Democratic leaders in
Congress have drafted new mine safety legislation this week. The authors say
it's meant to prevent disasters like the deadly explosion at Performance Coal's (pictured) Upper Big
Branch mine in April. Mine safety advocates think the
legislation is a step in the right direction.
A new project at a landfill
in West Virginia aims to capture the methane generated from decomposing garbage and turn
it into electricity. Visit the Charleston
landfill to see how it works. (Photo by Erica Peterson)
To commemorate the
centennial of the Capitol building in Frankfort, Kentucky
Public Radio is profiling the commonwealth’s noted political figures. In the 218 years since Kentucky
was granted statehood, 61 individuals have served as governor of
the Commonwealth. All were men, except one - Martha Layne Collins
President Barack Obama and
Vice President Joe Biden attended a memorial service at West Virginia’s
state Capitol on Friday for West Virginia Senator Robert C. Byrd. Byrd (pictured with his beloved wife Erma) passed away peacefully at a Washington, D.C.-area hospital early Monday morning at the age of 92. We take this look at Senator Byrd's long and sometimes controversial career. He served in the House of Representatives for five years and the U.S. Senate for 51, making him the longest serving member in the history of the Congress.
After
Senator Byrd’s death on Monday, we were sent a song from the southern California band I See Hawks in L.A. - “Byrd
from West Virginia.” But there’s no need to listen to a song about
Robert Byrd because Robert Byrd himself was an accomplished mountain fiddle
player. In 1978, he recorded an album
“Mountain Fiddler” and we’re closing our
program this week with selections from that album which is being released on
CD. Senator Byrd introduces the songs
himself.