Ky. publishing technology pioneer Gibson dies

Funeral services will be held tomorrow in Monticello, Ky., for Jerry Gibson, who was known to publishers and editors across Kentucky because he probably helped half the state's newspapers install computers and other technology. "He maintained he had installed the first computer pagination and layout equipment in this part of the country," reports The Times Journal of Russell Springs, where he lived.

Gibson and Times Journal co-owner David Davenport founded the lakecumberland.com Web site, and Gibson "was the man behind the keyboard at wildcatsradio.com, which is known to many as the definitive University of Kentucky basketball Web site, and a moving force for years at the Star Theater," the weekly reports. His body was discovered after he did not update the site with UK's loss in the National Invitation Tournament. He was 57. (Read more)

Gibson co-founded weeklies in Monticello and Somerset. Stuart Simpson, who competed with him in their hometown and collaborated with him in Somerset, had this to say on the Kentucky Press Association blog: "He was a reporter, editor, photographer, graphic designer, historian, computer expert, magazine editor, salesman, author, Internet web designer, musician … the list could go on. A lot of the things he did, especially in communication technology, he recognized the importance of before most people, and he could do better than most people. Mostly self-taught, Jerry was a very, very smart guy. I learned a lot from him, as did anyone who had the opportunity to be around him. But Jerry just couldn’t sit still doing one thing for very long. There was always something more exciting, more challenging that he wanted to get involved with." Other commenters included this poster, whose professional newspaper career Jerry helped start. May his energy and wit be long remembered and emulated. (Read more)

Economic stress reduces the number of candidates for rural offices around Peoria

"Several ... Peoria-area municipalities, school boards, library and park boards are faced with the quandary of more openings than candidates to fill them" in the election on April 7, reports Karen McDonald of the Peoria Journal Star.

"It's more of the economy than anything," said Norwood Mayor Jim Yocum, who isn't running again. No one else is, either, or for two town trustee seats. "Both spouses these days have to work to make a living, and they just don't have time" to serve in public office, Yocum told McDonald. (Read more)

Rural district in New York votes Tue. for Congress

UPDATE, April 1: The race is too close to call, reports the Albany Times-Union.

There's a strong rural angle to Tuesday's special election in New York's 20th Congressional District, to fill the seat vacated by Democrat Kristen Gillibrand when Gov. David Paterson appointed her to the Senate. "The contest has undergone shifts in public opinion usually reserved for much longer campaigns, drawn national attention as an early test of Barack Obama’s economic stimulus program, involved prominent national political figures, and tested the conventional wisdom about the political makeup of the sprawling, ten-county congressional district," writes Don Moore of ccScoop, a news site for Columbia County. (NationalAtlas.gov map)

Republican Jim Tedisco, the state House minority leader, has been considered the favorite but "can’t quite seem to close the deal," Sean Reagan writes for The Back Forty, the blog of RuralVotes, a Democratic group. "Democrats have Tedisco on the defensive for not taking a stance on the stimulus bill in a district where President Obama and Gillibrand are very popular," writes Stu Rothenberg of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report. The Democrat is Scott Murphy of Glens Falls, manager of a small business investment firm. Libertarian is Eric Sundwall, chairman of his state party.

"The conventional wisdom about the 20th CD is that it is a majority Republican district," because Republicans outnumber Democrats more than 3 to 2, Moore writes. But the actual voter registration figures are "Republicans 41 percent, Democrats 26 percent, Independents 5 percent, Conservatives 2 percent, other minor parties and unaffiliated voters 26 percent." And Obama carried the district 53-47 in November. (Read more)

UPDATE, March 29: "The national Republican and Democratic parties have made it nothing less than a referendum on Obama's first two months in office, his economic agenda and his appeal," reports Keith Richburg of The Washington Post. "An opinion poll by Siena College's independent Siena Research Institute and the parties' internal polls show the contest a virtual toss-up. ... With turnout typically low for a special election, the outcome is likely to be determined by who can best get their supporters to the polls." (Read more)

Milk prices plummet, dairy farmers in deep crisis

After lifetime highs in 2007, raw milk prices have fallen by nearly half and farmers are struggling, Keith Good reports for Farm Policy.com. “Pennsylvania producers received about $11.50 per hundred pounds of milk in February, while production costs ranged from $15.50 to $18.50,” says the state’s Center for Dairy Excellence. Dan Piller writes for The Des Moines Register that “The American Milk Producers Federation says the average cost to produce milk in January exceeded the price of milk by 25 percent.”

“The number of dairy cows being sent to slaughter has risen by about 20 percent from last year, as desperate farmers cull their herds and sell at fire-sale prices,” Sue Kirchoff writes for USA Today. “Adding to the problem, banks are less willing or able to extend farmers’ loan payments amid the financial turmoil.” John Murawski reports for the News & Observer in Raleigh, "Several dozen dairy farms in North Carolina are expected to go under this year." (Read more)

A letter to President Obama from the National Milk Producers Federation warned that without more aggressive strategies, thousands of farms and jobs could be lost. “There are several reasons for the implosion: oversupply, falling export demand and continued high prices for supplies such as feed,” Kirchoff explained. “The dairy sector in the past has been less prone to huge price swings than other areas of agriculture, but that’s changing as the industry relies more on the markets and less on government programs.”

On Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack responded to the crisis. “The U.S. government will shift 200 million lbs. of nonfat dry milk surpluses to domestic feeding programs, helping low-income families and dairy farmers hit by high feed costs and low prices,” , Christopher Doering reported for Reuters. Read more.

USDA's action may have helped. "Daily Dairy Report notes that contracts for the second half of 2009 now average $16.00, up $2.31 from a month ago," notes Bob Meyer of Brownfield.

Marketer ‘will work for food,’ barters with farms

As Valerie Gates started seeing business decline at her marketing and design firm in Wellesley, Mass., she started reading books on eating locally and sustainably, and got an idea: Why not offer her marketing services to local farms in exchange for food?

The idea worked, and Gates has taken her "Will Work for Food" campaign national, offering services along a three-tiered pricing system that cover taxes which apply to bartering partnerships. At the same time, she's bridging the gap between rural and urban, partnering with inner-city teenagers to help promote the campaign with apparel bearing the name of the project.

Gates hopes to apply for grants and continue the project, writes Daphne Bishop for The Back Forty, the blog of RuralVotes, but she's still adjusting to the whirlwind new business she's created for herself. It's an odd journey for someone who says that until recently had "never eaten or cooked a turnip," but in it, she's found a new passion: "I also want to help make farming hip, to brand farming as a hip thing." (Read more)

Self-employment rises in depopulating rural areas

A Nebraska sociologist says self-employment is on the rise in rural areas, reflecting a new way of making a living that relies more on private contracting than traditional employer-employee relationships. Randy Cantrell of the University of Nebraska estimates that self-employment accounts for 18 percent to 30 percent of workers in the state's rural counties.

The annual poll of rural Nebraskans hasn't backed up Cantrell's numbers, writes Joan Ortiz of The Associated Press. "but he has a theory: The rural poll is asking the wrong question. In the past, people have been asked if they have a business. Cantrell realizes that may be leaving out those who still get a paycheck from their employers, but technically are private contractors. He used the example of inbound telemarketers, who he thinks can rightfully assert they have a business."

Cantrell says decreasing rural populations means that there are not enough people to support a multiple-person business, but the same services are still needed. This leads many to sub-contract work out to individuals, a trend which he says will only grow. He hopes to test his theory in this year's version of an annual poll he send to rural dwellers on work, well-being and policies. (Read more)

Farm Bureau asks Obama to restore program for Mexican trucks in U.S.

"In an effort to end trade sanctions against U.S. farm products by Mexico, the American Farm Bureau Federation sent a letter today to President Barack Obama seeking quick development and implementation of a cross-border trucking program that would comply with U.S. obligations under the North American Free Trade Agreement," AFBF says on its Web site.

