Blog By: Lauren K. Repa
Kentucky is known worldwide for its horse races, and betting on horse races is integral to Kentucky's culture and economy. In this blog, 2L Staffer Lauren K. Repa argues that the passing of House Bill 551 this past September, legalizing all sports betting, might put horse racing at risk, with betters flocking to other forms of gambling. However, not all is lost; Repa asserts AI apps such as EquinEdge might be the program Kentuckians need to keep horse racing alive with the passing of the new legislation.
Blog By: Antonio C. Ellzey
In this blog, 3L Antonio C. Ellzey points out that California Governor Newsom recently vetoed a pending California state law that aimed to address the dangers of gas appliances. Specifically, the new law would have required manufacturers to place warning labels on gas stoves to inform consumers of their health effects. Some say the new law would help build awareness around a hidden danger while others say the new would restrict Californians’ freedom. Ellzey believes the pending law would positively impact Californians because they can make better-informed decisions around their health and safety, which would ultimately help save lives.
Blog By: Stevi Whitman
In this blog, 3L staffer Stevi Whitman argues for the use of certification marks to promote authenticity within the whiskey industry by introducing the Estate Whiskey Alliance® (EWA). The EWA is a member led association spearheaded by UK Innovate at the University of Kentucky, the James B. Beam Institute, Marker’s Mark Distillery, and other founding members, tasked with ensuring quality standards of whiskey production, promoting the benefits of local sourcing, and advancing sustainability efforts throughout the whiskey industry through the use of certification marks.
Blog By: Phillip Burress
Kentucky is home to 100 distilleries in 42 counties and produces 95% of the world's bourbon. In this Blog, 3L Phillip Burress discusses the threat posed by "Whiskey Fungus" on Kentucky property owners and the legal challenges facing Kentucky distillers.
Blog By: Ashton Edwards
In this Blog, 3L Staffer Ashton Edwards argues that instead of staying silent on the issue, Congress should respond to the interstate commerce concerns that reside in the Prop 12, a proposition that was made law by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2023. Edwards discusses that so far, Congress has yet to address the arguments and concerns of Farmers, the Court, or citizens, even though this law arguably has a substantial impact on interstate commerce.
Citizens of Pavillion, Wyoming, started to notice a bad taste and smell in their water. Methanol, a toxic chemical, was found in their water from fracking waste. 2L staffer Gracie Sandlin discusses how fracking companies are not required to disclose the chemical injected into the ground due to trade secrets, but is that for the best? Sandlin advocates that these chemicals should not be trade secrets, discusses what another state is doing, and hopes Wyoming will soon follow.
While President Biden’s recent executive order regarding the Keystone Pipeline may seem like a major win for its opponents, the battle is far from over. In this piece, 3L staffer Taygan Mullins discusses the impact of this decision and asserts that this may only be a temporary victory for those supporting the order.
While low gas prices are usually looked at gratefully, COVID-19 has changed societal interactions and diminished the need for oil as quarantining mitigates the need to drive. However, as oil production continues around the world and is met with depleted demand, big oil companies are falling on hard times leading them to seek assistance in the form of a government bailout.
Due to the catastrophic failures of all natural gas transportation methods, such as spillages and harmful chemicals escaping barrels, people are wary of new pipelines. Accordingly, there has been a recent, and large, controversy regarding the installation of the new pipeline, Atlantic Sunrise. Atlantic Sunrise runs through ten counties of Pennsylvania and will hopefully provide natural gas to southern states such as Alabama. The near $3 billion pipeline is threatened by activists who are protesting every step of construction, but the DC Circuit Court has refused to block the pipeline by dissolving an administrative stay on construction of the pipeline.
In a world where it was previously thought that one owned all that was above and all that was below his land, it seems as if Colorado is taking a big step to ensuring that this is no longer true. An obscure Colorado law allows whole neighborhoods to be forced into leasing the minerals beneath their properties as long as one person in the area consents. This concept, known as forced pooling, is instrumental in developing oil and gas resources in Denver’s rapidly growing suburbs
