Author

Caity Coyne

Caity Coyne

Caity Coyne covers state policy and how it intersects with individuals and communities for West Virginia Watch. She's been reporting in West Virginia for 10 years, most recently covering public health and the Southern Coalfields for the Charleston Gazette-Mail.

‘Full steam ahead:’ U.S. official from Mingo County works to protect coal miners from black lung

By: - September 2, 2024

This Labor Day, as a new federal rule is being rolled out to prevent deadly black lung disease in miners, Christopher Williamson is remembering the coal miners who fought for the creation of his agency and who weren’t afforded the protections that current and future workers hopefully will. Williamson, assistant secretary for the U.S. Mine […]

Feds: Justice coal companies have no defense against move to hold them in contempt

By: - August 30, 2024

Federal attorneys asking a court to hold 23 of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s family-owned coal companies in contempt for nonpayment of health and safety fines entered a filing this week saying the companies shouldn’t have entered into a payment plan if they knew they couldn’t honor it. The filing, entered Tuesday in the U.S. […]

‘It’s always going to be there’: The Greenbrier’s potential sale causes concern for its neighbors

By: and - August 30, 2024

LEWISBURG, W.Va. — At Lewisburg’s Carnegie Hall, president and CEO Cathy Rennard watched with some anxiety earlier this month as news unfolded that The Greenbrier Hotel was facing foreclosure due to unpaid debts by its owners, Gov. Jim Justice and his family. The hotel, a crucial part of The Greenbrier resort, which is Greenbrier County’s […]

Manchin will not seek reelection to U.S. Senate in 2024, will hit road to ‘unite the middle’

By: - November 9, 2023

Flanked by two bald eagle statues and several American flags, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced Thursday that he will not seek reelection to the U.S. Senate. Instead, he said in the pre-recorded video, he will be touring the country in an effort to “unite the middle.” “I believe in my heart of hearts that I’ve […]

Advocates for coal miners say MSHA’s proposed silica dust rule needs teeth

By: - August 8, 2023

The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration is hosting a public comment hearing in Beckley on Thursday on a proposed rule that could strengthen silica exposure standards — one of the leading causes of black lung — for coal miners. The proposed rule would, for the first time, implement a separate exposure limit for silica […]