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Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has vetoed the Redistricting Plan passed by the Legislature after it was determined the bill contained several technical errors. Gov. Tomblin has called a special session to correct the legislation starting Thursday, August, 18.
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Mingo County residents received an early preview of the new $37 million Mingo Central High School during a ribbon cutting ceremony August 12.
The school, will serve more than 800 students. Following the ceremony featuring several state and local leaders, student ambassadors provided tours of the state-of-the-art classrooms. The rooms feature smart boards, computer and science labs, and even art facilities.
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The West Virginia Coal Forum hosted a meeting August 10 in Charleston to bring attention and show support for HR 2018, a bill that would bring an end to the EPA’s war against Appalachian coal.
Speakers representing labor, industry, government and others shared their concerns about the EPA’s current anti-coal agenda, including an on-going de facto moratorium of new mining permits in West Virginia, as well as new air quality rules that threaten tens of thousands of jobs in the region.
Several speakers during Wednesday’s event urged the passage of a bill, which would put controls on the Environmental Protection Agency.
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CHARLESTON – Gary White, of International Resource Partners, a subsidiary of James River Coal Company, was re-elected chairman of the Board of Directors of the Association for the coming year.
It is White’s second term as chairman. White’s election came at the Association’s 52nd Annual meeting held earlier this month at the Greenbrier Resort.
Joining White as Association officers are:
- 1st Vice-Chairman--Kevin Crutchfield (Alpha Natural Resources)
- 2nd Vice-Chairman--Jim Laurita (MEPCO)
- Secretary---John Snider (Arch Coal)
- Treasurer---Andrew Jordon (Pritchard Mining)
- Asst. Treasurer---Chuck Ebetino(Patriot Coal)
- Associate Division Chairman---Tim Zeli (Nelson Brothers)
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Most of America’s metropolitan areas saw personal incomes rise last year, with the biggest increases coming in towns where the military thrives and oil and other mining interests dominate the private sector, according to a new government report.
But the gains in those towns may be only temporary, since the military is facing substantial cuts and the mining industry is grappling with new regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis released a report this week that found that personal incomes increased in 362 of 366 metropolitan statistical areas in 2010, rising overall by 2.9 percent after falling 1.9 percent the previous year.
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In a new study, Roy Spencer, Ph.D -- a prestigious former National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) climatologist who currently works at the University of Alabama -- has examineddata between 2001 and 2011 gathered by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer sensor housed aboard NASA's Aqua satellite.
The study was published [PDF] in the peer-reviewed journal Remote Sensing.
The data reveals yet another thorough analysis of atmospheric heat dissipation -- an important factor in heating or cooling. And like past studies, it found that the Earth's atmosphere shed heat at a much faster rate than what's predicted in widely used global warming models.
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During the special session, lawmakers passed a bill giving coal-producing counties more money from the coal severance tax.
HAMLIN -- Lincoln County leaders want to spend some of the extra money from the coal severance tax on extending water and sewer lines. They believe that could attract more business to the county, which would create more jobs. That's good news for Melissa Holstein, of Alkol. She wants better water and a better job.
“That way we could go get jobs outside home health care and get a better paying job that would bring more money into the family to take care of the children,” said Holstein.
“People wouldn't have to drive to Southridge, Madison, and Huntington for work,” said Latisha Dotson, of Woodville.
County commissioner Thomas Ramey said the county has started the process of putting sewer lines in the Alum Creek area of the county. With Southridge nearby, many believe the Alum Creek area is ready for growth.
“Economic development is coming our way. We have to have the infrastructure in place in order to accommodate that. That's our biggest barrier,” said Larry Stutler, executive director of the Lincoln Economic Development Authority.
More businesses mean more tax revenue for the county, and more tax revenue could mean more money for county departments and services, like the library.
“It would come in handy with the books, children's books, and the story hour we have in the summer time,” said Alma Cummings, a librarian at the Hamlin-Lincoln County Public Library.
Under the legislation, Lincoln County would get an additional $150,000 in coal severance money. Each year that would increase. After five years it would max out at $500,000.
Stutler said he is talking with three companies who are taking a serious look at setting up shop in Lincoln County. While not giving specific details, he did say the companies are located in and outside West Virginia.
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By Courtney Clark
CHARLESTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency's air quality rules and how they impact the coal industry are the focus of this year's West Virginia Coal Forum.
The event kicked off Wednesday morning at the Marriott in Charleston.
It featured United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts, representatives of West Virginia's Congressional Delegation, members of the state Legislature and representatives of the coal industry.
West Virginia Coal Association President Bill Raney said the EPA's "unrealistic rules, politics and time tables" are having a negative impact on power plants and pocket books of people in West Virginia.
"These negative impacts, they'd be bad on their own, bad at any time, but they really seem ridiculous today when the country's economy is absolutely in shambles," said Raney.
According to Raney, the rules not only affect West Virginia, but the entire country.
They also touched on other coal-related issues, such as the level of competitiveness and productivity of the industry, miner's health and safety issues, and the overall image of the coal industry.
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