H-L finds a Higher Ed Reporter

Welcome Ryan Alessi. This is great news. Next - H-L finds a K-12 reporter?

This from John Stamper at PolWatchers:

If you didn't read to the end of Ryan Alessi's Notebook column today, you missed the important part. Here it is:

My last political column

After more than four years of writing the weekly political notebook column, this is my final one.

Later this month, I will begin covering Kentucky's colleges and universities, as well as higher education policies and trends, for the Herald-Leader.

It's a new challenge that I'm eager to tackle. But it doesn't signal a cutback in the Herald-Leader's commit ment to covering state government and politics. Eventually, a new political writer will be named.

For the nearly six years I served in that capacity, I had the tremendous fortune of learning from some of the most knowledgeable and insightful sources and analysts, who patiently taught me the history and nuances
of Kentucky's unique and colorful brand of politics.

And although the ranks of the Frankfort press corps have shrunk in recent years, a host of talented reporters remain. Many of those journalists — starting with the dean of the Capitol press corps, the Herald-Leader's Jack Brammer, and including some of this newspaper's chief competitors — unknowingly served as role models for me.

To all of them and to those dedicated readers of the Herald-Leader's political coverage, I will be forever grateful.

Kentucky already has benefited so much from Ryan Alessi. He's the hardest working person I've ever known. Period. It was Ryan's decision to take on the challenge of a new beat and there's no doubt that he'll succeed magnificently. He always does. In the meantime, we'll do our best to patch up the gaping hole his absence creates in our Frankfort bureau as quickly as possible, but we've got our work cut out for us.

EduPoliComment on House Bill 91

Ferrell Wellman, the recently crowned regular host of KET's Comment on Kentucky lead a delightful discussion of Senate Bill 91 Friday night. (Backstory) With Wellman were H-L's Ryan Alessi, Pat Crowley from the Enquirer and the always insightful Mark Hebert from WHAS.

Alessi had made some remarks about the Senate majority, and then...

Ryan Alessi:"Meanwhile in the Democratic... Senate minority; they tried to get a discharge petition to get the Bullying Bill (HB 91) out. And, Senator Scorcone, the one who pushed it, Democrat from Lexington, he said the petition didn't work, but hey, we were able to leverage it by screaming publicly for it.

Ferrell Wellman: Let's talk quickly about the Bully Bill, and there's some line of thought that possibly, the bill that passed the senate, was - Can you believe it? - designed to maybe kill the bill?

Mark Hebert: Oh you think? (laughing) The Republican Senate leadership has been against a Bully Bill for - and I'm not real sure exactly why - but for the last four years. They finally agreed to hear it in committee. [Senate President] David Williams had a committee substitute. Put it out there. Basically it criminalizes any kid who, on the first time, is accused of bullying another kid or...

Wellman: It criminalizes teachers too.

Hebert: It could criminalize teachers. What it does is that it forces teachers and principals to report to police, within 48 hours, if they hear any incident of a kid harassing or trying to humiliate another kid. And the police are required to investigate. If the teachers and the principal don't report, they could be subjected to a Class B misdemeanor for failure to report. So the bottom line is - this is just too tough for anybody to swallow. David Williams said Oh. No You know, we need to take care of these kids that are bullies and get them out of our schools and into our court system. But in reality, he's just trying to kill the bill and - because it is too tough - it might end up in a conference committee. Mike Cherry, the sponsor of the original Bully Bill said, Hey, at least I got it through the Senate. We can now get into a conference committee and we might be able to pass something.

Wellman: Because, what you're talking about is taking any discretion, really, away from teachers and principals, and they may think that they've actually solved the problem...

Hebert: Right.

Wellman: ..but if they don't report it the next step they face Class B misdemeanor and that's enough to keep a teacher from getting a job.

Hebert: Absolutely.

Pat Crowley: I thought any bill David Williams supported was a bully bill... (laughter) he's always being accused of being such a bully.

Alessi: Well, this one actually bullies the bullies. (laughter)

Hebert: The bullies; yes, it's tough on the bullies.

Wellman: Alright. Let's move on to slots.