Print |
E-mail to a friend
NEWS
Beshear speaks to residents in Raceland
Gov. Steve Beshear and First Lady Jane Beshear speak with those attending a town hall meeting on Monday at Raceland Worthington Independent High School.
Purchase this photoRACELAND, Ky. -- While one man made an impassioned plea Monday night to Gov. Steve Beshear against a proposal for casino gambling in Kentucky, others asked the governor for more revenues for things like clean coal technology, libraries and domestic violence shelters.
Making the fourth stop across Kentucky to hear from local residents, Beshear and many of his cabinet secretaries and top officials held a town-hall style meeting at Raceland-Worthington High School, where several hundred people turned out.
"It's a struggle out there for many people," Beshear said. "We came into office in hard times." The state is dealing with a $434 million shortfall this year and nearly a $1 billion shortfall anticipated in the next two years. That's one of the reasons Beshear has proposed legislation to put an issue before voters to allow restricted casinos across Kentucky, including one in the Ashland area.
Kentucky libraries and domestic violence shelters are among the agencies hurting for more money and aren't likely to get more due to the state's revenue. "We need additional revenues," he said. "If you have any ideas, I'd like to hear them. The casino proposal is to put it on the ballot and let people vote on it."
Beshear also has proposed additional cigarette taxes. "We have one of the highest rates of teenage smokers in the nation," he said. "We need to live healthier lifestyles."
During a recent trip to Japan, Beshear signed up two Japanese companies to come to Kentucky. He also recruited a biotechnology company from California to relocate to the Bluegrass State. Those companies will be announced in the coming weeks, he said.
Zenaida Smith, a Spanish teacher at Raceland-Worthington High School, asked Beshear to have some of those companies locate in this area.
Beshear also talked about investing in clean coal technology to provide more jobs and to make 250 years of coal reserves in Kentucky an answer to the billions of dollars going to foreign countries for oil.
"The time to be energy independent is right now," Beshear said. "We have to make (coal) cleaner and greener. We can create thousands of new jobs. Two or three coal gasification plants could produce enough gas for Kentucky needs. We need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and carbon footprints."
Beshear talked about a bill passed in 2007 sponsored by State Rep. Rocky Adkins that provides tax incentives to encourage clean coal technology. The state has approved more than $4 billion in incentives that could lead to an investment of $15 billion in development and lead to thousands of construction jobs and thousands of permanent jobs, Adkins said.
The governor also was asked about putting more money into rehabilitation instead of prison for drug offenders. The state needs to educate children about the evils of drugs, Beshear said.
His wife, Jane Beshear, said the state has opened a few prison diversion programs for drug offenders and will open a total of 10 by the end of next year. The closest is located in Rowan County, she said.
