West Virginia Blue
The Best Blogging Community in West Virginia Democratic politics, progressive policies, the good life and free living in Wild, Wonderful West Virginia.
West Virginians have an important decision to make. What values do we hold most dear?
A few years back, when we picked an image to represent our state, what did we put on the state quarter? None other than Gauley Mountain behind New River Gorge and the New River Bridge.
This is a beautiful image of enduring beauty, symbolizing the natural wonders of our state, wild, wonderful West Virginia.
What do you value?
Do we relegate that view to the dustbin of history--thankful it was captured on countless quarters, post cards, and Kodak moments for posterity. Will we sacrifice yet another mountain top, yet another stream bed, yet another watershed to the Gods of commerce. Will we be listening from New River Bridge for the echoes of dynamite blasts, content in knowing the ever diminishing ridge line increases coal company profits.
If nothing changes, that's the path we are headed down.
Or, we can stand together, take action, and insist the coal under Gauley Mountain be mined the old-fashioned way, leaving the mountain intact, and digging underground to get it.
Take Action
If you're like most people, you think unfettered greed is bad for society. If you're like most people you think there society should place some bounds on corporate actions. If you are ready to to say this is one step too far, here's what you can do.
Naomi Smoot has a good story in the the Martinsburg Journal on that exotic land known as the Eastern Panhandle:
CHARLES TOWN - Coal might be king in other parts of West Virginia, but when it comes to the Eastern Panhandle, officials say tourism is top dog.
"It's our No. 1 industry in this county," said Paulette Sprinkle of the Jefferson County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
In 2006, the most recent year for which data was available, the tourism industry accounted for nearly 6,670 jobs in Jefferson County alone. That figure had more than doubled since 2001, according to a report compiled by Dean Runyan Associates, an economic analysis and market research firm based in Oregon.
In fact, employment in the tourism sector grew in all three counties during the period from 2000 to 2006. In Morgan County, tourism employment rose by 20 percent during that time. Gains in Berkeley County were smaller, the report showed.
And while those involved in the industry say they are not immune to the recent economic downturn, they note that tourism remains viable in the region.
Tourism could be a boon for the rest of the state too if we stopped blowing up the mountains.
The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope was featured in the Charlotte Observer travel section. Not political, but something to consider for a weekend getaway. Is it Monday already?
GILBERT — Eric Burgess realized early there was no future in the boom and bust cycles of West Virginia’s coal industry. Instead, the coal-truck-driver-turned-entrepreneur is pinning his success on miles of all-terrain vehicle trails that crisscross the state’s southern coalfields.
“I’m going for the guy with the Denali, pulling four or six ATVs, looking to get dirty but stay in a place he is used to,” says Burgess, who is set to start construction on a 30-suite hotel in this town of about 400 residents.
The trails are part of the Hatfield-McCoy system, a network of 550 miles of off-road trails for four-wheelers and motorcycles that was named after two infamous families who carried on a 12-year feud in the region. The idea behind the trail system was to attract tourists and increase business opportunities to nine economically depressed counties where coal and timber once reigned.
Two northern West Virginia counties with sluggish economies and strong cross-border competition for gamblers could vote early this summer on whether to allow poker, blackjack and other table games at racetrack casinos.
Ohio County is working with Wheeling Island Racetrack & Gaming Center to hold a special election by June 20, while Mountaineer Racetrack & Gaming Resort is aiming for a vote in Hancock County sometime after June 9.
Both tracks are in the Northern Panhandle, where thousands of steel jobs have been lost and little new industry is moving in. At the same time, the tracks are preparing to lose customers to the 61,000 slot machines coming online in Pennsylvania.
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