Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear called on state lawmakers to work together to balance the budget, create jobs and help Kentuckians who continue to struggle in the tough economy.In his State of the Commonwealth Address Wednesday night, Beshear told the General Asssembly that they have already proven that they can put aside political differences and get things done."Tonight, in the midst of an economic recession of historic proportions, with conditions as bad as many of us have seen in our lifetimes, I pledge to Kentuckians from west to east that I will continue to operate in this spirit of cooperation. And I call on every legislator in this chamber to join with me in this vow," Beshear said.Some Republicans, however, say Beshear has not put partisanship aside, pointing to the Democrat's apparent efforts to wrest control of the state Senate from the GOP.Senator Damon Thayer of Scott County took issue with Beshear's remarks about the condition of the state two years ago when he succeeded Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher."Sometimes I feel like he’s in some strange parallel universe cause I don’t think things were that bad two years ago. "And the other thing is you know this governor is very good at talking the when it comes to bi-partisanship but he is yet to walk the walk," Thayer said.The 60-day session of the 2010 Kentucky General Assembly began Tuesday.
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.
