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Bill Clinton Returning to W.Va.
2008-04-29 14:01:00
With the Democratic candidates focused on Indiana and North Carolina, the former president has slated a Thursday visit to the Mountain State on behalf of his wife's campaign.The Associated Press has an item, as does MetroNews.As Obama and Clinton gear up their efforts in the state, U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., has told the two campaigns that "We don?t want negative campaigning or mudslinging to dominate the debate here," The Register-Herald of Beckley reports.
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Capito Talks Health Care At Forum
2008-04-29 13:57:00
U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, was one of several members of Congress that debated health care policy at Cincinnati Children Hospital.Covering the televised forum, WKRC-TV said that with four Democrats and four Republicans, the panel featured "huge partisan divides. Progress will likely have to be in small steps."The station also offers video, and says C-SPAN will air the debate.
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Election 2008 Shorts
2008-04-29 13:45:00
Gov. Joe Manchin told an Eastern Panhandle audience late last week that "he will not endorse either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama to be the Democratic Party's presidential nominee before West Virginia's primary election, which is less than three weeks away," the Herald-Mail of Hagerstown (Md.) reports. With video.The Associated Press reports that a record number of voters have registered in advance of the May 13 primary, offering details from the numbers.AP also reports on Barack Obama winning the endorsement of West Virginia elder statesman Ken Hechler.I either missed this or have since forgotten about it, but Survey USA polled 617 West Virginians in February about potential presidential match-ups. The results, admittedly dated, had Clinton beating McCain, 47% to 42%, but not outside the margin of error. It also had McCain trouncing Obama, 53% to 35%. The survey breaks down responses by party, ideology, gender, age, region, race and income.
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Lang, Sears Resigning Amid DaughterGate Scandal (Updated)
2008-04-28 19:51:00
The Associated Press is among those reporting Sunday's announced resignation of WVU Provost Gerald Lang, while noting that "there could be more ahead.""The Faculty Senate Executive Committee is scheduled to discuss the (Heather) Bresch affair Monday," the article said. "On May 12, some professors have said they'll bring a motion before the senate calling for a vote of no confidence in WVU President Mike Garrison, a friend of Bresch who has denied applying any pressure to get her degree awarded."Update: AP has WVU College of Business and Economics Dean R. Stephen Sears also resigning. So does MetroNews and the Charleston Daily Mail.The chairman of WVU's Faculty Senate, meanwhile, spoke both to AP and MetroNews' Talkline (the latter offering audio).The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on the Lang and Sear departures, while fielding calls for further resignations and echoing such in an editorial.The Daily Athenaeum also collects resignation calls, while also noting comments respon...
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Remembering Willow Island
2008-04-28 13:49:00
The Charleston Gazette marks the 30th anniversary of the Willow Island disaster, when 51 workers plunged to their deaths in what is "still considered the worst construction accident in U.S. history."The series includes interviews with the kin of those killed, a photo slide show with audio and a list of the dead.
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DaughterGate Fallout Continues
2008-04-25 19:22:00
In addition to the follow-up coverage posted earlier:Public Broadcasting interviews WVU President Mike Garrison, who "says he was never involved in the decision to grant Mylan Pharmaceutical COO Heather Bresch an MBA degree." With audio.The Charleston Daily Mail hears from lawmakers on the report and its findings, and also has an editorial.MetroNews has an interview with Garrison as well as one with former EMBA director Paul Speaker, and also offers a new commentary from Talkline host Hoppy Kercheval. Audio a-go-go.The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette follows up with student reactions as well as from others whose "criticism ranged from calls for resignations to outrage that two high-ranking WVU officials said they would make the same decision again."
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Ex-Regulator Loses Law License
2008-04-25 13:51:00
The former counsel and executive director of West Virginia's Board of Pharmacy has lost his law license, The Charleston Gazette reports.William T. Douglass Jr. saw his license revoked after pleading guilty to falsifying records at the board before his February 2007 firing."Investigators said Douglass double-billed the agency for thousands of dollars of expenses that were covered by other organizations," the article said. "In addition, Douglass had aspirations of becoming a sports agent. He tried to run his unsuccessful business - called Douglass Sports Negotiations, or DSPN - out of the Board of Pharmacy, sometimes billing the agency for conference rooms in a Morgantown hotel where he met with prospective clients."
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Union Report Ranks W.Va. 3rd for Workplace Deaths
2008-04-25 13:43:00
West Virginia suffered a workplace death rate twice the national average in 2006, with 79 workers killed on the job, according to a new report from the AFL-CIO."Only Alaska and Wyoming were worse," Public Broadcasting reports. "Twenty-six workers died in vehicle accidents, 22 in fires and explosions, and 14 from contact with objects and equipment."That reports also notes that "the Sago Mine Disaster accounts for 12 of those deaths."The Charleston Gazette also has a story, and notes that "the AFL-CIO report is based on U.S. Department of Labor statistics for the 2006 calendar year, the latest figures available."
