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Neal Turpin

Dr. Neal Turpin is a City Planner, and also part-time faculty in U of L's Department of Political Science. He lives in Louisville with his wife and children. (Read the rest on the Contributors page.)

Why we should use vote-by-mail in November

Why we should use vote-by-mail in November

The primary election in Kentucky was, overall, a success. Allowing voting by mail kept people safe during a pandemic and increased turnout at the same time. There were certainly issues [https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article243731882.html]. Ballots took too long to receive. Early voting hours in many places

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Republicans, do you REALLY want to condemn political violence? Do this.

The actions at the Capitol on Sunday were evil. This is obvious to any person with any sort of morals, and repeating it won’t make a difference. (And let me note right up front, actual lynching [https://interactives.courier-journal.com/projects/lynchings-in-kentucky/] took place in this state’s history.

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Churches, COVID-19, and the First Amendment:  An analysis

Churches, COVID-19, and the First Amendment: An analysis

Growing up, my mother had a framed copy of the First Amendment. As someone who is an active member of my church and who writes for a media outlet, I share this reverence. The rights and freedoms guaranteed (speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition) are fundamental to our society and

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Want to improve student safety and education outcomes? Start schools later.

Every year as school starts back, there are stories of children being killed while waiting for the school bus. These stories are absolutely heartbreaking, and much of the blame has rightly fallen on distracted or speeding drivers. As a result, there have been increased calls for vigilance on the part

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Kentucky's "Opportunity Zones" certainly present opportunity – but for whom?

Local governments across the country are in a frenzy. The cause of this excitement is a program establishing “Opportunity Zones” in hopes of spurring development in economically tenuous communities. Opportunity Zones [https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/293] (OZs) were added to the tax code as part of the

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Let's do marijuana legalization the right way

Making some noise in Kentucky, two bills have recently been filed to legalize marijuana. HB 136 [http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/19RS/hb136.html], proposed by Reps. St. Onge and Nemes, would legalize medical marijuana in the state, and SB 80 [http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/19RS/sb80.

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It's time to raise the minimum wage in Kentucky

As 2019 begins, 19 states [https://s27147.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/Raises-From-Coast-to-Coast-2019.pdf] are raising their minimum wages, and several more are scheduled to raise them later this year. Many of these states already have minimum wages above the federal level of $7.25 and are undergoing their second or

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Separating children: Our national Milgram study

In 1961, Stanley Milgram began a series of experiments to study obedience. Nazi atrocities were still fresh on people’s minds, and he attempted to show that Americans were less inclined to mindlessly follow unjust orders than Germans. This proved not to be the case. In these now famous experiments,

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Voting with disabilities? It’s tough in the Bluegrass

Voting with disabilities? It’s tough in the Bluegrass

The ability to freely cast a ballot is fundamental to democracy. While most adults in the US have the right to vote (those convicted of felonies [https://forwardky.com/time-to-restore-felon-voting-rights/] being a major exclusion), many in this country still face serious practical barriers to casting a ballot. One group facing

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Preemption – Stealing Power from Our Cities

The relationships between state and local governments in the U.S. have changed many times. In recent years, however, one change has become both relevant and troubling: the dramatic rise in state preemption of local laws. Preemption is the process in which a higher level of government creates a law

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