Earth Walk This Saturday
We want to thank everyone who came out last week to KCC’s presentation of the Wild and Scenic Film Festival! It was so great to see a nice crowd out at Lexington’s historic Lyric Theatre since the pandemic slump. And we also hope those of you who chose the virtual-at-home option enjoyed our film selections as well.
And we hope you will also consider joining us and seven other participating nonprofits THIS SATURDAY for another event, the Louisville Earth Walk at Louisville’s Shawnee Park! The Walk starts at 9AM, but come early for coffee and a donut, plus some musical performances to kick us off! There’s still time to register, here! And after the walk, you can visit information tables from local nonprofits.
As for upcoming events, we want you to mark your calendars for December 8th, when we will be bringing back our Kentucky Voices event in Frankfort. We expect to have former Governor Paul Patton as one of our feature guests—with more details to come!
Interim Session Updates
We know that many of you have been working on helping your communities take advantage of the many different grant programs now available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and other new funding programs. During last week’s Interim Committee on Natural Resources, lawmakers were given an update on grants administered through the Kentucky GRANT program established through last session’s House Bill 9 to help manage some of these federal programs. Many of these funds focus on economic relief in what are defined as “energy communities” to help with upgrading infrastructure, supporting workforce transition and cleaning up environmental damage in communities that have been historically dependent on fossil fuels or disproportionately burdened by legacy pollution. Recently the Federal Government expanded the designated areas for what now qualifies as an Energy Community, which some lawmakers raised concerns over making sure these funds still prioritize regions that are hardest-hit. Grant Ready Kentucky offers workshops for communities on several of these grant opportunities.
Election Season Almost Here! Get out the VOTE on November 7th
We want to make sure you have all of the information you need for election day. So here are some great websites to help you make it through the election season. The state’s voter information website can be found at the official state board of elections website. You can also find your polling locations at this link. But we also recommend the site “Our People, Our Vote” which we have found to be a very user-friendly website. And when you go to vote, another great resource is Election Protection (866OurVote.org) which not only walks you through the voting process, but also includes information and toolkits on protecting your voting rights. Excused in-person early voting begins Wednesday, Oct. 25, and will be held Oct. 25-27, and Oct. 30-Nov. 1. No excuse early in-person voting will begin in Kentucky on Thursday, Nov. 2, and will be held Nov. 2-4. Kentucky’s general election is Tuesday, Nov. 7.
While KCC does not make endorsements, we are glad to supply information about the policy record of candidates. And we have to say, it seems like one of the big questions this election season has been on how the candidates for the Governor’s race have been handling the issue of climate change. We thought this article by Louisville Public Radio’s Ryan Van Velzer did a thorough job in laying out the policy views of those candidates. And we at KCC have been receiving our share of questions about the candidates as well, as illustrated in this week’s Washington Post article about the Kentucky Governor’s race.
Care About the Air?
Then check out a new series of “Clearing the Air” Community Workshops coming up in Louisville. More information here.
Spotted Lanternfly Alert
This invasive pest is now in the state. The state entomologist is advising that if you should see this destructive bug, take a picture of it first then squash it. Then report it to reportapest@uky.edu so that they can keep track of it. USDA also has a great information page and downloadable info flyers.