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Botched Info Mars TDS-TRS Transfer Process
2008-04-25 13:32:00
Teachers and other public employees enrolled in the state's 401(k)-style retirement plan have until May 12 to elect whether to transfer to another public pension program.To aid that decision, many have been waiting on personalized statements from plan administrators that are supposed to calculate expected benefits under each plan.But The Charleston Gazette reports that "an estimated 2,000 to 2,200 of those letters went out with incorrect information - including incorrect years of service, or incorrect current salaries, or both - causing a mini-panic for teachers and school service personnel trying to make the critical decision to stay or switch."
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DaughterGate Report: Aftermath
2008-04-24 20:38:00
The Associated Press is among those following up on the findings of the report released yesterday. Others include:MetroNews, with a slew of video and audio clips along with a summary and links to the report, the statement by Heather Bresch and commentary by Talkline host Hoppy Kercheval.The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, with links to the report, video of Wednesday's press conference and a chronology. It also has a sidebar on the Oct. 15 meeting of "eight West Virginia University officials and faculty members" that "was no object lesson in educational administration," but "was, instead, a case study in flawed decision-making and crisis management."The Charleston Gazette, with the report, a timeline and an editorial.
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In the Wake of Pennsylvania (Updated)
2008-04-24 01:35:00
The Charleston Daily Mail is among those sizing up the importance of the May 13 primary following Tuesday's contest in Pennsylvania , finding that "West Virginia is now deemed a key battleground state for both presidential hopefuls."MetroNews hears from both former Democratic National Committee chief Terry McAuliffe, now chairing Clinton's campaign, and Obama supporter/U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-3rd. Talkline offers audio from the McAuliffe and Rahall interviews.In other election news:Public Broadcasting reviews the claim by Supreme Court candidate Menis Ketchum regarding his experience arguing cases and concludes that they "don?t seem to be true." With audio.The Daily Mail interviews Democrat Sheirl Fletcher, the former state lawmaker and ex-Republican, and GOP contender Jay Wolfe (also a former legislator) about the respective bids to challenge U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.(Update) The Associated Press reports on an ultimatum issued by the West Virginia Republican Party's cha...
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They Voted For You: Wilderness
2008-04-24 01:02:00
U.S. Reps. Alan Mollohan, D-1st; Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd; and Nick Rahall, D-3rd, helped pass the "Wild Monongahela Act: A National Legacy for West Virginia?s Special Places"on Tuesday.Sent to the Senate on a 368-17 vote, the measure "would designate nearly 38,000 acres of new and expanded wilderness areas in the Monongahela," The Charleston Gazette reports. The article also notes that Tuesday's measure "does not include another new wilderness area, Cheat Mountain," which had been in the original bill.
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WVU Releases DaughterGate Report (Updated)
2008-04-23 21:25:00
"West Virginia University administrators showed 'seriously flawed'' judgment in awarding the governor's daughter a master's degree she didn't earn," The Associated Press reports, citing the findings.AP adds that "the scandal is not a sign of widespread problems in the business school," but rather the "failures of process and leadership were unique to the high-profile case of Mylan Inc. executive Heather Bresch."The AP's story is also here and here."The damning 95-page report released Wednesday by the WVU Board of Governors is harshest on Provost Gerald Lang and business school dean Steve Sears, who the panel said had no academic foundation for retroactively granting Bresch the 1998 degree," AP reports. "However, the report stopped short of recommending any specific disciplinary action against anyone, advising only that WVU 'take appropriate action.'" "Mistake was compounded by mistake," the article quotes the report as concluding. "An unnecessary rush to judgment, spurred ...
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Election 2008 Shorts (Updated)
2008-04-22 23:41:00
The Associated Press reviews the latest presidential campaign finance reports to find that Barack Obama outraised fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton among West Virginians last month, but that she maintains the lead to-date for funds collected in the state.MetroNews' Talkline checked in with the Obama and Clinton camps regarding today's action in Pennsylvania, and the upcoming West Virginia primary May 13.AP also reports on the latest survey of West Virginia's lawyers that ranks the Supreme Court and circuit judge candidates. The State Bar has posted its survey and a press release.A federal judge has partly granted a preliminary injunction sought in a challenge of the state's rules governing election communications. But the ruling stops short of exempting broadcast ads from disclosure and reporting requirements. AP has the story.
