Opinion

 Every parent wants their children to succeed in life.  Early on, parents can help by making sure that their child can read.  And they need to keep them in school.  This is the parent's responsibility, but some in Frankfort want to take that responsibility away from them by mandating school attendance until they're 18 years old. 

 Unless you have a large trust fund or have won a big lottery jackpot, you know what it means to make economic choices.  Do you buy these shoes, or do you buy those groceries? Do you get the data plan at $25/month or stick with text messages and put $25 a month away for a college fund for your baby (which could add up to about $8,500 by graduation day).

   If you are going to send flowers, candy, or gifts for Valentine’s Day do your homework first!

When buying flowers, consumers should be especially careful when making the purchase online or over the phone. Consumers should review the description of the floral arrangement and be sure they know exactly what their loved one will be getting. When doing business with a florist, keep the following in mind:

 Check out the latest scams and bad business in BBB’s February 2012 Hot Topics!

1.    There’s a new twist to the BBB Phishing Scam. Businesses are receiving calls from someone who says they are with the BBB, wanting to help them remove a virus from their computer due to a phishing scam. BBB is NOT making these calls!

 Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! Are you looking for love? Millions use dating and social networking sites to meet people. While many are looking to start a successful relationship, there are those using these sites to take advantage of others. Unfortunately, the anonymity of the internet makes it easy for con artists to use these sites to meet potential victims.

  A Nelson County man asked me about charter schools, wondering why public charter schools don't have to follow the same rules as traditional public schools; and if charter schools are better (which he doubts), why don't the traditional schools change the way they're doing business to imitate charter schools?  The answers lie in centralized control and mandatory attendance. Let's take a look at how Kentucky sets things up.

 When we put out the call for people to come out and serve the community, we’re not talking about law enforcement or military personnel.

 FRANKFORT – During the opening days of most legislative sessions in even-numbered years, the primary focus is getting bills moving through committee and readying for the governor’s budget proposal.

As many of you may know, however, this year is somewhat different, as the General Assembly is also taking on the once-in-a-decade task of redrawing the population boundaries for itself, the Kentucky Supreme Court and the state’s six congressional seats.  It’s something all states do after each Census.

 On Tuesday, Jan. 17, legislators heard from the governor. Gov. Steve Beshear presents his budget proposal to the General Assembly.

As I have reported in the past, our budget situation is serious and while the General Assembly directed cost-cutting measures and other efficiencies such as reducing personal service contracts and merit employees (those who are politically appointed) in the budget, the Governor vetoed those measures. Now, he will issue his solution to our state’s budget problems.