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Exponent Telegram: More Than Fresh Eggs, Bridgeport Farmers Market a Launch Pad for New Businesses

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By Brittany Murray/The Exponent Telegram

Over 90 percent of West Virginia’s workforce is employed through small businesses, and among the state’s many resources to help those entrepreneurs is one unexpected avenue.

Area farmers markets are creating opportunities to individuals looking to start a business by providing them an existing client base and marketing platform.

Area farmers markets are creating opportunities to individuals looking to start a business.

“It helped us get our name out there, helped us get some attention and even some media coverage,” said Quinn Edgell, a co-owner of Feathered in Bridgeport. “People started hearing about Feathered and started inquiring with us about how to shop outside the farmers market, so it was really able to help us build a client base via Facebook, through Etsy and now through our brick-and-mortar store that we have in Bridgeport.”

Edgell and her co-owner, Shalayna Pulice, participated in their first Bridgeport Farmers Market in 2012.

“I literally just took a suitcase to Debbie Workman, who organizes the farmers market, with a sampling of everything to show her what we had,” Edgell said. “They were kind of hesitant with it at first and how it would do at the market, but everything came together and it really fits in with the demographic, so we just gave it a go…”

Read the full story at www.theet.com

“Change Isn’t Easy,” But Still Jenny Totten Has a Huge Vision For McDowell County

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A lot of people think that I’m absolutely nuts for wanting to work in such a remote area of Appalachia.

But McDowell County has felt like home since the first time I set foot on the grounds of the Five Loaves and Two Fishes Foodbank, more than 4 years ago.

Since then I’ve gotten myself into several projects, ranging from economic development and business creation to community agriculture projects.

In order to do work in McDowell County, you have to believe in community development principles that put residents first and individual egos last.

You have to whole heartedly realize it is important to make small towns resilient and economies diversified while also paying homage to the deep roots coal has in central Appalachia.

You have to 100 percent understand that every single person is doing the best they can, and the best they know how to do.

And you have to whole heartedly realize it is important to make small towns resilient and economies diversified while also paying homage to the deep roots coal has in central Appalachia. Change isn’t easy, and it’s even harder here.

I am a boomerang child of West Virginia – a term used for natives who left the state but found themselves back for whatever reason. I grew up right outside of Charleston, in a small, tight-knit community near Kanawha State Forest called Loudendale. Im a proud graduate of GW High School, a Virginia Tech Hokie and a rocket scientist, by degree and practice.

After spending some time in Haiti, I chose to work on development projects in my own state because the best way to affect change is to return to a place that you intimately know and love. I have always been devoted to West Virginia and am so excited to get my hands dirty doing work in a community that I have fallen madly in love with.

My vision for McDowell County’s future is huge. I see small vibrant downtown areas in Kimball and Welch, a blossoming small scale local food economy, and a world where Welch does not close at 5 p.m.

In my spare time I coach an all-girls Lego Robotics team, farm on a postage stamp size piece of property, explore the outdoors, and create things that border between craft and middle school attempts at an art project.

My vision for McDowell County’s future is huge. I see small vibrant downtown areas in Kimball and Welch, a blossoming small scale local food economy, and a world where Welch does not close at 5 p.m.

I see organizations coming together to help the people of McDowell design their own solutions. Music, visual arts, and theater all play a role in McDowell’s future. I see the natural resource economy blossoming with increased usage of the Hatfield McCoy trails, Berwind Lake, and Panther State Forest.

And most importantly, I see a county where, when a high senior class is asked about their future, the easiest answer is not “Leave the area.”

Hello, Jenny

Win Some, Lose Some: The Wrap-Up Of Community Development Proposals From This Year’s Session

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Photo by Perry Bennett/WV Legislature Photography

The West Virginia legislative session wrapped up on April 9, and we were wondering what happened to those proposals introduced that pertain to community development.

So here’s our rundown on what happened to bills pertaining to abandoned buildings and property redevelopment, and what the new Home Rule legislation might mean for local municipalities.

And below is all the pertinent info about the other community development-related proposals that were in the mix.

