Could Whitesburg, long an east Kentucky coal town, become a “Green Healthy Town?” Five University of Virginia students in the Master’s of Urban and Environmental Planning Program presented their assessment of existing conditions within a roughly one-mile corridor of downtown at a recent Whitesburg community meeting. The students’ report includes an inventory of assets and […]
The East Kentucky Leadership Conference celebrated its 30th anniversary with a keynote speech from Earl Gohl, federal co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) for the past 7 years. Since 2015 ARC has awarded $92 million through the POWER Initiative to help coal-impacted communities in 250 Appalachian counties diversify and grow their economies. Gohl said […]
Despite a slight uptick in coal mining activity, most analysts do not forecast a large-scale reversal of the long, downward trend in coal production or employment. Many in the Appalachian coalfields believe we must continue efforts to diversify the region’s economy. The Ohio Valley Resource reports on three bipartisan proposals now before Congress that could […]
Our region has incredible cultural assets, especially our music and dance, as well as traditional arts, crafts and foodways. In this episode of Mountain Talk Monday, we learn about the Mountains of Music Homecoming happening throughout Southwest Virginia June 9-17. Its a project of the The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail, which came into […]
