Aug 13 Energy & Environment Trump Visits Shell Plastics Facility, Touts Petrochemical Future For Ohio Valley President Donald Trump Tuesday toured Shell Chemical’s soon-to-be completed ethane cracker complex in Monaca, Pennsylvania, to tout his administration’s commitment to expanding energy production. The facility is part of what industry boosters hope will be a new plastics and chemical manufacturing base in the upper Ohio Valley, but many residents here worry about the heat-trapping […] By Brittany Patterson Aug 13 Energy & Environment Trump Visits Shell Plastics Facility, Touts Petrochemical Future For Ohio Valley Brittany Patterson
Aug 9 Economy “Bloody Harlan” Revisited: Blackjewel Miners Draw On Labor History While Facing Uncertain Future Curtis Cress sat in the gravel beside a railroad track in Harlan County, Kentucky. Tall and thin with a long, black beard, Cress is every bit a coal miner, or, he was until a month ago. “It’s part of my heritage, you know? My dad and papaws had always done it,” he said. “And I’m […] By Sydney Boles Aug 9 Economy “Bloody Harlan” Revisited: Blackjewel Miners Draw On Labor History While Facing Uncertain Future Sydney Boles
Aug 6 Economy Protesting Blackjewel Miners To Get Some Overdue Pay From Bankruptcy Sale More than a thousand coal miners left unpaid by the abrupt bankruptcy of Blackjewel mining could soon be getting some – but not all – of the money they are owed. Dozens of miners have staged a week-long protest on railroad tracks in Kentucky’s Harlan County, blocking delivery of a load of coal from a […] By Brittany Patterson and Sydney Boles Aug 6 Economy Protesting Blackjewel Miners To Get Some Overdue Pay From Bankruptcy Sale Brittany Patterson and Sydney Boles
Aug 5 Economy Few Answers For Unpaid Miners After Day One of Blackjewel Sales Hearing Blackjewel coal miners will have to wait at least another day to learn if the sale of the bankrupt coal company’s mines and equipment will deliver their overdue paychecks. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of West Virginia recessed Monday after an all-day hearing that yielded few results. The court is scheduled to […] By Brittany Patterson and Sydney Boles Aug 5 Economy Few Answers For Unpaid Miners After Day One of Blackjewel Sales Hearing Brittany Patterson and Sydney Boles
Aug 2 Energy & Environment Mussel Woman: Biologist Passes Along Pearls Of Wisdom About Threatened Mussels Janet Clayton is standing thigh-deep in a back channel of the Elk River. Clad in a wetsuit and knee pads, the silver-haired biologist with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources reaches into a bright orange mesh bag submerged in water. Inside are a half dozen mussels she plucked from the rocky river bottom. “This […] By Brittany Patterson Aug 2 Energy & Environment Mussel Woman: Biologist Passes Along Pearls Of Wisdom About Threatened Mussels Brittany Patterson
Aug 2 Economy Blackjewel Miners Continue Protest As Bankruptcy Hearing Looms Miners left unpaid by the bankrupt Blackjewel coal company say they are prepared to keep up their protest on railroad tracks in Harlan County, Kentucky, where they are blocking delivery of a load of coal. As their protest grows and gains attention, a bankruptcy court hearing on Monday could determine whether and when the miners […] By Brittany Patterson and Sydney Boles Aug 2 Economy Blackjewel Miners Continue Protest As Bankruptcy Hearing Looms Brittany Patterson and Sydney Boles
Jul 31 Health ARC Awards Grant To Help Pave Road To Addiction Recovery The Appalachian Regional Commission has awarded a major grant to what it calls an innovative pilot program for a region hit hard by the addiction crisis. The goal is to help people struggling with addiction get on the road to treatment, recovery, and – ultimately – employment. People with substance use disorders can have trouble […] By Aaron Payne Jul 31 Health ARC Awards Grant To Help Pave Road To Addiction Recovery Aaron Payne
Jul 30 Economy Blackjewel Miners Block Railroad To Demand Pay From Bankrupt Coal Company Some coal miners left without pay by the bankruptcy of coal company Blackjewel LLC are protesting by blocking a coal train in eastern Kentucky. The stand-off began early Monday when five miners blocked the train from leaving the Cumberland, Kentucky, plant. Despite police asking them to leave, miners spent the night blocking the railroad to […] By Sydney Boles and Brittany Patterson Jul 30 Economy Blackjewel Miners Block Railroad To Demand Pay From Bankrupt Coal Company Sydney Boles and Brittany Patterson
Jul 25 Agriculture How A Proposed SNAP Eligibility Revision Could Affect Ohio Valley Recipients The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced this week a proposal to tighten the rules on who qualifies for food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). USDA estimates more than three million people across the country would lose SNAP benefits in an effort to prevent fraud. Anti-hunger advocates in the Ohio Valley say the […] By Liam Niemeyer Jul 25 Agriculture How A Proposed SNAP Eligibility Revision Could Affect Ohio Valley Recipients Liam Niemeyer