Appalachia
Feds: Justice coal companies have no defense against move to hold them in contempt
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. […]
$500M from EPA will help nonprofit lenders power energy transition in rural Appalachia
Entrepreneurs in Appalachia have ideas for renewable energy projects, but finding funding in rural and low-income areas can be challenging. A new initiative, the Green Bank for Rural America, could help channel funds to small, rural, nonprofit lenders to support projects like community solar arrays, apprenticeships in renewable energy fields and electrified public transit, just […]
On the trail of J.D. Vance’s Kentucky mountain roots
JACKSON — In the 24 hours after J.D. Vance became Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s running mate, Stephen Bowling, director of the Breathitt County Public Library, fielded more than a dozen calls from news media outlets large and small. The place that Vance in his best-selling memoir wrote “would always have my heart” is back […]
How we owned a mine, or a brief history of Kentucky’s coal mining cooperative
For over 100 years, Himler House stood on a hill overlooking Beauty, formerly Himlerville, in Martin County. Once the site of grand Christmas parties and banquets, the house was eventually abandoned and fell to ruins. But few of the teens, vandals, and ghost hunters who frequented the abandoned mansion knew that it had been the […]
Sun, water, federal dollars power new energy projects in Kentucky
Jonathan Moore sees potential for reliable, durable electric power in Kentucky’s hundreds of miles of waterways, more navigable water than many states can boast. The Kentucky River is a prime example, says Moore, a partner in the company Appalachian Hydro Associates. Taking advantage of a system of locks and dams dating back to the 19th […]
Nonprofits team with state, federal governments to tackle housing shortage in Eastern Kentucky
A religiously oriented group using volunteers from many states is doing much of the housing recovery work in flood-ravaged Eastern Kentucky. The Appalachia Service Project has completed 24 new homes and fully repaired 40 more for flood survivors in Breathitt, Harlan, Knott, Leslie, Magoffin and Perry counties since the flood two years ago.? ASP has […]
Eastern Kentuckian who lost his wife, house in 2022 flood grateful for new home on high ground
Farmer Baker was holding on for his life, clutching a pair of post hole diggers, on the night of July 27-28, 2022, as part of Eastern Kentucky’s record flooding swept through his garage on Lower River Caney in Breathitt County. He had already watched the waters sweep away his wife, Vanessa, the only one of […]
Jesse Stuart Foundation continues writing workshop at Greenbo Lake June 21-22
A foundation dedicated to continuing a former Kentucky poet laureate’s legacy is renewing a literary workshop in Northeastern Kentucky.? The Jesse Stuart Foundation will host the Jack Ellis Writers Workshop at Greenbo Lake State Resort Park June 21-22. Several instructors, including George Ella Lyon — another Eastern Kentucky native and poet laureate —?will lead participants […]
Rail yard is $5 million closer to again serving as an economic engine
For Chris Campbell, Estill County is where almost everyone has a connection to the rail lines that run by the “twin cities” of Irvine and Ravenna, the latter founded by a railroad in the early 20th century.? Campbell, while not an Estill County native, is a train enthusiast and president of the Irvine-based nonprofit Kentucky […]
Avalanche of aid could help Kentuckians reinvent mountain economy
CORBIN — Eastern Kentucky is about to get an avalanche of federal and state money to help it transition from its largely disappeared coal economy, but some of its towns are already lifting themselves up and setting examples for the region. That was the upshot of the 36th annual East Kentucky Leadership Conference in Corbin, […]
Seedtime on the Cumberland June 1 in Whitesburg
Appalshop has announced the lineup for Seedtime on the Cumberland June 1 in Whitesburg. The free annual festival will feature live music, jam sessions, food and art, including a quilt exhibit hosted by the Southeast Kentucky African American Museum and Cultural Center. Performers for the 2024 festival include Sunrise Ridge, John Haywood, Jay Skaggs, Randy […]
Some states are cutting higher ed in rural areas. What if Kentucky tried the opposite?
HAZARD — Haley Autumn Dawn Ann Crank thinks she might like to become a teacher. There’s a shortage of teachers in this corner of Kentucky, and Crank, who has eight siblings, gets kids. “I just fit in with them,” Crank said during a shift one February day at the Big Blue Smokehouse, where she works […]