Alex Acquisto
@aacquisto.bsky.social
Politics & health reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader & Kentucky.com. Past: Bangor Daily News | she/her
"The dismantling of local journalism is corroding our ability to help preserve a true democracy, one lost job at a time." From @aacquisto.bsky.social:
McClatchy laid me off. The need for local journalism didn’t go with me. - Poynter
I was hired to fill a gap in local news coverage. Seven years later, that gap is widening again.
poynter.org
It's been a little over a week since McClatchy's mass layoffs. I wrote about what's at stake when communities lose local journalists. www.poynter.org/commentary/2...
McClatchy laid me off. The need for local journalism didn’t go with me. - Poynter
I was hired to fill a gap in local news coverage. Seven years later, that gap is widening again.
poynter.org
Hey all, I was one of the reporters laid off yesterday at @kentucky.com I first came to the Herald-Leader in 2019 as a @reportforamerica.bsky.social fellow covering public health in Eastern Ky. To say it has been a privilege reporting in my home state is an understatement. bit.ly/4r9sN6s
McClatchy guts Lexington Herald-Leader newsroom, among nationwide layoffs
McClatchy laid off 13 journalists at the Lexington Herald-Leader, a majority of its reporters, as a part of its deep, nationwide layoffs.
bit.ly
NEW: Addiction Recovery Care owner Tim Robinson has been federally indicted by a grand jury for wire fraud & other money crimes. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...
Addiction Recovery Care founder Tim Robinson indicted in federal court
It’s the latest in a string of woes for Kentucky-based ARC, which has been under investigation for Medicaid fraud since 2024.
kentucky.com
New: a former college classmate alleges KY state Rep Daniel Grossberg assaulted her & made unwanted sexual advances in 2005 when she was a freshman and he was a 26-yr-old senior. She is making these claims on the record & has an accompanying police report. www.kentucky.com/news/politic...
Former college classmate of KY Rep. Daniel Grossberg alleges he assaulted her
The woman said Daniel Grossberg assaulted her in 2005 when she was a freshman and he was a senior at Grinnell College in Iowa.
kentucky.com
“I was afraid he would rape me.” A college classmate of Kentucky Rep. Daniel Grossberg told the Herald-Leader that when she was 18 and he was 26, he grabbed her and tried to prevent her from leaving the dorm after she refused sex. There's a police report. www.kentucky.com/news/politic...
Former college classmate of KY Rep. Daniel Grossberg alleges he assaulted her
The woman said Daniel Grossberg assaulted her in 2005 when she was a freshman and he was a senior at Grinnell College in Iowa.
kentucky.com
Kentucky’s largest drug rehab center touts a Christian message and a selfless commitment to helping others. But internally, the organization prioritized money over the well-being of its clients and staff, interviews show. By @aacquisto.bsky.social @taylorsixhl.bsky.social
They Needed Treatment for Drug Addiction. The Company They Turned to May Have Used Them to Commit Fraud.
Kentucky’s largest drug rehab center touts a Christian message and a selfless commitment to helping others. But internally, the organization prioritized money over the well-being of its clients and st...
propublica.org
ICYMI: @aacquisto.bsky.social was on @wbur.org's Here & Now to talk about her reporting with @taylorsixhl.bsky.social on Kentucky-based Addiction Recovery Care's alleged widespread Medicaid billing fraud. www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...
Kentucky's largest addiction recovery center accused of Medicaid fraud
Prosecutors say Addiction Recovery Care bilked taxpayers out of millions of dollars using questionable billing practices, even allegedly falsifying medical records.
wbur.org
Addiction Recovery Care has agreed to a settlement with the Department of Justice to the tune of nearly $28 million for alleged Medicaid fraud, according to a NY lawsuit filed Jan. 12. A Bahamian trust says ARC owes them $8M. @aacquisto.bsky.social www.kentucky.com/news/state/a...
Kentucky’s Addiction Recovery Care owes DOJ $28M settlement, lawsuit claims
The lawsuit was filed by Angelica Capital Trust, a company in the Bahamas that claims ARC is unlawfully holding onto $8M in tax credits.
kentucky.com
Reporter Alex Acquisto will spend the next year on a statewide investigative project that will have wide ramifications for Kentuckians.
Herald-Leader chosen by ProPublica for Local Reporting Network partnership
Reporter Alex Acquisto will spend the next year on a statewide investigative project that will have wide ramifications for Kentuckians.
bit.ly
The one person who can single-handedly initiate removal proceedings is Gov. Andy Beshear. Yet, despite pleas from residents in several counties, he has not done so. In Part 2, we look at Beshear’s inaction and other options for sheriff accountability. www.courier-journal.com/story/news/i...
