time. I was that annoying person in class who had their term papers turned in before the deadline, and I file my tax returns in February. As such, I always like seeing pre-filed bills in the Kentucky General Assembly. It shows some advance planning has been done on the really important issues.
For instance, Rep. Bill Farmer has introduced a bill to name cornhole as the official state game of Kentucky.
Truly, this is just what we need to shake off the image of a backward rural state and convince people we’re a real player in the 21st century knowledge economy.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good game of cornhole as much as the next person. But first, I think there might be a couple other choices for state game.
When I lived in Wisconsin a debate raged for weeks on the official state beverage. Of course in America’s Dairyland milk was the first choice, but honestly there was a good case to be made for beer in the state that houses the Milwaukee Brewers. It was the talk of the state and the subject of op-ed for weeks. In the end, milk won out.
On second thought, I wouldn’t mind seeing a whole session of the Kentucky General Assembly devoted entirely to official state objects. Those don’t cost taxpayers a dime. It might be the least harmful thing they can do.
