Early Voting is open during regular business hours at each county courthouse from October 22 to November 1. Early Voting is also available each Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Click here to view early voting hours and locations by county.
http://www.sos.wv.gov/elections/voterinformation/2014Election/EarlyVoting/Pages/default.aspx

The West Virginia Coal Association and Friends of Coal have set membership, “town-hall-type” meetings in Beckley and Morgantown for later this month.  The focus is “Action Not Rhetoric,” and our goal is to bring attention to the issues surrounding the state’s coal industry as we head into the 2014 general election. At the meetings, we will discuss the current status of the coal industry in the state, the factors that are impacting the industry, the importance of the upcoming election as well as our political endorsements and why we chose these candidates. We urge those who are concerned about the future of coal mining in West Virginia to make plans to attend the meetings.

Meetings are set for Oct. 27^th at Tamarack at 4:30 p.m. for the Beckley/Bluefield area and October 31^st at the Waterfront Hotel in Morgantown at 3:00 p.m. for the Morgantown/Fairmont/Clarksburg areas. We are also attempting to schedule visits in other cities across the state between now and Election Day.  Details will be provided as soon as the coordination is complete. 

The next year is critical to the future of our industry. And the upcoming election will play a central role in determining the course we will take. There are a lot of people out there who claim to be ‘friends of coal,’ and we need all of them who will do what it takes to help us meet and overcome the challenges we face.

The online tool allows you to file your comments calling on EPA to rescind its job-killing regulations that are halting the construction of new coal-fired power plants and essentially forcing the closure of existing plants.  The letters are sent directly to the EPA's official comments e-mail address. You have until December 1, 2014 to register your comments, which means you have about 40 days left to make your voice heard on this important issue.     

If you have not already done so, we ask that you visit the online petition and add your support. You can do so at www.friendsofcoal.org/soundoff<http://www.friendsofcoal.org/soundoff>.  Do it today!

Public outreach and education efforts for the Friends of Coal are continuing. Membership meetings are currently set for October 27^th in the Beckley/Bluefield area and October 31^st in Morgantown.

Additional informational sessions have been set, with two more groups of Wheeling Jesuit's College "Coal Tours" program set for the Oct. 21 and 22 and a group of Princeton University students visiting on Oct. 27.

Coal production in the United States was up 7 percent for the week ending October 11th from the same week last year, according to weekly figures released by the US Energy Information Agency (EIA).  Production for the week was up slightly less than two million tons to 19.2 million tons, from 17.9 million tons for the same week in 2013. Production for the previous 52 weeks, however, remains down, off by 0.8 percent or slightly less than 8 million tons, compared to the same period last year, at 981.2 million tons.