City and county leaders from across Eastern Kentucky gathered in Hazard last Thursday as Southeast Kentucky Economic Development Corporation rolled out its new initiative designed to identify economic development projects that leverage broadband infrastructure to create jobs throughout the region. The Center for Rural Development, along with SKED, are working to indentify short and long-term economic development projects that will benefit from the broadband infrastructure to create jobs in the 26 counties in the region that have been negatively impacted by the coal industry. SKED Executive Director Brett Traver says the initiative is designed to guide Eastern Kentucky business owners and leaders direction in the use of broadband infrastructure for job creation and development.