Our blogs are written by the staff of the Center for Coalfield Justice, with an occasional guest post. The most recent post appears on top, and others show up below in order of publishing date. You can receive the blogs in your inbox by signing up for our mailing list. Once per month we publish a newsletter, which contains most of the blog posts.
Thanks to Everyone Who Made Our First MAD FACTS Meeting a Success!
Thank you to all of our community members who attended our first MAD FACTS – Moms and Dads: Family Awareness Cancer Threat Spike meeting at North Strabane Park on June 15th. The meeting was a great success and it wouldn’t have been possible without the concerned residents and impacted families who attended. It was an…
New Proposals Approved for Washington County Broadband initiative
Washington County officials are continuing their plan to increase broadband access in our communities. On Thursday, May 18th, the County Commissioners awarded funding to two more broadband projects. One of the projects will bring broadband to 695 residential and commercial targets in South Strabane and Amwell Townships. Verizon Pennsylvania LLC and Verizon North LLC will…
What is Environmental Justice, Anyway?
The term environmental justice gets thrown around a lot. President Biden talks about it, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has environmental justice policies, CCJ works on environmental justice issues, but what is it and how does it actually help people and communities? What is Environmental Justice? The environmental justice movement has its roots in…
Community Demands Accountability from EQT on Anniversary of Greene County Fracking Incident
Residents and supporters rally, call for action to support the community concerned about contaminated water wells Canonsburg, PA – Time and time again, EQT shows that they don’t care about the communities they operate in. Since the corporation’s pollution incident last year, an entire community’s water supply has been at risk of being unusable due…
Black History in the Coalfields
“Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history” – Carter G. Woodson The African American experience has largely been excluded in the telling of stories of Appalachia and the coal miners that fueled our country, but it is an important…
North Carolina Supreme Court Opens up a Path for a Potential Threat to Democracy
On June 30th of last year, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that could affect congressional redistricting nationwide. This case seeks to answer an important question: Should any state court be allowed to draw federal congressional districts? The case Moore v. Harper will address North Carolina’s congressional map. The state Supreme…
May 2023 Newsletter
May 2023 Coalfield Review Read our monthly e-newsletter, which will update you on our work, current action items, and upcoming events. Kids Fishing Day 2023 Our third annual Free Kids Fishing Day at Dutch Fork Lake was a huge success! We had more attendees than ever and handed out free fishing poles, bait, and lures to kids…
We Had a Record Number of Kids for Free Fishing Day at Dutch Fork Lake!
Our third annual Free Kids Fishing Day at Dutch Fork Lake on Sunday, May 28th was a huge success! We had about 120 attendees – including 70 kids – and handed out free fishing poles, bait, and lures to kids ages 3 to 17. “It’s been so great to see this event grow from a…
HB 847 Hopes to Address Two Election Concerns, Making the Process Easier for Voters and the Counties
A bill with potential to address election concerns has made it through the State Government Committee and has been laid on the table of the House of Representatives. HB 847, introduced by Centre County Representative Scott Conklin, would amend the state election code to allow counties seven days prior to Election Day to pre-canvass mail-in…
The Second Project in the Third Phase of the Washington County Broadband Initiative has been Awarded
We are currently in phase three of the initiative to bring broadband services to underserved communities all over Washington County, and the second project, which will extend broadband services to approximately 680 rural homes and businesses in Hanover Township and Burgettstown has been awarded to Comcast. In total this project will cost $8.1 million and…