The program was suspended as part of a recent spending bill. "This action by Congress has come at a cost to U.S. agriculture and our exports to one of our top markets,” AFBF President Bob Stallman said. "We urge you to find a resolution that will honor our obligations under NAFTA, eliminating any cause for Mexico to halt U.S. trade."

"Under the terms of NAFTA, the U.S. and Mexico each agreed to allow trucks from the other nation access into their countries," adds the AFBF. "Unfortunately, the U.S. maintained its restriction on Mexican trucks crossing the border even after NAFTA implementation began." (Read more)

Now that the pilot program has been eliminated, the U.S. finds itself out of compliance with its obligations under NAFTA. Under the treaty, "Mexico has the right to retaliate against U.S. products entering Mexico, and it has done so,” Stallman said. “This retaliation will affect hundreds of millions of dollars worth of fruit, vegetable, nut, juice, wine, processed foods and oilcake exports to Mexico.”

Report on militia groups as potential terrorists triggers national backlash

The Missouri Information Analysis Center, "which opened in 2005, is a 'fusion center' that combines resources from the federal Department of Homeland Security and other agencies," writes T.J. Greaney of the Columbia Daily Tribune. "It was set up to collect local intelligence to better combat terrorism and other criminal activity." But a report issued to law enforcement officers about militia groups has created a national backlash.

"The report gained national attention in recent weeks after it was leaked to the public," reports Greaney. "Portions of the report say that members of third-party political groups or supporters of third-party presidential candidates might be terrorists." Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder "expressed outrage at the report, saying there was no mention of radical environmental groups or radical religious groups other than Christians." It appears that the report took a narrow view of who should be considered a terrorist and who should not. (Read more)

Environmentalist funds cause by racing stock cars

Leilani Munter maybe the epitome of an enigma. "In a sport of barbecue-loving good 'ol boys, she's a self-described 'vegetarian hippie-chick race car driver'," writes Jim Morrill of The Charlotte Observer. Her sister is even married to a member of The Greatful Dead. But Munter believes she is in a unique position to further the environmental cause with race fans, a group that is not considered the biggest fans of green energy.

"If I were another biology graduate from California, a composting, recycling, tree-hugging, very hippie chick trying to change their light bulb, they wouldn’t give me the time of day," Munter says. "The only way I have their attention is because I have a racing suit on and race car underneath me."

"For every race, she buys an acre of rain forest through the National Wildlife Federation to offset her carbon emissions," Morrill reports. There are signs that NASCAR maybe following suit. It has hired its first director for its new "Green Initiative." Other attempts to make racing more environmentally friendly include the decision by IndyCar to switch all racers to ethanol-based fuel, and some sponsors are offsetting drivers carbon emissions with investments in solar energy and wind farms. (Read more)

Wild bees may hold the key to future pollination

"Honeybees across the country are dying by the millions due to colony collapse disorder and other environmental factors, causing many growers of fruits, nuts and vegetables to wonder how their future crops will be pollinated," reports the Environmental News Service. "A study released today shows that wild bees, which are not affected by the deadly disorder, may become a pollination alternative."

The study was conducted by Julianna Tuell and and Rufus Isaacs of Michigan State University and John Ascher of the American Museum of Natural History on blueberry farms in Michigan. "Using traps and direct observation, the researchers identified 166 bee species, 112 of which were active during the blueberry blooming period," writes ENS.

Other potential fruits that are visited by many of the bees in the study are cherries, apples, and cranberries. By supporting habitats for wild bees farmers may be able to avoid the disastrous effects of dwindling honeybee populations. (Read more)

Big drop in donations threatens mobile dental clinics in rural Northwest

Throughout Oregon and parts of Washington, poor rural residents get free dental care in four vans provided by Medical Teams International's larger mission to provide free care in areas that need it across the globe. But the Christian organization's donations are down -- December saw a 30 percent drop -- and their mobile clinics are in danger of being pulled off the road, reports Sheila Hagar in an article for the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.

MTI is no longer able to subsidize the full cost of the vans, "Rural areas have fewer organizations to approach for financial help, and many of the sites that host the dental van have not been accustomed to paying a supportive 'site fee,' as a way of partnering the effort," Hagar writes. MTI's Steve Vickers told her, “If we gave everyone a bill (for services), it comes to $5.8 million a year. But it costs us $1.2 million to deliver that care. If they give us a dollar, we turn it into $5 of dental care.” (Read more)

Corps OKs Ky. mountaintop-removal mine permit, asserting itself in Appalachian fight with EPA

"U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials on Wednesday escalated a fight with the Environmental Protection Agency over the regulation of mountaintop removal coal mining," by reinstating "a permit that had previously been suspended after environmental groups sued in federal court to stop it," reports Ken Ward Jr. of The Charleston Gazette. The Corps acted on the Kentucky permit without consulting EPA, reports Jim Bruggers of The Courier-Journal in Louisville.

This week, EPA objected to two applications before the Corps for mountaintop mines in Kentucky and West Virginia, and signaled that it would give about 200 other such applications a more critical review than it did under the Bush administration. The Courier-Journal op-ed page today has an article by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. saying "President Obama has signaled his intention to save this region."

But Tim Huber of The Associated Press reports that EPA "has struck a note of economic fear in Appalachia." Some of that could have come from initial news reports of a "crackdown" and irresponsible, online headlines such as "Obama administration halts mountaintop removal." Ward writes in his Coal Tattoo blog, "Around the country, through the magic of the blogosphere — at The Huffington Post to be more specific — there’s a completely different discussion going on." He praises a post by Matt Wasson, interim director of the environmental group Appalachian Voices, which notes the importance of "fairly high paying jobs" at Appalachian mines.

The story should be a local one for every news outlet in the mountaintop-removal region of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The Post in Big Stone Gap, Va., has a report in which Jeff Lester says the news "elated environmental activists and panicked coal companies who fear it will stall hundreds of pending mine permits. But speculation about EPA’s actions is wildly overblown, the agency said." (Read more; subscription required)

The EPA move affects not only mountaintop-removal mining, but any mining that uses valley fills. Don Hopey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that EPA has asked for more information on "a Consol Coal Co. proposal to bury almost five miles of streams and six acres of wetlands in Greene County under more than 90 million cubic yards of coal waste rock." (Read more)

Rural legislator takes conservatism, 'unpolished style' into race for governor of suburbanizing Va.

Bath County, Virginia, on the Eastern Continental Divide and the West Virginia border, is so small and isolated it doesn't even have its own newspaper. Can it produce a governor in a state where suburban voters have become dominant? The campaign of Democratic state Sen. R. Creigh (pronounced "Kree") Deeds will answer that question. All the other candidates are from heavily suburbanized Northern Virginia.

"The bedrock values and unquestioned traditions of rural Virginia can also clash with those in more urban and cosmopolitan regions," writes Fredrick Kunkle of The Washington Post. "Although Deeds has championed abortion rights and environmental causes, he also opposed the ban on buying more than one handgun a month. And he voted at least five times for a state constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage and civil unions, which he later said he regretted." Kunkle also notes Deeds' "unpolished style" contrasts with those of Democratic primary opponents Terry McAuliffe and Brian Moran.

For an independent take on Deeds, Kunkle consulted our friend Anne Adams, publisher of The Recorder in Highland County, which is the local weekly for Bath County. "When you grow up in a small town, you can't afford to make enemies. You volunteer. You go everywhere with a covered dish," she told Kunkel, who wrote: "She said those habits come through in Deeds's earnest style, but so does the sense that Deeds sometimes seems ill at ease on the campaign trail talking about himself and his accomplishments." Adams said, "Here, if you were that kind of cocky, they'd say, 'You're spreading yourself'." (Read more)

USDA urges farmers to generate 'green power'

A recent workshop by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Energy for America Program in Salt Lake City encouraged small business owners and farmers to generate their own “green power,” Jasen Lee reports for the Deseret News.

