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  <atom:title type="html">KFTC's Blog</atom:title>
  <atom:subtitle></atom:subtitle>

  <atom:updated>2012-05-16T15:36:41-04:00</atom:updated>

  <atom:link href="http://www.kftc.org/blog" rel="alternate"
             type="text/html"/>

  

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    <atom:entry>

      <atom:title>Transylvania students tour southeast KY with KFTC leaders</atom:title>

      <atom:link rel="alternate" type="text/html"
                 href="http://www.kftc.org/blog/archive/2012/05/16/transylvania-students-tour-southeast-ky-with-kftc-leaders">
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&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;a title="At the home of Elmer Lloyd by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kftcphotos/7197995202/"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7219/7197995202_555d988363.jpg" alt="At the home of Elmer Lloyd" height="281" width="500" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Students and professors from Transylvania University in Lexington spent a week at Camp Blanton in Harlan County earlier this month.&amp;nbsp; During their time, they connected with KFTC leaders from all over Harlan, Letcher, and Perry Counties to learn about the land, culture, and people of east Kentucky and beyond. They also spent some time in our Whitesburg KFTC office to screen our 30th anniversary film,&lt;em&gt; I Was There: The first 30 years of KFTC&lt;/em&gt;. Below are photos from their experience.&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;div align="center"&gt;
&lt;a title="Jack Ball and Transy students in Pathfork by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kftcphotos/7202935342/"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7093/7202935342_b2d06b408f_n.jpg" alt="Jack Ball and Transy students in Pathfork" height="180" width="250" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a title="Jack Ball and Transy students in Pathfork by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kftcphotos/7202958554/"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8009/7202958554_3869f93668_n.jpg" alt="Jack Ball and Transy students in Pathfork" height="180" width="250" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jack Ball of Wallins Creek takes students to mining areas in Pathfork of southern Harlan County.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;a title="Students with Sharman Chapman-Crane by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kftcphotos/7197993808/"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7098/7197993808_4849cc0b09_m.jpg" alt="Students with Sharman Chapman-Crane" height="180" width="240" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a title="Jeff with his sculpture 'The Agony of Gaia' by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kftcphotos/7197993584/"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8023/7197993584_4c3c11d853_m.jpg" alt="Jeff with his sculpture 'The Agony of Gaia'" height="180" width="240" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sharman and Jeff Chapman-Crane welcomed the students into their home and art gallery, "Valley of the Winds" in Eolia of Letcher County. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;a title="Transy students with Cleveland Smith by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kftcphotos/7197994254/"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8163/7197994254_6acedf91c5.jpg" alt="Transy students with Cleveland Smith" height="375" width="500" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div align="center"&gt;After watching &lt;em&gt;'I Was There'&lt;/em&gt; at the Whiteburg office, Perry County Steering Committee Rep. Cleveland Smith shared why he joined KFTC as well as the local and statewide work he cares about.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

          ]]>
      </atom:content>

      <atom:author>
        <atom:name>Tanya Turner</atom:name>
      </atom:author>

      <atom:published>2012-05-16T11:00:23-04:00</atom:published>

      <atom:updated>2012-05-16T11:00:23-04:00</atom:updated>

      
        <atom:category term="EKY"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="MWT"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Ally Event"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Harlan County"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Perry County"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Canary Project"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Eastern Kentucky"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Letcher County"/>
      

    </atom:entry>

  
  

    <atom:entry>

      <atom:title>The primary election is only one week away!</atom:title>

      <atom:link rel="alternate" type="text/html"
                 href="http://www.kftc.org/blog/archive/2012/05/15/the-primary-election-is-only-one-week-away">
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      <atom:id>acdf5309ce0e15a963767ccfa19a3d20</atom:id>
      

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&lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;a title="IMG_2074 by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kftcphotos/7206136730/"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7218/7206136730_feb525c917_m.jpg" alt="IMG_2074" height="180" width="240" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a title="IMG_2076 by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kftcphotos/7206130622/"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8027/7206130622_e324b4986e_m.jpg" alt="IMG_2076" height="180" width="240" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a title="IMG_2075 by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kftcphotos/7206140152/"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7231/7206140152_4e29df4491_m.jpg" alt="IMG_2075" height="180" width="240" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a title="IMG_2073 by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kftcphotos/7206133756/"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5451/7206133756_a277f845f7_m.jpg" alt="IMG_2073" height="180" width="240" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Members of the central Kentucky chapter got together tonight and called their fellow chapter members to remind them to get out and vote next Tuesday. The polls will be open from 6am-6pm. If you have any questions about where the candidates stand on the issues or if you need to know your polling location you can find all of that information at &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a class="external-link" href="http://www.kentuckyelection.org"&gt;www.kentuckyelection.org&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We will also be making calls again from the central Kentucky office on Monday May 21st from 6pm-8pm and we'd love your help! Our office is located at 250 Plaza Dr. Suite 4, Lexington Kentucky, 40505.&lt;/p&gt;

