Free Republic

Former Gov. Brereton Jones has borrowed heavily from a financially distressed bank that he and several other Democratic Party leaders founded in 2001, according to interviews and bank records. Federal regulators have criticized the directors of Frankfort-based American Founders Bank, including Jones, for inadequate supervision. The bank was badly managed and suffered "hazardous lending and lax collection practices," which left it with far too many unpaid loans, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Among the specific concerns cited was improper reporting and recordkeeping of insider loans to bank directors and executives. The FDIC issued a cease-and-desist order to the...

Patton fills various board seats REPUBLICANS CRYING FOUL AT LAME-DUCK MOVE By John Cheves HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER FRANKFORT - Bernie Kunkel waited years for a Republican governor who would appoint conservatives like him to state boards and commissions. He'll have to wait a while longer. With less than three weeks left in office, Democratic Gov. Paul Patton is methodically filling every seat on the more than 300 boards that help decide government policy, steer the huge bureaucracy and regulate industries, from the State Fair Board to the Executive Branch Ethics Commission. Republicans and their incoming governor, Ernie Fletcher, are crying...