This post was co-authored by investigative reporter Daniel Boguslaw.
Last month, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), an economic development agency, announced the latest round of grants in its POWER Initiative, funding projects in regions affected by the coal industry. The announcement was made by ARC federal co-chair Gayle Manchin, the wife of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and a former West Virginia Secretary of Education who was nominated and confirmed in the early days of the Biden presidency, with her husband holding a crucial vote in the Senate.
One of three projects in her home state that received funding was the West Virginia Regional Technology Park Corporation (WVRTP), a research and business facility located in South Charleston. The grant of $886,762 will fund a job training program focused on technology and manufacturing, likely increasing the tech park’s revenue by about 10 percent, based on the recent financial statements of its owners, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, a government agency.
