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.
2L staffer, Zachary Mills, discusses the importance of the Clean Water Act and how the act continues to change through public and presidential pressure. Mills focuses explicitly on Section 401 of the Act, where it designates state and tribal governments as “certifying authorities” for these licenses, but after Trump’s Executive Order 13956, the EPA narrowed Section 401. Mills highly encourages courts to truly realize the change to Section 401 of the Clean Water Act does more harm than good for the Native American communities.
2L Staffer Georgiana Ledford discusses the Antiquities Act of 1906, which allows the President to transform a tract of land into a national monument. Ledford discusses how presidents have treated this power and how people have mixed options on this Act as some see it as a use of politics. Ledford strongly believes that Americans should put politics behind them and remember why Congress passed this Act.
With Joe Biden’s executive order halting the construction of the border wall, the future of the wall remains unclear. One thing that we do know is that the wall has already left an impact on the southwest states’ water, wildlife, and vegetation. In this piece, staffer Nick Ellis highlights the environmental effects of the wall and urges the new administration to keep the environment in mind when making decisions about the wall.
After three months to consider the USITC’s submission, President Trump elected to implement a tariff-quota on solar cell imports. Following the President’s announcement, stocks in U.S. based companies that could benefit as a result of the tariff imposition on solar equipment experienced an aggressive increase. Conversely, the loss of twenty-three thousand jobs and the delay or elimination of billion-dollar investments seems to be probable.
On Monday, December 4, 2017, President Trump signed presidential proclamations to shrink both the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, resulting in the largest reduction of public-lands protection in the history of our nation. While some have supported the decision, there are many others who have strongly opposed it, bringing an unexplored legal question into the limelight: Does the 1906 Antiquities Act give the president the power to modify or eliminate national monuments, as well as designate?
While some in Washington have rejected the idea of mass deportation, the President has continued to defer his decision for undocumented immigrants until after the border is secured. Should the President continue this trend of fulfilling campaign promises by implementing a mass-deportation styled immigration crackdown, it would surely spell disaster. One issue that should raise concerns across ideological-lines, is the impact that mass deportations would have on the domestic agricultural economy of the United States.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently closed the G20 summit citing the “unfortunate” position the United States was in compared to the other nineteen members of the G20 who remain committed to the Paris climate accord. The Chancellor’s statements were seemingly borne from the intention of ringing the proverbial bell, however, President Trump’s position on climate change, somewhat uncharacteristically, has stood firm since he learned “[t]he concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.”
