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Retired Kentucky miner delivers POWER+ resolutions to Congressman Hal Rogers

Carl Shoupe on February 2, 2016 in New Energy and Transition, Just Transition, Congress

Carl Shoupe, a retired UMWA coal miner in Harlan County, Kentucky, mailed a letter to Congressman Hal Rogers today encouraging him to push the POWER+ Plan through Congress in 2016. The letter was accompanied by copies of the 14 resolutions that local governments and organizations have passed in Rogers' 5th District supporting the POWER+ Plan.

Carl serves on the Benham Power Board, one of the 14 Kentucky localities that have passed POWER+ support resolutions. Read Carl's letter here:

Dear Congressman Rogers,

Chase Gladson and Carl Shoupe

My name is Carl Shoupe and I am a retired, third-generation coal miner and a member of the Benham Power Board, which passed a resolution in support of the POWER+ plan last year. The Benham Power Board and the Benham City Council, along with 12 other local governments and organizations in the 5th District in Kentucky, and 14 more throughout the Central Appalachian region passed these resolutions to demonstrate our commitment to building a bright future here in our beautiful mountains as the coal industry continues to decline. We believe the investments from the federal government that the POWER+ Plan calls for would be an important component of helping our struggling region transition to a new, strong economy good for all eastern Kentuckians.

I am writing to share with you the resolutions that have passed in the 5th District, the list of resolutions from other areas, and to ask you to pass POWER+ through Congress this year.

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Jefferson County members attend Environmental Justice Summits

Aaron Pardieu on February 2, 2016 in Coal and Water, New Energy and Transition, Just Transition, , Sustainable Energy, Jefferson County, Air Quality, , Climate Justice, , Empower Kentucky

January is a time to not only look forward to the new year but to also reflect on the successes and failures of the previous twelve months. While it is easy to get hung up on our mistakes and failures,  it is also important to celebrate our personal successes, as well as those made by our neighbors and compatriots. During the past year, taking actions to address climate change has been in both national and global news. Representatives from nearly two-hundred countries met at the U.N. Climate Change Conference held in Paris, France in December to discuss and agree on ways to curb the detrimental effects of climate change. In August, President Obama and the EPA announced the Clean Power Plan – federal legislation that will commit state governments to reducing carbon emissions.

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10 Years of I Love Mountains Days

KFTC Staff on February 1, 2016 in Coal and Water, New Energy and Transition, Just Transition, , Communities Taking Action, , Enforcement, , Mountaintop Removal and Strip Mining, General Assembly, , I Love Mountains Day

I Love Mountains Day slideshow

KFTC and friends have had 10 years of great success with I Love Mountains Day, bringing thousands to the capital in February to let elected leaders know of our love for Kentucky’s people and mountains, our determination to stop their destruction, and our vision for Appalachia’s Bright Future. Last year KFTC leadership decided that the 2015 I Love Mountains Day would be our last.

Just as we tried over the decade to evolve the theme of I Love Mountains Day from one of just protest against mountaintop removal, valley fills and environmental destruction to one that also included value-based solutions like clean energy and economic justice for all, KFTC’s legislative strategy also has evolved.

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Economic benefits of clean energy described at hearing

KFTC staff on January 31, 2016 in New Energy and Transition, Just Transition, , Sustainable Energy, Air Quality, , Climate Justice, , General Assembly, , Water Quality

A Renewable and Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS) in Kentucky would create jobs, save money, improve public health and invigorate the economy members of the House Economic Development Committee

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Members push back on Governor's Budget

Kentuckians For The Commonwealth on January 27, 2016 in Coal and Water, Economic Justice, New Energy and Transition, Voting Rights, Just Transition, , Communities Taking Action, , Energy Democracy, , Tax Reform, State Budget

Members gathered all over the state, from Madison County to Whitesburg to Covington to Lexington, last night to watch, process, and come up with action plans to push for adequate funding for health

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NKY member hosts Tax Justice powerbuilding party

Kentuckians For The Commonwealth on January 13, 2016 in Economic Justice, Tax Reform, State Budget, , workshop

NKY member Serena Owen hosted a Tax Justice Powerbuilder party in Covington a few weeks ago, and we're just now getting the chance to show off some of the photos!

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KFTC members attend Equity Summit 2015

Tanya Torp & Jessica Bellamy on January 13, 2016 in Economic Justice, Central Kentucky, , Jefferson County, Leadership Development, , Racial Justice

Last October several KFTC members and staff traveled to Los Angeles, California for PolicyLink's Equity Summit 2015: All in for Inclusion, Justice, &amp

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‘Walk Your Block’ is Jefferson County's next Smoketown initiative

Ryan Fenwick on January 13, 2016 in Economic Justice, New Energy and Transition, Just Transition, Jefferson County, Empower Kentucky, , Housing, , Leadership Development, , Racial Justice, , We Are Kentuckians

A year after the Vision Smoketown survey report was released, largely the same Jefferson County Economic Justic

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We Are Kentuckians rally lifts up a vision for Kentucky

KFTC Staff on January 5, 2016 in Coal and Water, Economic Justice, New Energy and Transition, Voting Rights, Just Transition, , Communities Taking Action, , Former Felon Voices, , Kentucky Voting Rights Bill, , Mountaintop Removal and Strip Mining, , Restore your right to vote, , Sustainable Energy, , Tax Reform, General Assembly

KFTC Chairperson Dana Beasley Brown opened the first We Are Kentuckians rally in Frankfort by sharing a vision of healthy communities, good jobs, the best health care, fairness, racial justice and a healthy environment across Kentucky.

“Our collective voice is so important in this political landscape – the voice of real people. We’re churning our dreams – you and me – with people all over our commonwealth. And we have the solutions that can make them a reality,” Beasley Brown told the crowd of 200 gathered in the capitol rotunda on January 5, the first day of the 2016 General Assembly.

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Bevin’s Voting Rights action unnecessary, reverses positive steps forward

KFTC staff on December 23, 2015 in

Gov. Matt Bevin’s action Tuesday to take away automatic voting rights restoration to an estimated 150,000 Kentuckians was unnecessary and sets back progress toward a healthy democracy, KFTC leaders say.

“We’ve been working with Democratic and Republican House leaders for a permanent legislative solution to this issue for a decade,” said Dana Beasley Brown, chairperson of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth. “We’re glad that Gov. Bevin supports this approach. But until Republican leaders in the Senate stop blocking the needed legislation we need interim solutions like the executive action taken by Gov. Steve Beshear in November.”

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