If you can't make it out to Frankfort tomorrow for I Love Mountains Day, you can still participate from the comfort of your own computer. We will be providing a live video feed from our Ustream account starting at around 12 p.m. EST. You'll be able to watch the feed on this page once we get started.
Just days before traveling back to Frankfort for the two upcoming months of General Assembly, new Senate Majority Whip Brandon Smith met up with KFTC members at the Perry County Library. This was one of several at-home meetings KFTC members organized this past week to open up communication during this General Assembly as well as to build support for the Clean Energy Opportunity Act. Members from Perry County, Harlan County, and Letcher County met with Sen. Smith about this legislative priority as well as the Kentucky Voting Rights Amendment (HB 70) and other local issues.
We are 10 days out from our annual I Love Mountains Day rally, and we are getting excited! Members are making Valentines cards,organizing buses, and hosting at-home events to get ready for the big day. Additionally, we have confirmed great line up of speakers for the rally including Kentucky author Silas House, KFTC leaders Elizabeth Sanders and Sue Tallichet, our Youth Essay Contestwinner, and more. Our rally will also feature music by one of our favorite bands, Sugar Tree!
If you haven't had been to I Love Mountains Day before, or you'd like a refresher on our bills and the logistics for the day, please join us for one of two informational webinars that we will be hosting this week. These quick webinars will give you a quick overview of our work in Frankfort and how you can plug in this year. The webinars will be held on Thursday evening at 7 p.m. and on Friday morning at 10 a.m.
The Central Kentucky chapter of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth had their monthly chapter meeting on January 17th at 7 p.m. with 24 members in attendance. The chapter meeting focused on a lobby training for members and an opportunity to meet the new Central Kentucky organizer Beth Howard. The lobby training focused on topics such as how a bill becomes a law, what grassroots citizen lobbying looks like, and what bills KFTC members will be actively suporting during the 2013 general assembly. Members also came together to make Valentine’s Day cards for Governor Steve Beshear to be delivered on I Love Mountains Day on February 14th. The valentines urge the governor to do more to protect Kentucky's air, water, mountains and communities.
In this thoughtful piece, author Jason Bailey explores some of the structural causes of widespread poverty in eastern Kentucky. He refers to a recent book, called Why Nations Fail, that tries to answer the basic question of why some places are rich and others poor.
Growing Appalachia is a day-long conference hosted by the Floyd County chapter with workshops from beginning organic gardening to do-it-yourself energy efficiency. This year's conference will be our 4th and is sure to be the best yet. Last year, attendees asked for food preservation workshops, so this year, our very own Beverly May is rolling up her sleeves and dragging out her canning jars.
The Hazard Herald published another strong editorial about what's needed to support economic diversification in eastern Kentucky. It states, "In 2011, the Mountain Association for Economic Development (MACED) released a report that urged leaders to form a trust fund from coal severance dollars that can be accessed later on for prioritized projects.
Kentucky often has been compared to Germany for solar potential. But Germany has charged ahead in developing that potential, employing about 100,000 in the industry. Now experts are predicting the slow times of the last couple of years are coming to an end – for Germany, at least.
We know that young Kentuckians care deeply about our mountains and mountain communities. This year, we want to make sure their voices are heard loud and clear at Kentuckians For The Commonwealth’s I Love Mountains Day at the state capitol.
