Archive for the 'Herald Leader' Category

Quick Hit: Coal Miner Reprimanded for Whistleblowing

Terri Whitehouse March 21st, 2008

Page One reports on a Herald-Leader story about a coal miner who was disciplined after documenting mine safety problems and bringing the problems to the attention of the Mine Safety & Health Administration:

On April 27 last year, Howard, a veteran miner, took video footage of seven mine seals at Cumberland River’s Band Mill No. 2 mine. The seals, constructed to close off abandoned sections of underground coal mines, are supposed to be impenetrable so that explosive methane gas can’t seep into working areas.

These seals were so cracked that water gushed through them, the lawsuit says.

Before videotaping the cracked and leaking seals, Howard had documented the problems in writing in a Cumberland River preshift examination book and had told company officials, including the mine superintendent, two mine foremen, and two section foremen, about the unsafe conditions, the lawsuit says.

After nothing was done, Howard testified at a public hearing held by the Mine Safety and Health Administration in July 2007 and showed those in attendance the video he had taken of the mine seals.

MSHA later cited Cumberland River for multiple seal violations.

After the company was cited, Cumberland River officials gave Howard “a written warning of disciplinary action” for “taking a non-permissible video camera underground.”

Regardless of whether Cumberland River had a company policy about videotaping underground, Oppegard said Thursday, Howard had the right under state law to document and report to MSHA unsafe conditions at the mine.

What is particularly disappointing, Oppegard said, is that MSHA reviewed Howard’s case and found that the company did nothing wrong in reprimanding him.

This should come as no real surprise, as we’ve noted time and again that mine safety oversight is severely lacking under Labor Secretary Elaine Chao’s watch and receives no help from Sen. Mitch McConnell. Of course, why should he care if hard-working Kentuckians are injured or killed on the job, just so long as those campaign dollars keep on rolling in?

T.G.I.F.

Terri Whitehouse August 3rd, 2007

The DM-KY team has a jam-packed weekend, and while I won’t be attendance at Fancy Farm, my posting, too, will be sporadic. Don’t let that stop you from checking in, though, as I know that I am looking forward to hearing about YearlyKos and Fancy Farm from some of my favorite bloggers. (I’m not just saying that, I promise.)

To kick things off, check out Sam Youngman’s national coverage of Kentucky’s governor’s race and the impact it will have on the 2008 U.S. Senate campaign. I think all this interest will make for a very interesting picnic!

Kentucky Media: McConnell Vulnerable

Shawn Dixon July 29th, 2007

As we pointed out here earlier this week, the main stream media has begun to pick up on the fact that Mitch McConnell is vulnerable, very vulnerable, in next year’s election. Both the Lexington Herald Leader and the Courier Journal ran columns today highlighting Senator Mitch McConnell’s problems heading into 2008.

Larry Dale Keeling at the HL even gives a shout our team here at Ditch Mitch while pointing to the fact that McConnell is also being attacked by his base and highlights DraftForgy.com.

McConnell is skewered daily by blogs on the left (DitchMitchKy) and the right (DraftForgy). He’s already being targeted by TV ads paid for by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and a group called Americans Against Escalation in Iraq.

Meanwhile, Al Cross at the CJ clearly lays out the major problems facing McConnell: his unwavering support for President Bush and his ill-conceived war in Iraq and his failed leadership on the immigration overhaul he fought for before voting to kill at the eleventh hour.

After keeping President Bush’s immigration bill alive, he voted to kill it in the face of energized opposition, including advertising that lumped the Kentucky conservative with liberal lion Teddy Kennedy.

He took a tough public shot from an unnamed colleague speaking through conservative columnist Robert Novak, contending that he failed to show leadership during the closing hours of the immigration debate.

He was the target of attack ads from antiwar groups linking him with Bush’s increasingly unpopular policy in Iraq, as he led the effort to block a vote on legislation that would have started a withdrawal.

While Larry Dale Keeling writes that the Dems don’t really have any “A” list candidates in the upcoming election, Al Cross correctly points out that Stumbo is one of the best campaigners in the party and has a lot of statewide name recognition. And, Keeling himself admits that Iraq war veteran Andrew Horne would be an attractive option for Dems against McConnell in an election that will largely be about the mess in Iraq.