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HB 2453- Expanding Industrial Hemp

House Bill 2453 passed the Senate and House unanimously this session. The bill, sponsored by Delegates Eldridge, Butler, and Summers, alters the 2014 Industrial Hemp Development Act to allow the West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture to expand licensing of more qualified individuals and state institutions of higher learning to grow or cultivate industrial hemp in West Virginia.

Americans already safely purchase $580 million worth of hemp-based products imported each year. Now West Virginia is a step closer to tapping into that market. Interested in learning more? Here’s our deep dive into the Industrial Hemp proposal.

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HB 2724- Creating a Public Health Pilot Program

House Bill 2724 was introduced by Minority Leader Tim Miley and Speaker Tim Armstead at the request of Governor Justice, and passed both chambers to become law this session.

The legislation will result in the creation of a community-based pilot program to address poverty, substance abuse, and other determinants of health. The pilot project aims to develop a comprehensive model which be utilized to promote public health in communities throughout the Mountain State.

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HB 3093- Establishing Broadband Expansion and Enhancement Policies (BEEP)

House Bill 3093 passed both the House and Senate, however, the proposal has yet to receive the Governor’s seal of approval. Given that West Virginia ranks 48th in the nation in broadband access, the Hub believes this bill is crucial to pass this session.

The revenue-neutral proposal aims to increase access to broadband across the state by allowing municipalities and counties to form nonprofit broadband cooperatives, expand the role of the state Broadband Council to collect a range of meaningful data, identify innovative solutions, and posit policy recommendations.

The bill would also aim to eliminate barriers to broadband installation by ensuring ready-pole access and the use of micro-trenching techniques, while safeguarding consumers by prohibiting internet providers from advertising or contracting for “up to” speeds.

If you’re interested in advocating for this proposal, here’s how you can tell Governor Jim Justice to sign it into law.

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SB 341- Establishing WV Business Growth in Low-income Communities Tax Credit

Sponsored by a bipartisan group of Senators, Senate Bill 341 unanimously passed a vote by the full Senate and was sent to the House, where it passed the House Small Business, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development, and was sent to House Finance. It was never placed on the House Finance agenda and died in committee.

If passed, SB 341 would have established a tax credit program available in West Virginia’s low-income communities, aimed at spurring economic growth and business activities.

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SB 27- Permitting sale of Home-based, Micro-processed Foods at Farmers Markets

Following unanimous passage in the Senate, Senate Bill 27 was ordered to the House on March 21 and sent to the Health and Human Resources Committee, where it was amended and sent to the floor.

The House passed the bill and sent it back to the Senate, where it was amended once again. The Senate then requested the House concur with their amendments, however, the chamber failed to respond and the proposal died.

SB 27 would have permitted farmers market vendors to apply for a microprocessor permit to allow for the sale of certain micro-processed foods like jams, jellies, honey, pickles and sauces at West Virginia farmers markets.

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SB 294- Community Sustainability Investment Pilot Program

Senate Bill 294 passed the Senate unanimously on Crossover Day. Subsequently, the proposal was ordered to the House on Wednesday, March 29. In the House, the bill received a single reference to House Finance, where it failed to prevail in a very competitive process to be placed on the Finance agenda.

The proposal would have created a matching community development grant fund designed to “foster the implementation of innovative planning strategies to develop and expand communities that can maximize emerging economic opportunities and environmental challenges and thrive in the Twenty-First Century.”

Funding could have been used to provide tech advances, develop community centers, arts, cultural and recreational facilities, aesthetic improvements to existing community entities and infrastructure, diversity programming, as well as the development of renewable or alternative sources of energy.

Is This the Moment West Virginia Finally Opens Up to the Economic Opportunity in Hemp Farming?

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Photo by Tara Jones/FlickrCC

After unanimous passage in the House on Tuesday, March 28, House Bill 2453 was introduced in the Senate, where it was double referenced to the committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and then Government Organization. On Saturday, April 1, the bill passed through Ag. and Rural Development, where the Committee opted to dispense of the bill’s second reference and report the bill directly to the Senate floor. The bill is set for a final vote in the Senate on Wednesday, April 6.