          ]]>
      </atom:content>

      <atom:author>
        <atom:name>Ondine Quinn</atom:name>
      </atom:author>

      <atom:published>2012-05-15T19:21:04-04:00</atom:published>

      <atom:updated>2012-05-16T15:36:41-04:00</atom:updated>

      
        <atom:category term="Voter Empowerment"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="UK"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Central Kentucky"/>
      

    </atom:entry>

  
  

    <atom:entry>

      <atom:title>Central Kentucky KFTC members encourage local officials to take a stand on voting rights</atom:title>

      <atom:link rel="alternate" type="text/html"
                 href="http://www.kftc.org/blog/archive/2012/05/15/central-kentucky-kftc-members-encourage-local-officials-to-take-a-stand-on-voting-rights">
        http://plone.org/
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      <atom:id>ba0056333d888c6c5f2787a83b0718ec</atom:id>
      

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&lt;p&gt;&lt;img class="image-left" src="../Members/ondine/mtgwithstevekay.jpg/image_preview" alt="mtg. with steve kay" height="275" width="206" /&gt;The Central Kentucky chapter has been making the rounds within the Lexington city council to talk to local officials about KFTC's restoration of voting rights for former felons campaign and to encourage them to publicly support voting rights for all people.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;KFTC has been working very hard during the last several years within the general assembly to gain traction on HB70 - a bill that would automatically restore voting rights to non-violent offenders once they've served their time. Each year more progress has been made, but chapter members wanted something they could focus on locally and outside of the general assembly that could educate people about the need for this legislation if Kentucky can ever expect to have a healthy and working democracy.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Chapter members decided that they would put pressure on the Lexington city council to pass a resolution in favor of restoring voting rights to former felons. This resolution, though only symbolic (local governments don't have the authority to overturn the law that permanently disenfranchises former felons), would serve to educate the city about the campaign and gain public support for when the issue becomes a referendum that people have to vote on.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So far the conversations that members have had with local officials have been positive. The chapter plans on meeting with every council member before the end of the summer so that action can be taken before the November election.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you're interested in being a part of this effort, please contact the local organizer at ondine@kftc.org&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

          ]]>
      </atom:content>

      <atom:author>
        <atom:name>Ondine Quinn</atom:name>
      </atom:author>

      <atom:published>2012-05-15T09:35:16-04:00</atom:published>

      <atom:updated>2012-05-15T09:35:16-04:00</atom:updated>

      
        <atom:category term="Restoration of Voting Rights"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Voter Empowerment"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="UK"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Central Kentucky"/>
      

    </atom:entry>

  
  

    <atom:entry>

      <atom:title>Appalachian Citizens Law Center celebrates 10 years</atom:title>

      <atom:link rel="alternate" type="text/html"
                 href="http://www.kftc.org/blog/archive/2012/05/14/appalachian-citizens-law-center-celebrates-10-years">
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      <atom:id>f6b9c845f6240af71eb06deeaf622081</atom:id>
      

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&lt;p&gt;KFTC members joined in congratulating, thanking and celebrating with the &lt;a class="external-link" href="http://appalachianlawcenter.org/"&gt;Appalachian Citizens Law Center&lt;/a&gt; this past weekend as ACLC celebrated its 10th anniversary.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"ACLC is a great asset to the region, for all the people and organizations who struggle against the consequences and causes of irresponsible coal extraction and processing," said KFTC Chairperson Steve Boyce.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img class="image-right image-inline" src="../images-1/blog/ACLClogo.jpg/image_preview" alt="ACLC logo" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Appalachian Citizens’ Law
Center is a nonprofit law firm that fights for justice in the coalfields by
representing coal miners and their families on issues of black lung and mine
safety and by working with grassroots groups and individuals to protect the
land and people from misuse and degradation.. The Center handles individual
cases and engages in strategic litigation and policy work in the areas of mine
safety and health, environmental protection and sustainable energy.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Over the past ten
years, the Appalachian Citizens' Law Center has secured millions of dollars in
federal black lung benefits for coal miners and their survivors; represented
hundreds of Appalachian citizens in defense of safe, clean drinking water; and
represented dozens of miners illegally disciplined or discharged for making
safety complaints.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;ACLC attorneys have worked with and represented KFTC on several important cases seeking enforcement of the Clean Water Act and other mining laws.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;"In my view ACLC is a great ally – we would not be able to move forward without them," added Boyce, who participates on KFTC's litigation team.&amp;nbsp;"We are lucky to have them as they are lucky to have us – an important, strategic partnership!"&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;KFTC member Rick Handshoe has worked with ACLC attorneys for all of the organization's 10 years. He said the relationship is not like hiring attorneys who work for you but instead is taking on partners who work with you – partners who bring the same passion, values and commitment to coal issues and basic fairness that KFTC members do – as well as legal expertise.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Handshoe was on hand at ACLC's anniversary celebration in Whitesburg on Saturday to thank past and current staff for their support of him and his family. "Without these attorneys, my family would have been beat to death."&lt;/p&gt;

          ]]>
      </atom:content>

      <atom:author>
        <atom:name>jerry</atom:name>
      </atom:author>

      <atom:published>2012-05-14T22:02:42-04:00</atom:published>

      <atom:updated>2012-05-14T22:02:42-04:00</atom:updated>


    </atom:entry>

  
  

