BANNER ELK, North Carolina, Feb. 23 (TNSPer) -- Lees-McRae College issued the following news: From the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Charles E. Gibson, III hopes to broaden people's horizons when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion in his new position as chief diversity officer at Lees-McRae, the first position of its kind. "Diversity, equity and inclusion work is important not just here at Lees-McRae, but in higher education in general because everybody is unique, and each   more

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina, March 4 (TNSPer) -- Wake Forest University issued the following news: Wake Forest University has named Annette L. Ranft as the next Dean of the School of Business. Ranft comes to Wake Forest from Auburn University, where she serves as Dean and Wells Fargo Professor at the Harbert College of Business. "Dean Ranft will lead our business school with a commitment to collaboration and a focus on innovation," said Wake Forest University President Susan R. Wente. "She h  more

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama, March 3 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, Prim F. Escalona, issued the following news release: A federal jury convicted a Tennessee physician and his wife yesterday for unlawfully distributing opioids, providing unnecessary services and defrauding insurers from their now-shuttered Alabama clinics. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Mark Murphy, 65, and his wife, Jennifer Murphy, 65, both of Lewisburg, owned and operated   more

BOONE, North Carolina, March 5 (TNSPol) -- Appalachian Voices issued the following news release on March 4, 2022: Yesterday, a bipartisan group of senators and representatives sent a letter to congressional leadership and members of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees calling for increased funding to the Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) Program for Fiscal Year 2022 as Congress works to finalize the appropriations bill before March 11. In the letter led by Senator   more

BOONE, North Carolina, Feb. 26 (TNSPol) -- Appalachian Voices issued the following news release on Feb. 25, 2022: Appalachian Voices submitted comments to the North Carolina Utilities Commission late yesterday as part of its intervention in the commission's avoided cost proceeding opposing New River Light and Power's request to add an $8.95 monthly "administrative" fee to the bills of its solar customers. "New River's solar policies already make it harder for customers who want to install sola  more

JOHNSON CITY, Tennessee, March 4 -- Ballad Health, a community health improvement organization, issued the following news release: The Johnson City skyline soon will include three new floors rising from the existing roof of Niswonger Children's Hospital, but the impact of the services offered in those new floors will benefit children and their families throughout the Appalachian Highlands for generations to come. "Hope Rising," a capital campaign to raise $30 million to expand and enhance faci  more

WASHINGTON, March 2 (TNSOps) -- The Environmental Working Group issued the following news release: The Environmental Working Group is formally intervening in a North Carolina utility proceeding to oppose a Duke Energy plan that would put rooftop solar power financially out of reach for many working- and middle-class residents. EWG joins a growing coalition of 47 organizations (https://www.ncwarn.org/nonprofits-opposing-duke-nem/), including NC WARN, Appalachian Voices, 350 Charlotte, 350 Trian  more

WASHINGTON, March 3 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release: A federal jury convicted a Tennessee physician and his wife yesterday in the Northern District of Alabama for unlawfully distributing opioids, providing unnecessary services and defrauding insurers from their now-shuttered Alabama clinics. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Mark Murphy, 65, and his wife, Jennifer Murphy, 65, both of Lewisburg, owned and operated North Alabama Pa  more

BANNER ELK, North Carolina, Feb. 21 (TNSOps) -- Lees-McRae College issued the following news: One of the predominant stereotypes that exists about Appalachia is that the region has always been home to monolithic, white communities. Not only is this stereotype false, but according to Associate Professor of History Robert Turpin, perpetuating it erases the contributions of many individuals who have equal claim to an Appalachian heritage. "A lot of Appalachia history glosses over that there are   more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, March 3 -- The North Carolina Department of Commerce issued the following news release: North Carolina was awarded $6.4 million to establish a new tourism-focused economic recovery initiative. The new program, Supporting and Strengthening Resiliency in North Carolina's Travel, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation Sectors Initiative, will help develop and implement economic-building strategies for the recovery of North Carolina's travel and tourism industries that suffered ec  more

ALBANY, New York, March 4 -- Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-New York, issued the following news release on March 3, 2022: Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the addition of nearly 1,200 acres to three state parks in the Hudson Valley, expanding New York State's protection of open space and ensuring the conservation of significant blocks of contiguous forest land. The new parkland includes 946 acres at Hudson Highlands State Park Preserve in Dutchess and Putnam Counties; 179 acres at Schunnemunk State   more

