♪ Time now to do our midweek.

Check-in of some major political news so far this week with our friend Roy Lynn Barton, who was a senior editor with in PR states team.

Good to see you.

Good to see Renee.

Some chalk full of goodness on the news front, political wise.

I think this time around we learned from Austin Hardin, Lexington Herald-Leader that Charles Booker who now has a different job.

But folks remember.

>> Ran for U.S. Senate back in 2022.

And was defeated by 24 points by Rand Paul is still and debt by about 6 figures.

His campaign is talk to us about how rare it is to still hold about 6 figures worth of campaign debt.

2 years after a failed race.

>> Again, it's not the rarest thing in the world.

This happens from time to time and usually and the specially right after of a campaign ends.

Typically the campaign could still be in debt.

But you see they solve it by this point in time.

So this is a little almost 2 years since that election and the campaigns about $130,000 in debt to vendors as of July.

1st you know that the candidate, the the former campaign, still says that they're committed to the media's obligations, son and paying back all those vendors.

It was, you know, that was a big loss for for Democratic candidate Charles Booker spot almost 25 percentage Also Rand Paul that particular year.

and if they went back, really pay some of those, that's they just didn't have enough money for that.

But if that does explain a little bit of, you know, if you have been getting e-mails from a campaign that they're still been sending out some fundraising, all that still, it's something.

But there you are seeking to fill and will and will continue to try to as as they say, yeah.

>> And folks may know that Charles Booker is now employed in the Kentucky Office of Faith-Based Initiative and Community involvement.

So that's and Governor Bush years administration.

So now let's move to some other news and we reported on this yesterday.

But there has since been another development, state representative Kulkarni a Louisville Democrat.

She represents House district number 40.

There is yet another lawsuit.

This conundrum just continues to deepen for her as there is another challenge.

Whether or not she's a bona fide nominee because of some missteps and filing her paperwork.

>> Yeah, this is going back and forth and back and forth in this all stems back you know, really somebody who signed off on her, somebody on our campaign signing off on her candidacy, papers will be filed way back early this year.

They were actually in the right political party were registered Democrat at that point.

I think the big switch, their registration a little little bit after the deadline.

And so that's great.

His whole host of problems for coal cars campaign, even though when she was on the ballot, this may should wind about 80% of the Democratic vote.

But now and so there's going to be can see created here.

As we mentioned yesterday, there will be Democrats nominated for Republicans are still trying to figure out who their candidate is going to be to fill this vacancy.

But now the the person in the dark and lost that primary election is suing saying that there's a state law that says anybody who's been dissed previously disqualified is not allowed to run for that seat during that election.

So there's a the filed this lawsuit in Franklin Circuit which hears a lot of the lawsuits over state government and elections issues.

And, you know, there should be a lawsuit The rest of that ruling to that sometime in the next month or so because we are getting pretty close to one of those ballots are going to start heading out early voters and eventually, you know, just need to have the ballots reading.

So we'll see where that heads next.

>> Yeah, and the special election is actually set on Election Day November.

So we'll see where this keeps going.

Kentucky's new medical marijuana program goes into effect January one 2025.

But as a colleague of yours with can Louisville public media has reported Osaka a couple of different things.

More than 100 cities and counties have opted for a ballot referendum in November to dis side.

This issue.

But then there have been like 1000 plus businesses that have also filed to be a part of this whole medical marijuana dispensary or whatever part of the business they want to be.

And this is pretty spectacular.

>> Yeah, about 700.

The beginning of things is beginning of last week that this is and this is after a long find which they're just haven't really been anybody applying.

There was a lot of clarity in the roles and whether you can actually happening.

But the legislature did a lot.

The ministration that a lot of this year to start putting the frame work together for this actually go live starting January.

First of 2025, and a lot of a lot of businesses are now applying to have to be dispensary.

Cultivator processor of all these of these various medical cannabis facilities.

Now it's important to KET in mind the Kentucky's Kentucky's steam for this is actually very restricted.

The medical marijuana will be prescribed to.

It's going to be able to be prescribed to people with a very limited set of severe conditions.

But I you know, this is just a little bit of my guests here.

I think that some of these businesses applying to trying to make sure that puts in the door for it on down the road.

There's a further extension.

That's because states around Kentucky continue to expand access to medical to to marijuana.

And I think that there there will be some point in time in which, you know, even a state like Kentucky, which doesn't have a a ballot initiative process where the legislature might, you know, actually expand access to some point.

>> Yeah, of being wouldn't it also be contingent on whether or not a city or county allowed for that type of operation?

They're county.

So even though they applied in may get approved if the vote comes out on November, something different, they may be out a lock right?

>> That's right.

At least for the time being.

But, you know, there's nothing saying they can't undo that another referendum on to assert.

That is an interesting part of Kentucky's law that allowed those local communities to opt out.

If they want to.

Yeah.

>> Final note, we learned yesterday that Brown-Forman, which is the Louisville Bay Spirits Company, big bourbon maker.

They are rolling back.

They're dei, diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

This is follows a long line of companies who are following this.

They're really paying attention to these national trends.

Tell us more about this.

>> private company that's done done this.

And and this actually comes there was this news broke after it was started by right-wing personality.

Robby Starbuck on Twitter just for being an internal memo saying that the company was, you know, going to take this new strategic framework to undo some of those dei programs and also comes as the some institutions in the state are doing this on their own.

So we've seen a lot of states have been pushing for an doing so legislatures that have been done safety.

I higher education.

But we saw just last week, Northern Kentucky University followed University of Kentucky in just on their own and doing their dei offices and yeah, this is a big movement in a among some conservatives to undo some of these programs and and this is the latest step of it.

And, you know, I think that I think a lot will be you.

We just have to see whether or not this actually plays out in.

Will the company be less diverse in some way?

I think that the companies are getting that won't be, but it's not going to have those.

You know, those institutional practices baked into that system that that and that they've had for the last few years.

>> Yeah, to be interesting to see if either Kentucky based companies also follow suit, right, or even maybe how they redefine the same goal.

Just a different title or language.

So a lot to KET our eyes on.

We always appreciate you for doing so.

Thank you.

Rylan.