    <atom:entry>

      <atom:title>Voter Guides in your mailbox!</atom:title>

      <atom:link rel="alternate" type="text/html"
                 href="http://www.kftc.org/blog/archive/2012/05/14/voter-guides-in-your-mailbox">
        http://plone.org/
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      <atom:id>24ff75be85a7e63d752a5250478ee4e5</atom:id>
      

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&lt;p class="image-right"&gt;&lt;a title="IMG_4824 by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kftcphotos/7198763528/"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7227/7198763528_ca99ab84e1_n.jpg" alt="IMG_4824" height="240" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;By this point, most of our members and other friends should have received a copy of KFTC's Voter Guide in the mail.&amp;nbsp; In all, we printed 17,162 and mailed most of them.&amp;nbsp; We'll be passing out the last of the remaining 2,000 at various community events over the next 8 days.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In addition to the statewide Congressional race guide, we have inserts for Louisville, Lexington, Northern Kentucky, and Georgetown covering various local races.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;And &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a class="external-link" href="http://www.KentuckyElection.org"&gt;www.KentuckyElection.org&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; has gotten over 5,000 page views in recent days and has all of the same information from our Voter Guides, plus voting locations and a few late responses from candidates. Please check it out and share it widely with friends through email and social networking sites like Facebook.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In other news, tonight is the last Kentucky Tonight debate for Congressional candidates on KET.&amp;nbsp; The final debate is between the 4th District Congressional Republican candidates -&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Marc Carey, Thomas 
Massie, Gary Moore, Brian D. Oerther, Walter Christian Schumm, Alecia 
Webb-Edgington, and Tom Wurtz.&amp;nbsp; It will air live at 7pm EST on KET.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Part of the program relies on questions from viewers and it would be 
fantastic if some of you could take the time to think about questions to
 ask, then call in to the program at&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;1-800-494-7605&lt;/strong&gt; or submit them by twitter &lt;strong&gt;@billket&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;And if you'd like to see footage of previous debates to help inform your vote on May 22, you can find them online here:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;- &lt;a class="external-link" href="http://www.ket.org/cgi-bin/cheetah/watch_video.pl?nola=KKYTO+001918"&gt;1st Congressional District Democrats/3rd Congressional District Democrats&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;- &lt;a class="external-link" href="http://www.ket.org/cgi-bin/cheetah/watch_video.pl?nola=KKYTO+001919"&gt;6th Congressional District Republicans&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;- &lt;a class="external-link" href="http://www.ket.org/cgi-bin/cheetah/watch_video.pl?nola=KKYTO+001920"&gt;4th Congressional District Democrats/5th Congressional District Democrats &lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

          ]]>
      </atom:content>

      <atom:author>
        <atom:name>Dave Newton</atom:name>
      </atom:author>

      <atom:published>2012-05-14T16:31:06-04:00</atom:published>

      <atom:updated>2012-05-16T15:34:29-04:00</atom:updated>

      
        <atom:category term="Voter Empowerment"/>
      

    </atom:entry>

  
  

    <atom:entry>

      <atom:title>KFTC House Party on Wallins Creek!</atom:title>

      <atom:link rel="alternate" type="text/html"
                 href="http://www.kftc.org/blog/archive/2012/05/10/kftc-house-party-on-wallins-creek">
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      <atom:id>3bc3282bdea93f0f1de35cf2804ca820</atom:id>
      

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&lt;p&gt;Last week New Power Leader, Jack Ball welcomed friends and neighbors into his home for some good food, a great film, and conversation about his vision for Harlan County, Kentucky, and beyond. &amp;nbsp; Folks attending the party watched &lt;a class="external-link" href="archive/2011/10/12/i-was-there-the-first-thirty-years-of-kftc"&gt;"I Was There: The First Thirty Years of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth"&lt;/a&gt; and heard why Jack believes in KFTC. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;a title="IMG_0917 by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kftcphotos/7165556730/"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5341/7165556730_3742e079d7.jpg" alt="IMG_0917" height="375" width="500" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The event raised $60 through a new member, two membership renewals, and tee shirt sales. One woman registered to vote for the first time in decades and one young Wallins resident who attends Union College now plans to join in on &lt;a class="external-link" href="archive/2012/02/07/union-college-plans-trip-to-i-love-mountains-day"&gt;the growing efforts to establish a KFTC student organization there&lt;/a&gt;. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;a title="IMG_0907 by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kftcphotos/7165600962/"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7076/7165600962_8822bc354c.jpg" alt="IMG_0907" height="375" width="500" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;p&gt;After the film, Jack used the projector to share his collection of old photographs of Harlan County and led a discussion about the things he and his neighbors love about Harlan County, as well as their concerns and hopes for the future.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;a title="Jack Ball shares his historic photos of Harlan County by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kftcphotos/7165585058/"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7237/7165585058_699b3b9f49.jpg" alt="Jack Ball shares his historic photos of Harlan County" height="375" width="500" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
          ]]>
      </atom:content>