The bill, sponsored by Delegates Eldridge (D), Butler (R), and Summers (R), would alter the 2014 Industrial Hemp Development Act to allow the West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture to expand licensing of qualified individuals and state institutions of higher learning to grow or cultivate industrial hemp in West Virginia.

The proposal would also remove hemp from the its classification as a schedule one drug within the state, which makes it illegal to sell or distribute it in the U.S.

In West Virginia, licensed hemp farmers can cultivate the crop as long as the hemp contains less than one percent of THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana, a less stringent standard than the 0.3 percent threshold set forth in the 2014 federal farm bill.

Currently, West Virginia’s Industrial Hemp Development Act prohibit farmers from selling the crop, or transporting it out of state for use in products.

Currently, West Virginia’s Industrial Hemp Development Act prohibits farmers from selling the crop, or transporting it out of state for use in products.

HB 2453 has the support of the Commissioner of Agriculture, Kent Leonhardt, and the West Virginia Farmer’s Cooperative. Proponents of the bill argue this piece of legislation will diversify West Virginia’s agricultural sector, and provide West Virginia farmers with access to a number of new markets.

To prevent universities from competing with local farmers in the commercial sale of industrial hemp, the bill was amended by the House Judiciary Committee to reflect that universities may cultivate the plant for research purposes only.

Morgan Leech, CEO of the West Virginia Farmer’s Cooperative, recently explained “there are 25,000 different products that can be developed from the industrial hemp crop, so talking about the seed for the food industry, talking about the flowers and the leaves for the nutraceutical and the topical industries, and talking about the fiber that can develop thousands of new products.”

“It is a great opportunity for young entrepreneurs and innovators to take advantage of the new opportunities we are going to provide.”

Recap of prior Legislation

Through the 1920s, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) handled industrial hemp as it did any other farm commodity. It was widely grown, included in USDA published crop reports, and farmers were provided assistance with production and distribution.

Hemp’s heyday in the United States came to an end as it’s association with marijuana was increasingly misunderstood, and a number of states and, subsequently, the federal government, moved to strictly regulate the cultivation of hemp.

By 1937, a federal registration, a special tax stamp, and a DEA permit were required to produce the crop. The federal government classified the crop as a schedule one drug in the 1970s Controlled Substances Act, despite the fact that hemp contains no substantial amount of THC, the psychoactive chemical component of marijuana.

(As Senator Robert Beach told the Gazette-Mail recently “You could smoke 500 acres of it and it won’t get you high.”)

Research is expected to conclude how well hemp grows in West Virginia, what products can be produced from the crop, and the hemp varieties best suited to grow here.

The passage of the 2014 federal farm bill meant hemp could be cultivated in the U.S., though it remains heavily regulated. Since 2014, 16 states have passed laws allowing for the cultivation of hemp for commercial purposes and a total of 20 states have legalized research and developed hemp cultivation pilot programs.

In 2016, 650 licensed farmers produced 12,795 acres of industrial hemp in the U.S., the same year that the West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) licensed nine individuals to cultivate 13 acres of industrial hemp as a part of the department’s research project in collaboration with West Virginia University (WVU). The research is expected to conclude how well hemp grows in West Virginia, what products can be produced from the crop, and the hemp varieties best suited to grow here. This year, 15 farmers are licensed to take part in the state’s pilot program.

Mike Manypenny of Taylor County is one of the 15 individuals licensed by the WVDA to cultivate industrial hemp in 2017. Manypenny, a co-founder of the West Virginia Farmers Cooperative, is set to grow five acres of hemp on his farm this year and is actively exploring potential hemp-based downstream industries that West Virginia farmers could one day access.

Manypenny told The Hub that the co-op is exploring a variety of potential industries that could be spurred by regional cultivation of hemp. One exploration includes research with WVU’s School of Engineering on the potential use of industrial hemp as a high-quality activated carbon, commonly used in coal plants and water filters.

Research taking place at WVU, led by Agri Carb Electric Corporation, posits that hemp may aid soil conditions of contaminated brownfields or mountaintop mining sites.