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has the power to remove convicted sheriffs. Why hasn't he?
As Beshear potentially sets his sights on the White House, some Kentuckians have been left "shocked," disappointed," and "afraid."
courier-journal.com
My good friend and journalistic partner in crime Andy Wolfson died suddenly last night. I'm going to miss him.
Andy Wolfson, longtime Courier Journal legal affairs reporter, dies at 70
Wolfson played key roles in The Courier Journal winning two Pulitzer Prizes.
courier-journal.com
ARC had more than 30 facilities around Kentucky last summer, when the FBI announced it was investigating the company over potential Medicaid fraud. An ARC spokesperson just told me they now have just 14 locations, a mix of residential, outpatient, and a psychiatric hospital.
Joe Sonka 😐@joesonka.lpm.org · last yr.Addiction Recovery Care (ARC) closes five more locations in Kentucky, including flagship in Louisa. From @aacquisto.bsky.social
Remember Bryan Hubbard, who in 2023 proposed studying ibogaine to treat addiction in Kentucky? After Ky said no, he went to Texas. Now, some in the Ky GOP are on board. KY nixed his idea to treat addiction with a psychedelic drug. Texas said yes www.kentucky.com/news/politic...
KY nixed his idea to treat addiction with a psychedelic drug. Texas said yes
Bryan Hubbard in 2023 wanted Kentucky to be the first state to study the psychedelic ibogaine to treat opioid addiction, but he was rejected. Texas just agreed, earmarking $50M for the study.
kentucky.com
From the in box just now: "Due to the expected passage of the Rescissions Act that eliminates federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), KET has made the difficult decision to eliminate this year’s coverage of the annual Fancy Farm political event."
Bluegrass Politics@bluegrasspolitics.bsky.social · last yr.If KET has to begin huge budget cuts thanks to Congress, maybe the first step could be no longer schlepping to Fancy Farm in August to air the bloviating of Kentucky politicians who don't support KET. ^JC www.kentucky.com/news/nation-world/national/article310845895.html
This Southern Baptist leader in KY is leading the church’s charge to overturn gay marriage www.kentucky.com/news/politic...
This Southern Baptist leader in KY is leading the church’s charge to overturn gay marriage
Andrew Walker, who teaches at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, wrote the proposal Southern Baptists approved calling on the Supreme Court to overturn the right to gay marriage.
kentucky.com
NEW: A judge has denied a request from Former Ky Gov. Matt Bevin & First Lady Glenna Bevin to keep their divorce settlement confidential. The Friday ruling also allows Jonah Bevin to be an intervenor in their divorce case, giving him the chance to seek financial support. bit.ly/44GIitu
Judge denies Matt Bevin’s motion to seal divorce, allows adoptive son to intervene
A Louisville judge granted Jonah Bevin’s request Friday to intervene in his parents’ divorce case, opening the door for him to receive financial support he says his adoptive parents denied him.
bit.ly
Kentucky’s Auditor of Public Accounts is suing Gov. Andy Beshear for allegedly refusing to enact a kinship caregiver law, escalating the ongoing tensions in Frankfort over which branch of government should fund the implementation of a 2024 bill. Via @aacquisto.bsky.social:
Kentucky Auditor sues Gov. Beshear for not implementing kinship caregiver law
Auditor Allison Ball on Thursday sued Gov. Andy Beshear for stalling the implementation of a 2024 kinship caregiver law. “This issue goes beyond funding and bureaucratic delays,” Ball said.
kentucky.com
Death of the GOP aisle crossers, continued transparency concerns, GOP unity, legal battles & more. What #kyga25, with a little hindsight, looked like. With @aacquisto.bsky.social: www.kentucky.com/news/politic...
Analysis: Our reporters say Kentucky GOP lowered the temperature (slightly) in Frankfort this session
Analysis: The Herald-Leader’s Frankfort reporters recount the highs, lows, tension and outright anger that unfolded in this year’s Republican-controlled legislative session.
kentucky.com
Gov. Andy Beshear has vetoed House Bill 4, a GOP-backed bill aimed at restricting, and in some cases dismantling, Kentucky public universities’ efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion. Story w/ @austin-horn.bsky.social & @aacquisto.bsky.social www.kentucky.com/news/politic...
