Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility Steve Bittenbender, Author at Baltimore Independent

Author: SHANNON NAJMABADI

Louisville Council members want tolls taken off Ohio River bridges

A bipartisan group of Louisville Metro Council members has filed a resolution calling for Kentucky and Indiana leaders to remove the tolls from the region’s Ohio River Bridges Project. Led by Metro Council President David James, a Democrat, the resolution follows a similar call made by Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer earlier this month. The request […]

Sports betting bill one of four gaming bills passed by Kentucky House panel

Four gaming-related bills passed out of a Kentucky House committee Wednesday morning, including a bill that would legalize sports betting in the state. The House Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations Committee passed House Bill 606 unanimously. The bill, sponsored by Committee Chairman Adam Koenig, R-Erlanger, would allow the state’s race tracks to offer sports betting […]

New York reports nearly $2 billion in mobile sports bets before the Super Bowl

The first 30 days of mobile sports betting in New York generated a total handle of nearly $2 billion, that’s according to a statement Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office issued this week. Mobile apps began going live statewide Jan. 8, and the opening weeks of activity have set records for legal wagering. New York is the […]

New York sets sports betting handle record in first month of mobile wagering

New York, as expected, broke the record for monthly sports betting handle last month, and the state only needed three weeks to do it. Figures released from the New York State Gaming Commission late last week showed that through Jan. 30, the six state-approved mobile betting apps reported a combined handle of $1.62 billion. That […]

As mobile sports betting launches, New York now looks to award new casino licenses

A year after passing a major expansion in gaming, New York appears set to do it again. The fiscal year 2023 budget proposal Gov. Kathy Hochul released this week calls for the state to issue the three remaining casino licenses the state has available. Those licenses were supposed to be awarded in the 2023 calendar […]

Mobile sports betting to launch in New York this weekend

Mobile sports betting in New York can begin as early as this weekend after the state’s Gaming Commission announced Thursday that four operators have met the guidelines for launching. Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, FanDuel and Rush Street Interactive can all start accepting wagers any time after 9 am ET Saturday, the Gaming Commission said in a […]

Report finds Kentucky ranks among the nation’s best highway systems

A recent study by a free-market think tank found Kentucky’s highway system ranks among the nation’s best in terms of road condition and cost-effectiveness. The Reason Foundation scored Kentucky as the fourth-best state in its Annual Highway Report, which relied on 2019 and 2020 data across 13 categories. It’s the second consecutive year the state was […]

Kentucky to get nearly $900 million for road and bridges from infrastructure bill

Kentucky is in line to get nearly $900 million in federal transportation funds for the current fiscal year thanks to the infrastructure bill signed into law last month, and the state’s lone Democratic congressman said funding will be “transformative” for the state. “Not just for our infrastructure and improving transportation safety, but in driving our […]

Beshear says infrastructure bill may make Kentucky’s Brent Spence bridge project toll-free

The bipartisan infrastructure bill the U.S. House passed late Friday night may allow Kentucky and Ohio to build a new Brent Spence Bridge without the need for tolls, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear told reporters Monday afternoon. Kentucky is in line to receive $4.6 billion in funding over the next five years for transportation projects. In […]

Federal highway officials make decision on I-69 project connecting Kentucky, Indiana segments

The federal government has decided where to place a new stretch of highway that would connect two Interstate 69 segments in western Kentucky and southwestern Indiana. The final environmental impact statement (EIS), approved by the Federal Highway Administration earlier this month and posted Friday on the Federal Register, calls for the new stretch of highway […]