Another involves a partnership with Victory Hemp Foods for the use of hemp seeds, packed with nutritious oils, in health foods. The organization is also looking into the role that hemp could play in producing recyclable bioplastics, and the use of a sugary variety of hemp to create malt, used to brew beer.

Research taking place at WVU, led by Agri Carb Electric Corporation, posits that hemp may aid soil conditions of contaminated brownfields or mountaintop mining sites, through a process called phytoremediation- which could be uniquely beneficial in West Virginia.

The West Virginia Farmer’s Cooperative is also working to address current challenges to the growing industry, which include a lack of access to specialized harvesting equipment, modernized processing and manufacturing facilities, a lack of federal or state research funding, the cost of importing certified seeds, and stringent requirements that prohibit farmers from selling the crop, or transporting it out of state.

Economic Impacts

For the moment, though, growing hemp in West Virginia is costly. Farmers cover 100 percent of research costs, and lack access to specialized harvesting equipment that could improve the efficiency of the harvesting process, which is otherwise labor intensive and time-consuming.

Small farms in Kentucky have benefitted from grant funding doled out by companies like Patagonia interested in obtaining a sustainable supply of U.S. based hemp.

In Kentucky, the nation’s second largest industrial hemp producer, the industry is thriving. Small farms in Kentucky have benefitted from grant funding doled out by companies like Patagonia interested in obtaining a sustainable supply of U.S. based hemp, which they use in the production of their clothing line. For now, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture remains cautious, noting that the market is small, but growing.

According to a 2017 Congressional Research Service Report, Americans already safely purchase $580 million worth of hemp-based products imported each year. Due to its schedule one classification, the related farming, processing and manufacturing jobs have been located in at least 30 other countries, until now.

As Senator Beach recently said of HB 2453, “It’s revenue and it’s jobs. West Virginia is in the perfect position to expand the multifaceted landscape of this type of crop, jobs and revenue that exist in areas of agriculture, auction and distribution, production processing, manufacturing, research and education.”

In the Home Stretch, What Hope Remains for New Community Development Ideas? Here’s the Rundown…

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Main Street, West Virginia. Photo by The Hub.

In the last Legislative Hubbub, we did some digging around to find what new ideas our senators and representatives had proposed this legislative session that pertain to community development.

The answer was not as many as we’d like. But there are a few that we think have the potential to have a positive impact on West Virginia’s communities.

Some of those bills did not make it past Crossover Day last week – the last day that bills must be out of their house of origin. But there’s a few that are still alive and kicking.

Here’s a look at what community development-related bills still have a chance at becoming law this session. (To have any chance, bills must reach the floor of their respective chamber by this Thursday, April 6.)

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SB 294- Community Sustainability Investment Pilot Program

Senate Bill 294 survived the much anticipated Crossover Day and passed the Senate unanimously on the last day possible.

SB 294 was introduced in the House on Wednesday, March 29 and was single referenced to House Finance, which still has 40 bills on its docket to sift through before the end of the session on Saturday, April 8. Getting placed on the House Finance agenda will be a highly competitive process.

The proposal would create a matching community development grant fund designed to “foster the implementation of innovative planning strategies to develop and expand communities that can maximize emerging economic opportunities and environmental challenges and thrive in the Twenty-First Century.”

Funding could be used to provide tech advances, develop community centers, arts, cultural and recreational facilities, aesthetic improvements to existing community entities and infrastructure, diversity programming, as well as the development of renewable or alternative sources of energy.

The proposed grant program will be operated by the West Virginia Development Office and the Community Sustainability Investment Board established in the bill.

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SB 238- Increasing Tax Credits For Redeveloping Historic Buildings

The Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 238, which would increase the rate of West Virginia’s historic rehabilitation tax credit from 10 percent to 25 percent, passed the Senate unanimously on Crossover Day. The substitute is essentially the same as the original bill with the addition of a December 31, 2017 effective date. This addition ensures that no historic tax credits will be applied to taxpayers personal or corporate net income tax liability until at least January 1, 2019.

Because HB 2545 did not pass out of committee in its chamber of origin prior to March 26, that bill is effectively “dead” — as are the other historic tax credit bills that were introduced but did not move.

