Various snippets and excerpts, with links to the full story.
Gov announces $2 billion (with a B!) battery plant coming to Kentucky
In case you somehow missed it, Governor Beshear and company execs announced a 2,000-job plant to make batteries for electric vehicles. The company is Envision AESC, a Japanese company, and the plant will be located on a 512-acre site in Bowling Green. (Herald-Leader)
War on JCPS? Kentucky's largest school district continues to be a target for GOP lawmakers
In Kentucky’s “war on public education” — when state lawmakers pass policies considered detrimental to public schools — Jefferson County Public Schools is often a top target. JCPS emerged from this year’s session with more battle scars than usual. (Courier-Journal)
Four people who could run for Attorney General if Daniel Cameron runs for governor
Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron has been essentially guaranteed a second term in office next year, but he’s also considering a run for governor; if he vacates the seat it could set off a string of moves to replace him in his current role. Here’s a shortlist of four Republicans who could consider running for Attorney General, if Cameron moves in a different direction. (Kentucky Fried Politics)
Leaked: New Amazon worker chat app would ban words like “union,” “restrooms,” “pay raise,” and “plantation”
Amazon will block and flag employee posts on a planned internal messaging app that contain keywords pertaining to labor unions, according to internal company documents reviewed by The Intercept. An automatic word monitor would also block a variety of terms that could represent potential critiques of Amazon’s working conditions, like “slave labor,” “prison,” and “plantation,” as well as “restrooms” — presumably related to reports of Amazon employees relieving themselves in bottles to meet punishing quotas. (The Intercept)
Democrats introduce bill guaranteeing workers paid time off to vote
On Monday, a group of House Democrats introduced a bill guaranteeing that workers get paid time off to vote in federal elections as other voting rights initiatives have fallen flat. The Time Off to Vote Act, introduced by Representatives Nikema Williams (D-Georgia), Matt Cartwright (D-Pennsylvania), Cheri Bustos (D-Illinois), and Andy Levin (D-Michigan), would require employers to give their employees at least two hours off of work to vote, either on election day or on a day with early voting. Many states have no regulations requiring that workers get time off to vote; even in states that do guarantee that right, many only require that workers get unpaid time off, meaning that workers may not be able to take advantage of the benefit without suffering financially. The bill would help to normalize regulations for paid time off across the country, a critical step toward expanding voting access. (Truthout)
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