Trump makes more appointments
Three more foxes for the hen house
Earlier this month I highlighted Trump's appointment of a former coal company president whose company had a history of mine safety violations to head the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Rather than an isolated incident -- this decision appears to be a part of a deliberate policy. Here are some additional appointments I . . .
Intelligencer buries West Virginia campaign fraud story with local/state implications on the obituary page
Not much to see here
If you look for it, you can find a skeleton of a story on page 2 of yesterday’s Wheeling Intelligencer in the last column right below “Funerals Today."1 It’s a three paragraph AP report and the headline reads:
Businessman Accused of Campaign Fraud
The AP story:
. . .
Will she fold again on supporting health care for West Virginians?
Senator Capito gets another chance to support the citizens of her state
If you’ve been following the news, you know that the Republicans may soon try to replace Obamacare with yet another plan. West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito, who voted for the last replacement attempt, once again may be a critical vote. For Capito, this one should be no-brainer for an obvious reason: money for opioid treatment. Capito . . .
Posted in: shelley moore capitotrumpcare
The Wheeling papers frame automation as “helping coal worker productivity”
Of course it has nothing to do with job loss; that’s always Obama’s fault
Today’s Wheeling "newspapers" have a front page article, “Technology Helping Coal Worker Productivity in the Ohio Valley”, which looks to have grown out of a Murray Energy PR release. While it appears that the article is about improved worker productivity, it demonstrates what increased mechanization is (and has been) doing to the . . .
Posted in: automationit's all obama's faultwar on coal
Rep. McKinley votes to cut coal safety enforcement budget (with 9/16 update)
Why is the congressman ignoring his own vote?
The vote
Here’s the headline on this morning’s front page of the Charleston Gazette-Mail:
W.Va Reps. Vote to Cut MSHA Funds
And here’s the subheading:
Congressmen, all Republicans, cite ‘rightsizing’ mine safety amid coal industry’s decline
Ken Ward, Jr. reports:
. . .
I’m sure it’s just a coincidence
Mining execs to meet at Trump hotel where rooms will be $800+ a night
The headline from yesterday’s Intercept:
After Massive Giveaways To Industry, Mining Executives Will Spend Big at Trump's D.C. Hotel
The article explains:
THE CHIEF EXECUTIVES of some of the largest coal and mining companies in the country have chosen the Trump International Hotel in Washington, . . .
Posted in: coaldavid mckinleytrump administration
A tale of two coal-country newspaper editorials
The Wheeling News-Register and the Lexington Herald-Leader tackle the Trump administration’s decision to end the mountaintop mining study
On Tuesday, I blogged about the Trump administration’s decision to end a major study of the health effects of mountaintop mining. Today, despite not covering the original story, the Wheeling New-Register editorialized about that decision. Before doing so, however, the editorial spent the first two paragraphs attacking Obama even though it was . . .
