You won’t often see us hyping anything that lame duck hack/retributionist Steve Beshear promotes but this is one rare instance.

The first round (nearly $2 million will be handed out in total) benefits 81 farming families and 36 counties. The program provides 25% reimbursement of energy saving items up to $10,000. Things like: energy audits, energy efficient building components, on-farm energy upgrades, on-farm energy efficiency training.

From a release:

Examples of on-farm efficiency investments include Henkle’s Herbs & Heirlooms, of Jessamine County, for greenhouse improvements and Gray Poultry Farm, of Clinton County, for poultry house improvements. Examples of renewable energy investments include Kelley Farms, of Carlisle County, to invest in solar panels for their farm operations and Mac Farms, of Taylor County, for an anaerobic digester to produce gas for heating poultry houses.

And here’s a list of the recipients:

Adair County
Big Creek Poultry – Poultry – $10,000
Clayridge Poultry Farms, Inc – Poultry – $10,000
Greg W. Hatcher – Dairy – $10,000
Gregg D. Burton – Dairy – $2,267
Grider Farm, Inc. – Poultry – $10,000
H and H Dairy, Inc. – Dairy – $2,417
Marshall Irvin – Dairy – $2,217
Rowe Farms, Inc. – Dairy – $1,985
Steve L. Burton – Dairy – $8,404

Allen County
Ben Langman Farm LLC – Solar – $7,500

Barren County
Meadowbrook Farms, Inc. – Poultry – $10,000
Trailsend Farm – Poultry – $4,375

Bourbon County
Mahan Farms, LLC – Grain – $10,000

Breckinridge County
Joseph Kyle Snyder – Poultry – $10,000

Caldwell County
C&C Farms – Farm shop – $6,411

See the rest of the list after the jump…

Calloway County
Gary Brame – Solar – $10,000
Houston Family Properties, LL – Solar – $10,000
James Ray Murdock – Solar – $10,000
Mark & Pam Beane – Solar – $10,000
Shea Sykes – Solar – $10,000

Carlisle County
Kelley Farms – Solar – $10,000

Clinton County
Gray Poultry Farm – Poultry – $10,000

Cumberland County
Allen Creek Poultry Farm – Poultry – $10,000

Daviess County
Brey Farms – Grain – $10,000
Glenn Farms – Grain – $10,000
Robert B. Moorman – Grain – $10,000
Stephen Farms, LLC – Grain – $ 0,000

Franklin County
Wilson Nurseries, Inc. – Greenhouse – $10,000

Fulton County
Dennis W. Jones – Grain – $10,000
Elliott Farms – Poultry – $10,000
Grace Farms, Inc. – Poultry – $10,000

Graves County
Larry Alan Colley – Solar – $10,000
Robert Mills – Solar – $10,000

Grayson County
Valley View Poultry – Solar – $10,000

Hardin County
Joseph Mobley Farm – Grain – $10,000

Henderson County
Triple E Farms – Grain – $10,000

Hickman County
Fuller Poultry Inc. – Poultry – $10,000
Hopper Farms Inc – Farm shop – $10,000
James Neil Mathis – Poultry – $10,000
Joe Stinson – Poultry – $10,000
Morrison Poultry – Poultry – $10,000
Stephen O. Sarten – Poultry – $10,000
Tommy Ward – Poultry – $10,000
Troy Carter – Poultry – $5,850
Westbrooks Poultry, LLC – Poultry – $10,000
Wilson Workman – Poultry – $9,743

Jessamine County
Henkle’s Herbs & Heirlooms – Greenhouse – $5,679

Livingston County
K&K, Inc – Poultry – $407

Logan County
Gary L. Hendricks – Solar – $10,000
Robey Farms, LLC – Grain – $ 10,000

Marshall County
Becker Poultry – Poultry – $ 10,000
Robert Johnson – Solar – $ 9,900
Ronald and Heather Davis – Solar – $10,000

McCracken County
Dewain Gipson – Grain – $10,000

McLean County
Chick Valley Farm – Poultry – $3,986
Evans & Butler Poultry – Poultry – $3,730
Henpecked Farms – Poultry – $10,000
Twin Lakes Poultry – Poultry – $6,584

Metcalfe County
Crist Dairy Farm – Dairy – $9,990
Triple T Poultry, LLC – Poultry – $10,000

Monroe County
Freetown Farms – Solar – $10,000
Grand View Acres, Inc. – Poultry – $10,000
Pebblebrook Angus – Solar – $10,000