      <atom:author>
        <atom:name>Tanya Turner</atom:name>
      </atom:author>

      <atom:published>2012-05-10T06:20:03-04:00</atom:published>

      <atom:updated>2012-05-15T09:20:38-04:00</atom:updated>

      
        <atom:category term="EKY"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Fundraiser"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Eastern Kentucky"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="New Power Leader Program"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Harlan County"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Friendraiser"/>
      

    </atom:entry>

  
  

    <atom:entry>

      <atom:title>Upcoming Solar Energy Workshops</atom:title>

      <atom:link rel="alternate" type="text/html"
                 href="http://www.kftc.org/blog/archive/2012/05/08/upcoming-solar-energy-workshops">
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      <atom:id>870867c6be1049a353a85c65415fbaf0</atom:id>
      

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&lt;p&gt;The Kentucky Solar Partnership and Appalachia – Science in the Public
 Interest, with the support of the Mountain Association for Community 
Economic Development (MACED), Johnson Controls, Inc., the Franklin County Cooperative Extension 
Service, and Kentucky State University, present a series of introductory
 and advanced training classes on solar photovoltaic system design and 
installation practices.&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Full workshop descriptions and 
registration information can be found at www.kysolar.org. Financial 
support with low-interest loans covering up to 100% of registration fees plus grants for travel expenses is 
available to residents of eastern Kentucky, thanks to the support from 
MACED.&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Introduction to Solar Photovoltaics&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;May 8-9, 2012 &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;8:30 am – 5:00 pm&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;Fee: &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;$275&lt;br /&gt;Instructor: Chris LaForge, ISPQ Certified PV Instructor&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; NABCEP Certified PV Installer&lt;br /&gt;Location: Franklin County Cooperative Extension Office&lt;br /&gt;101 Lakeview Court, Frankfort, KY 40601&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Solar Site Assessments and PV System Design&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;May 10, 2012&lt;br /&gt;8:30 am – 5:00 pm &lt;br /&gt;Fee: &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;$140&lt;br /&gt;Instructor: Chris LaForge, ISPQ Certified PV Instructor&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; NABCEP Certified PV Installer&lt;br /&gt;Prerequisite: Introduction to Photovoltaics or equivalent prior training or experience&lt;br /&gt;Location: Franklin County Cooperative Extension Office&lt;br /&gt;101 Lakeview Court, Frankfort, KY 40601&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Solar Photovoltaics &amp;amp; the National Electric Code &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;May 11, 2012&lt;br /&gt;8:00 am – 4:00 pm&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;Fee: &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;$140&lt;br /&gt;Instructor: Chris LaForge, ISPQ Certified PV Instructor&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; NABCEP Certified PV Installer&lt;br /&gt;Prerequisite: Introduction to Solar Photovoltaics or equivalent prior training or experience&lt;br /&gt;(Code officials require no prerequisites)&lt;br /&gt;For Installers, Code Officials, Inspectors, and Building Professionals&lt;br /&gt;Location: Franklin County Cooperative Extension Office&lt;br /&gt;101 Lakeview Court, Frankfort, KY 40601&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Introduction to Solar Water Heaing&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;June 5-6, 2012&lt;br /&gt;8:30 am – 5:00 pm each day &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;Fee: &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;$275&lt;br /&gt;Instructor: Bill Guiney, Director of Solar Heating &amp;amp; Cooling, Johnson Controls, Inc.&lt;br /&gt;Prerequisite: none&lt;br /&gt;Location: Franklin County Cooperative Extension Office&lt;br /&gt;101 Lakeview Court, Frankfort, KY 40601&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Solar Industry Trends &amp;amp; New Technologies&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;June 7, 2012&lt;br /&gt;8:30 am – 12:00 pm&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;Fee: &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;$100&lt;br /&gt;Instructor: Bill Guiney, Director of Solar Heating &amp;amp; Cooling, Johnson Controls, Inc.&lt;br /&gt;
Prerequisite: none&lt;br /&gt;Location: Franklin County Cooperative Extension Office&lt;br /&gt;101 Lakeview Court, Frankfort, KY 40601&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Advanced Solar Photovoltaics Hands-On Installation Training&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;July 10-12, 2012 &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;8:30am – 5:00 pm each day&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;Fee:&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;$415&lt;br /&gt;Instructor: Chris LaForge, ISPQ Certified PV Instructor&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; NABCEP Certified PV Installer&lt;br /&gt;Prerequisites: Introduction to Solar Photovoltaics or equivalent prior training or experience.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Location: Franklin County Cooperative Extension Office&lt;br /&gt;
101 Lakeview Court, Frankfort, KY 40601&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;To learn more, contact the &lt;a class="external-link" href="http://www.kysolar.org"&gt;Kentucky Solar Partnership&lt;/a&gt; at 502-227-4562 or 
solar@kysolar.org. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;NABCEP Training Hours: Participants will earn
 training hours to use towards the eligibility requirements for the 
NABCEP Solar PV Installer certification exam.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;CEU’s available for 
Kentucky licensed Master Electricians and Electrical Electricians for 
Introduction to Solar PV; Solar Site Assessments and PV System Design; 
and Solar PV and the National Electric Code.&lt;/p&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
          ]]>
      </atom:content>

