Author

Vanessa Gallman

Vanessa Gallman

Vanessa Gallman, a Kentucky Lantern freelance columnist, worked for more than two decades as editorial page editor for the Lexington Herald-Leader. She was also a local government editor for The Washington Post and a national correspondent for Knight-Ridder Inc.

Commentary

Judge’s logic-defying order brands Breonna Taylor’s protector her killer

By: - August 27, 2024

It is disappointing that a Kentucky federal judge dismissed felony charges against two former police officers charged in the death of Breonna Taylor during a 2020 raid. But the decision by U.S. District Judge Charles R. Simpson III to place blame for the 26-year-old emergency-room technician’s death squarely on boyfriend Kenneth Walker III defies logic. […]

Commentary

Bullets in vending machines: That’s a trend Kentucky lawmakers should not follow

By: - August 12, 2024

As if we needed more examples of our entrenched gun culture, here’s the latest:?Bullets, sold through vending machines — in grocery stores. The distributor,?American Rounds, recently began installing such machines in a few stores in Alabama, Texas and Oklahoma. Customer ID is scanned using facial-recognition software. Yet, there are no checks into criminal, mental-health or […]

Commentary

Expunge the overreaction: Concern about Kentucky’s process for purging voters is reasonable.

By: - July 22, 2024

Kentuckians should be proud that Secretary of State Michael Adam received a Profile in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Foundation for “protecting access to the ballot and ensuring that our nation remains a beacon of democracy.”? In a time of rampant election denialism and threats against election workers, this state in 2021 expanded […]

Commentary
Red, yellow, green and purple figures of stick people surrounding the word Diversity on a blue background.

What’s driving attacks on books, diversity, even history? Fear of losing control

By: - February 23, 2024

Diversity. Equity. Inclusion. It’s hard to accept that such lofty principles, known as DEI, are part of some sinister plot to poison minds and destroy this country.? After all, America’s prosperity, along with its status as a beacon of civil liberties, is rooted in its blend of peoples from across the world. Yet, the reality […]

Commentary

Left behind, Kentucky clings to outdated policy that devalues citizens, diminishes competitiveness

By: - January 26, 2024

Kentucky is too often slow to embrace beneficial economic and social change. Yet the news that 22 other states and 43 cities and counties raised their minimum wages on Jan. 1 is especially frustrating, considering the years advocates here have pushed for reforms. We remain one of 20 states still adhering to the $7.25 an […]

Commentary

Callous abortion bans are fueling outrage

By: - December 22, 2023

Kentucky abortion-rights advocates are caught in a difficult legal situation: Only pregnant women seeking abortions have the right to challenge abortion bans, the state Supreme Court has ruled.? The first effort at a class-action lawsuit was recently withdrawn when the 33-year-old Jane Doe discovered her fetus at eight weeks no longer had cardiac activity. Lawyers […]

Commentary

Part of a tiny minority in the judicial system, three Black women are safeguarding the rule of law

By: - December 14, 2023

Three Black women — two prosecutors and a judge — are in unenviable positions to lead former president Donald Trump and this nation in lessons on democracy, accountability and the rule of law. New York Attorney General?Letitia James, Atlanta-based District Attorney?Fani Willis?and U.S. District Judge?Tanya Chutkan?have been bombarded with threats, often racial or sexualized. A […]

Commentary

What now? Child care in Kentucky faces a cliff as pandemic-era federal aid has ended

By: - November 21, 2023

Rylee Dakota Monn’s salary as a day care teacher mostly went to pay for child care for her own two sons. “I was working full time but I wasn’t making any money for myself or making much of a contribution to the household,” said Monn, who works at Baptist Health Child Development Center in Lexington. […]

Commentary

Kentuckians invited to speak up on hemp regulation, including CBD and Delta 8

By: - August 25, 2023

Over the last few years, hemp’s CBD and Delta 8, a less-potent marijuana alternative, have been sold online and in wellness shops as relief for pain, anxiety and insomnia. But that could change. A Kentucky agency and a congressional committee are separately seeking comment on how to regulate these products. This is an opportunity for […]

Commentary

Trump indictment is a chance for the GOP to reclaim itself

By: - August 8, 2023

Donald Trump’s indictment for various schemes to overturn his 2020 election loss will get distorted by allegations that Democrats, President Joe Biden and “the deep state” are unfairly trying to prevent his return to the presidency. Yet in reality, Republicans provided the details of Trump actions to the House Committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection […]

Commentary

A tiresome Kentucky threesome

By: - July 25, 2023

A few observations about Kentucky politicians making national news lately: Abortion-rights advocates?are right to question whether gubernatorial candidate Daniel Cameron is seeking the power to prosecute — or just intimidate — women who seek abortions in states where the procedure is legal. If not, why sign onto?a letter with 18 other GOP attorneys general objecting […]

Commentary

James Comer is making it hard to take him seriously

By: - June 8, 2023

Kentucky Congressman James Comer has had so many embarrassing media interviews about his House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the so-called “Biden crime family.”? He outlines an elaborate international bribery scheme yet admits he doesn’t have the facts to back it up. He calls out “suspicious activities” but acknowledges they may not be crimes. His informants […]