SUMMARY: Good morning! It’s a cold start with temperatures about 10°F lower than yesterday, resulting in some frost. Expect a warm-up to the upper 60s and low 70s by this afternoon. Winds will pick up from the southwest at 10 to 20 mph, bringing warmer air. Clouds are increasing, with a small chance of spotty showers by late afternoon. More significant rain is expected tonight into early Thursday morning, followed by potential heavier downpours later in the day. Cooler weather will return for Friday, with highs in the 50s, and another cool down is anticipated over the weekend.

A soggy Wednesday evening precedes a brief cool down before warmer temperatures return during the workweek next week! A more spring-like pattern appears to be settling in for the moment. Will it last? Stay tuned.

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SUMMARY: Clifton residents expressed concerns at a community meeting about lingering odors, delayed repairs, and the cleanup process following a deadly explosion at a factory three months ago. The explosion, which killed two people and damaged homes and businesses, has left many still recovering, with some even relocating. Givaudan, the company responsible, announced it would not return to Louisville, which some residents support. However, concerns remain about health and safety during demolition. The city is working to regain control of the property, and an ATF report on the incident is expected next month.

Community meeting held regarding ongoing recovery from deadly Givaudan plant explosion

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Kentuckians will pay with their health if lawmakers force cigar bars on smoke-free communities

by Karma Clara Bryan and Ellen Hahn, Kentucky Lantern
February 26, 2025

House Bill 211 would threaten Kentuckians health by requiring local smoke-free ordinances to allow smoking in cigar bars. HB 211 could undo the dramatic public health protections afforded by the 44 strong smoke-free ordinances in Kentucky.

Smoke-free hospitality venues are popular. Tourists like to breathe smoke-free air. 

Kentucky has a long history of yielding authority to local municipalities. The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled local governments have the right and the responsibility to protect the public health by regulating smoking inside workplaces and buildings open to the public. Since 2003, 44 communities from Prestonsburg to Paducah have chosen to prohibit indoor smoking, including cigar smoking, equally in all establishments. HB 211 would leave local government powerless to regulate cigar and pipe tobacco smoking in hospitality venues.

Once cigar bars are exempt, there is nothing to stop other bars, hospitality venues or tobacco retailers from becoming cigar bars. In communities that allow indoor cigar smoking, youth and young adults may perceive that it is socially acceptable to use cigars and pipe tobacco, and they may get the false impression that cigars or pipes are safer or a status symbol.

If HB 211 becomes law, Kentuckians will pay more and suffer more from lung cancer, preterm births, emphysema, heart attacks, asthma  and youth smoking. The science is clear. Cigar and pipe smoke contain the same toxic chemicals found in cigarette smoke, including those that cause cancer. Strong smoke-free laws save lives and money by lowering smoking and saving health care costs. Smoke-free laws that exempt certain businesses, like cigar bars, do not confer these same benefits.

If a community with a smoke-free law wants to allow smoking in cigar bars, they already have the authority to do so. HB 211 takes away local communities’ ability to choose what’s best for their families and neighbors. It undermines home rule. It makes sense to leave local smoke-free laws up to local officials.

HB 211 would wipe away all the progress we have made in smoke-free protections in the state, plunging us from nearly 40% covered with strong smoke-free protections to 0%. 

This commentary also was signed by Lisa Maggio, PhD, RN, Lexington; Karma Clara Bryan, RN, PhD, Lexington; Alison Connell, Rockcastle County; Audrey Darville, PhD, APRN, CPAHA-Tobacco Treatment, Danville; Carol Riker, RN, MSN, Lexington.

They are members of Nurses who Stand Up for Health, made up of nurse practitioners, school nurse leaders, environmental health researchers and health policy experts, representing both political parties.

Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com.

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