Perry Mathews, the business and cooperative program director for USDA Rural Development, told Lee that REAP can combine grants and loans to help farmers and rural businesses buyand install renewable energy systems. Environmentally conscious designs such as wind turbines, solar panels, geothermal, micro-hydro or biomass systems all add up to a better bottom line for owners.

"The administration feels that it's very important, from President Barack Obama to [Agriculture] Secretary [Tom] Vilsack,” Jeff Jobe, national cooperative field advisor for Rural Development, told the Deseret News. Lee reports that money is available on a competitive basis for communities with populations of less than 50,000.

An important angle is the ability to make the most of current resources. William Chatwin, energy efficiency coordinator for the Utah State Energy Program, said people can "multiply the benefits" of producing clean, renewable energy as they improve efficiency, with measures such as taking advantage of water running downhill as an additional source of electricity. Read more here.

EPA starts aggressive review of permit applications for mountaintop-removal strip mining of coal

As reported here the Obama Administration has promised to take a stance on the practice of mountaintop removal. Monday, the president told Jim Carroll of The Courier-Journal, "The environmental consequences of the runoff from some of these mountains can just be horrendous." Yesterday, the Environmental Protection Agency released letters it had sent Monday to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, voicing major concerns about permit applications for three mines, two in West Virginia, the other in Eastern Kentucky. EPA's actions were a clear indication of a policy change, Tom FitzGerald, executive director of the Kentucky Resources Council, told Andy Mead of the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Bill Caylor, president of the Kentucky Coal Association, told the paper that the new bar the EPA appears to be setting could affect all surface mining, not just mountaintop-removal operations. Adding, "If that happens, he said, it could put 6,000 Eastern Kentucky miners out of work, creating a ripple effect that could mean the loss of 23,000 more jobs in an economy that already is suffering." Mead says the announcement doesn't mean an end to mountaintop removal or other surface mining, but could mean that the practice will have to be conducted in the most environmentally sound manner possible: "What is needed now, FitzGerald added, is a new director of the federal Office of Surface Mining who "gets up every day and says 'How can we do what Congress intended to do? How can we fully protect the rights of people downstream and downhill?' " (Read more)

The move spurred West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin to go to Washington to meet with EPA officials. As reported by Ken Ward Jr. of The Charleston Gazette, Manchin said he was expediting a meeting between the coal companies and EPA. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear said he is seeking clarification from EPA about the process. "Those permits should be reviewed in a timely manner, regardless of the outcome of any one application for mining," he said. "Our goal in Kentucky is to continue the responsible mining of coal in a way that protects safety and the environment, while also preserving and creating jobs in a region desperately in need of them." Both governors are Democrats. The United Mine Workers of America, which also supported Obama for president, said it was also seeking clarification from EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.

EPA does not issue strip-mine or Clean Water Act permits, but is supposed to review applications for the latter to determine whether the act is being obeyed. In the West Virginia case, EPA recommends denial of the permit and calls for "A detailed Environmental Impact Statement — a position environmentalists have been advocating for years, but which U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers rejected," Ward notes. "But in the other case, EPA officials offer more watered-down criticism, and suggest much easier ways for mining to move forward." For EPA's letters on the West Virginia mines, in the Coal River and Guayndotte River watersheds, click here and here. For the letter on the Kentucky mine, which would extract 7.3 million tons of coal and permanently affect more than three and a half miles of streams in the Big Sandy River watershed in Pike County, click here. For background from EPA on mountaintop mining, click here.

UPDATE: EPA stopped the Corps from issuing the Kentucky permit April 28.

Feds look at use of antibiotics at ethanol plants

An already struggling ethanol industry could be dealt another blow over its use of antibiotics to prevent bacteria from ruining batches of the product. The grain used in distillation is sold to farmers as cheap feed for their cattle, and as fears over antibiotic-resistant bacteria rise there is concern about that "super-bugs" could spread and that the antibiotics could enter the human food chain.

"Ethanol producers use penicillin and a popular antibiotic called virginiamycin to kill bacteria," reports Mark Steil of Minnesota Public Radio. And some of the concerns over the use of those antibiotics appear to be valid. Mark von Keitz, with the University of Minnesota's Biotechnology Institute, discovered antibiotic-resistant bacteria at four midwest ethanol plants several years ago. "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has taken a mostly a hands-off approach to the use of antibiotics in the ethanol industry," adds Steil. "But amid increasing concerns over food safety in recent years, the agency is taking a closer look." If the federal government decides to limit or stop the sale of distilled grain, it would hurt both the ethanol and livestock industries. (Read more)

Archie Green, who died last week, documented the culture of work, especially rural

Archie Green, who passed away March 22, studied and promoted the lives of working people in America. "For five decades he studied hillbilly music and pile-drivers’ tales," writes Julie Ardery of the Daily Yonder, who worked with Green. "He made inventories of 'tin men' – the showpieces of sheet metal workers -- and analyzed sailors’ slang. He recorded songs by millworkers and miners’ wives." (Photo by Jerry Telfer, San Francisco Chronicle)

Green worked until near the end of his life, writing articles and publishing books, which included Only a Miner, a study of coal-mining music. His lobbying of Congress lead to the creation of the National Folklife Center and inspired others to "join him in documenting the culture of working people," adds Ardery. “Many of us owe him a huge debt,” wrote filmmaker Mimi Pickering, of Appalshop in Whitesburg, Ky. “We will not see the likes of him again.” (Read more)

Ky. to use tobacco-settlement funds to help farmers be more efficient in use of energy

The Kentucky Agricultural Development Board has announced a new investment area, aimed at helping farmers go green. The On-Farm Energy Efficiency & Production program will support energy-efficient farming, with the goal that lower energy use will result in greater profits for farmers.

“Over the last several years, energy, reducing usage, and developing alternative sources have become critical issues for Kentucky agriculture,” Roger Thomas, director of the Governor's Office of Agricultural Policy, which staffs the board, said in a release. “The on-farm energy investment area will provide Kentucky’s farmers with the opportunity to make changes to their operations that will improve their profit and reduce agriculture’s impact on energy consumption.” (Read more)

The board makes grants and loans to improve the agricultural economy, with money from the state's share of the national tobacco settlement. The state legislature allocated 50 percent of the state's settlement money to improvement of the agricultural economy.

State, electric co-op and local money fund plan for beef processing plant in southeastern Kentucky

A rural Kentucky county on the Tennessee border may be home to a new $110 million beef processing plant, with the state, a local group and a rural electric cooperative putting $260,000 into the planning process. The industrial development board in McCreary County, population 17,000, says the money from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board is an important first step toward building the plant, which would produce beef jerky, pork rinds, and other meat-based snacks, and would create around 750 jobs for the area.

Kentucky is the No. 1 cattle-producing state east of the Mississippi, but has no specialized beef processing plant. Tennessee also is a relatively large cattle state. "We have this large cattle population, but truck them out west" for finishing and slaughter, Bennie Garland, community development specialist for the South Kentucky Rural Electric Cooperative Corp., told the McCreary County Voice. "So it makes sense to look at development of this type of facility in our area. In my opinion, this is one of the best investments the Kentucky Agricultural Board could have made using tobacco funds to strengthen the diversity of our agricultural economy." The board spends the 50 percent of national tobacco-settlement funds that the legislature has allocated for building the state's agricultural economy.