Com. Sub. SB 238 is now the only historic tax credit bill left standing. It was introduced in the House on Thursday, March 29 and single referenced to the House Finance Committee. 

You can learn more about the proposal to increase the state historic tax credit at revitalizewvdowntowns.com

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HB 2724- Creating a Public Health Pilot Program

House Bill 2724 was introduced by Minority Leader Tim Miley and Speaker Tim Armstead at the request of Governor Justice. The proposal would establish a community-based pilot program to address poverty, substance abuse, and other determinants of health. The pilot project would result in the development of a comprehensive model that could be utilized to promote public health in communities throughout the Mountain State.

A community-based pilot program to address poverty, substance abuse, and other determinants of health.

HB 2724 passed the House on March 25 and was introduced in the Senate, where it was double referenced to the Health and Human Resources Committee and then the Government Organization Committee.

The bill was taken up by Health and Human Resources on the 30th and passed quickly without any debate. From here, HB 2724 must be heard by the Senate Government Organization Committee and sent to the Senate floor by Thursday, April 6 to have a shot at becoming law.

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HB 3093- Establishing Broadband Expansion and Enhancement Policies (BEEP)

House Bill 3093 passed the House with 97 votes and was single referenced to the Senate Government Organization Committee, where it has yet to be placed on the agenda.

The revenue-neutral proposal aims to increase access to broadband across the state by allowing municipalities and counties to form nonprofit broadband cooperatives, expanding the role of the state Broadband Council to collect a range of meaningful data, identify innovative solutions, and posit policy recommendations.

HB 3093 would also aim to eliminate barriers to broadband installation by ensuring ready-pole access and the use of micro-trenching techniques, while safeguarding consumers by prohibiting internet providers from advertising or contracting for “up to” speeds.

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SB 341- Establishing WV Business Growth in Low-income Communities Tax Credit

Sponsored by a bipartisan group of Senators, Senate Bill 341 unanimously passed a vote by the full Senate on Tuesday, March 21, after passing through the Senate Economic Development and Finance committees.

SB 341 would help spur business activity in West Virginia’s low-income communities.

If passed, SB 341 would establish a tax credit program available in West Virginia’s low-income communities, aimed at spurring economic growth and business activities. The bill specifically targets businesses working in coordination with Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), a critical player in the community development field.

It now moves on to the House, where it has been referenced to House Small Business, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development, and then House Finance. To have a chance at becoming law, SB 341 will have to speed through its committee references and reach the floor of the House by Thursday, April 6.  

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Photo by Paul VanDerWerf/FlickrCC

SB 27- Permitting sale of Home-based, Micro-processed Foods at Farmers Markets

Following unanimous passage in the Senate, Senate Bill 27 was ordered to the House on March 21 and sent to the Health and Human Resources Committee, where it was discussed on Saturday, April 1. Though the committee adjourned before voting on the proposal. At this point, it is unclear whether the committee will make a decision on the bill when they reconvene tomorrow.  

SB 27 would permit farmers market vendors to apply for a microprocessor permit, which would allow for the sale of certain micro-processed foods like jams, jellies, honey, pickles and sauces at West Virginia farmers markets. The required microprocessor permit is in addition to the farmers market vendor permit and would be valid for one year.

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SB 441- Expanding Home Rule

Senate Bill 441 passed the full Senate on Saturday, March 11, was introduced in the House two days later, and received a double committee reference to House Government Organization and then Finance.

Government Organization took up the bill on Saturday, where it passed. To fast track this legislation, the committee voted to dispense of the bill’s second committee reference and report it to the House. SB 441 will be read for the first time on the House floor on Tuesday, April 4.

SB 441 would allow for all municipalities that are current in their payment of state fees to apply to become a Home Rule community.

SB 441 would make the Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program a permanent program and allow for all municipalities that are current in their payment of state fees to apply to become a Home Rule community.

West Virginia’s Home Rule communities have implemented a wide range of local initiatives, including on-site citation programs targeting dilapidated buildings, alcohol sales in restaurants on Sundays, one percent sales tax increases, and a weekly “user” fee to help pay for street maintenance and police equipment.

