Home

THE LATEST NEWS

Sign up for our free email newsletters

SIGN UP
The U.S. Forest Service has proposed rescinding the “roadless rule,” a protection that limits logging, roadbuilding and other development across 59 million acres of national forest land. In Southwest Virginia, about a fifth of Jefferson National Forest is designated roadless; George Washington National Forest is about a quarter. Those areas include the 18,000-acre Bear Creek tract, where the Appalachian Trail runs, and Lewis Fork Addition, where brook trout breed. Advocates say the protections help safeguard wildlife habitat, drinking water and outdoor recreation. Opponents argue that removing the rule could expand logging and improve wildfire management. The proposal drew more than 1 million public comments before the comment period closed in October. A Sierra Club analysis found that the vast majority supported keeping the rule. The Forest Service must review the comments and prepare a finalized environmental analysis. For Abingdon hiker Donna Barkley, the stakes are personal: she fears clear-cutting could scar the mountain views that make the region’s trails a place of escape. A new Frontline documentary returns to a story Howard Berkes first reported years ago: black lung disease among coal miners in central Appalachia. In “Coal’s Human Cost,” the longtime NPR reporter reconnects with Ron Carson, former director of Stone Mountain Health Services, whose clinics provide black lung programs in Southwest Virginia. Their conversation echoes one from 2018. “For us to be sitting here, discussing what we’re talking about over the past eight years, and nothing’s been done … it’s horrifying,” Carson says. The film examines the regulatory failures behind an escalating toll, as miners continue to be exposed to silica dust while cutting thinner coal seams. A study released in August found that one in three miners with at least 25 years of underground work tested positive for black lung in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia. That rate is nearly 12 percentage points higher than when Berkes reported on the issue in 2018 — and the highest among central Appalachia’s working miners since the 1970s. He didn’t want to lose the sound of home. 🎶 The Buchanan County Board of Supervisors voted 6-1 to ask the Appalachian School of Law to return a $3.4 million appropriation it approved in February. Supervisors Tim Hess and Jeff Cooper said fellow supervisor Trey Adkins told the board the school appeared to be in better financial health than officials had initially been led to believe. Adkins said circumstances had changed and cited “reckless spending.” But the agreement governing the appropriation contains no mechanism for the county to demand the money back. The law school’s president and dean, David Western, said the county was never misled and had long had access to the school’s financial information. The dispute comes as the Grundy law school considers a possible merger with the University of Pikeville in Kentucky, after years of financial challenges. A developer is interested in about 200 acres of government-owned land near Marion. What the company wants to build — and who it is — remain unanswered questions. Residents began voicing concerns after seeing machinery on a hillside near the property, followed by what one neighbor described as noise testing. At a Nov. 2 town meeting, Joe Naff asked council members to confirm the project was not a data center. “If the council can just tell me that it is not a data center, I will back down,” he said. No one replied. Marion says the land is in a due-diligence phase and that the developer has not decided whether to pursue the site. The town has explored other possible uses over the years, including housing, truck stops, distribution centers and manufacturing. The property sits just beyond Marion’s northeastern limits, in Smyth County, where a data center proposal would need county approval. A special-exceptions permit is required for data center developments under an ordinance passed in September. For now, the project’s purpose remains unknown.

Follow us!

Do you have a news tip or story idea? Send us your tip anonymously by clicking on the “Submit A Tip” button.

Submit A Tip

A special thanks to our Cornerstone Partners

Organizations who give $10K or more per year

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Verify your email

We'll send a verification code to .

Gift this article