As coal dwindles, mining states trim safety inspections
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kathy Bartlett watched helplessly this spring as Kentucky lawmakers cut back on mine safety inspections and replaced them with coaching sessions on miners’ safety habits. She knows more than most what’s at stake. Bartlett’s son, Rickey Thorpe, was crushed to death in a western Kentucky underground mine in 2015 when a coal-digging