Muhlenberg County
Drum Sticks Poultry – Poultry – $2,808

Robertson County
Troy D. Fooks – PTO Pellet Mill – $1,396

Russell County
B & H Dairy, LLC – Dairy – $2,617

Simpson County
Albert H. Perkins Jr. – Solar – $7,500

Taylor County
Mac Farms, Incorporated – Anaerobic digester – $10,000

Trigg County
River Bend Farms – Grain – $10,000

Union County
Roy Robinson Farm – Grain – $10,000

Warren County
Billy W. Thomas – Solar – $10,000
Bush Farms, Inc. – Grain – $10,000
Charles G. Dodson – Solar – $7,500
Dancing Wind Farm – Solar – $10,000
Don E. Hughes – Solar – $7,500
Dotson Hay Marketing, LLC – Solar – $10,000
Idle Acres Farm – Solar – $7,741
L & J Rocky Stables, LLC – Solar – $10,000
Mathews Poultry – Solar – $7,781

Washington County
Riney Dairy – Dairy – $10,000

Wayne County
Williams Farms – Grain – $10,000

Donors to Hal Rogers (shocker!) got a sweet deal from the government to sell them $6.5 million worth of $17,000 drip pans. All thanks to Rogers’ fancy earmarks. [NYT]

A small group of anti-war demonstrators staged a peaceful “die in” on Thursday at President Barack Obama’s election campaign headquarters in Chicago to demand an end to the war in Afghanistan and unmanned drone aircraft attacks overseas. [Reuters]

Oh, please. These Democrats are only a member of ALEC so they can go on trips for free. The same as every other Democrat and Republican in the state legislature. [WFPL]

Roger Alford spends almost every waking moment attacking this website and loving the teabaggers. So here’s more on his obsession with them. [H-L]

The Republicans are still terrified of President Barack Obama and they can’t stop foaming at the mouth. Chris Christie tried to eat everybody. And there’s no way the RPK is raising much cash with K.C. Crosbie at the helm. Won’t be long til that joint is as bad off as the KDP. [Ronnie Ellis]

In a nondescript building next to the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Washington, a group of lawyers gathers every fortnight to bicker in public. [The Economist]

Even the NAACP has decided it doesn’t hate the gays and supports gay marriage. [Reuters]

And Maryland has decided that the gays can now get gay divorced. So. Get ready for all kinds of gay fighting. [BBC]

The Paulbots are slowly beginning to eat each other alive. It’s almost interesting watching them foam at the mouth now that their overlord has admitted permanent defeat. [Politico]

When MaryAnn Nellis tried to pay for groceries on April 14, her credit card was declined. Later, she said, she found out why: Her credit card company, Capital One, had flagged an earlier purchase as potentially fraudulent. The problem? A $5 donation to Friends of Scott Walker, the Wisconsin governor’s campaign committee, Nellis said. [ProPublica]

This whole “war on coal” scam is near-death. Almost no one believes there’s actually an effort to kill coal forever. The mouth-breathers like Bill Bissett and the Kentucky Coal Association continue to push that non-sense and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars attacking anyone who dares question mountaintop removal or dares suggest the world consider other energy options. [The Hill]

I’ll Have Another overtook Bodemeister, blazing down the stretch to win the Preakness in the final strides Saturday and keep alive his hopes of winning the Triple Crown. [NPR]

Nope, Chris Christie didn’t rip his suit while in Lexington. He apparently ripped Barack Obama. Or tried to. But it was really tough to stand at the podium for a long time. [H-L]

The Obama administration on Thursday ordered hefty tariffs on solar panels imported from China, arguing the Chinese goods are sold below fair-market place and are endangering the U.S. clean energy industry. [Slate]

Don’t miss Comment on Kentucky tonight at 8:00 P.M. Eastern on KET. Scheduled guests: Russ Cassady, Bill Estep, Tom Loftus. Sure to be a great show with Cassady – the editor of the Appalachian News-Express. [KET]

Steve Nunn’s attorney, Warren Scoville, finally ditched him. Could it be the recent national media attention? Or the lack of cash? [H-L]

This bootlegger story is one of the dumbest things we’ve read in a long time. Locking people up for having alcohol in a dry county. It’s 2012! [WKYT]

This foreigner maybe stole all of Jim Higdon’s Cornbread. This is why America can’t have nice things. [Daily Herald]

The legacy of unemployment will haunt the United States’ economy for years to come. [NYT]

Gay-hater Vernie McGaha endorsed Republican mark Polston to be his replacement in Frankfort. [WKYT]

You can’t even let your kid ride a bike in Richmond these days without it getting hit by a car. [Richmond Register]

Afghan commanders have refused more than a dozen times within the past two months to act on U.S. intelligence regarding high-level insurgents, arguing that night-time operations to target the men would result in civilian casualties, Afghan officials say. [WaPo]

KSP Commissioner shares a touching story about fallen trooper Mack Brady in honor of National Police Memorial Week. You should probably give this a read. [Rodney Brewer]

What the hell are these teabaggers going on about these days? Something about killing each other? The Paul Family and their pals sure are wonky. [Wonkette]

Yep, Linda Breathitt was appointed to the Public Service Commission to replace Charlie Borders. [Press Release & H-L]

What doesn’t smell right about Steve Beshear “promoting” the bourbon industry in Taiwan? [C-J/AKN]

Former Congresscritter Ron Lewis endorsed Gary Moore in the 4th District race for the U.S. Congress today. [Releases & Such]

But you know what’s really cute? The teabagger hypocrisy.

