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Henderson County building activity nearly doubles as home construction picks up in May – The Gleaner

Construction in Henderson and Henderson County so far this year is running nearly double that of last year, when COVID-19 concerns evidently put a temporary pinch on new home construction.

Through the first five months of this year, construction value has totaled $13.4 million (including $5.4 million in the city and $8.0 million in the county), compared with $7.7 million during the same period in 2020.

Housing construction was seriously pinched during the spring of 2020, with no permits sought for building new homes in the city in neither April nor May 2020, and none ought in the county in May 2020.

More: Sens. Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul meet with industry leaders, constituents in Henderson

While housing is rebounding, last month also saw a host of commercial projects, including:

Eight permits were issued for new single-family residences last month (including five in the city and three in the county), compared with none in May 2020.

The city housing starts last month included a pair of new homes being built by Henderson Habitat for Humanity at 10 Holliday Ct. and 1014 Pringle St.

More: Consultant: Sale of Henderson Municipal Power and Light could be costly to customers

So far this year, permits have been issued for constructing 29 new homes (including 15 in the city and 14 in the county), compared with 20 during the same period last year.

The construction value of the housing starts so far this year (not including the cost of real estate and certain other improvements) has averaged $191,200 in the city and $304,536 in the county.

The total value of all construction last month totaled nearly $3.1 million (including $1.9 million in the city and $1.2 million in the county), compared with only $509,382 in May 2020.

Here are lists of building permits issued by the city and county last month:

Commercial remodeling: KAH III LLC, 500 N. Green St., $290,000; JTCT Holdings LLC, 128-132 Second St., $100,000; JRN Inc., 2236 U.S. 41-North, $250,000; and Gardenside Center LLC, 2606 Zion Rd., Unit H, $164,000.

Commercial demolition: Terry Spainhoward, 1124 Atkinson St., $15,000.

Single-family residence demolitions: Marshall and Terry W. Arnold, 228 Watson Ln., $3,000; Jeremy S. Glenn and Brian K. Webb, 232 Watson Ln., $5,500; Jerold T. and Sandra Williams, 137 Kentucky 2084-North, $3,450; and Luffy Enterprises LLC, 16 Gum St., $1,000.

New duplex: Marshall and Terry W. Arnold, 228 Watson Ln., $193,000.

Duplex remodeling: Yoga Here & Now LLC, 1228 Washington St., $50,000.

Single-family residential accessory: LL Henderson LLC, 2127 Locust Dr., $10,000; James E. Solomon, 2360 U.S. 60-East, 1 cent; and Julianne Goodman, 507 Fair St., $7,000.

Single-family new residences: HCM LLC, 1450 Arrow Way, $151,000; Black Pearl Properties LLC, 77 S. Partridge Run, $120,000; Brandon Homes LLC, 923 Trail Dr., $268,000; Henderson Habitat for Humanity, 10 Holliday Ct., $130,000; and Henderson Habitat for Humanity, 1014 Pringle St., $115,000.

Single-family residential remodeling: Sindy Newman, 228 Rooney Dr., $20,000; and Paradise Ventures LLC, 2037 Peggy Dr., $2,000.

Signs: William F. (Jr.) and Martha O. Polk, 1309 S. Green St., $5,000; and Popps Bros., 2236 U.S. 41-North, $7,800.

Total: $1.9 million

New residences: Danny and Lisa Pittman, 9089 East Street Loop, $295,000; Richard Welden, 19661 Upper Delaware Rd., $200,000; and Valada McKinney, 9410 Kentucky 136-East, $199,500.

Room addition: Adam Glick, 14160 U.S. 41-Alternate, $41,400.

Manufactured homes: Rachel Talley, 8627 B.F. Overfield Rd., $80,000; and Audrey Ingle, 3096 Kentucky 136-West, $132,604.

Garages/utility buildings: Danny and Lisa Pittman, 9089 East Street Loop, $50,000; Herman Nelson Jr., 8505 Kentucky 1078-North, $15,635; Brian Powell, 3868 Peachtree Dr., $26,000; Rob Woodring, 8749 Tscharner Rd., $40,000; and Chad Vowels, 15088 Upper Delaware Rd., $35,000.

Miscellaneous: Rob Woodring, 8749 Tscharner Rd., $56,300.

Total: $1.2 million

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Henderson County building activity nearly doubles as home construction picks up in May - The Gleaner

Bipartisan Group of Senators Introduces Bill to Regulate Hemp and Hemp-Derived CBD in Food – JD Supra

US Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced legislation on May 21 to ensure hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) is regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) like other ingredients used in dietary supplements, foods, and beverages.