The electric co-op amd the McCreary County Industrial Development Authority each put $65,000 into the plan to match the state money, Andrew Powell reports for the Voice. The county has already conducted a feasibility study on the project, which provided guidance for the type of processing plant that was most likely to be successful. (Read more)

As states close prisons, small towns feel effects, but experts dispute the economic ramifications

Several states are closing prisons to fight budget deficits, a gtrend that has many small communities worried about the impact if their prisons are shuttered. Many small towns have come to rely on jobs created by prisons, but as Keith Richburg of The Washington Post points out, "With most governors and legislatures grappling with crushing budget deficits, what's good for rural economies is often proving bad for states."

Richburg focuses on Norwich, N.Y., where Camp Pharsalia is one of the four prisons Gov. David Paterson has recommended shutting in a proposal that would save an estimated $26 million a year. Mayor Joseph P. Maiurano says the cost would be high for the already-struggling community: not only could it lose almost 60 families who would have to move to work in other prison, but about 40 local businesses would lose procurement funds. Inmate work also helps approximately 50 local organizations. And that's not even counting the indirect effect the prison has on the community. Some worry that without the large mail volume provided by the prison, the post office would close tool. "I thought we were trying to save jobs," said Paul Lashway, a Camp Pharsalia prison guard and steward for the local prison officers' union. "Here, they're trying to take 'em."

Others say that towns overestimate the economic boost offered by prisons. Gregory Hooks, a sociologist who has studied the economics of prisons, says inmate labor reduces the number of low-paying manual jobs, makes the community less attractive for tourism and other industries, and creates a limited number of long-term jobs, making the community dependent on the prison. "If you look at the poorest counties, the impact is negative," he said. "If you put a prison in a struggling county, they get worse, not better." (Read more)

For first time, they say, feds shut down production at a coal mine because it hasn't paid civil penalties

We reported here last week that Double A Mining was one of 15 mines that were under threat of being shut by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration because of repeated safety violations and unpaid fines resulting from those violations. Apparently the threat was a real one. MSHA "announced Monday that it had issued a withdrawal order to Double A Mining Inc," reports Bill Estep of the Lexington Herald-Leader. "That means the operator can't mine coal until it pays its delinquent fines."

According to an MSHA release it is the first time the agency has stopped production at a mine for unpaid safety and health violations. Double A Mining has racked up $313,820 in fines for 360 safety violations at its No. 4 mine. According to MSHA the owner had not made a penalty payment since August 2004. (Read more)

Rural places face challenges getting stimulus aid

Small towns in rural America may have a tough task in securing money from the $787 billion economic stimulus package despite their needs. Larger cities are better equipped to research access to stimulus money, to have shovel-ready projects, and to be able to match a percentage of federal funds, reports Heather Clark of The Associated Press.

Small towns in New Mexico, for example, "will have to compete against Albuquerque, where Mayor Martin Chavez announced the formation of 10 city government teams, organized by subject, to research how the city can access economic stimulus money," Clark writes. That is just one example of larger cities using bigger staffs and more funding to try to increase their share of stimulus money, a luxury many rural communities do not have.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson pledged to help rural communities access stimulus money but has not outlined a specific way to do so. "New Mexico's congressional delegation released a 46-page guide to help local governments and constituents understand which federal departments are funding stimulus projects and how," adds Clark. (Read more)

The town of Panton, Vt., is having a different problem. City leaders submitted applications for two infrastructure projects but learned that that would have to supply 20 percent matching funds. "The town says the 20 percent match was never mentioned and expected the stimulus money would fully fund the projects," writes Darren Perron of WCAX News. "Some smaller towns, like Panton, also say they're also at a disadvantage because it's easier for bigger cities, like Burlington, to raise the matching funds." The total cost of the two projects in Panton was $2 million. Since 20 percent of that would require the town put up $400,000, it has been forced to drop one of the projects. (Read more)

Iconic moonshiner developed a public following

The suicide of Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton on March 16 may have signaled the end of an era. The famous moonshiner of western North Carolina was an iconic figure. He not only published books and DVDs on making liquor, to the surprise of many he continued the practice despite all the public attention.

In 2007 Sutton was arrested with 850 gallons of liquor and three 1,000-gallon stills. Despite his obvious violation, the aged moonshiner received tremendous public support. "There are, as of this writing, 14 pages on Facebook dedicated to Popcorn," writes Max Watman for Gourmet magazine. "Every blog post or news article on the Web is followed by a long thread of comments, mostly expressing that the government ought to find something else to do and stop bothering a poor old hillbilly who was just making a living the only way he knew how. ... In late January, the 62-year-old moonshiner was sentenced to 18 months in a federal penitentiary, and, according to his wife and daughter, chose to take his own life rather than face the time." (Gourmet photo)

Writing on Sutton's dichotomy, Watman adds, "To the end, his act was as clear as corn liquor and muddled as the hangover it gives you. Where shtick ended and reality began is impossible to tell, but one thing is for sure: Lots of people on the Tennessee border are going to go thirsty." (Read more)

Appalachian states have little data on safety of injecting coal slurry into abandoned mines

Vicki Smith of The Associated Press reports that none of the five Appalachian states that allow coal slurry to be dumped into abandoned undergound mines can substantiate their claim that the practice is safe. Alabama reports 11 such sites, Kentucky has 14, and West Virginia allows 15 firms to practice this method of disposal, which is cheaper than filtration and drying systems or building dams. Pennsylvania and Ohio each have two such sites. (Read more)

Ken Ward of The Charleston Gazette notes in his blog Coal Tattoo that Smith refers to a West Virginia case in which Boone County residents are asking a judge to stop the process, "citing high levels of toxic materials they believe are leaching from the slurry into drinking water supplies." Their lawyers argue, "The coal industry has plausible options in which to process coal. The residents of Prenter and Seth do not have an alternative as it pertains to their health." (Read more)

The process of putting slurry into underground mines may bring up memories of the slurry spill in Martin County, Kentucky, in 2000, but that was a case where the slurry was in an impoundment, broke through into old mine workings and flowed downstream.

Obama wants a look at rural air service subsidies

President Barack Obama's budget recommends a re-examination of the subsidy for flights to rural airports. Essential Air Service pays airlines to fly to communities where the low number of passengers are not enough to cover the cost, but Obama's budget "says the program is 'inefficiently designed' and could be sustained while 'improving cost-effectiveness'," writes Ledyard King for the Argus Leader of Sioux Falls, S.D.

King does a good job localizing the story, noting its effects on South Dakota communities. He also notes its effect on business and other aspects of rural life: "Planes also carry mail, agricultural suplies and medical samples for testing at hospitals in larger cities. The program is also touted as an important marketing tool." How does the Essential Air Service affect your community? (Read more)

Chain closes a weekly, so volunteers start one

When Swift Communications stopped printing the weekly Valley Journal in Carbondale, Colo., three months ago, residents of the town of 6,000 quickly concluded that they would not be well served by the company's daily papers in the Garfield County seat of Glenwood Springs, 13 miles to the north, or in Aspen, 30 miles to the southeast. (Encarta map)

Rebecca Young, who founded the paper in 1975 and sold it five years later, told DeeDee Correll the Los Angeles Times that the loss of the paper and such essentials as obituaries hit home when a friend died and she didn't find out until two weeks later. So she found six other town residents to start the Sopris Sun, a free-circulation weekly named for a local mountain and run mostly by volunteers. "It just beat the dickens out of sitting around whining that our paper was dead," she told Correll, of the Times bureau in Denver.

Carbondale has a volunteer ethic. Its one-screen movie theater is supported by volunteers who sell concessions. "It wouldn't surprise me if [the newspaper] was sustainable because there are an awful lot of people who do labors of love here," Mayor Michael Hassig said. Staffers are looking for revenue in any way possible, even applying for grants to keep the paper running, and editor Trina Ortega, the first paid employee, received resumes and phone calls from people willing to donate their time, as well as a phone call from someone in another state who volunteered to work on the paper's Web site.

For the first issue, published Feb. 12, the Sun printed 3,000 copies. The Valley Journal had a circulation of about 5,000 when it announced its closing on Christmas Day. It said in a farewell note, "The need for Carbondale to have a newspaper is still very real, and we of course prefer to look at this as a temporary situation, with the goal being the return of a stand-alone newspaper ... whenever the economy allows." The paper said the Glenwood Springs Post Independent, circulation 5,000, and The Aspen Times, 11,000, would have more "Carbondale news, happenings and human interest stories." The Valley Journal site reported Jan. 17 that volunteers were "in the throes of birthing a new community newspaper," but as far as we can tell it has not reported that they delivered. It did report that a Spanish-language paper had started to fill the niche vacated by La Tribuna, another shuttered publication of the Swift subsidary Colorado Mountain News Media.

Young told Aspen Times reporter John Colson for the January story that the Sun would not try to cover government meetings, "which she said can be amply covered by the dailies." She told him, “I kind of think the old model of weeklies is dead,” and that the Sun would focus on “what comes after the meetings, what are the biggest subjects, the impacts” of decisions made at them. "Plus, she said, the paper will publish 'the human features,' stories she said are intended 'to introduce people to one another,' from one generation to the next or from one social sphere to another." (Read more) And, despite Young's inspiration, there are no obituaries.

Correll's story ends with a quintessential quote from rancher Emma Danciger, "who has driven into town every Thursday for years to pick up the latest issue." She told Correll, "We've got to have our paper." (Read more) That calls to mind a maxim often cited by Al Cross, director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, who is quoted in the story: "You know it's a community newspaper if the readers say 'our paper,' not 'the paper'."

UPDATE, April 6: Doug Burns reports in the Daily Yonder that the Sun is especially valuable when it comes to covering land-use issues.

Farmers will have to let IRS give USDA information on their income in order to get federal payments

Farmers will have to authorize the Internal Revenue Service to give their income data to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in order to receive federal payments, in response to an investigation that found almost $50 million went to ineligible recipients last year.

Some farm programs limit payments to farm operators with incomes above certain levels, and "The 2008 Farm Bill prohibits payments to anyone with a taxable non-farm income greater than $500,000," notes Bob Meyer of Brownfield Network. USDA told the Government Accountability Office last year that it couldn't guarantee the rules were being followed because it didn't have access to income information. A GAO audit found that at least 2,702 farmers got subsidies from 2003 to 2006 even though they made more than the former income limit of $2.5 million.

"Beginning with the 2009 crop year and for all successive years, USDA will require producers to sign a form granting IRS the authority to provide income information to USDA for verification purposes," Meyer reports, quoting a USDA spokeswoman as saying that the Farm Service Agency won't get actual tax data and will obey the Privacy Act. (Read more) For a summary of the GAO audit, click here. For a PDF of the full report, click here.

Obama nominates FCC commissioner to head USDA's Rural Utilities Service, a broadband lender

President Obama announced late today that he will nominate Jonathan S. Adelstein, a pro-consumer member of the Federal Communications Commission, to head the Rural Utilities Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. RUS is the successor to the Rural Electrification Administration and will distribute $2.5 billion in economic-stimulus funds for broadband Internet service in rural areas.

Adelstein recently called broadband "the skeleton key" to economic opportunity, but his appointment raises questions about how RUS will spend stimulus money on broadband, Obama's main campaign promise to rural America. He is reportedly skeptical of spending money in areas that have relatively low demand for the service, which includes many rural areas. Analyst Tom Nolle of CIMI Corp. told Paula Bernier of xchange in January that Adelstein is among officials who have been "kind of of the view that the objective of the broadband stimulus should be to create parity in broadband between the U.S. and other market areas. And that parity is not created by attempting to touch underserved areas. There are, in fact, pretty significant data points that suggest that a lot of the so-called underserved areas are underserved because they don’t want to be served. So it’s not clear how much additional, incremental broadband penetration we would achieve even with a program that aggressively went after everybody that didn’t have [broadband] now." (Read more)

Adelstein's official FCC biography says he is "a particularly strong advocate for media diversity and localism, and works diligently to encourage increased voices on the airwaves to support a well-informed citizenry. He has worked to promote access to telecommunications and media outlets by minorities, rural and low-income consumers, people with disabilities, and non-English speakers." Adelstein, a native of Rapid City, S.D., was a Senate staffer for 15 years, the last seven as a senior legislative aide to then-Democratic Leader Tom Daschle. He joined the FCC in 2002.

Transition to a Bioeconomy series continues with trade and policy conference in D.C. March 30-31

The fourth conference in Farm Foundation's Transition to a Bioeconomy" series is titled "Global Trade and Policy Issues" and will be held at the Westin City Center in Washington March 30-31. Industry leaders, government staffers and academics will discuss global energy markets, relationships between food systems and energy policies, the global impacts of biofuels policies, and trade in energy technologies.

Details of the conference program, as well as registration and hotel information, are available on the foundation's Web site. Registration can be completed online or by printing out a registration form. The conference is organized by USDA's Office of Energy Policy and New Uses and its Economic Research Service.

"The rapid transition to a bioeconomy has significant implications for agriculture, the food system, rural communities and the global economy," the foundation notes. Presentations and proceedings are available from the three previous conferences: Integration of Agriculture and Energy Systems; Risk Management,Infrastructure and Industry Evolution; and Environmental and Rural Development Impacts. The last conference in the series, to focus on tools for Extension, will be June 30-July 1 in Little Rock.

Rural states have less access to life-saving care

In a medical emergency, time can be the difference between life and death, but more than 25 percent of Americans live an hour or more from an emergency room prepared to handle major crises, says a University of Pennsylvania study led by professor Brendan Carr. "Research shows that hospitals that treat a higher volume of patients tend to have more resources -- staffing, specialized imaging equipment and care protocols - and ultimately, better patient outcomes," says a university press release. The study shows that "residents of rural states appear to be much less likely to have access to those types of facilities."

In Montana, only 8 percent of residents have access an emergency room that sees more than three patients per hour. In South Dakota, the figure is 13 percent. In rural states where population is more densely aggregated, such as Maine and Vermont, it is 50 percent. The study recommends strategies for helping these areas: "subsidizing rural hospitals or offering incentives for physicians to practice at those facilities, improving interhospital referral networks and identifying hospitals that can specialize in treatment of certain emergent illnesses." (Hat tip to the Daily Yonder; for the press release, click here.)

FDA delays new animal-disposal rules 60 days

As we recently reported, many communities were left scrambling as companies dropped dead-animal disposal from their roster of services in anticipation of tougher Food and Drug Administration pet-food standards set to go in effect on April 27. The standards, which require brains and spines of cows older than 30 months to be removed before processing, would make cow disposal more expensive. But now the FDA is delaying the effecive date 60 days.

Laura Knoth, spokesperson for the Kentucky Farm Bureau, told Andy Mead of the Lexington Herald-Leader that "the delay will give the bureau more time to educate farmers on other disposal methods and 'to give the FDA more information on the hardship this would impose.'" But State Veterinarian Robert Stout said that the measure will only give farmers short-term relief: "In the long term, it's not expected there will be a lot of change." (Read more)

They're far from being farmers, but the Obamas are digging a garden (organic) at the White House

For the first time since Eleanor Roosevelt planted a victory garden to support World War II efforts, at a time when America has its most urban president since her husband, the White House grounds will have a vegetable garden.

First Lady Michelle Obama announced yesterday that, in an effort to promote healthy, locally grown produce for children, the White House will use the 1,100-square foot patch to provide food for her family and for state dinners. "It's a sunny spot and visible to people on E Street," Laura Isensee of the Dallas Morning News writes in a press pool report from the White House Office of Media Affairs. "The big picture goal: education about healthy living." (The pool report also includes an official transcript.)

Fifth-graders from nearby Bancroft Elementary School helped dig the organic garden today. (Reuters photo by Jason Reed) Planting of cool-season crops will come soon. The first lady told Marian Burros of The New York Times yesterday, “My hope is that through children, they will begin to educate their families and that will, in turn, begin to educate our communities.” She also said that the entire family, including President Obama, will be helping out with the project "whether they like it or not."

The kitchen staff provided a "wish list" of 55 fruits and vegetables which will be planted in the garden. Honey will also be produced on the grounds; one of the staff carpenters is also a beekeeper, and will be tending to two hives. Burros notes that the president has gotten some veto power with the garden as well: the president does not like beets, and none will be grown in the garden. (Read more) For a diagram of the garden and its crops, click here.

The first family's garden plan was forecast at election time, by Curtis Seltzer of Blue Grass, Va., in his Country Real Estate column, where he had "Bub" Obama saying, "Maybe we'll put a little garden in at the White House. Do the work ourselves." Seltzer replied, "Good metaphor … also good for you. Don't make a big deal about it. Don't staff out the weeding." (Read more)
http://www.curtis-seltzer.com/column61.html

In Sunshine Week, feds issue open-records rules

The Obama administration is making federal information more accessible. Guidelines issued yesterday by Attorney General Eric Holder instructed government agencies to release their records unless releasing that data would likely cause harm.

The new guidelines outline a policy that "essentially returns to one issued by Attorney General Janet Reno during the Clinton administration," writes Michael Sniffen of The Associated Press. "It would replace a more restrictive policy imposed by the Bush administration under which the Justice Department would defend any sound legal argument for withholding records."

Fittingly, the guidelines for administering the federal Freedom of Information Act were issued near the end of Sunshine Week, when journalists and other organizations work to promote openness in government. (Read more)

Writer pens love note to community newspapers, explains why her hometown paper thrives

"Dailies are on hard times, but weekly newspaper readership is hard core," the Daily Yonder says in introducing a piece by Betty Dotson-Lewis, singing the praises and giving many of the operational details of her hometown newspaper, The Nicholas Chronicle in Summersville, W.Va. "This small-town newspaper is a mainstay of Nicholas County," she writes. "On Wednesday evenings a little after 4 o’clock, you will see people braving the coldest or hottest weather, in sickness or health, driving to a nearby convenience store or Wal-Mart to get their copy of their small-town paper."

Dotson-Lewis says the key to success of small-town papers is that "Rural folk are neighborly in the extreme. . . . The majority of rural residents read their weekly paper for dependable and reliable local news." And the Chronicle is "thriving," she writes, because "The newspaper owners live in the community and are involved in community activities," and meet the needs of readers. "The paper is filled with local happenings of nearby small rural communities written about by local people."

The Chronicle recently went online, publishing for non-subscribers the first few paragraphs of a few major stories each week and giving subscribers the choice of the traditional print or the electronic "green edition." The cost is the same, $28.50, except that students can get the online version for $18. (We like that idea.) One couple switched their subscription, but switched back to print, Dotson-Lewis reports, quoting the wife: “I need to hold my paper, turn the pages back and forth, spread it out on the table and take it all in. and if there is a photo of my boys in the paper, I can cut it out.” (Read more)

Weekly's editorial poses pointed questions lawmakers should ask about drilling legislation

Editorialists often presume to have the answers. Sometimes it's better to ask questions, to invite readers to think. That's what Editor Ben Gish of The Mountain Eagle in Whitesburg, Ky., did this week, as he took a crack at a bill in the legislature that would allow drilling for natural gas on state-owned property, including state parks.

"Let's assume for a moment that we are a state representative and ask ourselves some simple questions," Gish wrote. "Shouldn't I at least take a few hours out of my busy schedule to watch a well being drilled so I can get some kind of feel for the property damage that will occur on the lands I took an oath to protect?"

That was Question 1. Others touched on how gas wells work, the chemicals that are often used in fracturing of underground rock formations. The 15th and last question: " Now that I have become aware of some of the problems associated with the extraction of natural gas, I am beginning to feel the pain of some of our citizens who are being forced to let gas companies drill wells on their property simply because their mineral rights were surrendered years ago under broadform deeds. Shouldn't I begin to do my duty and introduce legislation that would help protect the health and safety of all of Kentucky's citizens who are being affected by the current boom in shale-gas drilling?" (Read more; subscription required)

Media General closes Washington news bureau

Add Media General Inc. to the list of news organizations closing their Washington news bureaus, further reducing coverage of congressional delegations -- especially members from rural districts. The company announced last week that the Media General News Service bureau and associated Web site will close March 27. The six journalists in the bureau have been offered severance packages.

“We very much regret having to take this step,” Graham Woodlief, president of the company's Publishing Division, said in a press release. “However, as the economy continues to contract, and businesses and consumers continue to reduce spending, our advertising revenues have been adversely affected at unprecedented levels. While the Publishing Division reduced expenses in 2008 by 8 percent, excluding severance, we must continue to find ways to align our costs with the available revenue.”

Media General established a Washington bureau 30 years ago. Last year, "The bureau was reorganized into a multi-media team to take a Web-first approach to reporting and launched a Web site featuring sections dedicated to each of the 10 states in which Media General operates," the release said. “Even with the strong efforts of our bureau staff to adapt to the challenging economic times, it was not enough,” Woodlief said.

Media General outlets will cover Washington and their delegations locally, company spokesman Ray Kozakewicz told The Rural Blog. "They now cover the issues important to the communities they serve by being in touch with the local offices of their senators and Representatives," he wrote. "We will supplement that coverage with wire services and are considering other news partnerships that will strengthen our Washington, D.C. reporting." He said the Richmond Times-Dispatch, in the company's headquarters city, "will cover stories out of Washington on an as-needed basis. Given the geographic proximity, the newsroom regularly sends teams of reporters to Washington and will continue to do that."

Background from the release: "The company serves markets primarily in the Southeastern United States. Media General publishes 24 daily newspapers, including The Tampa Tribune, Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Winston-Salem Journal; and community newspapers in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama and South Carolina; plus more than 250 weekly newspapers and other targeted publications. The company owns and operates 19 network-affiliated television stations that reach approximately 30 percent of the television households in the Southeast and nearly 9 percent of those in the United States."

UPDATE: The company's Publishing Division is being abolished. "Media General Inc. said Monday it is reorganizing its business around geographic markets rather than traditional operations such as publishing, broadcast and interactive. Those three divisions will be replaced by five geographic markets, plus a sixth operating segment called Interactive Advertising Services," Editor & Publisher reports. "The new structure will follow the example of its Tampa Bay properties, in which The Tampa Tribune newspaper and other print products are produced from the same newsroom and offices that include its WFLA-TV station and TBO.com online offerings."

Administration refereeing debate between Corps, EPA over future of mountaintop-removal mining

After remaining silent on the issue, it appears the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies in the Obama administration are getting close to a new policy on mountaintop-removal strip mining for coal.

Nancy Sutley, chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, "told lawmakers her staff have been meeting with EPA, the Corps of Engineers, the Department of Justice and the Office of Surface Mining, discussing the issue, reviewing the February decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and examining a flood of pending permits at the corps office in Huntington," W.Va., writes Ken Ward Jr. of The Charleston Gazette. That decision overturned a lower-court ruling that would have thwarted some mountaintop removal.

Sutley was questioned firmly by a strong opponent of mountaintop removal, Democratic Rep. Ben Chandler of Kentucky's Bluegrass region. She explained that the council is mediating a debate between the Corps, which wants to allow mountaintop removal, and EPA, which opposes it. (Read more, including the transcript of the exchange between Sutley and Chandler)

Oil refiner buys seven ethanol plants on the cheap

The purchase of seven ethanol plants by the country's largest independent refiner, Valero Energy, "signals important new support for a flagging industry from an unexpected quarter," reports Clifford Krauss of The New York Times.