Those in favor of Home Rule say it allows cities to be innovative and creative in applying local solutions and addressing local needs that apply distinctly to their municipality. Proponents also cite the State Legislature’s narrow window for policy making – just 90 days each year – as being an unnecessary bottleneck for proposing and voting on new ideas.

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HB 2453- Expanding Industrial Hemp

After unanimous passage in the House on Tuesday, March 28, House Bill 2453 was introduced in the Senate, where it was double referenced to Agriculture and Rural Development and then Government Organization.

HB 2453 passed through Agriculture and Rural Development, where the Committee opted to dispense of the bill’s second reference and send the bill straight to the Senate floor. The bill is on first reading today in the Senate and set for a final vote on Wednesday, April 6.

The proposal, sponsored by Delegates Eldridge, Butler, and Summers, would alter the 2014 Industrial Hemp Development Act to allow the West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture to expand licensing of more qualified individuals and state institutions of higher learning to grow or cultivate industrial hemp in West Virginia.

If you’re interested in learning more, here’s our deep dive into the Industrial Hemp proposal.

Wheelie Good Food Coming to Barboursville, West Virginia

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Photo by Barboursville Wellness Council

During the 2015-2016 school year, a study by the CARDIAC project reported that 48 percent of West Virginia fifth graders were overweight or obese. The same study also found that 35 percent of second graders and 34 percent of kindergartners were overweight or obese. The national prevalence rate of obesity in the United States is roughly 17 percent.

Together a group of 25 self motivated students are building a mobile concession cart that will feature an array of delicious, healthy alternatives to the traditional foods served at school concession stands.

A few West Virginians have opted to tackle this pervasive health issues head on. Jenny Anderson is one of those people.

In 2010, Jenny, an involved community member and proud mom, began working with a group of second grade students at Barboursville Elementary School. What initially began as an exploration of how to keep children moving and physically active throughout the school day has had a lasting impact on the students and the community.

Today, those second graders are in middle school and they’re healthy lifestyle trailblazers!

Do you remember your school concession stand? When I was in school, they typically sold an array of hot dogs, nachos, pizza and soda. I don’t recall many healthy options.

Photo by Barboursville Wellness Council

The Barboursville Youth Wellness Council is about to change that. The group of 25 motivated students is building a mobile concession cart, supported by a Try This mini-grant, that will feature a variety of delicious, healthy food alternatives.

The West Virginia Board of Education has jumped on the bandwagon and agreed to help fund the cart, which the students fittingly dubbed Wheelie Good Food.

Now, they’re working to construct their cart from the ground up. To craft their menu, the youth wellness council plans to survey the students on their favorite healthy foods.

They are also working with West Virginia Department of Agriculture to expand their school garden, which they’ll use to supply their cart with fresh, tasty, homegrown foods!

The Wheelie Good Food crew is even working to incorporate physical activity components, including a bicycle that, when peddled, will mix a smoothie.

While they recognize that they’re not going to rid their community of sugary snacks and drinks altogether, they say it’s all about simply offering a healthier alternative.

The Wheelie Good Food crew is even working to incorporate physical activity components, including a bicycle that, when peddled, will mix a smoothie.

Over the last two years, the Barboursville community has banded together to create a school garden, find funding for water bottle filling stations in both Barboursville Middle and the Village of Barboursville Elementary school, and launched community-wide health conversations.

This year alone, they’ve raised $12,000 for their school garden. How has this community been so successful in addressing childhood health? It’s simple. They engaged their young people in the process.

To formalize their work, parents and educators created the Barboursville Community Wellness Council in 2016 to help bridge the gap between the community and the schools. The Community Council engages educators, parents, and community members to organize, implement and fund health-related projects in Barboursville.

Not only have these folks fostered a culture of health in Barboursville, but they’ve provided their youth with an early crash course in community collaboration!

Interested in positioning health at the forefront of your community? You’ll want to chat with the folks in Barboursville!

A Marketing Tax Credit for Small Businesses, Pickles, and Other Ideas Catching Our Eye at the Legislature

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A proposal being considered this year would provide a tax credit for small businesses to invest in marketing and advertising. Image courtesy www.thinkimpakt.com

Here’s a bit more info on a few bills that are catching our eye this session.

