Black lung is still around and, in some cases, worse than ever. For a time, it seemed black lung was headed the way of smallpox and polio. When Congress passed the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, about 35 percent of coal miners with 25 or more years on the job were diagnosed with coal miners’ pneumoconiosis,…
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A WVU grad is rethinking the way wind turbines work. Imagine an oak tree up against hurricane-force winds. While it’s strong and sturdy, it’s also stiff and heavy, and powerful winds can knock it down. Now imagine a palm tree in a hurricane. Palm trees are light, flexible, and better able to move with the force of hurricane winds. This…
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Homer Hickam gives us a short tour of the Coalwood community. Coalwood isn’t much like the town immortalized in Homer Hickam’s books Rocket Boys, Sky of Stone, The Coalwood Way, and his latest, Carrying Albert Home. But there’s still plenty to see for fans of the beloved West Virginia author. Here, Hickam gives us a short tour. The Coalwood School “Although first…
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Common Core is dead. Long live Common Core. The meeting was largely uneventful. The West Virginia Board of Education met on December 17, as they do every month, at the State Capitol Complex, Building 6. During the period devoted to public comment several people stepped up to the podium to complain about recent decisions made by the state School Building…
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In Fairmont the Feast of the Seven Fishes Festival is a time for family, friends, and food. Written by Shay Maunz | Photographed by Carla Witt Ford Every Christmas Eve in America, Italian American grandmothers stand over the stove, stirring giant pots of fish stew. Uncles toss chunks of calamari into a deep pan filled with popping, sizzling oil. Aunts…
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