GAITHERSBURG, Maryland, March 1 -- The U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology issued the following news: The U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded nearly $54 million in grants for 13 high-impact projects for research, development and testbeds for pandemic response. The funding, which was provided by the American Rescue Act, will support projects at eight manufacturing innovation institutes in the Man  more

WASHINGTON, March 3 -- Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia, issued the following opening statement: * * * The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee held a hearing on the implementation the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) with U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Following a December 16, 2021 memorandum issued by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) that outlined several policies contradicting those negotiated and agreed to i  more

WASHINGTON, March 3 -- Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia, ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, issued the following news release: The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee held a hearing on the implementation the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) with U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Following a December 16, 2021 memorandum issued by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) that outlined severa  more

WASHINGTON, March 5 -- Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-New York, issued the following news release: Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18) released the following statement, celebrating the expansion of state parks across the Hudson Valley. Rep. Maloney has been a critical advocate for the protection and expansion of Hudson Valley parklands, including his current effort to re-authorize the Highlands Conservation Act - the law which made this expansion possible. "It is impossible to think of the Hudson   more

WASHINGTON, March 1 -- Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, issued the following news release: Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) joined Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to urge the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to protect ratepayers from footing the bill for utility trade association's political influence activities. Under FERC's current regulatory accounting and financial rep  more

WASHINGTON, March 4 -- Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, delivered the following remarks during a full committee hearing to review recent actions of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) relating to permitting construction and operation of interstate natural gas pipelines and other natural gas infrastructure projects. The hearing also featured testimony   more

WASHINGTON, March 4 -- Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, issued the following news release on March 3, 2022: U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, delivered the following remarks during a full committee hearing to review recent actions of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) relating to permitting construction and operation of interstate natural gas pipelines and   more

WASHINGTON, March 1 -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ed Markey (D-MA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) are urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to protect ratepayers from footing the bill for utility trade association's political influence activities. Under FERC's current regulatory accounting and financial reporting system, t  more

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky, March 5 -- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, issued the following news release on March 4, 2022: U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced today the Department of Interior will provide Kentucky with $8,889,292 to reclaim abandoned mines through the Abandoned Mine Land (AML) program. This funding comes in addition to the $74,253,000 Senator McConnell announced last month that Kentucky will receive for abandoned mine land reclamation th  more

GREENSBORO, North Carolina, March 4 (TNSOps) -- The University of North Carolina Greensboro campus issued the following Q&A with Police Chief Eric S. Boyce: * * * In January, the campus community welcomed Eric S. Boyce as the UNCG Police Department's new chief of police. Boyce came to UNC Greensboro from UNC Asheville, where he served as Chief of Police for 11 years. He previously held campus law enforcement leadership roles at UNC School of the Arts and Wake Forest University. A North Caroli  more

BLACKSBURG, Virginia, March 2 (TNSRes) -- Virginia Tech issued the following news: By Tyler Harris Science often pushes knowledge forward, sparking discovery and helping us understand more about the world around us. Often seen as opposite to the sciences, art provides an outlet for expression and creative ingenuity. But when these two join forces, the outcomes can galvanize audiences and bridge the gap between scientist and everyday citizen. Jacob Barney -- an associate professor from the Sc  more

CHARLESTON, West Virginia, March 3 -- Gov. Jim Justice, R-West Virginia, issued the following news release on March 2, 2022: Gov. Jim Justice and West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) Sec. Harold Ward held a virtual ceremony today to announce the recommendation of nine AML Economic Revitalization Program projects that will utilize over $24.7 million in federal grant funding for economic development at abandoned mine land sites across the state. "Today is a really great d  more

BUCKHANNON, West Virginia, March 5 (TNSOps) -- West Virginia Wesleyan College issued the following news: Caleb Gibson, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at West Virginia Wesleyan College, is a recipient of the Appalachian College Association's Faculty Summer Research Fellowship. The association will furnish during the 2022 Summer Term financial support to member institutions' faculty for post-doctoral research or pre-doctoral degree completion. Gibson will conduct research on the antioxidants  more

WASHINGTON, March 2 -- The White House issued the following fact sheet on March 1, 2022: * * * The Biden Administration's Historic Investments To Create Opportunity and Build Wealth in Rural America President Biden is committed to ensuring that rural Americans have the opportunity to succeed - and that they can find that opportunity in rural America. This commitment is not just vital for rural Americans, but vital for the country as a whole. For centuries, rural Americans have driven the cou  more