There's this anyway

Times are hard in WV and especially in the coalfields. I wish the Obama administration had gotten onto the case a few years back, even for cynical political reasons. But there's this news anyway about some federal help for economic transition in Appalachia.

Then there's this: the Our Children Our Future campaign to end child poverty in WV just completed a pretty major voter drive. Here's a link to the story and the guide.

Finally, I guess it's not all bad news for coal miners (the ones who are working, anyway).

This could get interesting in all kinds of ways

The WV legislature spent a lot of time this session on...stuff. Some things it didn't get around to were minor items the state budget and the looming funding crisis of the Public Employees Health Insurance Agency, which provides health care to over 230,000 West Virginians.

Prior to the session, "draconian" cuts were planned, although it was hoped that some kind of fix would be worked out in the session. However, other urgent priorities, such as mucking with the constitution, making it easier for angry white men to carry concealed weapons, and the terrors of gayness took precedence.

Now, the cuts are back on the agenda. This is a loaded political issue that could echo through November if it doesn't get fixed.

On a more positive note, the Our Children Our Future campaign is urging political candidates to make kids' well-being a top priority.

Such a long day

If I had to come up with a title for a story about the WV legislature today, it would be something like "Beyond Whack."

Among the reasons for this was a public hearing on the Some PeopleReally Hate and are Scared of Gays Act Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which is mostly about protecting the rights of people who hate gays to hate gays in the name of religion.

Before that was another public hearing on proposed right-to-work-for-less legislation at which I spoke against the legislation. It's always nice to hear from out of state billionaire-funded groups talk ****. It was clearly and "all hands on deck" command performance for the various representatives of WV's colonial overlords.

It would be hard to say whether screwing over workers or the politics of cultural jihad are the top priorities this session, but WV would be better off without either.

On the bright side, several hundred people of all ages attended Kids and Families Day at the capitol and tried to support a positive agenda.

I'd really like for all this to be a bad dream from which I will soon awaken.

Gearing up for next year

The Our Children Our Future campaign to end child poverty in WV has had quite a string of victories in WV over the last three years under widely varying political settings. Each year, the campaign votes on its top ten issues. Metro News reports on the new platform here.

This year over 2600 people connected with the campaign voted on the issues. Here's a list of the current platform in order of the votes received:

1. Mental Health Matters

2. Protecting Quality Child Care Centers

3. Right to Work is Wrong

4. Second Chance for Employment

5. Tax Reform to Protect Roads, Children, Seniors, and Jobs

6. Juvenile Justice: Redirect and Reinvest

7. Stop Meth Labs

8. Increasing Local Food Access & Profitability

9. Afterschool for All!

10. Expand Broadband Access

You can read more about the issues here.

A year later

This past Friday (Jan. 9) marked the one year anniversary of the Freedom Industries chemical spill that poisoned the water of 300,000 West Virginians. There's been a lot of coverage of events and ideas about the spill, but if you have a few minutes, listen to WV Public Radio's segment on the topic on Inside Appalachia.

TO HELL WITH...If any good things can be said to have come out of the chemical mess, this essay by WV Wesleyan's Eric Waggoner has to be one of them.

GEARING UP FOR 50 DAYS OF? Here's an op-ed by yours truly on the prospects for fighting child poverty in the coming legislative session.

Laying it out

Earlier this week, I had the chance to participate in a press conference held by Our Children Our Future, the campaign to end child poverty in West Virginia. At the conference, we laid out our legislative goals for the coming year.

Among the top five priorities are:

*securing funding for key family support programs. Over the last few years, funding for these has been cut and then restored after a major hassle. We're hoping for a better solution this time.

*expanding access to early childhood education. A little invested here can yield and save a lot down the road.

*reforming WV's juvenile justice system. I mean really, how much sense does it make to lock up truants at a cost of over $100,000 per year compared to dealing with the problem in the community.

*protecting Medicaid and CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) at the state and federal level and expanding access to mental health coverage.

*protecting WV's drinking water. Despite last year's Freedom Industries chemical spill that poisoned the water of 300,000 West Virginians, some in the legislature want to gut last year's water safety bill. We are not amused.

It's going to be a changed landscape next year politically, but we're hoping to find bipartisan support for these key issues.

You can read more here, here, and here.

Blog neglect

If blog neglect was a crime like child neglect, I would be in big trouble. I do have an excuse though. This week I've been consumed with the Our Children Our Future Campaign to End Child Poverty in WV's highly successful policy symposium.

In lieu of a real post, check it out here.

Two good and one bad and creepy

El Cabrero has been trying to focus whenever possible on positive things in WV. One such example is the effort to make sure that kid not in school can enjoy good nutrition. Another is the effort to build a grassroots and grasstops ground game to fight child poverty in the state.

AS FOR THE CREEPY, check out this New Yorker article about how the private corrections industry has taken vampirism to a new level. Not in a good way.

A ground game

I'm in the midst of traipsing up, down and across the state of West Virginia these days going to and presenting at a series of regional policy workshops organized by the Our Children Our Future Campaign to End Child Poverty in West Virginia. Over the last two years, our campaign has won quite a few victories, which just leaves us hungry for more.

Here's some coverage of the campaign and policy workshops by WV Public Broadcasting. If you take a look, you'll notice that the campaign got some pretty powerful endorsements from state Senate President Jeff Kessler and House Speaker Tim Miley, both of whom have been champions on many of our issues.

In a nutshell, the campaign tries to work on winnable issues that are impactful and engage those families most affected by the policies in question. It's nice to be  part of an effort to build a statewide ground game that can make its presence felt as needed any time, whether at the capitol or in the community. But it does require that you put in the time. And the miles.

The big three

Yesterday, I took a visiting friend and co-worker to see some of my favorite parts of the state, which are around the New River Gorge area. (It seems like the only time I get there is when I'm doing that.) It struck me once again that the three necessary elements of any self-respecting WV scene is the obligatory combination of mountain, river and railroad track. I think of them as the Appalachian trinity.

MAKING  A SPLASH. Several legislators got an earful yesterday when members of the Our Children Our Future campaign to end child poverty in WV visited the capitol. Read more here.

BETTER OFF? Lots of people will be under the Affordable Care Act.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED