A newly-formed political action committee is hoping to influence school board races across the commonwealth, embarking on territory usually dominated by teachers unions.

For decades, education policy and school board races across the commonwealth have been aided solely by teachers unions giving campaign donations through political action committees.

But a new group has just been formed to combat that influence on school board races. The Bluegrass Fund was created last week by Louisville develop David Nicklies, according to statements filed with the IRS.

The Louisville Metro Council Accountability and Ethics Committee is voting Tuesday on more changes to the policy that governs the distribution of taxpayer dollars to non-profit groups.

A recent audit found that half of the discretionary grants given out by city lawmakers lacked proper documentation to determine if the funds were being spent properly.

Councilman Jerry Miller, R-19, is chairman of the accountability committee and a co-sponsor of the proposal along with Council President Jim King, D-10. He says the amendments being proposed give non-profit groups clear guidelines and should help restore public trust.

"The resolution that we’re going to hear today will start us on the path of restoring public confidence in this process, regardless of what individual council people—including myself—think of the overall process we have to be able to restore confidence that public funds are being used appropriately," says Miller.

According to Louisville Emergency Management, there's been a "very small" ammonia leak at a Stir the Pot, a Butchertown food manufacturing plant. A Code Red alert was sent out to the plant's neighbors, but the Louisville Fire Department says there's no danger to the public. Plant employees were evacuated.

Stir the Pot is  located at 1057 E. Washington Street.

The Indian media has been all over the recent scandal over the country’s coal allotments—the system where the state’s resources are divvied up among companies. And the various articles are of obvious interest to Kentucky, where a private company recently inked a $7 billion deal to send up to 9 million tons of Appalachian coal to India every year for the next twenty-five years.

Ben Adler reports on Republican and conservative politics and media for The Nation.

Historians now estimate that 750,000 people died in the American Civil War, two-and-a-half percent of the population.

The Union and the Confederacy were both ill-equipped to deal with the carnage as the fighting escalated.

Filmmaker Ric Burns’ new documentary, Death and the Civil War, which premieres tonight on public television, focuses on how the war forced Americans to improvise ways of coping with battlefield casualties and honoring their war dead.

In some states, the 2012 presidential election is turning into a race of who can support coal more.

That's not really in Kentucky, or in West Virginia, where voters will reliably lean Republican in national elections. But as McClatchy Newspapers reports, both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are focusing on nearby Ohio.

The Kentucky Opera opens Puccini’s tragedy “Tosca” this week.  The company will begin its 60th anniversary season with Friday’s gala performance in the Brown Theatre, accompanied by the Louisville Orchestra.

Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr. is asking New York's top court to overturn his 10-year ban by the state Racing and Wagering Board for equine drug violations, saying it raises substantial civil rights issues.

In asking the Court of Appeals to hear Dutrow's case, attorney Michael Koenig says it should decide whether the appearance of bias by racing board Chairman John Sabini cost the trainer his right to a fair proceeding.