In separate rulings today, the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission issued a reprimand against one state lawmaker and dismissed a complaint filed against another.State Representative Keith Hall of Phelps was reprimanded and fined $2,000 for an ethics code violation. The commission found that Hall voted for a state budget in 2005 that contained money to pay for work his company did on sewer projects in his native Pike County.But the panel found no evidence that Hall used his official position to secure the work. In a second case, the commission dismissed a complaint filed against Republican agriculture commissioner candidate James Comer, who’s a state representative from Tomkinsville. He was accused by political opponents of using a state employee to work on his campaign during regular business hours. The panel said it found no evidence to support the allegation.(Information for this story came from the Associated Press)
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.