Government

Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes says if you can’t to get to the polls on Election Day you may be able to vote by absentee ballot. Soldiers overseas and students on out-of-state campuses are eligible. State law allows anyone who will be traveling and won’t be able to get to their local polls to cast absentee ballots ahead of the May 22nd primary. The elderly and disabled may also be able to do so. People in hospital and, in some instances, jail also can vote absentee. You should contact your local county clerk to request a mail-in absentee ballot.

A national liberal advocacy group is criticizing Illinois Governor Pat Quinn's proposed solution to the state's Medicaid crisis.  Families USA is issuing a report Wednesday estimating job losses of more than 25,000 if Illinois cuts Medicaid spending by 2 point 7 billion dollars.  That's a reaction to Governor Quinn's call for the Legislature to stop pushing unpaid Medicaid bills into future years.

The City of Paducah has received the green light from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to take bids for the next phase of the Greenway Trail project. This phase will complete a new stretch of trail that follows the floodwall earthen levee from the Expo Center in downtown Paducah to North 8th Street near the Brookport Bridge. Bids will be advertised this weekend with a bid opening scheduled in May. Construction will begin this summer with an official groundbreaking ceremony. The project is expected to take 120 days to complete.

Gov. Steve Beshear met with community leaders and students at Calloway County Middle School to celebrate the completion of two sidewalk projects meant to improve pedestrian and bicycle access for local students.