Kentucky: Beshear boosts minimum wage for state workers. Effective July 1, the minimum wage for Kentucky’s state employees will be $10.10 an hour, up from $7.25. Gov. Steve Beshear (D) issued an executive order last week making the change, which he said would cost some $1.6 million. GOPers criticized the move as a strain on the state budget. Beshear defended the move as the right thing to do ……. Virginia: GOP seeks diversity. In last week’s primaries for the state legislature in Virginia, Republicans nominated two Asian-Americans, one Hispanic, and a Jewish immigrant from Belarus, a development praised by party leaders. The Democrats, for two elections in a row, nominated only white males in the primaries, reports the Washington Post ……. Florida: Rubio turns lemons into lemonade. Marco Rubio (R) is turning the New York Times’ attacks on his personal finances into a plus. Says Rubio’s website, “First the New York Times attacked Marco over traffic tickets, and now they think he doesn’t have enough money. Of course if he was worth millions, the Times would then attack him for being too rich, like they did to Mitt Romney.” …….