Valero is buying the plants from bankrupt VeraSun Energy for $477 million, a fraction of what it would cost to build new plants. The purchase surprised many observers, since oil refiners have traditionally opposed federal mandates to blend ethanol in gasoline.

The discounted price is what may have tempted Velaro to enter the ethanol industry. Chris Ruppel, an energy analyst at Execution, said, "Ethanol is still a lousy business, but if you can buy the plants for cents on the dollar, it looks a lot better as Washington is likely to keep mandated production targets."

Still, it looks likely that the ethanol industry will remain weak. It "is expected to produce about 10 billion gallons this year, leaving much of the industry’s capacity of 12.5 billion gallons idle," writes Krauss. (Read more) The federal government is considering raising the minimum percentage of ethanol in gasoline, but at the same time is also considering whether the fuel meets new renewable-energy standards in light of its indirect impact on rain forests, which are cleared to fill demand for crops replaced by U.S. corn grown for ethanol.

Weekly doesn't wait to publish warning to police

When a Tennessee Valley Authority police officer arrested a pesky anti-coal activist, who had posted a YouTube video of his mistreatment by a deputy sheriff earlier in the week, and the local sheriff transferred the activist to a jail in another county, Roane County News Editor Terri Likens thought it was time to warn the cops they were taking a "ham-fisted approach," and "Our community's reputation could pay the price."

Likens, right, didn't wait until her weekly print edition to take that stand. She placed the editorial on the paper's Web site, where news coverage usually goes, with this preface: "The following is opinion. We have posted it where we usually post news because we are disturbed by an escalating series of events recently involving the TVA ash spill and an activist working in the Swan Pond area."

Roane County is where the huge coal-ash spill took place in December. (The photo of her was taken during an overflight.) As the cleanup continues, activists and authorities have clashed. The arrested activist, with the United Mountain Defense Fund, was jailed after he didn't stop at a TVA checkpoint while taking a visually impaired woman home at night. The editorial said he "likely wanted to get arrested; he was wearing his gas mask, after all. ... Engaging with authorities is a common tactic with activists, and it can be effective if authorities bite. The danger is making the activist look like a martyr, and the folks who are restricting him look overbearing and even sinister." (Read more) Likens reports to us in an e-mail that after the editorial was published, TVA pulled back its barricades.

How healthy are your local banks? Web site tells

We have reported here that small-town and community banks have fared better in the economic downturn than many of the countries larger banks. A new Web site, designed by Wendell Cochran of American University's Investigative Reporting Workshop, allows the public to measure the strength or weakness of individual banks. The site uses Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data to compare a bank's "troubled asset" ratio to the national median and other banks, as well as assets, loans, deposits, loan-loss prevention and other criteria used to judge the strength of a bank.

"The unprecedented bet that many banks made on mortgages, real estate development and other real estate-related lending during the middle part of this decade has produced a payoff no one imagined just a few years ago -- a huge increase in loan defaults, a soaring number of foreclosures and a plunge in bank profits," writes Cochran. "And now, an analysis of bank financial statements by the Investigative Reporting Workshop and msnbc.com sheds new light on just how dangerous conditions have become in many banks across the nation."

The site provides data for 2007 and 2008, a period that saw a dramatic increase in troubled assets for many banks. Our search of several smaller banks showed dramatically fewer troubled assets and fewer loans past due. A search of banks that have decided to return TARP money shows that there was not a dramatic rise in troubled assets, perhaps indicating little or no need for federal assistance.

Permits in cap-and-trade system could be pricier than expected, driving up rural electric rates

The Obama administration initially projected that a cap-and-trade system to limit greenhouse-gas emissions would bring in $646 billion through 2019, Keith Johnson of The Wall Street Journal is reporting that federal officials now believe the revenue could be $1.3 trillion to $1.9 trillion, two to three times the initial estimate, and that the higher figure is likely due to higher permit costs.

While initial estimates were based on permit prices of $10 to $14 per ton, "to make the White House math work, the government would have to sell the same number of permits at prices ranging from $20 to more than $40 a ton," Johnson writes on the Journal's Environmental Capital blog. A $12 permit would raise electricity bills around 1 cent per kilowatt-hour for coal plants, and would raise the price of a gallon of gasoline by 11 cents. (Read more)

Rural electric cooperatives get 80 percent of their power from coal, so rural consumers would be most affected by limits on carbon-dioxide emissions. Even before speculation began on higher permit prices, many rural legislators were already concerned about the impact on their constituents. In a Reuters article last Friday, Richard Cowan wrote that as climate change legislation was being debated in Congress, House members "including lawmakers representing poor, rural areas, pressed experts for ways to mitigate the impact on the poor, who spend a greater proportion of their incomes on heating and fuel than middle-income and wealthy people." Rep. Artur Davis of Alabama, said that the legislation would disproportionally affect the South and Midwestern manufacturing areas. (Read more)

Confused about climate change? Federal agencies produce a reference booklet, available online

Amid a welter of conflicting and confusing information about climate change, some federal agencies have joined to produce a booklet to help clear things up. "Climate Literacy: The Essential Principles of Climate Science" is available online, and looks like a great resource for journalists reporting on environmental issues.

"There's so much misinformation about climate," Tom Karl, the director of the National Climatic Data Center, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration., told The Associated Press. "We want to provide an easily readable document to help everyone make the most informed decisions. Having one product endorsed by the nation's top federal science agencies, as well as leading science centers and associations, makes this document an essential resource." (Read more)

Quit whining and lead the way toward change and profitability online, rural editor urges journalists

"I’m so sick of the pity parties for the newspaper industry." That's how Samantha Swindler of The Times Tribune in Corbin, Ky., begins her latest column, prompted by journalists whining "about the doom and gloom in the newspaper industry and what ills will befall our country if the newspaper ever ceases to exist."

Following a "rolls eyes" line bracketed by asterisks, Swinder continued, "Nothing bad is going to happen to society if newspapers cease to exist, because good journalism will always be around. ... It’s that unearned sense of entitlement, that lack of adaptability or unwillingness to evolve, that loss of the whole American idea of ingenuity, that’s crippling the economy (not just the newspaper industry) and making me sick." She said newspapers should charge small fees for online content, and stop allowing aggregators to use their news without paying.

"We community newspapers are in a far better position than the major metros," Swindler acknowledged. "We still produce a relatively scarce product — very few media outlets are fighting over local coverage — and our readership demographic of older, rural residents will probably be some of the last to transition to online news sources. Plus, people in small communities have a greater attachment to local news than city dwellers."

But unless newspaper journalists at all levels lead the way toward change that brings online profitability, Swindler concludes, "The world is going to be stuck with a bunch of punk bloggers who have no scruples, who can’t write an open-records request, who post anything before it’s proven fact, who purposefully intermingle opinion and news because they’re more interested in being a 'personality' than a reporter, and who really will be the death of the journalism of accountability — which is all I’m really worried about." (Read more)

Medicare Advantage doesn't seem all that advantageous for rural areas

"Senators from Iowa and North Carolina say Medicare Advantage is vital for rural communities. But not many rural residents use these plans — and the plans they get are costly and unproven," the Daily Yonder reports after its demographic analysis of Medicare data.

"Medicare Advantage plans took off more quickly in cities than in rural communities," Tim Murphy and Bill Bishop write. "In rural counties, only 14.1 percent of those receiving Medicare belonged to a Medicare Advantage plan. ... Nationally, 23.7 percent of Medicare beneficiaries belong."