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DaughterGate: The Report (Updated)
2008-04-22 23:32:00
Citing "a person familiar with the report," the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports today that "five-member panel has concluded unanimously that Mylan Inc. executive Heather Bresch, daughter of West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, did not earn a master's of business administration degree from West Virginia University and that administrators acted improperly in granting her the degree retroactively in October."Update: The newspaper has tweaked its online lede, which had said that WVU administrators "erred."MetroNews is reporting that "a source who has read the report confirmed" what the newspaper had been told, and that "a source familiar with the report said it is lengthy and includes various recommendations, but the source provided no specifics."The Associated Press cites the Post-Gazette article in its coverage while also reporting that WVU will release the report Wednesday.
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Young Dems Weigh in on MTR
2008-04-22 15:03:00
The Associated Press reports that "the West Virginia Young Democrats have called for an end to new mountaintop removal mining permits, adding to a debate that pits factions of the Democratic coalition against each other in the country's second-largest coal-producing state."
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W.Va. Reporters Head to Middle East
2008-04-22 14:13:00
Robert Snyder, a reporter for The Journal of Martisburg, has joined the 67th Airlift Wing of the West Virginia Air National Guard for a supply mission to Kuwait.The Charleston Gazette, meanwhile, has sent reporter Rusty Marks to Iraq to meet up with the West Virginia National Guard's 111th Engineer Brigade.Both are flying on C-5 Galaxy cargo planes, which have been based in Martinsburg since December 2006.
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Let the Voting Begin
2008-04-22 14:07:00
West Virginians can start casting early primary ballots Wednesday, but have until today to register to vote in that election, The Associated Press notes."As of last Thursday, there were 1,175,915 registered voters in West Virginia, an increase of 45,907 from November 2006," the article said. "The state has 660,668 Democrats compared to 347,695 Republicans and 153,749 unaffiliated voters, according to the figures."
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DaughterGate: The Report (Updated)
2008-04-22 04:00:00
With an independent panel due to release its findings regarding her WVU degree, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Heather Bresch has told school officials that "she will not allow full disclosure" and instead invokes the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act "to the fullest extent.""The five-member panel, convened by Provost Gerald Lang in January, is expected to report its findings within days on whether Ms. Bresch legitimately earned the degree," the article explains. "The report is to go first to Mr. Lang, who has said he will then share it with the university's faculty senate and board of governors. How much of that report will be made public is unknown."The Associated Press reports that the cost of this investigation, into whether WVU "gave Gov. Joe Manchin's daughter a master's degree she didn't earn," is "likely to cost more than $22,000 by the time it's completed."Update: AP and MetroNews report that the panel has delivered its findings to Lang. ?We will move...
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Election 2008 Roundup (Updated)
2008-04-21 18:58:00
The Associated Press' broadcast members held weekend forums in the races for attorney general (only Dan Greear showed up), secretary of state and Supreme Court. Public Broadcasting aired each one.AP also follows up on the Supreme Court debate with a look at the loosening of free speech limits for judicial candidates.Disgraced former state Senate President Larry Tucker, D-Nicholas, is back on the ballot in his home county, The Charleston Gazette reports. Tucker is running for county commission, nearly 20 years after he "was forced to resign by federal prosecutors and pleaded guilty to extorting a bribe from a racetrack lobbyist.With Democrats now allowing unaffiliated voters into their May 13 primary, AP's Tom Breen reports on that party's invitations to this 151,000-member bloc. "Playing heavily on the excitement over the contest between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the invitations remind unaffiliated voters that 'The presidential race is still undecided. Republicans...
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Quote of the Day
2008-04-18 14:36:00
"(W)e cannot avoid the conclusion that the proposed settlement is anything other than one more bad bargain between the unsophisticated 'locals' and the folks on the big ships in the harbor with all those flashy beads." -- The West Virginia Sierra Club, reacting to a deal reached between Public Service Commission staff and Allegheny Energy over the latter's proposed $1.3 billion power line project, as reported by The Charleston Gazette.
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W.Va. & TrAIL
2008-04-18 14:32:00
Public Broadcasting reports that "Allegheny Energy?s efforts to build a high voltage power line through north central West Virginia took a big step forward this week," under a deal reached with the state Public Service Commission and its consumer advocate. "The West Virginia Energy Users Group, which represents several large industries in the region, was also part of the agreement," the report said, but "local citizens groups were not."With audio. Others with reports include The Charleston Gazette, which also focused separately on citizen reaction.
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Study Estimates Cost of Single-Parent Families to W.Va.
2008-04-18 14:24:00
A group called the Institute of American Values has released a report that suggests that "the breakdown of marriage is costing state taxpayers $231 million a year," MetroNews reports.Jeremy Dys, executive director of the Family Policy Council of West Virginia, appeared on MetroNews' Talkline to tout the study, and to argue that it should "get the state involved in helping marriages last."MetroNews also offers audio.
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Zoning in W.Va.