      <atom:author>
        <atom:name>Nancy Reinhart</atom:name>
      </atom:author>

      <atom:published>2012-05-08T14:35:48-04:00</atom:published>

      <atom:updated>2012-05-08T14:35:48-04:00</atom:updated>

      
        <atom:category term="Training"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Ally Event"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="renewable energy"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Energy"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="New Power"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Renew East Kentucky"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="solar"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="KySEA"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="green jobs"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Workshop"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Sustainable Energy"/>
      

    </atom:entry>

  
  

    <atom:entry>

      <atom:title>Organizing and Water Testing Training Saturday, May 12th</atom:title>

      <atom:link rel="alternate" type="text/html"
                 href="http://www.kftc.org/blog/archive/2012/05/08/organizing-and-water-testing-training-saturday-may-12th">
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      <atom:id>57217d67ade09fcf04f5a9eaa090194c</atom:id>
      <atom:summary>KFTC is hosting an Organizing and Water Testing Training Saturday May 12th, from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM at the Floyd County Public Library in downtown Prestonsburg. This workshop will focus on helping KFTC members identify streams they want to begin testing and then developing skills to reach out and involve members in the local community in order to build community ownership in understanding the results of the initial testing.</atom:summary>

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&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Community Organizing &amp;amp; Water Testing Training&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="left"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;When: &lt;/strong&gt;Saturday May 12th, from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="left"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Where: &lt;/strong&gt;The Floyd County Public Library in downtown Prestonsburg&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="left"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;If you Plan to attend: &lt;/strong&gt;Please contact Kristi Kendall at 606-263-4982 or kristi@kftc.org or contact&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;Kevin&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;Pentz at 606-335-0764 or kevin@kftc.org, we want to be sure we have enough equipment for everyone. Also please bring a jar of water from a nearby stream.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="left"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Lunch:&lt;/strong&gt; We will provide soup beans cornbread, drinks and snacks, but please feel free to bring another dish to share with everyone.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="left" class="image-left"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a title="KFTC Hosts Governor Steve Beshear in eastern KY, April 2011 by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kftcphotos/5599663380/"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5306/5599663380_b4e578d3eb_n.jpg" alt="KFTC Hosts Governor Steve Beshear in eastern KY, April 2011" height="213" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="left"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="discreet"&gt;Rick Handshoe using a conductivity meter in a creek.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="left"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="left"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="left"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="left"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="left"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="left"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="left"&gt;We will start off the morning with reviewing some principles of organizing and how this can be incorporated with water testing. In this first training we will be learning how to use basic conductivity meters and we will get an understanding of what is conductivity and why is it important. We will also be thinking through and developing skills to involve local communities in not only the testing but also in understanding the results.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p align="left"&gt;I've been a water sampler on the Licking River and Big Sandy River Watershed Watch for many years. There is a lot of energy in the beginning, but that can diminish over time if volunteers do not see how their efforts lead to improved water quality. A community organizing element added to water testing is a great way to see that water testing results in cleaner water and healthier communities.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p align="right" class="discreet"&gt;Doug Doerrfeld, Co-Chair of KFTC's Land Reform Committee&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p align="left"&gt;We will also be training members in methods for recording their test results in an on-line public database. This database will be able to show on a map where the streams were tested and what the tests showed.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="left"&gt;We will also develop criteria to identifying what at the streams and communities where we want to consider doing more extensive testing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="left"&gt;In follow-up trainings we will discuss the results people have been finding and we will expand on people's testing skills and consider what further equipment or expertise we will need in our field testing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="left"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

          ]]>
      </atom:content>

      <atom:author>
        <atom:name>Kevin Pentz</atom:name>
      </atom:author>

      <atom:published>2012-05-08T09:47:36-04:00</atom:published>

      <atom:updated>2012-05-08T09:47:36-04:00</atom:updated>

      
        <atom:category term="Floyd County"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Take Action"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="EKY"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="MTR"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Training"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Canary Project"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Workshop"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Eastern Kentucky"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Water quality"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Land Reform Committee"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Meeting"/>
      

    </atom:entry>

  
  

    <atom:entry>

      <atom:title>KFTC Members Vote! - Even in Primaries</atom:title>

      <atom:link rel="alternate" type="text/html"
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      <atom:id>2268c3d2f83d8f2ea4f285388b177a36</atom:id>
      

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&lt;p&gt;We have a Primary Election two weeks from today on Tuesday May 22nd and KFTC members across the state have been encouraging people to vote and helping to educate about the candidates. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We've been crunching some numbers based on voter files and have found that an average of &lt;strong&gt;73%&lt;/strong&gt; of KFTC members who are eligible vote in any given&amp;nbsp; Primary Election.&amp;nbsp; This compares to a 25% average turnout amongst eligible Kentuckians as a whole.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p align="center"&gt;&lt;img class="image-inline" src="../Members/dave/KFTCVotes.jpg/image_large" alt="KFTCVotes" height="312" width="546" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;KFTC Members really do seem to be some of the strongest "super voters" in the state.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Multiplied by our large base of 8,000 members, that's a lot of voting power, which doesn't even count other friends that we're reaching through phone banks, web, mailings, voter guides, or even informal contacts with our members across the state.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In short, KFTC members have the power to make a huge impact on this election through their actions and through voting.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Please take the time you have left in these last 2 weeks to talk to friends about the election, point people towards our website at &lt;a class="external-link" href="http://www.kentuckyelection.org"&gt;www.KentuckyElection.org&lt;/a&gt;, and do anything else you can to make a difference.&lt;/p&gt;

