On this West Virginia Morning, tourism is one of West Virginia’s largest industries, bringing in an estimated $4.5 billion in revenue and providing tens of thousands of jobs. Something that’s not so much of a challenge or concern for this industry is housing for the people who work in tourism. Generally speaking, in West Virginia there’s ample affordable housing that is located near the state’s resorts and tourist destinations. But this isn’t the case in other parts of the country.
In a recent episode of West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Us & Them podcast, host Trey Kay speaks with people who live in places like Nantucket, Colorado’s ski country and Lake Tahoe, which are considered to be playgrounds for the wealthy. To make those playgrounds run smoothly, there’s a dire need for, well, community.
For this episode, Trey speaks with journalists across the country, who’ve been reporting about a shortage of affordable living accommodations for workers in affluent vacation communities.
Also on today's show, After a deadly mass school shooting in Parkland Florida this past winter, students are speaking up and taking action to make change across the nation. Gillian Brooks reports on how one student in Morgantown is hoping to make a difference in West Virginia.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from West Virginia University, Concord University, and Shepherd University.
