E.Ky. leaders “thinking outside the box” about economic development...

Last week, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported that Bell County is turned a major goose egg of a county-owned property into what county officials hope will become a golden faberge version of its former self: A large industrial park in Bell County that never attracted a factory will be repurposed as the site of a wildlife center that could be a key tourism attraction, according to local officials. The Pine Mountain Regional Industrial Development Authority has agreed to sell 750 acres to the Appalachian Wildlife Foundation for $750,000, said Mike Bowling, a Middlesboro attorney who chairs the authority. … The foundation plans to develop a campus that would include a conservation center with natural history and taxidermy displays, a theater, a local artisan market, research and conference space, and an astronomy pavilion, according to its website. The county intended the site to become a massive industrial park, complete with recruited factory businesses and the promise of hundreds of jobs. The land was former surface-mined land, and a multi-million dollar bridge was build from U.S. 119 to the site. Since there was nothing on the other side of the bridge for so long, locals dubbed it “the bridge to nowhere.” But now, county officials hope the wildlife center will attract hundreds of thousands of visitors in just a few years, which would bring thousands of dollars into the region. The Herald-Leader is quick to point out that “the decision to use the site for tourism instead of industry reflects the difficulty some Eastern Kentucky counties have...

KSEC hosts Lexington, Ky., senator on energy efficiency, renewable energy tour...

Editor’s Note: The following is a guest blog post from a guest blogger. The views and opinions expressed in this guest blog do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Renew Appalachia or of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED). It is an exciting time to be working for change in Kentucky. With the flurry of activity from the Just Transition Movement, and the growing momentum for renewables and energy efficiency that we’ve seen in our communities AND in the halls of Frankfort, it really feels like a pivotal moment in our history. The members of the KY Student Environmental Coalition are stoked to play our role in these efforts. Last week, we hosted Lexington Senator Reggie Thomas on a tour of how energy efficiency and renewable energy are already making a huge difference in the lives of Kentuckians, and spurring economic growth in the Western region of our state. We also wanted to discuss strategy for getting the Clean Energy Opportunity Act into the state Senate next year. Folks who are lucky enough to live in the Tennessee Valley Authority’s utility region have access to many of the incentives that the CEOA would provide for the rest of us, so it seemed like a good place to take Senator Thomas to see what Kentucky’s energy future could look like. What we found was both exciting and inspiring, but perhaps the most exciting part of the day was realizing that there are at least some legislators in this state that...

SOAR still important, but second summit falls short of expectations...

One week ago today, the Shaping Our Appalachian Region Initiative hosted it’s second summit in Pikeville, Ky. If readers will recall, SOAR started with much fanfare, excitement and anticipation two years ago. Since it’s inception, SOAR has been funneling millions of dollars into eastern Kentucky through various state channels, public-private partnerships and federal programs. There have been hours and pages of media coverage dedicated to the initiative and what types of economic development and prosperity it might bring into the region. We cannot deny the positive impact of SOAR. They are many and varied and we respect and welcome that. However, two years later (2014 was dedicated to various working group committees gathering ideas and information through a series public listening sessions), and many of the public’s fears about SOAR becoming a space for political posturing, exclusion of viewpoints that stand outside the status quo, and tired ideas about what will bring a sustainable economy into the region seem to have materialized. The breakout sessions at the 2015 SOAR Strategy Summit were led by panels that were filled with people doing great work and operating great programs in eastern Kentucky. They spent their time telling audience members about their programs and how they were helping the region succeed. That’s all fine and good, but what wasn’t clear in many sessions was what the panelists or their programs had to do with the recommendations or ideas coming out of the 2014 listening sessions, or the 2013 SOAR Summit. It seemed to many that these panelists were carefully chosen...