House Bill 2591 – Temporary Tax Credit for Small Businesses

Legislation proposed in the West Virginia House would create a temporary tax credit for small businesses to cover up to fifty percent of the cost of branding, marketing, and advertising of agricultural or manufactured products made in West Virginia.

House Bill 2591, proposed by nine House Republicans, would make the tax credit available for five years to businesses with up to 25 employees.

Help for small businesses to improve branding, marketing, and advertising

The bill was referenced to both the House Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development and Finance Committees upon introduction on February 21. It passed Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development on March 10 and was sent to the House Finance Committee, where it faces intense competition to be placed on the agenda among 145 total bills still pending in House Finance.

If you support this bill, you can contact the House Finance Committee Chairs and ask that they place HB 2591 on the agenda.

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House Bill 2843 – Expanding Tax Increment Financing 

HB 2843 would modify the Tax Increment Finance Act (TIF) to include Class III and Class IV municipalities. This bill would provide access to Tax Increment Financing, an economic development tool designed to spark job creation and promote local development, to all municipalities. As it stands, only Class I and II cities may access TIFs on their own.

While the 2004 Tax Increment Finance Act was debated, the West Virginia Development Office, which has final veto power of all TIF projects, feared it lacked the capacity to handle a large number of project applications. As a result, Class III and IV municipalities were removed from the bill and the legislation passed.

Since then Class III and IV cities have gone through their respective County Commissions to access TIFs under County Bond issuances. Some say the process to be granted a TIF via a County Bond issuance has proved cumbersome, and has unnecessarily slowed project implementation. HB 2843 would allow all municipalities to access TIFs on their own to correct this issue.

The bill recently passed the House Political Subdivisions Committee and was sent to House Finance, where it is waiting to be placed on the agenda. Please call the House Finance Chairs if you support expanding TIF to all municipalities.

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Senate Bill 238 & House Bill 2545 – Increasing the State Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit

Both Senate Bill 238 and House Bill 2545 would increase the rate of West Virginia’s historic rehabilitation tax credit from 10 percent to 25 percent.

Increasing the historic tax credit would spark the redevelopment of underutilized buildings across West Virginia.

The Hub believes this piece of legislation would help reduce the number of abandoned properties in West Virginia and spark historic redevelopment in communities throughout the Mountain State.

While SB 238 seems to have hit a wall in the Senate Finance Committee, HB 2545 still has a shot at making it passed Crossover Day. First, it must get through the House Finance Committee.

If sparking the redevelopment of West Virginia’s historic properties is important to you, please call your legislators and ask that they prioritize House Bill 2545.

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House Bill 3093 – Broadband Enhancement

HB 3093 proposes a broadband enhancement and expansion program aimed at making high-speed internet more widely accessible.

The bill would expand the Broadband Enhancement Council and set forth additional duties, authorize municipalities and counties to form non-profit co-ops for internet service, establish new policies for make-ready pole access, and prohibit internet providers from advertising or contracting for “up to” speeds.

This bill looks set to pass the House, and do battle in the Senate after Crossover Day.

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Senate Bill 27 – The Pickle Bill

SB 27 would allow farmers market vendors to apply for a microprocessor permit that would allow them to sell certain microprocessed foods like jams, jellies, pickles and sauces at a West Virginia farmers market.

The required microprocessor permit is in addition to the farmers market vendor permit. The bill passed the Senate unanimously and was ordered to the House on March 21, where it is pending in the Health and Human Resources Committee.

Sprouting Farms: Growing The Next Generation of West Virginia’s Farmers

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Photo by Andy Ciordia/FlickrCC

Here’s a great opportunity to connect to the resurgence of interest in local food and agriculture that’s bubbling up in West Virginia right now.

Sprouting Farms is a nonprofit farm training center located in Summers County, which helps provide farmers with solid business management and production skills, mentorship, land and resources necessary to launch, experiment, and refine their farm businesses.

Sprouting Farms is now accepting apprenticeship and incubator farmer applications for the 2017 season. Here’s all the info about that.

Next week, Sprouting Farms will hold their first ever community meeting.