Under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), it is unlawful to introduce into interstate commerce a food (including any animal food or feed) to which has been added a substance that is an active ingredient in an approved drug product, or a substance for which substantial clinical investigations have been instituted and the existence of such investigations has been made public. FDA has approved one drug, Epidiolex, which contains CBD. Consequently, because CBD has been approved as a drug ingredient, FDAs current legal position is that CBD cannot be legally contained in a dietary supplement or food product. Notably, this restriction only applies to dietary supplements and foods. Cosmetics containing CBD are not subject to this particular provision.

If passed, the Hemp Access and Consumer Safety Act would amend the definition of a dietary supplement in the FFDCA, creating an exception for hemp, hemp-derived cannabidiol, or a substance containing any other ingredient derived from hemp from the prohibition on the use of ingredients that have been approved in drugs, or substances for which substantial clinical investigations have been instituted. Consistent with the definition of hemp under the Agricultural Marketing Act, this exception would only apply to extracts from the plant Cannabis sativa L. with a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration of not more than 0.3 % on a dry weight basis. The proposed legislation would create a legal avenue for the use of hemp-derived CBD and other cannabinoids in dietary supplements, foods, and beverages in compliance with all existing federal regulations for these types of product.

The bill would also create an avenue for submissions to FDA seeking approval for CBD or other hemp-derived cannabinoids as dietary ingredients or food additives through regulatory pathways such as New Dietary Ingredient (NDI) notifications, Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) notices, or Food Additive Petitions. How FDA would treat hemp-derived ingredients for use in dietary supplements and foods, i.e., requiring an NDI or GRAS submission and imposing limits on use levels or servings, would potentially require all products that currently include CBD as an ingredient to submit regulatory filings and relabel products.

The bill follows the passage of several state laws and the creation of state regulations permitting the sale and distribution of dietary supplements and foods that contain CBD. For example, the New York State Department of Health announced proposed regulations for hemp products in October 2020, which will implement the NY Controlled Substances Therapeutic Research Acts provisions on hemp and hemp extracts.

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Bipartisan Group of Senators Introduces Bill to Regulate Hemp and Hemp-Derived CBD in Food - JD Supra

Opinion: Filibuster rules have evolved to create no need to talk through differences – SC Times

Barbara Banaian, Times Writers Group Published 1:10 p.m. CT June 2, 2021 | Updated 2:11 p.m. CT June 2, 2021

The term "filibuster" has been in the news a lot of late. It evokes passion. The word refers mostly to obstruction of legislative work by talking or some other procedure, though, prior to that, the Spanish wordfilibustero referred to pirates who pillaged colonies in the West Indies. It has been used since the 1850s to refer to long speeches meant to stop a bill from passing.

Last Friday was a Republican filibuster of a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. This was the first time under President Biden that a bill died. It needed the help of 10 Republicans to pass this legislation. Nobody stood to make a speech because at least one Republican senator had placed a hold on the legislation which in essence acts like a filibuster, as it indicates the possibility of a filibuster. In the case of this bill, a motion to end debate, called cloture, was made but failed.

Barbara Banaian(Photo: Submitted Photo)

There are good and bad things about the filibuster. When a party is in the majority and wants to get things done, they dislike the filibuster and want to rein it in. Since it is not in the U.S. Constitution, it would not be hard to change the rules governing this. But every majority party can expect that it will someday be in the minority and that thought may stay their hand. And the Senate is supposed to be the "saucer"into which the House pours its legislation (while many believe George Washington himself called the Senate this, theres no proof of that.)

Does it hinder action, or bring bipartisanship?I would propose keeping the filibuster, but returning to the days of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." Who can forget Jimmy Stewart's impassioned speech (as Sen. Jeffrey Smith) condemning corruption on thefloor of Senate, "I will not yield!" I would favor being in the chamber talking to colleagues and persuading them!

I wont give away the ending except to say, the filibuster lasts 25 hours and changes only one mind. And "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" was made in 1939, long before the longest recorded talking filibuster was given by Sen. Strom Thurmond. Rather than exposing corruption, Thurmond was trying to stop the Civil Rights Act. He too failed.

Filibusters do not even need to talk about the matter before the Senate (after the first threehours). In 2013 Sen. Rand Paul filibustered the nomination of a CIA director, not to stop the nomination, but to call attention to the use of drones by the CIA to kill an American considered an enemy combatant.

