Opinion

For nearly a quarter-century, the Kentucky State Police has taken an annual in-depth look at crime in the Commonwealth, drawing from a database that brings together reports compiled by state and local law enforcement.

Each crime worthy of the police’s attention serves as a dot that helps to paint a pretty good picture of the year faced by our 10,000 officers and their civilian support.  Historically, these reports show some definite trends, indicating where we are doing well and where we could do better.

Hooboy has it been hot lately. Sure, July and August are supposed to be scorchers, but we’re approaching 50 days so far this summer that have charted 90-degree days or higher.

As I said to my husband last week, it’s wicked hot out there. Hades himself surely is looking for some cool air right now.

No doubt ice cream sales are up right now, as are electric bills as we struggle to stay cool. Box fans, stand fans and oscillating fans probably are working overtime.

Most would consider it out of the ordinary, to say the least, for a woman like me, who was having children 40 years ago, to be pregnant today. But someone, or someone’s database, is convinced that I am expecting.

Kentucky’s oldest highway system – our 1,100 miles of navigable rivers – has been getting a closer look in recent months by the General Assembly.

A year ago, a permanent legislative committee dedicated solely to waterways held its first meeting; and earlier this year, during the legislative session, my colleagues and I voted to create a new water transportation advisory board, to give us and others in state government a ready resource of information from those whose job is tied to that industry.

During the early stages of a typhoon, the storm begins brewing offshore and out of sight.  It is not until the typhoon reaches the coastal shore that it takes full form and residents are forced to deal with such a disastrous storm, moving at speeds up to 200 miles per hour.  Once the storm hits the shore, it is only a matter of minutes, hours or days before the waves and wind, destroy homes, businesses and livelihoods.

The Henry County Farmer’s Market was founded on the principle of sharing. Producers in the county wanted to share their cropland, their hard work and the fruits of their labor with their friends and neighbors.

I’ve taken some ribbing recently from family members. It started a couple of months ago, when my husband noticed something was different.

As we got ready to sit down at the table for dinner, he asked “So why are we eating at the table so much now?”

Over the weekend, my own mother expressed some surprise that we were sitting down at the table to eat a late lunch I’d prepared.

For thousands of children attending school, the biggest challenge of the day may not be tied to the classroom, but to their health.

A little more than 18 months ago, the General Assembly’s Program Review and Investigations Committee began taking a closer look at this issue, to see what more the state might do to help those facing a chronic disease or a potentially life-threatening allergy.

When it comes to supplying the energy that powers our country, Kentucky plays a bigger role than most.  We represent just 1.4 percent of its population, but provide 2.3 percent of its electricity.

The main reason for that, of course, is coal, which was first commercially mined in the Commonwealth in 1820.  Now, only two states extract more annually, and only four depend on it more to run their homes, schools and businesses. Here in Kentucky, it supplies more than 90 percent of our electricity.