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Black Lives In Red States: Art And Life Converge For Two Women In A Tumultuous Year
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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GEORGETOWN, Ky. (OVR) — Jessalyn Brown met Kyra Higgins through theater. “I saw her on stage and I was just like, ‘This girl is so good!’ She was just amazing.”… Read More
Judge Denies Blackjewel’s Move to Liquidate
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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(Ohio Valley ReSource) — A federal bankruptcy judge has denied a petition from former Blackjewel coal executive Jeff Hoops to liquidate the company. The decision means the reorganization of the… Read More
Patrons Help Ohio Valley Restaurant Workers Weather Holidays
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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(Ohio Valley ReSource) — Stay-at-home mom Sarci Eldridge has a big heart. So when Kentucky entered its second round of restaurant restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, her first thought… Read More
Blackjewel Coal Moves To Liquidate, Leaving Millions Unpaid To Workers And Regulators
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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WHITESBURGH, Ky. (OVR) — The convoluted bankruptcy of coal company Blackjewel has hit another turn of events as the company’s former CEO moved to liquidate the company. A federal judge… Read More
Lawmakers, Union Urge Mine Safety Regulators to Act on Silica Dust
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (OVR) — A group of Ohio Valley senators says a watchdog agency’s recent report shows that federal regulators must do more to protect coal miners from silica dust, an… Read More
Federal Watchdog Finds Coal Safety Regulator Not Protecting Miners From Silica Dust
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (OVR) — The Mine Safety and Health Administration is not doing enough to protect coal miners from deadly silica dust, according to a new report from the Department of… Read More
Ohio Valley Lawmakers React to Trump’s False Statements Undermining The Election
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (OVR) — Polls had barely closed in the U.S. when President Donald Trump falsely alleged voter fraud and claimed prematurely to have won the election, saying “We will… Read More
Environmental Risks Remain As Blackjewel Bankruptcy Nears Its End
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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Environmental advocates worry a coal company liquidation plan will leave dozens of coal permits in eastern Kentucky unreclaimed, according to filings in the bankruptcy proceedings of Blackjewel L.L.C. The bankruptcy… Read More
Ohio Valley Mayors Aim For A Green Recovery Amid Coronavirus And Climate Change
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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PITTSBURGH, Pa. (OVR) — When newly elected President Donald Trump announced in 2017 that he would pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement on climate change, he said, “I… Read More
New Appalachian Journalism Outlets Tackle Stereotypes, Media Economy
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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CHARLESTON, W. Va. (OVR) — It wasn’t too long ago that Michael Farmer, a pastor in Charleston, West Virginia, received an email asking him a question that was already on his… Read More
“False Hope” or Four More Years? Ohio Valley Stakeholders Reflect On Trump Energy Policy
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (OVR) — 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… Read More
Mine Safety Officials Won’t Do More To Protect Coal Miners From COVID-19, Letter Says
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (OVR) —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…. Read More
Report On Russian Interference In Elections Raises Questions About KY Project
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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ASHLAND, Ky. (OVR) — A new report from the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee about Russian interference in U.S. elections raises new questions about a struggling eastern Kentucky development project with… Read More
Student Journalists Document The Pandemic in Appalachia
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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WHITESBURG, Ky. (OVR) — “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… Read More
Oversight Office: MSHA Should Do More To Protect Miners In Pandemic
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (OVR) — 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…. Read More
No Pay, We Stay: A Look Back at the 2019 Protest that Rocked Appalachia
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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CUMBERLAND, Ky. (OVR) — 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… Read More
Ohio Valley Coal Companies Scored Tens Of MIllions In Paycheck Protection Loans
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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WHITESBURG, Ky. (OVR) — More than 50 Ohio Valley coal companies received loans totaling as much as $119 million through the Paycheck Protection Program meant to keep people employed during the… Read More
Advocacy Groups Unveil Plan For A 21st Century Coal-County Economy
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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Environmental and economic advocacy groups from coal-producing parts of the country unveiled a policy agenda on Monday to help coal-reliant communities make a transition to a more sustainable future. The… Read More
Rural Ohio Valley Counties Lack Sufficient Coronavirus Tests, Report Says
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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WHITESBURG, Ky. (OVR) — Just 15 percent of Kentucky counties meet minimum recommended coronavirus testing levels, according to a new report from health care company Castlight. Sixty-seven percent of West Virginia counties and… Read More
Federal Judge Threatens Jail Time as Coal Company Flouts Court Orders
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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Coal company American Resources Corporation, which owns mines in Kentucky and West Virginia, is facing sanctions after failing to comply with a bankruptcy court’s orders, even after the company received… Read More
Coal and COVID-19: Lung Impairment Makes Miners Especially Vulnerable to Coronavirus
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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WHITESBURG, Ky. (OVR) — Underground coal miners start their shifts getting changed in closely packed changing rooms. They ride rail cars to their worksite, shoulder-to-shoulder, sometimes for more than an… Read More
“We Belong to Each Other”: Appalachian Youth Build Support Amid Pandemic Uncertainty
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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On March 17, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam banned gatherings of 10 or more people to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Mekyah Davis, 23, was in his second week of… Read More
‘There’s Going To Be Something Better for Him’: Former Blackjewel Miners Reflect on Changes in Coal Country
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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On a blistering August afternoon in Cumberland, Kentucky, David Pratt, Jr. stood in the middle of a two-lane highway, holding a sign that read “COAL MINERS AND TRUCKERS AGAINST CORPORATE… Read More
Anxiety In Appalachian Coal Country: First The Mines Closed, Then Came Coronavirus
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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As the economic fallout from the coronavirus continues to reshape our lives, small-town business owners are worried about the future. Whitesburg, Kentucky — a town already struggling from the decline… Read More
Black Lung Benefits Drop for Kentucky Coal Miners after Controversial Law Change
By: Sydney Boles | Ohio Valley ReSource
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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… Read More