But at least then the fictional Sen. Smith and the real Sens. Thurmond and Paul tried to persuade people. Now the filibuster involves no speeches most of the time. The hold, and the ability of the Senate to continue business while a hold is in place (which means other senators do not have to do anything to resolve disagreements, just not vote on the bill they disagree over), has made it easier for two sides not to talk to each other.

Likewise later reforms, such as ending the supermajority needed to stop a filibuster for presidential nominations including the Supreme Court, have not made us more bipartisan but rather less. The founders knew what majority vote looked like from their experiences with the British Parliament, and that was not what they had in mind.

There is a "nuclear option," and that is to get rid of the filibuster. Will it make the two parties talk to each other more, or less?I think we know the answer: the Senate would resemble the House, where compromise doesn't matter as much as the majority steamrolls the minority.

In March, President Biden endorsed returning to the "talking filibuster," in which a senator must stay on the floor while debating similar to the scene in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." It might not help in the end, but it would at least get them talking.

This is the opinion of Times Writers Group member Barbara Banaian, a professional pianist who lives in the St. Cloud area. Her column is published the first Sunday of the month.

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Opinion: Filibuster rules have evolved to create no need to talk through differences - SC Times

Rand Paul’s Wife Has a Serious Message After Latest Death …

Sen. Rand Paul received a death threat at his Kentucky home on Monday containing a white substance and a picture of the Republican with a gun to his head.

Ill finish what your neighbor started you mother*****, read the threat with an image of Paul bruised and bandaged, reports Fox News.

In 2017, Paul was viciously attacked by his neighbor Rene Boucher while he was mowing his lawn, resulting in six broken ribs, lung damage, and multiple bouts of pneumonia.

According to the Daily Mail, "the photoshopped image attached to the package was doctored from a photo illustration of Paul that was created by GQ magazine as part of a 2017 feature story on the assault that left the Republican senator badly injured."

"I take these threats immensely seriously," Paul said in a statement Monday. "I have been targeted multiple times now, it is reprehensible that Twitter allows C-list celebrities to advocated for violence against me and my family.

This must stop. Just this weekend Richard Marx called for violence against me and now we receive this despicable powder filled letter, he added, referring to the singer who tweeted that if he ever met Boucher he was going to hug him and buy him as many drinks as he can consume.

Pauls wife, Kelley, who received the letter and called the FBI, said she was tired of the threats against her husband. Nevertheless, the tactics will not intimidate him, she added, reminding people that they are armed.

"I am sick of the hatred and vitriol from people who boast of their 'empathy and compassion' in their bios," she tweeted. "Rand will continue to stand up for our constitutionally protected liberties. He will keep questioning the 'experts.' We wont be intimidated. And yes, we have guns."

The FBI has launched an investigation.

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Rand Paul's Wife Has a Serious Message After Latest Death ...

Rand Paul’s House in Bowling Green, KY – Virtual Globetrotting

Rand Paul is an American politician & physician. He's the son of former U.S. Representative Ron Paul of Texas, and owns this Bowling Green, Kentucky Mansion. As a politician he served as the junior United States Senator from Kentucky since 2011.

A Republican, Paul has described himself as a Constitutional conservative and a supporter of the Tea Party movement. He has advocated for a balanced budget amendment, term limits, privacy reform, and criminal justice reform. Paul was a candidate for the Republican nomination at the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He suspended his campaign in February 2016, after finishing in fifth place out of 12 Republican candidates at the Iowa caucuses.

In 2017 U.S. Sen. Rand Paul was attacked by his neighbor. Rene Boucher 59 was arrested and charged with one count of fourth-degree assault and released on a $7,500 bond. Paul sustained five broken ribs, of which three were displaced fractures. The dispute was over Paul repeatedly leaving tree yard debris in view of his neighbor. In August 2019, part of Paul's lung required removal as a result of the injuries he suffered during the attack. In September 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit vacated Boucher's sentence of 30 days, ruling it was unreasonably short, indicating "closer review" was in order, and remanded the case to the lower court for resentencing

His neighbor recently sold his home next door to the senator. Rene Boucher pleaded guilty last year to assaulting Paul. Paul also won a civil verdict against Boucher for more than $582,000 in January. Court records in the civil case show Boucher sold his Bowling Green home in May and delivered the proceeds of the sale, about $482,000, to the court. The records say the money will be held in an account until the civil proceedings are resolved.

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Rand Paul's House in Bowling Green, KY - Virtual Globetrotting