Gulf service stations return to Kentucky
The Gulf Oil brand is returning to Kentucky for the first time in 20 years. The company announced in a news release that the brand has struck a deal with Southern Petroleum of Somerset to brand nine service stations with the Gulf logo. The announcement comes after Gulf Oil acquired the title and interests to the Gulf brand from Chevron in January.
“And Kentucky is only the beginning,” said Gulf Oil Senior Vice President Rick Dery in a news release. “There is a huge appetite by branded distributors outside of our existing Northeastern geography for the return of the Gulf brand, and we have been overwhelmed by the reception that Gulf has received over the past few weeks.”
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‘Coach Cal’ Mustang on sale at Paul Miller Ford
Just in time for March Madness, Lexington auto dealership Paul Miller Ford has unveiled the car for the ultimate University of Kentucky basketball fan.
The dealership announced Tuesday that it will sell five customized 2010 Mustangs called the “Coach Cal Edition.”
The process starts with a 2010 Roush 427R Mustang or a Mustang GT, which are then turned into a Wildcat lover’s dream by Paul Miller Ford’s staff of Mustang enthusiasts, vice president and general manager J.P. Miller Jr. said.
The crew has designed a UK blue paint scheme for the vehicles modeled after the Bill Keightley jerseys worn by the team last year in honor of the longtime equipment manager.
“I was looking at the way the jersey was laid out and thought it would be cool if they designed it based off the way the jersey looked,” said Miller, who said he was given one of the jerseys by the university.
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PNC sues for Azeri’s yearling filly
Another Thoroughbred icon is back in court: PNC Bank has filed a claim against the Allen E. Paulson Living Trust for almost $1.6 million and wants to seize champion Azeri’s yearling filly.
PNC alleged in a lawsuit filed in Fayette Circuit Court in Lexington on Feb. 12 that the trust defaulted on a loan “by, among other things, failing to make payments on the principal and interest that was due.”
Last December, Fifth Third Bank sued Ahmed Zayat, the leading Thoroughbred owner in North America.
PNC said in court documents that the trust was notified Oct. 22 of the default “for the failure to sell certain Equine Collateral.”
That collateral includes, but is not limited to, 2002 Horse of the Year Azeri’s 2009 filly by 2004 Horse of the Year Ghostzapper as well as a 2009 colt by Shakespeare out of Lola’s Dancer, the bank said.
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Business leaders rail against proposed tax changes
FRANKFORT Meeting with the Senate budget committee Tuesday, business officials railed against a House bill that generates revenue by suspending a popular tax break for businesses.
Senate budget chairman Bob Leeper, an independent from Paducah, indicated after the meeting that relief for worried businesses may be in the offing.
“We’re listening to them, and they made their voice very loud and clear today on the impact on jobs for Kentuckians,” Leeper said. “We have a great deal of concern about that. Our focus should be to keep Kentuckians working.”
Leeper said “it’s difficult to say” if the committee will delete some of the tax changes in House Bill 530, which would raise more than $300 million to help balance the next two-year state budget. But he quickly added that several committee members have told him they could not vote for the bill without changes.
He gave no specifics on how the committee would make up any money that it might delete from the revenue bill, but said “sacrifices” would have to be made. He did not indicate when his panel will meet again to vote on the bill.
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Lawmakers discuss new study of tax-incentive programs
FRANKFORT Kentucky needs an independent review of its tax-incentive programs to determine what they cost the state in lost revenue and if they produce the jobs intended, House Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark, D-Louisville, told a Senate panel Tuesday.
Clark and the rest of the House Democratic leadership are sponsoring House Joint Resolution 122, which authorizes the legislature to hire a consulting firm to study how tax incentives are awarded under 15 programs. The House approved the measure Feb. 24 without opposition.
On Tuesday, the Senate Economic Development, Tourism and Labor Committee briefly discussed the bill but did not vote on it. Committee Chairwoman Alice Forgy Kerr, R-Lexington, said she expects approval next week.
First, she said, she wanted to hear how the state Economic Development Cabinet, which administers tax incentives, feels about an outside study. Economic Development Secretary Larry Hayes told the committee the cabinet supports it.
“We’re on board to cooperate any way we can,” Hayes said.
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