20Jun

Coal’s Decline Spreads Far Beyond Appalachia

Via The Wall Street Journal: SOMERSET, Mass.—Far from the mines of Appalachia, the decline of coal is hitting communities that relied on coal-fired power plants for jobs and income. During the past five years, roughly 350 coal-fired generating units shut down across the U.S., ranging from small units at factories to huge power plants, according […]
19Jun

Former Dem Congressman: End the War on Coal

Via The Hill: Very few members of Congress have actually shoveled tons upon tons of coal. I have. I started working in a coal yard at the age of 13 and I know what coal has meant to the development of this great country and the comfort of its people. I later had the honor […]
19Jun

Don’t be So Quick to Dismiss Trump’s Coal Mining Initiative

Via The New York Post: ACOSTA, PA. — On a warm June morning, a large crowd gathered in the lush, gentle folds of the Allegheny Mountains to hear President Donald Trump live on video. “I’m absolutely thrilled to be speaking with you on this great, great day,” he said. “The miners of Pennsylvania are mining […]
15Jun

Hope is Important for the Deep South Coalfield Counties

Via The Bluefield Daily Telegraph:  As I scanned through our internal online archives, I found the headlines to be both alarming and depressing. I was looking for story ideas, and subsequently found myself perusing through several years of older articles. These older articles told the story of a region fighting for survival against an administration […]
15Jun

The Light They Will Not See

June 15, 2017 Look hard enough at politics and you will always find irony. That’s why it “makes strange bedfellows.” Here’s one recent example. President Trump’s support for the coal industry, together with his regulatory re-set that helped to revive it, has made coal a surrogate for him – a president the major media deeply […]
13Jun

A Few Positive Signs for the State’s Economy

Via The West Virginia MetroNews: The biggest reason Governor Justice and lawmakers are sweating out the budget for next fiscal year is that coal and natural gas severance tax collections have plummeted. According to the state budget office In fiscal year 2014, those industries paid $489 million into the state’s General Revenue Fund.  Two years later, the […]
13Jun

PA Coal Mine, Praised as Lifeline for Local Economy

Via Fox News:  Around 200 miners, business leaders and local politicians stood around tables covered in mining headgear and tablecloths labeled “Make Coal Great Again” as they overlooked a freshly dug coal pit located around 60 miles southwest of Pittsburgh. The group was assembled for the opening of Corsa Coal Corp’s Acosta mine – the […]
12Jun

Winning: Trump Touts Opening of New Coal Mine in Pennsylvania

Via Brietbart: President Donald Trump spoke via video Thursday for the opening of a new coal mine outside of Pittsburgh, saying it’s proof that he is keeping his campaign promise to create jobs for miners and create industries to benefit the U.S. economy. “I’m absolutely thrilled to be speaking with you on this great, great […]
12Jun

Another Promise Kept — First Coal Mine Opens Under Trump Administration

Via The Daily Caller: President Trump during his campaign promised to “put our miners back to work.” That promise was at least partially fulfilled since the Corsa Coal Company opened, making it the first American corporation to open a new coal mine in six years. Prominent political pundits deemed this pledge as just another empty promise made to […]