The Yonder notes that the Obama administration wants to stop "paying more for Medicaid Advantage plans than for regular Medicare. Currently, the government spends about $1.30 on Medicare Advantage for every dollar it spends on traditional Medicare. ... Republicans have resisted reduction in spending on Medicare Advantage, often arguing that the program provided choice to rural communities. ... But rural communities aren’t heavily invested in the Medicare Advantage plan — especially rural communities in North Carolina and Iowa," the respective states of Republican Sens. Richard Burr and Charles Grassley, who have voiced concern about the plan. Only 7.7 percent in Iowa are enrolled, and 12.8 percent in North Carolina.

For a state-by-state table and the full Yonder story, which explains the factors involved in creating differences in rural and urban particpation in the program, click here.

Grassley gets down to it with latest AIG comment

Now and then, it takes a good rural metaphor to drive home a point. Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley, a farmer and one of the more quotable members of Congress, delivered the goods today in a press conference in the Capitol about the bonuses being paid to insurance giant AIG. (Photo by Lauren Victoria Burke, wdcpix.com)

"It's irresponsible for corporations to give bonuses at this time, when they're so sucking the tit of the taxpayer," Grassley said. That may not be the sort of terminology you want on the Senate floor, but it pretty much captures the situation, and fits the growing populist air in the country, which transcends party lines. Grassley is a Republican, but not a reflexive one.

Grassley's remarks followed his widely reported advice that AIG executives “follow the Japanese example and come before the American people and take that deep bow and say ‘I’m sorry,’ and then either do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide. And in the case of the Japanese, they usually commit suicide before they make any apology.” The next day, he said, “Of course I don’t want people to commit suicide, but I do want an attitude in corporate American that’s similar to what they have in corporate Japan.” For more from the Iowa Independent, click here.

Analogies, metaphors and politics aside, this item is an appreciation of Grassley. When I covered my first Republican National Convention, in 1992, I ran into him outside a fund-raiser and asked him a direct question about a largely unreported leadership race among his colleagues. He replied quickly and frankly, and made a good story for a convention rookie. Would that more public officials were like him.

Ky. high-school basketball tourney is rural festival

A great rural festival began today, in Kentucky's second largest city. It's the state high school basketball tournament, and though it's at Rupp Arena in Lexington, it has a rural look, feel and sound. That's because Kentucky is one of the few states that choose a single high-school basketball champion and don't use a class system, in which schools are grouped according to enrollment and several champions are crowned. Some Kentuckians think their state is the only one without any hint of a class system in basketball.

The lack of a class system means that Kentucky's smaller rural schools almost always outnumber their urban counterparts when the champions of the 16 regions face off in the "Sweet Sixteen." (The Kentucky High School Athletic Association might prefer that we put a trademark after that, but quotation marks will have to do. They might also think we should give you the name of the bank that is a corporate sponsor.)

Today's first session (in photo) was, fittingly, mainly rural. Hazard, the smallest school in the tournament with an enrollment of 286, played gamely but ran out of gas against West Jessamine (County), a school that is in the Lexington metropolitan area but has many rural students. The second game pitted two thoroughly rural schools, Adair County and Grayson County. Adair had the only player with a college scholarship, but Grayson won 45-33. Both afternoon winners had never won a state tournament game, notes Jason Frakes of The Courier-Journal.

Tonight's card has two rural-urban matchups: Louisville Central vs. Graves County, and Louisville Eastern vs. Corbin. Tomorrow afternoon, it's Lexington Catholic vs. Bowling Green and Covington Holmes vs. Christian County. Tomorrow night, it's all rural, with Mason County vs. Shelby Valley and Anderson County vs. Elliott County, one of the state's smallest. Elliott and Shelby Valley (Pike County) are the top teams in Eastern Kentucky, and are expected to go farther in the tournament than the area's recent representatives, as reported by Frakes and Mike Fields of the Lexington Herald-Leader.

UPDATE, March 21: The last truly rural team in the tourney, Elliott County, lost in a semifinal this morning to Covington Holmes. For Herald-Leader coverage, click here. In a story earlier in the week, Pat Forde of ESPN.com likened Elliott's quest to that of the Milan, Ind., Indians of 1954, memorialized in the 1986 film "Hoosiers." "The Lions' story has captured the attention of basketball fans around the globe, among them "Hoosiers" screenwriter Angelo Pizzo, an Indiana resident," Forde reported. (Read more)

Rural legislators in Tenn., increasingly drowned out by urban and suburban interests, organize

Tennessee is a relatively rural state (36 percent in the 2000 census) but its population is increasingly suburban, and rural legislators have organized to make sure their voices are heard on problems ranging from water lines to unemployment. "Meant as a counterbalance to Tennessee's increasingly powerful cities, these rural caucuses will fight to bring more money back to smaller communities," reports Chas Sisk of The Tennessean.

However, there is a Republican rural caucus and a Democratic rural caucus, and partisanship is a powerful force. "Whether the caucuses prove effective will depend on their ability to build coalitions across party lines," Bruce Oppenheimer, a professor of political science at Vanderbilt University, told Sisk. "Otherwise, they'll simply be minor constituencies within their own parties, with no more power to influence policy."

Neither caucus has set an agenda. With $573 million in federal stimulus money coming to the state for highway and bridge work, several rural members have identified those funds as a way to bring down unemployment. According to the Center for Rural Strategies, a Kentucky-based advocacy group with an office in Tennessee, unemployment in Tennessee's rural counties is one-third higher than its urban counties. "And even that understates the severity of the recession in some parts of the countryside," adds Sisk. "Water use is also a pressing concern for rural lawmakers. The state's farmers suffered greatly in the droughts of the last two summers, but little attention is being paid to how water is distributed through the state over the long term." (Read more)

IRJCI Director Al Cross adds: The caucuses are another milepost on the road to less rural influence in politics, a trend in which Tennessee played a major role 47 years ago. In the Tennessee case of Baker v. Carr, the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door to federal lawsuits challenging the apportionment of districts. Cases from Georgia and Alabama led to the principle of "one person, one vote" and the end of rural control in states where rural residents were a minority.

Recovery could come more quickly in rural areas, due to basic strength of agricultural economy

According to Mark Weinraub of Reuters, "The U.S. rural economy has weathered the global recession better than most sectors due to steady demand for agricultural products, stable land prices and healthy credit lines for farmers." In addition, farm lenders have continued to make loans because they were not caught up in the risky lending practices that crippled other institutions.

"The smaller, rural and ag banks have remained pretty strong throughout this time of financial turmoil," saidDavid Oppedahl, business economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. "In agriculture, the financial wherewithal is there for a good operator who wants to finance this year." Also, "Prices for agricultural commodities have fallen sharply from highs reached during the summer of 2008 but are still well above historical trends," writes Weinraub. Agriculture commodities have been buoyed by a weak dollar, as of late, which boost demand for U.S. goods abroad. All these factors could mean a shorter recovery from the recession for rural America.
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Feds warn 15 scofflaw coal mines to shape up

The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration warned 15 coal mines yesterday that they could face tougher enforcement because they have demonstrated repeated safety violations. "A mine operator gets a notification letter from regulators when the agency determines there is a potential pattern of such serious violations," reports James Carroll of The Courier-Journal in Louisville. "This is the fourth series of agency letters warning mines of potential patterns of violations."

After receiving a notification operators are given an opportunity to review it and make corrections to reduce their violations. If changes are not implemented MSHA can shut the mine down. Michael Davis, MSHA deputy assistant secretary for operations said, "Hopefully, these operators will use this opportunity to incorporate needed improvements into their safety and health programs."

Five of the 15 mines are in Kentucky. According to the MSHA database, they have a history of serious violations but little record of paying the resulting penalties. For example, Double A Mining's No. 4 mine recorded 117 serious safety violations in 2007 and 2008. The agency has assessed more than $429,000 in penalties for violations, but the company has not paid any of those penalties. In fact, it has paid no fines since 2006, according to MSHA records. (Read more)