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
Sep 2 Economy Former Blackjewel Miners Could Get More Money From Proposed Settlement A proposed $17.3 million settlement of a class action lawsuit would provide additional payment for hundreds of Appalachian coal miners who were suddenly left jobless by the abrupt bankruptcy of the Blackjewel mining company. The settlement must be approved by the judge overseeing the complicated Blackjewel bankruptcy case. Although it is not yet final, attorneys […] By Jeff Young Sep 2 Economy Former Blackjewel Miners Could Get More Money From Proposed Settlement Jeff Young
Aug 28 Democracy & Civic Life “False Hope” or Four More Years? Ohio Valley Stakeholders Reflect On Trump Energy Policy In 2016, then-candidate Donald Trump was all-in on the fossil fuel industry. In a 2016 rally in Charleston, West Virginia, the candidate proudly accepted an endorsement from that state’s coal association, donning a hardhat while he mimed digging coal. To thundering applause, he promised to bring back coal jobs to the struggling Appalachian coalfields. Four […] By Sydney Boles Aug 28 Democracy & Civic Life “False Hope” or Four More Years? Ohio Valley Stakeholders Reflect On Trump Energy Policy 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
Apr 3 Energy & Environment Coal Country: Can A Play About A Mine Disaster Help Bridge A National Divide? The actors deliver their lines from a sparse stage — just a few benches around them and 29 modest lights above. For the most part they speak directly to the audience, sharing memories of the lives of husbands, sons, fathers and nephews, some of the 29 men who died on April 5, 2010, when an […] By Jeff Young Apr 3 Energy & Environment Coal Country: Can A Play About A Mine Disaster Help Bridge A National Divide? Jeff Young
Apr 1 Energy & Environment Justice Coal Companies Agree To Settle $5 Million In Delinquent Mine Safety Debts Coal companies owned by the family of West Virginia Governor Jim Justice have agreed to pay more than $5 million in overdue mine health and safety fines and fees. According to a press release released Wednesday, a total of 24 coal companies owned by the Justice family agreed to settle millions of dollars in unpaid […] By Brittany Patterson Apr 1 Energy & Environment Justice Coal Companies Agree To Settle $5 Million In Delinquent Mine Safety Debts Brittany Patterson
Feb 21 Energy & Environment Black Lung Benefits Drop For Kentucky Coal Miners After Controversial Law Change Lynn Estel Stanley was the kind of coal mine foreman who wanted to know if there was a safety problem, and would always be the one to go fix it himself. He was also the kind of miner who refused to slow down, even when his men told him he was overexerting himself. But when […] By Sydney Boles Feb 21 Energy & Environment Black Lung Benefits Drop For Kentucky Coal Miners After Controversial Law Change Sydney Boles
Jan 14 Economy More Unpaid Appalachian Miners Stage A Coal Train Blockade For the second time since summer, eastern Kentucky coal miners are blockading a railroad track to protest unpaid wages. The new blockade, which was started Monday afternoon by Quest Energy miners, echoes the months-long blockade by Blackjewel coal miners over the summer and speaks to a growing discontent in Appalachian coal country. “It’s hard to go […] By Sydney Boles Jan 14 Economy More Unpaid Appalachian Miners Stage A Coal Train Blockade Sydney Boles
Dec 19 Economy After Nearly A Decade Of Anxiety Over Pensions, Coal Miners See Light At The End Of The Tunnel Union coal miners and retirees breathed a collective sigh of relief after the U.S. Senate passed a spending bill that includes support for miners’ pensions, which had been at risk due to the coal industry’s downturn. The bill, which funds the federal government for the coming year, also includes The Bipartisan American Miners Act which […] By Becca Schimmel Dec 19 Economy After Nearly A Decade Of Anxiety Over Pensions, Coal Miners See Light At The End Of The Tunnel Becca Schimmel