M-70

The Ohio River is part of the new federally designated M-70 "marine highway." To find out what that means -- or so far, hasn't meant -- to the Ohio River, check out this story in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review .

To me, the important part was in the last two paragraphs. I've written about it before, and I hope to write about it again. I will quote the last paragraph:

Although the new federal program is aimed at increasing shipping on waterways, McCarville said his primary concern is figuring out how to "preserve marine traffic we have now, with the condition of our locks and dams."

Coal company exec invests heavily in Illinois

This is a long one, but it's a Bloomberg story on a West Virginia native who has made a fortune in coal and is betting big on Illinois, not West Virginia. Buried in the story are a few words about how he's building a coal port on the Ohio River. If you're interested and have the time,  it's worth a read, considering how many coal barges move up and down the river each day.