Bevin Finds New Way to Kill Kentuckians

Mention the Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire to anyone who was around Kentucky 40 years ago, and you get shudders of horror.  Because that's what it was: unmitigated horror.

 

And all because of nonexistent enforcement of building codes.  It took gubernatorial and legislative courage to fix that problem and save tens of thousands of lives.

 

It took Gov. Lying Coward about five seconds to undo it and invite a new Beverly Hills Supper Club horror into the Commonwealth.

 

Jack Coleman in the Herald:

On May 28, 1977 a devastating fire swept through the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate. It was discovered shortly before 9 p.m. and burned throughout the night, killing 165 people. Official investigations into what caused the fire were inconclusive, but the most commonly cited factor was the aluminum wiring.

SNIP

 

The Kentucky fire brought statewide attention to the lack of building-code enforcement and put renewed emphasis on legislation that sought to provide proper oversight of the construction industry. 

SNIP

 

Because Gov. Julian Carroll and the legislature worked together to address this tragedy, we are able to celebrate 39 years of protecting the public from a repeat. That’s why one must wonder at the thought process, or lack thereof, of the Bevin administration in its current effort to effectively gut the department and silence its correlative trades, architects, associations, code officials and professionals.

Gov. Matt Bevin’s Executive Order 2016-849, issued Nov. 29, violates or conflicts with over 30 enacted statutes and recklessly replaces the Kentucky Board of Housing with a 17-member advisory committee. The real danger is the abolition of the eight boards and committees that have been lifelines for protecting the public and ensuring an educated and professional workforce in all trades.

Bevin knows that if you die in slow agony from fire and suffocation in a public venue you naturally assumed was safe, that's your own fault for expecting repug government to protect you.

Especially this government.