The Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange will begin an advertising campaign in mid-June to promote its work in TV spots that will run statewide. Gov. Steve Beshear ordered the creation of the exchange last year to help arrange insurance coverage for hundreds of thousands uninsured Kentuckians. It's an off-shoot of the federal Affordable Care Act.

The Illinois House is expected to vote on a compromise plan on concealed weapons that has generated the opposition of Governor Pat Quinn. Quinn says the bill is a "massive overreach" because it would curb local firearms regulations. He points to Chicago's ban on assault-style weapons, which would be eliminated by the law. The House Judiciary Committee endorsed Speaker Michael Madigan's plan 13-3.

Queen Elizabeth's youngest son, Prince Edward, is visiting Tennessee to promote one of the British royal family's charities, the Duke of Edinburgh's awards. The prince presided over an awards ceremony at the governor's mansion in Nashville yesterday for the first batch of young Tennesseans to participate in the leadership and character program.

Clarksville city officials are awaiting federal approval for a new natural gas pipeline that is expected to ensure service and lower rates to city residents.

The pipeline will be used in conjunction with the existing line south of the city. Clarksville Gas and Water Director Pat Hickey said the pipeline redundancy will allow for uninterrupted service if the older line fails.

The Kentucky Department of Education says many midnight meetings planned at area school districts are unnecessary, and not placing them at the front of the line for a $10,000 grant.

The incentive for schools to raise their dropout age to 18 becomes law on June 25 and the first 96 schools to approve the measure receive the money. This has led to districts scheduling early morning meetings, but the Kentucky Department of Education’s Nancy

Maiden Alley Cinema is seeking funds for their digital conversion campaign. Mandatory digital conversion is happening across the country, effectively ending the era of 35mm films. For smaller, independent theaters, purchasing new equipment and replacing the projection set-up is costly, and in Maiden Alley's case, is $90,000, half of the annual operating budget. MAC's executive director Landee Bryant speaks with Tracy Ross on Sounds Good about the change, and their Kickstarter campaign to meet the goal.

See more on Maiden Alley Cinema's website.

LATA Environmental Services of Kentucky is suspending planned layoffs of up to 145 workers for 30 days.

The suspension of layoffs, originally set to begin June 3, comes after the Department of Energy has submitted a reprogramming request to Congress. The request could result in more federal funding for LATA, and a restructuring or reduction of the planned layoffs.

The Mayfield City website is pretty unique among city sites in our area. Some of the new features include videos of Mayor Teresa Cantrell highlighting the city's strengths, a section for kids, and a calendar of summer festivals. Chad Lampe speaks with Mayor Cantrell about the development of the site and gets an update on Mayfield happenings. Click here to see the new website.

Here's the next edition our our weekly gardening series, "From the Garden Gate." Murray resident Roy Helton divides his time between teaching in the English Department at Murray State University and indulging his passion for gardening.

Who among the clan of devout gardeners doesn’t yearn for perennials that are easy to plant, require little or no care, serve multiple purposes, and are virtually indestructible—having almost no pests or diseases?  I can just hear my neighbor’s answer to that question:  “Oh, yeah, I know; you’re talking about weeds.”