Aug 16 Health HIV Infection “Clusters” Put Focus On Harm Reduction Programs Health officials in Huntington, West Virginia, say a cluster of HIV infections has grown to 71 confirmed cases. That’s in a city that usually sees about eight HIV infections in a year. As with an earlier such cluster in northern Kentucky, officials say the primary cause of infection is needle drug use. Health officials say […] By Mary Meehan Aug 16 Health HIV Infection “Clusters” Put Focus On Harm Reduction Programs Mary Meehan
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
Jul 24 Agriculture Power Plant: How A Grass Might Generate Fuel And Help Fix Damaged Mine Lands Down bumpy back roads deep in central West Virginia, a flat, bright green pasture opens up among the rolling hills of coffee-colored trees. Wildflowers and butterflies dot the pasture, but West Virginia University Professor Jeff Skousen is here for something else that stands above the rest of the Appalachian scenery – literally. Thick stalks of […] By Liam Niemeyer Jul 24 Agriculture Power Plant: How A Grass Might Generate Fuel And Help Fix Damaged Mine Lands Liam Niemeyer
Jul 18 Economy Living Wage: Ohio Valley Workers, Employers React As House Votes For $15 Minimum Wage The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, more than double the current $7.25 rate, which has not changed in a decade. The bill is unlikely to clear the Republican-controlled Senate, where Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has said he will not take it […] By Becca Schimmel Jul 18 Economy Living Wage: Ohio Valley Workers, Employers React As House Votes For $15 Minimum Wage Becca Schimmel
Jul 17 Health New Data Show Opioid Deaths May Have Peaked, And Reveal Scale Of Past Pain Pill Sales Two newly released sets of government data show that the death toll from the nation’s opioid crisis may finally be dropping and also reveal the scale of the pain pill sales that help set the crisis in motion. The data for the Ohio Valley show how hard the region was hit and how hard people […] By Aaron Payne Jul 17 Health New Data Show Opioid Deaths May Have Peaked, And Reveal Scale Of Past Pain Pill Sales Aaron Payne
Jul 15 Economy “Death Spiral.” How A Carbon Tax Could End Some Coal Towns … Or Fund A New Future Declining coal tax revenues place coal-reliant counties in Appalachia at risk of fiscal collapse, according to new research from the centrist Brookings Institution and Columbia University. Policies designed to prevent further climate change would accelerate that decline, the report found, but could also provide a new stream of revenue to help communities rebound from coal’s […] By Sydney Boles Jul 15 Economy “Death Spiral.” How A Carbon Tax Could End Some Coal Towns … Or Fund A New Future Sydney Boles