Thomas Massie most certainly doesn’t have a problem taking farm subsidies for himself. He just doesn’t like it when anyone else gets them.

Here’s a look at some of the cash his farm/LLC have received via subsidies:

Interesting how that works.

The burden of air pollution and asthma is not evenly shared among U.S. children. [HuffPo]

Folks love to hate David Williams and some of that hate is well-deserved. But he helped make this thing in Louisville happen. [C-J/AKN]

Sorry, Marty Cockring, but the jesusian mouth-breathers did refuse to print those t-shirts because the clients were gigantic, sparkly gays. Stop playing pat-a-cake. What you neglect to mention, however, is that the mouth-breathers also did the right thing by finding another company to print the shirts for them at the same damn price. So you can’t really say they’re discriminating. The Lexington gays went after them because they knew it would be a problem. It’s so blatant that you don’t even hear the usual gay voices chiming in to support them. Additionally, I hope you some day have to suffer at the hands of the Aryan Nation for daring compare gay rights activists to the AN. What a despicable thing. [H-L]

Every singly media outlet in the state ran a story about Hal Rogers’ longtime aide retiring. Because that’s apparently important news. [WTVQ]

We’ve heard more about this story from the bourbon industry than we ever imagined. Seems a certain signature industry is about a pop a vein. [The 'Ville Voice]

Yes, this absolutely is the most boring presidential election ever. [Rolling Stone]

Wait, are we supposed to feign shock and surprise that the University of Kentucky board of trustees is going to vote to raise tuition again? [WKYT]

What? Yet another Republican who is unfamiliar with the minimum wage? Surely not! [HuffPo]

Something doesn’t smell quite right about these Kentucky tourism claims made this week. [H-L]

Who wants to bet this Paul Patton effort to take coal severance funds from several counties to create scholarships at the University of Pikeville isn’t going to work out so well? [C-J/AKN]

Looks like Alecia Webb-Edgington’s silly “gun rights” endorsement is negated by the latest teabagger move. [Kenny Coleslaw]

Adam Edelen says he’s going to review micro-government groups like lie-berries, sewer and fire districts. [Ryan Alessi]

A majority of Kentuckians favor a statewide smoking ban. Interesting that David Williams supports it and Steve Beshear does not. [WFPL]

The copilot in the Comair 5191 crash speaks in a new documentary film. [H-L]

There is a party in the pants of “Exodus International,” and nobody wants to come! And that is why the group has canceled its upcoming “Love Won Out” convention, in which ex-gay ladies show off their human male husbands, and ex-gay men show off Michele Bachmann. [Wonkette]

Let’s get something clear: Crit Luallen did have enough information from Richie Farmer’s employees to do a scathing audit like Adam Edelen did. Jack Conway even had information about wrongdoing. I know because I’ve discussed it with their staffers for years. With more than 100 people on staff, Luallen certainly had the manpower to conduct such an audit. And while we’re talking about Farmer… why aren’t we talking about corrupt former Democratic commissioners like Logsdon? [Joe Gerth]

Hillary Clinton says she wants to see a female U.S. President but that it won’t be her. [HuffPo]

Why is it so expensive to buy or sell a house in the United States? The foreigns take a hard look at it. [The Economist]

Just changing your name when you’re a mega bank with mega problems won’t solve anything. [Reuters]

Lawwwd, you can’t even rent your house out in Lexington without finding two dead bodies in it. [WKYT]

Also, you probably can’t even go anywhere in Lexington without catching the pertussis! Whatever that is. (Okay, we know it’s whooping cough, but go with it.) [WLEX18]

US hostage Warren Weinstein has pleaded with President Barack Obama to meet his captors’ demands in a video released by al-Qaeda’s media arm, says US monitoring group Site intelligence. [BBC]

Remember last week when he got our hands on that fancy letter about state payroll problems? The mainstreamers wouldn’t have seen it otherwise. Yes, we’re tooting our own horn. [Page One]

This is proof that craft beer in Kentucky is a hot ticket. Now, if only Kentucky would recognize that killing the silly label tax could seriously fatten the state coffers. [H-L]

Haha, yeah, sorry bout yer luck!

