At the Top - Kentucky lawmakers have begun a legislative session to be dominated by work on a new state budget. The House and Senate convened Tuesday starting a session that will stretch into mid-April. Money, or the lack of it, was the centerpiece of Gov. Steve Beshear State of the Commonwealth speech Tuesday night. And a Kentucky lawmaker shot a gun in her office. Kentucky Public Radio Frankfort Bureau Chief Jonathan Meador is covering the session and joined us with an update.1:14 - Indiana's House and Senate have found just enough members to begin business after a major winter storm crippled the state. They’re back at it in full force now and so is Brandon Smith, who covers the General Assembly for Indiana Public Media. He joined us to talk about Indiana's share of the polar vortex, a proposal to ban same sex marriage, the school voucher issue, and more.
1:23 - Ed Marksbury, the Democrat-turned-independent candidate for Kentucky’s U.S. Senate seat dropped a bombshell this week when he accused his former party—and by extension, likely Democratic nominee Alison Lundergan Grimes’ campaign—of offering him money and incentives to drop out of the race. WFPL political editor Phillip M. Bailey filled us in on that and other developments from the Senate race.
1:31 - Part Two of the Bobby Petrino Era at the University of Louisville is underway. Yesterday U of L announced that the former Cardinals coach was hired to replace Charlie Strong, who left last weekend to become the head coach of the Texas Longhorns. The move has raised eyebrows. Some fans are bitter about Petrino’s abrupt departure from Louisville for an NFL job in 2006 after signing a contract extension. Others question the character of a man caught lying about an extramarital affair with a young woman on his staff at the University of Arkansas. The scandal cost Petrino his job with the Razorbacks. Here to talk about it was Courier-Journal sportswriter and columnist Adam Himmelsbach.
1:39 - There's still been no arrest in the ambush murder of a Bardstown Police Officer more than seven months ago. Officer Jason Ellis was gunned down early on May 25 when he got out his cruiser to remove some debris from a highway exit ramp. Reporter Jessica Noll and her colleagues at WCPO television in Cincinnati have produced an in-depth multi-platform report on the shooting, the investigation and the family Officer Ellis left behind, including his wife, Amy and two young sons. We spoke with Jessica about the story.
1:45 - "The Pirates of Penzance" opened Thursday night at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Actors' apprentice show, "The Tens," also runs this weekend, and CenterStage at the Jewish Community Center opened the musical "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" this week. We spoke to WFPL Arts & Humanities reporter Erin Keane about this plethora of shows, then heard her conversation with Kentuckian, novelist and playwright Silas House, whose play "This Is My Heart for You" is playing in Louisville for a limited weekend engagement.
