FRANKFORT - Gov. Ernie Fletcher, in his first State of the Commonwealth address, said Tuesday night that Kentucky faces as daunting a challenge as any in modern times. To meet it, he asked the General Assembly to overhaul the tax code.

Fletcher, the first Republican elected Kentucky governor since 1967, said he had "inherited a budget crisis, not only between revenue and spending but also in structure."

On other fronts, Fletcher said the state's larger problems include an epidemic of drug abuse - homemade methamphetamine and prescription painkillers - that is "destroying our communities and our young people."

Fletcher also said health care costs are "growing out of control" and Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for the poor and disabled, "is failing to meet its obligations, especially to seniors in long-term care.

Fletcher, who is a physician, said his goals included a revamping of Medicaid, putting more emphasis on preventive medicine and good-health education.

Fletcher said he would present a budget in two weeks that is balanced without higher taxes.

Indiana gov. proposes steps, ignores deficit

INDIANAPOLIS - Democratic Gov. Joe Kernan touted full-day kindergarten, enhanced workforce training and the line-item veto Tuesday night as needed next steps for an Indiana he portrayed as poised for an economic rebound.

Kernan barely touched on the struggling economy and state government's lingering budget woes during his State of the State speech to lawmakers at the Statehouse and television viewers across Indiana. Indiana has lost 120,000 jobs over the past three years and has a $1 billion deficit.

Kernan said that with bipartisan support in the General Assembly, the state had laid the groundwork for more and better jobs by restructuring taxes and enacting a major economic development package.

Inmate shuns last meal, waits for appeal

COLUMBUS - Studying legal documents and refusing to select a last meal, convicted killer Lewis Williams spent the day before his scheduled execution quietly as a last appeal went before a federal appeals court.

Williams, 45, is scheduled to die today for shooting a 76-year-old woman in the face in a 1983 Cleveland robbery. Williams is trying to challenge the constitutionality of how inmates are executed in Ohio.

On Monday, a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the request by Williams and a second death row inmate to review the constitutionality of a drug used to execute Ohio prisoners. A request that the full court consider the request was pending Tuesday afternoon.

The other inmate, John G. Roe, is scheduled for execution Feb. 3 for the 1984 kidnapping, robbing and shooting death of a 21-year-old woman in Columbus.

Hustler store faces opposition in Ky.

LEXINGTON - The brother of Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt says he's considering an all-nude cabaret with a nonalcoholic juice bar at a site in Lexington where plans for an adult bookstore were rejected.

Jimmy Flynt is appealing the city's decision to turn down his original request for a store off Interstate 75 that would include a restaurant with an area for adult magazines, movies and novelties. "We may have to change it conceptually," he said Monday.

Flynt said he wants to comply with the city's standards to get a Hustler store open.

Lexington-Fayette Urban County Councilman Al Mitchell, who has led opposition to the Hustler store, said zoning requirements for a cabaret would be the same as for a sex shop.