At least, that’s what Steve Beshear and his Personnel Secretary, Tim Longmeyer, say in this letter to employees:

CLICK FOR PDF

The budget enacted by the General Assembly for FY 2010-2012 mandates that the regular payroll of June 30, 2012 cannot be issued prior to July 1, 2012. Therefore, please be advised that the payroll you would have received on Friday, June 29, 2012 will be received on Monday, July 2, 2012.

-SNIP-

Make alternative arrangements: No amount from the June 30, 2012 payroll may be paid to employees before Monday, July 2, 2012, which is the first banking day of the new fiscal year. Agencies are not to provide these checks early to employees, and banking institutions have been advised that these checks should not be cashed early. Please make alternative arrangements as you deem fit. Keep in mind that the July 4th holiday is also that week — this is important for any travel plans you may have.

The letter was only sent out on April 30 so many employees are just finding out.

Whoopsiedaisy.

How dare Mittens Romney hire a known homosexual to do campaign work! The shame! Horror! [HuffPo]

Calumet Farm finally sold for $36 million. Guess the claims that it wasn’t being sold were flat-out lies. [H-L]

Have you ever wondered how a police agency chooses their police vehicle? The answers vary and obviously depend on the needs of the agency regarding the type of service delivery and geographical terrain that they routinely patrol in. [Rodney Brewer]

How crazy is it that a truckload of Jim Higdon’s Cornbread Mafia was STOLEN? Hoo boy. [Crumbled Cornbread]

Adam Edelen isn’t mincing words when he discusses Richie Farmer or his corrupt former appointees who put thousands of lives at risk. [Ryan Alessi]

Today Papaw Beshear appointed John Phillips to the Horse Racing Commission, replacing John T. Ward. [Press Release]

Months before Barack Obama knew Mitt Romney would be his political opponent in 2012, the president knew the identity of his foremost literary challenger: Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Maraniss, who had been reaching out to Obama’s old friends, classmates and lovers for the past several years. [Politico]

From Bear to Lehman: Documents reveal an alternate history. [PBS]

The Securities and Exchange Commission seems to think that it has done a much better job of investigating financial crisis wrongdoing than the Justice Department. And it’s true. But it’s like being proud that you’re the “Dumb” of “Dumb and Dumber.” [Pro Publica]

These green innovations aim to feed a world of 9 billion people. The United States should take note. [Reuters]

U.S. alcohol retailers find law changes are hard to swallow. The US consumes more bottles of wine than any other nation in the world. But almost 80 years after the end of Prohibition, buying a drink can still be tricky. [BBC]

Ugh, two people died in an Eastern Kentucky house fire. We wish the region could receive some good news for once. [WYMT]

An insurance provider must continue to pay for members to be treated at Eastern Kentucky’s largest health care network for 30 days, a state official said Wednesday, and a federal judge ordered negotiations between the two sides. [H-L]

Foreclosure victims are fighting back. Something at least one Democratic State Senate candidate in Louisville won’t like. [HuffPo]

Lending to small business is slowing, a sign that companies are losing confidence in the economy. [NPR]

A federal appeals court has affirmed the convictions and sentences of William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham Jr. for running a “massive scheme to defraud their clients” in Kentucky’s fen-phen case. [C-J/AKN]

Walmart was fined by the Department of Labor for denying workers overtime pay and agreed to pay $4.8 million in back wages. [HuffPo]

Magoffin County Schools are laying people off. Nine non-tenured teachers are expected to get axed. [WYMT]

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet just finished paying $8.3 million for the Drumanard Estate – $1.3 million above its own appraisal – to build the East End bridge in Louisville. [C-J/AKN]

Newt Gingrich was just on the teevee talking about the moon, jobs, Kaiser Wilhelm, Mitt Romney, Barack Obama, cocaine and methamphetamine, amnesia, his grandchildren, Ellis the Elephant, dropping out of the Republican presidential nominating contest, and everything else he has ever thought about for half-a-second since 1968. [Wonkette]

At last night’s Kentucky Farm Bureau debate, Gary Moore came out in favor of industrial hemp: “We have a very vibrant farming community in the 4th district. Allowing Industrial Hemp to be grown, processed and sold, would provide new opportunities for our farmers. Kentucky has precisely the right soil and climate to see industrial hemp become a major cash crop for our communities. Right now, our nation imports industrial hemp and it’s derivatives from other nations like Canada. We are placing ourselves at a disadvantage for no good reason. Domestic industrial hemp, when processed, can provide a large number of industrial and consumer goods to Americans.” This may be his only proposal worth supporting.  [Press Release]

Papaw Beshear is paying his tax reform consultant $60,000. We’d publish the press release but it’s super-boring. [H-L]

Wait, wait, here’s more craziness from Laurel County. Another stabbing incident. Way to go, folks. [WLEX18]

Buried in a Republican bill to give states more say over health care funds is a provision that could block them from spending their own money on abortions. [Mother Jones]