          ]]>
      </atom:content>

      <atom:author>
        <atom:name>Dave Newton</atom:name>
      </atom:author>

      <atom:published>2012-05-08T09:06:51-04:00</atom:published>

      <atom:updated>2012-05-08T09:06:51-04:00</atom:updated>

      
        <atom:category term="Voter Empowerment"/>
      

    </atom:entry>

  
  

    <atom:entry>

      <atom:title>KFTC Chapter Armchair Seminar:  How to have great one on one conversations</atom:title>

      <atom:link rel="alternate" type="text/html"
                 href="http://www.kftc.org/blog/archive/2012/05/07/kftc-chapter-armchair-seminar-how-to-have-great-one-on-one-conversations">
        http://plone.org/
      </atom:link>

      <atom:id>061314421cc99ee77c231b977e532708</atom:id>
      

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&lt;p&gt;Tonight KFTC members participated in the second Chapter Development Armchair Seminar.&amp;nbsp; This seminar focused on how to have one-on-one conversations with others to build people power and stronger chapters.&amp;nbsp; If you missed the seminar but would like to still learn about one-on-ones, &lt;a class="external-link" href="../our-work/chapters/development"&gt;follow this link to download&lt;/a&gt; the power point slides and presentation notes used in the seminar.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;a title="Pic by cclenfert, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/46340985@N04/7154448912/"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a title="Pic2 by cclenfert, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/46340985@N04/7154458520/"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7280/7154458520_d7442696fa.jpg" alt="Pic2" height="275" width="500" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
          ]]>
      </atom:content>

      <atom:author>
        <atom:name>Carissa Lenfert</atom:name>
      </atom:author>

      <atom:published>2012-05-07T20:26:43-04:00</atom:published>

      <atom:updated>2012-05-07T20:26:43-04:00</atom:updated>

      
        <atom:category term="Training"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Leadership Development"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="featured"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Workshop"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Chapter Meeting"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Meeting"/>
      

    </atom:entry>

  
  

    <atom:entry>

      <atom:title>KentuckyElection.org is online! See where the candidates stand on our issues</atom:title>

      <atom:link rel="alternate" type="text/html"
                 href="http://www.kftc.org/blog/archive/2012/05/07/kentuckyelection-org-is-online-see-where-the-candidates-stand-on-our-issues">
        http://plone.org/
      </atom:link>

      <atom:id>b53c0ccc16f3acc2c81c1a5f14828687</atom:id>
      

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&lt;p&gt;
								&lt;img src="http://www3.thedatabank.com/hm/146/image/vote-check-trans.gif" alt="" height="76" width="114" align="right" hspace="10" vspace="10" /&gt;With this year's primary election coming up in just over 2 weeks on Tuesday, May 22nd, we've been working hard to compile responses from a variety of candidates in federal, state, and local races. Soon, we'll mail our Voter Guides to all of our members and begin to hand them out at tabling events around the state, but we've also put them online for anyone to read. You can find all of the responses we've received at &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.KentuckyElection.org" target="_blank"&gt;www.KentuckyElection.org&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table class="photo-right"&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;
											&lt;a title="voterregatsavealot by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kftcphotos/6961825714/"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7089/6961825714_b0fae6e4b5_n.jpg" alt="voterregatsavealot" height="215" width="320" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td style="text-align: right;"&gt;
											Central Kentucky KFTC members registering voters in their community.&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
								For the last few election cycles, KFTC has made an effort to contact the candidates in many chapter areas and ask them questions about the issues that are important to us. We want to move the debate about candidates beyond their superficial differences and instead focus on the issues that affect us in our daily lives. We've asked questions about mountaintop removal mining, energy issues, immigration, poverty, and more. Hopefully these surveys will educate and empower our members and friends to make informed choices at the polls.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
								So please take some time to familiarize yourself with the candidates. After that, please share the website with your family and friends through email, Facebook, and more. We want to be able to contact as many Kentucky voters as possible before election day, and with your help we will be able to greatly expand our reach&lt;/p&gt;

          ]]>
      </atom:content>

      <atom:author>
        <atom:name>Erik Hungerbuhler</atom:name>
      </atom:author>

      <atom:published>2012-05-07T16:35:06-04:00</atom:published>

      <atom:updated>2012-05-07T16:35:06-04:00</atom:updated>

      
        <atom:category term="Voter Empowerment"/>
      

    </atom:entry>

  
  

