Oct 19 Energy & Environment Bob Murray Announces Retirement From Coal Company He Founded After applying for black lung benefits, Robert Murray, founder and former president of the now-bankrupt coal company Murray Energy Corp., announced Monday he was leaving the business after more than 60 years in the industry. Murray Energy emerged from bankruptcy protection last month as American Consolidated Natural Resources (ACNR). The 80-year-old Murray was named chairman […] By Brittany Patterson Oct 19 Energy & Environment Bob Murray Announces Retirement From Coal Company He Founded Brittany Patterson
Sep 12 Resource Shift “Appalachian Fall” Shows Why Coal Country’s Crisis Matters To America Since its launch in 2016 the Ohio Valley ReSource has documented the extraordinary change underway in what has long been a bedrock element of Appalachian economies and culture: the coal industry. Our coverage shows how the industry’s sharp decline challenges coal-dependent communities that are now left with the legacy costs of mining and the task […] By Jeff Young Sep 12 Resource Shift “Appalachian Fall” Shows Why Coal Country’s Crisis Matters To America Jeff Young
Sep 11 Energy & Environment Remembering A Miner Who Personified Coal’s Contributions And Costs Charles Wayne Stanley ran underground mining machines for some 20 years, cutting coal from beneath the hills where Virginia meets Kentucky along the Cumberland ridge. He spent another decade as a roof bolter, work that kept the rock above from falling in on his fellow miners. Stanley was 53 when the Ohio Valley ReSource and […] By Jeff Young Sep 11 Energy & Environment Remembering A Miner Who Personified Coal’s Contributions And Costs Jeff Young
Aug 21 Health Mine Safety Officials Won’t Do More to Protect Coal Miners from COVID-19, Letter Says The Mine Safety and Health Administration is declining to issue an emergency temporary standard that could protect coal miners whose jobs make them vulnerable to the coronavirus. That’s according to an August 14 letter from Department of Labor Deputy Assistant Secretary Joe Wheeler to West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin. MSHA can issue emergency temporary standards […] By Sydney Boles Aug 21 Health Mine Safety Officials Won’t Do More to Protect Coal Miners from COVID-19, Letter Says Sydney Boles
Aug 14 Uncategorized Student Journalists Document The Pandemic in Appalachia “Hello,” the call began. “This is a prepaid debit call from an inmate at the Virginia Department of Corrections.” Madison Buchanan, a 19-year-old college student, pressed 0 to accept the call and was connected to Jacob Alan Shouse, Offender Number 1101441. “I want to thank you so much for helping me out with this,” Buchanan […] By Sydney Boles Aug 14 Uncategorized Student Journalists Document The Pandemic in Appalachia Sydney Boles
Jul 28 Energy & Environment Mine Safety Agency Should Do More to Protect Coal Miners in the Pandemic, Oversight Office Finds The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration has not done enough to protect coal miners during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report from an oversight agency released Tuesday. Through interviews with MSHA officials and union representatives, as well as reviews of state and national policies, the Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General […] By Sydney Boles Jul 28 Energy & Environment Mine Safety Agency Should Do More to Protect Coal Miners in the Pandemic, Oversight Office Finds Sydney Boles
Jul 24 Economy “No Pay, We Stay.” A Look Back At Miners’ Protest That Rocked Appalachia It’s a quiet, foggy morning on Highway 119 in Cumberland, Kentucky. A railroad track runs along the highway, and here, Sand Hill Bottom Road crosses the tracks and turns to the right, leaving a rough triangle of gravel spattered with trash. You can hear crickets chirping, birds twittering, cars passing on 119. A billboard advertises […] By Sydney Boles Jul 24 Economy “No Pay, We Stay.” A Look Back At Miners’ Protest That Rocked Appalachia Sydney Boles
Jul 24 Economy No Pay, We Stay: A Look Back at the 2019 Protest that Rocked Appalachia It’s a quiet, foggy morning on Highway 119 in Cumberland, Kentucky. A railroad track runs along the highway, and here, Sand Hill Bottom Road crosses the tracks and turns to the right, leaving a rough triangle of gravel spattered with trash. You can hear crickets chirping, birds twittering, cars passing on 119. A billboard advertises […] By Sydney Boles Jul 24 Economy No Pay, We Stay: A Look Back at the 2019 Protest that Rocked Appalachia Sydney Boles
Jul 2 Economy RECLAIM Act To Boost Coal Communities Passes House As Part Of Infrastructure Bill The House of Representatives Wednesday passed a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill that includes two provisions that would specifically help coal-reliant communities in the Ohio Valley. The bill, called the Moving Forward Act, includes funding for roads and bridges, rural broadband, drinking water system repairs, renewable energy, and affordable housing, all of which Democrats say would […] By Sydney Boles Jul 2 Economy RECLAIM Act To Boost Coal Communities Passes House As Part Of Infrastructure Bill Sydney Boles
Mar 23 Energy & Environment Ohio Valley Coal Industry Braces As COVID-19 Impacts Electricity Demand, International Exports As states across the Ohio Valley order the closure of non-essential businesses to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, coal mines will remain open. But as with many industries, the global pandemic is straining the coal sector, and some experts say the already struggling industry could face intense challenges in the months ahead as […] By Brittany Patterson and Sydney Boles Mar 23 Energy & Environment Ohio Valley Coal Industry Braces As COVID-19 Impacts Electricity Demand, International Exports Brittany Patterson and Sydney Boles