Katie Myers
Katie Myers is covering economic transition in east Kentucky for the ReSource and partner station WMMT in Whitesburg, KY. She previously worked directly with communities in Kentucky and Tennessee on environmental issues, energy democracy, and the digital divide, and is a founding member of a community-owned rural ISP. She has also worked with the Black in Appalachia project of East Tennessee PBS. In her spare time, Katie likes to write stage plays, porch sit with friends, and get lost on mountain backroads. She has published work with Inside Appalachia, Scalawag Magazine, the Daily Yonder, and Belt Magazine, among others.
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After about two weeks in the motel, Cody and Melanie were able to find a rental to move into. But housing and legal advocates say their predicament is common across the region, and evictions have increased in recent months.
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These projects are part of what advocates say is a regional trend towards a new green energy economy, and a boom in solar that’s currently financed by a whirlwind of venture capitalists, federal grants, and regional and local investors.As the solar industry evolves from an idea to a reality, communities are both excited for the prospect of new opportunity - and wondering what kind of real economic change the solar industry will bring to rural communities.
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EnvironmentFunding was allowed to expire last week for the Abandoned Minelands Fund, a program set up to mitigate environmental and health impacts of abandoned coal mines.
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Two major funds meant to address those legacy impacts depend almost entirely on the declining revenues of the coal industry and the will of Congress to remain solvent. Now, both are due for renewal, and could be reduced, or even allowed to expire.
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Over Labor Day Weekend, a coalition of organizations, including the UMWA and the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum, commemorated the Battle of Blair Mountain's hundredth anniversary with a weekend of storytelling, speeches, and song.
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Philadelphians are taking stock of damage after record-high floodwaters caused by Hurricane Ida filled their homes and businesses. Northwest Philly's Manayunk neighborhood was hit especially hard.