    <atom:entry>

      <atom:title>Member Speaks Out About The True Costs of Coal</atom:title>

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&lt;p&gt;&lt;img class="image-right image-inline" src="../../../../../images-1/blog/LaytonRegister.jpg/image_preview" alt="Layton Register" /&gt;The following is a letter written by Central Kentucky KFTC member Layton Register (shown right) to all House Tourism Development and Energy Committee members after they heard the Clean Energy Opportunity Act, House Bill 167, this last session:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;_____________________&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Dear Representative,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I attended the committee meeting on March 22, 2012, to discuss HB167. It seems very clear to me, and I wish it were to the rest of the committee members, that coal is by no means a cheap source of energy. Coal is cheap for utility companies with coal-fired generators and for the coal companies to supply, but coal is not cheap for the rest of us or for future generations. A very large price is being paid. Please consider what the coal industry and the coal energy producers do not pay in order to mine, process, and burn this natural resource.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;•&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Property values near coal mining sites become practically worthless due to the dust, noise, and unsightliness, for which the mining companies compensate these property owners nothing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;•&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Even after reclamation of a mining site, the land and soil have been disturbed to the extent that these areas are practically useless for property development, agriculture, or forestry.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;•&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Large, over-filled coal trucks cause dangerous traffic conditions, causing all of us to pay higher auto insurance rates. These same trucks, when not risking the lives of drivers, cause considerable wear and tear on the roadways, the repair and maintenance of which falls on the taxpayer, not the coal companies.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;•&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; There has been study after study linking the coal dust from mining sites to breathing difficulties, cancer, and other serious ailments, treatment for which contributes to our exploding health insurance costs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;•&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; We have a shared existence with plants and animals. Therefore, what we do in the way of destroying wildlife habitat and permitting the destruction of plants and animals, we are ultimately doing to ourselves. For however much life is valued, it is being sacrificed for the sake of burning coal.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;•&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Mining and the processing of coal require heavy use of water. Heavy metals and other toxins, i.e. trailings, either are transferred into sludge impoundment ponds or directed into the water supply. Sludge impoundment ponds pose enormous risk to life and property, whether from small leaks or large breaks, such as what occurred in Martin County in 2000, while the water supply requires intensive treatment to be made safe for drinking.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;•&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; When coal is being mined and when it is burned, some of the heavy metals and toxins escape into the air, which also pose health risks in the form of serious, if not fatal, respiratory diseases. The heavy metals and toxins that are trapped by scrubbers and other filtering equipment are commonly transferred into coal ash impoundment ponds, which, like the sludge containment ponds, pose risk to life and property. The cost of cleaning up the spill in Kingston, TN, that occurred in 2008 has climbed to over $1 billion.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;•&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Whether or not carbon dioxide is toxic is subject to debate. Regardless, that it can be deadly in high enough concentrations there is no doubt. Current levels of carbon dioxide may not be lethal, but there is a great deal of evidence that atmospheric conditions are changing due to carbon dioxide emissions, therefore is it really that inconceivable that worse could happen with increasing levels of carbon dioxide emissions? There will be a price to pay for filling the atmosphere with carbon dioxide. How much? Time will soon only tell.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;So the next time an expert on coal-fired power plants or a coal executive tries to argue that coal is a low-cost energy source, please keep in mind what he or she is not factoring in, since it will indeed likely be a significant amount.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;_______________&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Layton did not receive a response from any committee member.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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      </atom:content>

      <atom:author>
        <atom:name>Nancy Reinhart</atom:name>
      </atom:author>

      <atom:published>2012-05-03T09:41:14-04:00</atom:published>

      <atom:updated>2012-05-03T17:35:21-04:00</atom:updated>

      
        <atom:category term="MTR"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Energy"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Global Warming"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Central Kentucky"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Canary Project"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Coal Ash"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Eastern Kentucky"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Economic Justice"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="coal ash"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Power Plants"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Public Health"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Filthy Fuels"/>
      

    </atom:entry>

  
  

    <atom:entry>

      <atom:title>Voter Empowerment Update - Primary in 3 Weeks</atom:title>

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      <atom:id>3d70cf0d4033b5c53982ccc0d92545fb</atom:id>
      

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&lt;p class="image-right"&gt;&lt;a title="voterregatsavealot by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kftcphotos/6961825714/"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7089/6961825714_b0fae6e4b5_n.jpg" alt="voterregatsavealot" height="202" width="300" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Three weeks from today, on Tuesday, May 22, Kentucky will have a Primary Election that will narrow the field on races from city council seats to state legislative races, to US congressional races, setting the stage for the big elections in November.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In the coming weeks, KFTC members will launch an education campaign to let people know about candidate stances - through our print voter guides and www.KentuckElection.org.&amp;nbsp; We'll also call thousands of people to make sure they're all set to vote.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Taking a moment to look back, though, we've already had two dozen events this year that included voter registration work and built up a culture of civic participation and voting in the communities where we have chapters.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In all, we registered 196 voters this year.&amp;nbsp; That's not much compared to what we're planning for the General Election, but it's a good start.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;- In Louisville, we're integrating voter work with Louisville Loves Mountains and will be walking door to door in key areas, passing out voter guides.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p class="image-right"&gt;&lt;a title="gIMG_4661 by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kftcphotos/6954473744/"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5349/6954473744_5c739d4480_m.jpg" alt="gIMG_4661" height="180" width="240" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;- In Scott County, we've also already distributed 200 copies of our &lt;a class="external-link" href="../Members/dave/ScottVoterGuide2012Primary.pdf"&gt;voter guide&lt;/a&gt; and have several events planned to distribute more.&amp;nbsp; We'll also be conducting phone banks in cooperation with the Scott county NAACP.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;- In Northern Kentucky, we'll distribute voter guides at a yardsale the weekend before the election in addition to phone banks.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Plans in all chapter areas are still coming together and we're confident that we can collectively make an important impact.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you'd like to help out with voter turnout calls, rides to the polls, or distributing voter guides in your community, please &lt;a class="external-link" href="../about-kftc/contact-us"&gt;contact your local KFTC organizer&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