‘HB 4 is about hate.’ Gov. Beshear vetoes anti-diversity, equity, inclusion bill
“We love and we accept everyone. This bill isn’t about love. House Bill 4 is about hate,” Gov. Andy Beshear said in a video highlighting his action.
kentucky.com
The clock was running out. Dems were stalling hard. But with about an hour left, leadership called for HB 495. With unanimous GOP support, KY is now on track to block Medicaid from funding gender-affirming care & roll back conversion therapy restrictions. www.kentucky.com/news/politic...
KY Republicans pass eleventh-hour bills blocking some adults access to trans health care
KY House passed two bills just before midnight Friday to ban transgender adults in prison, on Medicaid from accessing gender-affirming care, and also to protect conversion therapy.
kentucky.com
Most important news of the day in the #KyLeg : Bill Bryant getting recognized for 40 years of working @ WKYT. Bill is also the longtime host of KET's Comment on Kentucky. A titan! Sen. Reggie Thomas called him Ky's Walter Conkrite. Sen. Gary Boswell: "You are an honor to your profession."
After years of refusals, Republicans move to add medical exceptions to KY abortion ban www.kentucky.com/news/politic...
After years of refusals, Republicans move to add medical exceptions to KY abortion ban
Republicans advanced bills to relax & clarify medical exceptions in Kentucky’s near-total ban Wednesday, in the first hearings on such bills since Kentucky banned abortion in 2022.
kentucky.com
Some Kentucky lawmakers are now targeting gender-affirming care for transgender adults on Medicaid. New from @aacquisto.bsky.social & @austin-horn.bsky.social: www.kentucky.com/news/politic...
Bill to protect ‘conversion therapy’ now also bans Medicaid funds for gender-affirming care
A bill amended Wednesday would block the use of Medicaid dollars to pay for gender-affirming health care for trans adults, as well as widely reinstate the practice of conversion therapy across Kentuck...
kentucky.com
Four months after Missouri voted to legalize abortion, Republican lawmakers are proposing to let residents donate to anti-abortion centers instead of paying any taxes (up to $50k).
A New Missouri Bill Would Let Residents Donate to Anti-Abortion Centers Instead of Paying Any Taxes
Four months after Missouri voted to legalize abortion, Republican lawmakers are proposing a 100% tax credit — capped at $50,000 per year — for taxpayers who donate to crisis pregnancy centers.
propublica.org
A teen held in a Kentucky foster care office caused $27K in damage last month. As public officials are increasingly scrutinizing Ky social services for temporarily housing kids in gov't office buildings, Ky's auditor says latest incident signals 'systemic failures' w/in system bit.ly/41Grf8T
Teen in KY foster care office causes $27K in damage. Auditor says it’s a ‘systemic failure’
A 17-year-old in the KY foster system being kept in a KY social services office caused more than $27,500 in damage. KY Auditor: it signals “systemic failures within the foster care system.”
kentucky.com
Championing it as a measure promoting “equal opportunity” on Ky’s higher ed campuses rather than the “subjective equity” contrived by DEI initiatives, a GOP-backed bill to dismantle DEI advanced in a party-line committee vote today. W/@monicakast.bsky.social www.kentucky.com/news/politic...
Bill to ban DEI efforts at Kentucky public colleges advances after tense committee meeting
“Historically, America has strived for equal opportunity, not subjective equity, which DEI now pursues through discriminatory admissions, hiring and scholarships,” Rep. Jennifer Decker said Tuesday.
kentucky.com
Kentucky version of DOGE advanced through a legislative committee this morning. GOP sponsor said it promotes ‘fiscal responsibility’ www.kentucky.com/news/politic...
Kentucky version of DOGE advances. GOP sponsor said it promotes ‘fiscal responsibility’
The department would be under the purview of the state Auditor of Public Accounts.
kentucky.com
Ky Senate just passed a bill to give more library control to politicians. From Owensboro GOP Rep. Gary Boswell, it stems from a right-wing group in Owensboro— Citizens for Decency—who've tried to remove "controversial" books from library shelves. Boswell has supported their cause. bit.ly/3DfdxAv
Amid censorship, spending fights, bill would give more library control to KY politicians
Senate Bill 71 follows on changes the legislature made in 2022 to how library governing boards are appointed.
bit.ly
Tonight at 8/7 on KET's "Comment on Kentucky," it's Alex Acquisto of the Lexington Herald-Leader, Isaiah Kim-Martinez of WHAS11 Louisville and Melissa Patrick of Kentucky Health News. ^JC