This is an episode of the series “By the way, NKY” by reporter Julia Fair. Find out what’s going on in Northern Kentucky here.
2020 is behind us and the new year is already pretty busy.
Recently in northern Kentucky, embattled former judge Dawn Gentry got a new job, a land battle in Cold Spring got a little more complicated, and some lucky library users got fined.
In this series, by the way, NKY, we inform you about the developments in the region and in your neighborhoods.
If you think something should be included, email reporter Julia Fair at jfair@enquirer.com
BTW, here’s what’s going on in Northern Kentucky:
Gentry opens law firm
Former Kenton County Family Court Justice Dawn Gentry opened her own law firm, Dawn Gentry Law. This is evident from business records filed with the Kentucky Secretary of State.
In August, Gentry lost her job after the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission found her guilty of 10 out of 12 charges of misconduct. Members of the commission voted to remove her from office after she was accused of using personal relationships, coercion and retaliation as tools for her judiciary.
According to public records, Gentry filed her professional restrictions license with the state on September 17th. This is around the same time that her appeal against the commission’s decision found its way through the Kentucky Supreme Court.
In December, the Kentucky Supreme Court upheld the commission’s decision.
According to Gentry’s website, her law firm will practice family law, criminal law, business law and general law. Her legal license is active, according to the Kentucky Bar Association website.
The city of Cold Spring joins a lawsuit over land
The debate over the future of the Disabled American Veterans Building in the city of Cold Spring became more complicated.
A land battle erupted over the property in December when the organization that serves disabled veterans announced plans to move from Cold Spring to Erlanger. The developers planned to convert it into a medical facility, and the Campbell County School District decided to use a significant domain to try to use the private property for public use to convert the building into a new school.
More:Major Domain Battle: A Cincinnati developer and school district battle for land in northern Kentucky
Now the city of Cold Spring is also involved. On December 30, the city voted to file a lawsuit against the Campbell County School District Board. Earlier, Cold Spring mayor Angelo Penque told The Enquirer that he would prefer the developers to be successful as their plan would increase the city’s tax revenue.
The city decided to file the lawsuit for several reasons, prosecutor Brandon Voelker said at the meeting.
- The city has a contract to buy the DAV property.
- The school board does not have approval from the Kentucky Department of Education to purchase the property it needs to file a major domain case.
- The city has a deed restriction on the property that requires a city permit to sell the property.
No more library fees in Kenton County
Kenton County’s book lovers no longer have to worry about fines for libraries, according to a library press release.
The Kenton County Public Library announced that it would not impose any overdue fines. If they are 60 days overdue, the person will be charged. However, if they return the item in “good condition” the fine will be waived, according to PR Director Robin Klaene.
The policy change came after the Library’s Amnesty Month in April 2019 when 768 lost items were returned.
Kentucky COVID-19 vaccination schedule
Kentuckians begin receiving the long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine.
So far, health workers and residents of long-term care facilities along with some heads of state have received the vaccine.
Governor Andy Beshear said the state plans to be in Phase 1A of the vaccine rollout by January, starting with Phase 1B on Feb.1, according to the Courier-Journal.
The planned vaccination phases are:
- Phase 1a: long-term care facilities, assisted living facilities, health workers
- Phase 1b: First responders, Kentuckians 70+, K-12 school staff
- Phase 1c: Kentuckians 60 years of age and older, all over 16 years of age with CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at highest risk for COVID-19, all essential workers
- Phase 2: Kentuckians aged 40 and over
- Phase 3: Kentuckians aged 16 and over
- Stage 4: Children under 16 if the vaccine is approved for that age group (an estimated 18% of the Kentucky population)
Do you need a COVID-19 test? Here are some helpful links to resources in Northern Kentucky.
That’s it for this episode of By the way, NKY. Let us know if there’s anything you think we should include in the next one. In the meantime, there are a few other ways to keep up with your community:
- Keep an eye on your local government with us and subscribe to the free daily newsletter sent straight to your inbox every morning.
- Download the NKY News app and sign up for notifications to be the first to know about what’s new in your neighborhood
Julia is the Northern Kentucky government reporter on the Report For America program. The investigator needs local donors to fund her grant-funded position. If you would like to support Julia’s work, you can donate to her position as Report For America on this website or email your editor, Carl Weiser, at cweiser@cincinna.gannett.com to find out how you can fund their work.
Do you know something that she should know? Send her a message at jfair@enquirer.com and follow her on Twitter at @JFair_Reports.
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