          ]]>
      </atom:content>

      <atom:author>
        <atom:name>Dave Newton</atom:name>
      </atom:author>

      <atom:published>2012-05-01T14:42:50-04:00</atom:published>

      <atom:updated>2012-05-03T17:45:46-04:00</atom:updated>

      
        <atom:category term="Jefferson County"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Northern Kentucky"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Scott County"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Voter Empowerment"/>
      

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    <atom:entry>

      <atom:title>How are you celebrating May Day?</atom:title>

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          Today is May Day, or International Workers' Day. On May 1, 1886, more than &lt;img class="image-right image-inline" src="../images-1/blog/mayday.jpg/image_preview" alt="May Day" /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;300,000 workers in 13,000 businesses across 
the United States went on strike in for the right to an 8-hour workday and a 40-hour workweek--the first May Day celebration
 in history.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Over the next few days, the celebration would become fraught with violence and instances of police and company brutality toward rallying and striking workers and their families. You can read more about the history of May Day on the Industrial Workers of the World website.&lt;/p&gt;
May Day is a national holiday in more than 80 countries, and is being celebrated here in the U.S. with a host of actions affiliated with the Occupy movement. Here in Kentucky, for example, Occupy Lexington is celebrating with teach-ins, a march, and a community potluck. (If you're near Lexington, find &lt;a class="external-link" href="http://www.facebook.com/events/345339038854304/"&gt;more information here.)&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Happy May Day, everyone! Take some time to honor the workers who fought for these basic rights, and to celebrate the workers who continue to fight for rights today!&lt;/p&gt;

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      </atom:content>

      <atom:author>
        <atom:name>Jessica Hays</atom:name>
      </atom:author>

      <atom:published>2012-05-01T11:59:26-04:00</atom:published>

      <atom:updated>2012-05-01T11:59:26-04:00</atom:updated>

      
        <atom:category term="Economic Justice"/>
      

    </atom:entry>

  
  

    <atom:entry>

      <atom:title>Cincinnati Transitions to 100% Renewable Electricity</atom:title>

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&lt;p&gt;More than 50,000 commercial and residential electricity users in 
Cincinnati hired a new electricity company this week - one that aims 
to power the city on 100% clean energy.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cincinnati is the first city in Ohio and the first of its 
size to move to 100% clean energy. The city's manager expects the 
average eligible household's bill to decrease by $133 as a result.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The customers will leave Duke Energy, which relies heavily on 
coal-burning power, and go to First Energy Solutions. A portion of the 
city's power will now come from local renewable sources, such as rooftop
 solar and solar power from the &lt;a class="external-link" href="http://www.kysea.org/blog/solar-panels-light-up-cincinnati-zoo"&gt;Cincinnati Zoo Solar Canopy project&lt;/a&gt;
 and the rest will come from renewable energy credits. Ohio has local 
renewable energy projects to provide electricity in part because of its 
state Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard - a policy similar to the &lt;a title="Clean Energy Opportunity Act - House Bill 167" class="internal-link" href="http://www.kysea.org/legislative-policy-work/2011-legislative-goals/2010-policy-recommendations"&gt;one Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance (of which KFTC is a founding member) supports passing in Kentucky.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) are generated when renewable energy 
comes online in the grid somewhere else and First Energy Solutions will 
purchase them in the amount needed to offset the remainder of the city's
 electricity use. RECs are a market mechanism that supports the growth 
of renewable energy projects.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;When given a choice on the ballot last year, Cincinnati residents 
overwhelmingly voted to allow the city to bargain for electricity on 
behalf of its residents. This enabled the city to drop its contract with
 Duke and to find a new provider. Ohio's utility market, unlike 
Kentucky's, is largely deregulated, allowing such a ballot effort to go 
forward.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a class="external-link" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/blog/2012/04/cincinnati-to-provide-100-green.html"&gt;Read more here.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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      </atom:content>

      <atom:author>
        <atom:name>Nancy Reinhart</atom:name>
      </atom:author>

      <atom:published>2012-05-01T11:44:03-04:00</atom:published>

      <atom:updated>2012-05-03T17:44:15-04:00</atom:updated>

      
        <atom:category term="energy efficiency"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="renewable energy"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Energy"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="New Power"/>
      
      
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        <atom:category term="KySEA"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="News"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="Appalachian Transition"/>
      
      
        <atom:category term="wind"/>
      

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