2008-04-18 14:15:00
The state Supreme Court has ordered the Jefferson County Planning Commission to reverse the denial of a permit to "developers of a controversial 152-home community in part of the Shepherdstown Battlefield area," The Journal of Martinsburg reports.(The article explains that while some consider the battle "a significant factor in Gen. Robert E. Lee?s decision to retreat farther into the Shenandoah Valley" in 1862, but that the developers argued that it "occurred about one mile away from the proposed project site" and that "the battlefield area has never been listed on the National Register of Historic Places or the state?s historic register.")

Federal Judge Adds to MTR Rulings
2008-04-18 13:51:00
A federal judge has "blocked additional valley fill activities at locations with three new mining permits until the mine operators provide details of how far work on valley fills has progressed at those sites," The Charleston Gazette reports.U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers also said "the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must stop stonewalling environmental group requests for information about new mountaintop-removal mining permits," the article said.

W.Va. Lottery Seeks Monopoly on "Casino"
2008-04-18 13:34:00
"The arrival of table games in West Virginia is bringing a halt to casino-themed fundraisers sponsored by nonprofit groups and civic clubs," the Herald-Dispatch of Huntington reports.The newspapers cites the example of the Huntington Symphony Orchestra's plan to hold an April 25 fundraiser with the theme "Bright Lights Vegas Nights.""For $100, guests could win play money at slots, roulette wheels, blackjack and craps tables and use their fake winnings to bid on prizes donated by local businesses," the article said. "However, the state Lottery Commission informed the orchestra through Gov. Joe Manchin's office Tuesday that casino-themed fundraisers are no longer allowed in West Virginia if they include the elements of consideration, chance and prize."
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DaughterGate Takes a Twist (Updated)
2008-04-17 16:49:00
The Associated Press' Vicki Smith talked to another graduate of WVU's EMBA program who "says that just like the daughter of Gov. Joe Manchin, she was given flexibility to complete course work outside the classroom ." (See update below)Sherry Korczynski, a recent hire at Mylan where Heather Bresch is COO, said that then-director Paul Speaker was "flexible and accommodating in helping her complete her required credits with 'independent study,' eager to make what was then a fledgling program appear successful," the article said.Speaker had earlier told AP that "he could not recall ever allowing outside work to replace classroom work 'in the history of the EMBA program.'" Korczynski told AP that his comment "was in complete contrast with the arrangements he made for me... He allowed me great flexibility and leniency in completing the requirements."Korczynski also said that she spoke Wednesday to the investigative panel assigned to review the awarding of Bresch's EMBA. "Korczynsk...
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"Shut Up!"
2008-04-17 13:48:00
That's what U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., said to a reporter Thursday who had "asked him what he had to say to colleagues and staff aides whispering that maybe he's not up to chairing the powerful Appropriations Committee," The Associated Press reports.Byrd "made his remarks after chairing a two-hour hearing on the administration's Iraq war funding request, a session that the media and some of Byrd's colleagues viewed as a key test for the chairman," the article said. "Byrd performed steadily Wednesday, even though he relied on prepared statements when opening the hearing and asking questions of administration witness Jim Nussle, head of the White House budget office. But Sens. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, and Thad Cochran, R-Miss., did so as well."The appearance follows reports in Capitol Hill newspapers and elsewhere, and a less-than-flattering portrayal on Saturday Night Live (though the part about moving the Iraqi museum of antiquities to Wheeling was a nice touch).Others w...
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Election 2008 Shorts (Updated)
2008-04-16 18:58:00
MetroNews' Talkline interviews former justice and Democratic Supreme Court candidate Margaret Workman. With audio.Democratic congressional candidate and former South Charleston mayor (and Republican) Richie Robb has agreed to represent GOP gubernatorial candidate Russ Weeks (a former state senator) in his announced lawsuit challenging "a retroactive increase in per diem allowances for lawmakers," The Register-Herald of Beckley reports. The Charleston Gazette also has a story.An unidentified stockholder wants greater disclosure of Massey Energy's political expenditures, citing past campaigns bankrolled by CEO Don Blankenship, The Associated Press reports. The proposed resolution was part of an SEC filing that details compensation for Blankenship that totaled $23.7 million in 2007, AP calculates.The Register-Herald also covered a recent candidates' forum for area legislative candidates, while The Journal of Martinsburg profiles a local House hopeful.The Intelligencer of Wheeling re...
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Funding "Birth to Three" in W.Va.
2008-04-16 13:49:00
The Charleston Gazette follows up on its report of a funding crunch facing a state program for developmentally delayed infants and toddlers, with officials proposing that enrollees' parents pick up more of the costs."I want to look at every part of the program to see what opportunities there are for cost-sharing," Health and Human Resources Secretary Martha Walker told The Gazette. "It's a wonderful program, but there's not a never-ending pool of money to fund it. Cost-sharing has to be part of the solution."
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