Where: Alderson Community Center
Chestnut Ave E, Alderson.

When: Thursday, March 23
6 – 8:30 p.m.

There will be updates on Sprouting Farms projects, introduction of staff and discussion of what resources are available now through the Equipment Share, Leasing, and Apprenticeship programs.

Be there!

From The Cutting Edge: Workshop in Morgantown Explores Latest in Journalism 2.0

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When it comes to digital media, new forms of journalism, and ways to talk and listen to your audience, the world is changing. And fast.

I, for one, am eager to do whatever I can to keep learning, and keep up to date. What’s the alternative?

And so The Hub is pleased to be a sponsor of a free public workshop at West Virginia University next month on “Using Audience Engagement to Report on Social Justice Issues.”

Featuring professionals from newsroom across the country, including ProPublica, the Center for Public Integrity, NowThis and NPR, the workshop, on Friday, April 28 from 8:45 a.m. to 5 p.m, takes participants behind the scenes of an innovative reporting project to highlight new techniques for community engagement, audience development and data sourcing for in-depth reporting projects.

Industry leaders will walk guests through how they utilize different audience engagement and social media strategies every day to reach consumers of their content.

The workshop will share the results of a collaborative reporting project between Morgan State University in Baltimore Maryland, and West Virginia University investigating food access and food security in their communities. Here’s where you can learn more, and register.

The industry leaders presenting at the workshop will walk guests through how they utilize different audience engagement and social media strategies every day to reach consumers of their content. Experts will also share strategies for using data resources, data visualization, community-based resources for covering food insecurity, as well as insights for effective community engagement in social justice reporting.

Through interactive conversations and hands-on experiences, you will have the opportunity to dig deeper into some of the tough questions facing the media industry as it covers sensitive social justice topics.

For more information on guest speakers, event schedule, venue and travel, visit: www.mediainnoevents.com/foodjustice/.

In McDowell County, the Princeton Renaissance a Natural Ally to Redevelopment Efforts

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Photo by Princeton Renaissance Project

It has been really inspiring working in McDowell County and seeing the motivation of these active citizens to make a positive change in their community.

Through our Innovation Acceleration Strategy (IAS) program, we are pleased to fund two projects to help spur new economic opportunities in their economy.

Agriculture

Seth Coen has a background in Environmental Engineering. Like many that live in Appalachia, his skills led him to a job connected to the coal industry, with a consulting firm on the reclamation of mine sites.

Seth spent much of his time in Kentucky and West Virginia. As he traveled to mine sites, he was taken back at the drastic amount of job loss.

Seth saw thousands of acres of underutilized land on former mining sites, and knew this was an opportunity in these economically depressed areas.

About seven years ago, Seth realized there were many thousands of acres of underutilized land on these former mining sites, and knew this was an opportunity in these economically depressed areas. And so he decided to start a grassroots effort to help the community identify and create innovative post-mine uses for this land.

When we met Seth, he was working on turning a former mining site in McDowell County into a demonstrative project. He wants to explore the range of things these sites can be used for.

Seth plans to use the $2,000 award to create a flower garden, teach composting in five schools, and engage students in gardening. His hope is that this will spur economic development and entrepreneurship opportunities.

Arts and Culture

It’s no secret that Lori McKinney and the Riff-Raff Arts Collective has been doing amazing work in Princeton. Through focusing on arts, music and culture, they have basically created an economic sector from scratch. Why not try it in other places?

That’s a big reason Lori created the Create Your State concert series, traveling with her band to struggling communities around the state to teach them about creative placemaking through performance. Lori shows other communities that they can create amazing things as well.

Through focusing on arts, music and culture, they have created an economic sector from scratch. Why not try it in other places?

It was through this performance that Lori met Craig Snow of Warrior Creek Development, who has been renovating a blighted building in downtown Welch. Craig also has a passion for the arts.

Craig is working with Lori to develop an arts plan that can work for McDowell County. They were awarded a $2,000 mini-grant to start hosting regular open mic nights in town, create an Artist’s Alley mural series, and add a space to display art in the very building Craig is working to develop.

McDowell County has loads of creative and artistic people living there already – perhaps this project can pull them together.