West Virginia Politics
Government and political news from around the state
Big decision looms for W.Va. House
West Virginia's House of Delegates faces a momentous decision after Speaker Rick Thompson departs for Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's Cabinet: choosing a new leader will help set the stage for 2014, when Republicans aim to wipe out the Democrats' ebbing majority. With Thompson slated to resign next month to head ...
SPIN METER: GOP raps Dems for IRS union cash
Seeking maximum political gain from the string of controversies swirling around the White House, Republicans are on the attack against Democratic lawmakers who accepted donations from the union that represents Internal Revenue Service employees. But here's the rub: About a dozen current and former Republican lawmakers took the same cash. ...
Foes lining up against sale of W.Va. power plant
Opposition is mounting to Mon Power's proposed purchase of a coal-fired power plant in north-central West Virginia, a deal critics say is overvalued and would unfairly raise rates for consumers. The Sierra Club of West Virginia announced Friday that it will protest the transaction Tuesday morning in Morgantown, where the ...
WVa House speaker to step down, take Cabinet post
House Speaker Richard Thompson will resign from the West Virginia Legislature next month to join Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's Cabinet as secretary of Veterans Assistance, the governor announced Thursday. Thompson will succeed Secretary Keith Gwinn, who plans to retire in mid-June because of health issues. Tomblin will call the House ...
W.Va. bath salts trial postponed until Sept. 4
A federal judge has rescheduled the drug trial of a Clarksburg man charged with selling illegal bath salts at two north-central West Virginia stores. U.S. marshals are searching for 57-year-old John Skruck, a former Texas resident who failed to show up for his trial Tuesday. Anyone with information on his ...
WVa House speaker taking Cabinet post
House Speaker Richard Thompson is resigning from the West Virginia Legislature to join Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's Cabinet as secretary of Veterans Assistance. Tomblin announced Thursday that Thompson will succeed Secretary Keith Gwinn once Gwinn retires in mid-June. Thompson is a 60-year-old lawyer and served in the Army in the ...
W.Va. gets $1M to offset costs from fall snowstorm
West Virginia is getting more than $1 million in federal funding to offset the cost of its response to the crushing snowstorm that Hurricane Sandy spawned last fall. Sandy dumped more than 2 feet of snow in some areas, killed seven people and knocked out electricity to more than a ...
US appeals court in Va. OKs W.Va. mine permit
A federal appeals court on Wednesday refused to block a federal permit for a West Virginia mountaintop removal coal mine that was challenged by environmentalists. A panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a federal judge was right to rule that the Army Corps of Engineers ...
WVU faces fresh lawsuit over 2007 degree scandal
Two former business school deans caught up in a master's degree scandal six years ago are suing West Virginia University again, arguing the school has ignored its obligation to repair their tarnished reputations. Former dean Stephen Sears and former associate dean Cyril Logar filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court ...
Insurers pay $600K in small-town W.Va. racism case
Insurance companies will pay $600,000 to a former officer who sued the Sophia Police Department over claims he was harassed and fired because he is black, Mayor Danny Barr said Wednesday. That payout is more than the small West Virginia town's entire $560,000 annual budget. While there's no immediate cost ...
Ex-W.Va. sheriff held in regional jail temporarily
A former sheriff convicted in the beating of a bank robber is being held at the Northern Regional Jail in Moundsville until the U.S. Bureau of Prisons has a bed for him. Ex-Jefferson County Sheriff Robert Shirley was sentenced Monday to a year in prison for violating the civil rights ...
UD-led study: Feds overestimate poultry pollution
A University of Delaware-led study has found that decades-old federal standards overestimate current poultry industry contributions to water pollution. The News Journal of Wilmington reports (http://delonline.us/100IFow ) that researchers found that nitrogen levels in poultry house manure are 55 percent lower than the Environmental Protection Agency's standards. Efforts to eliminate ...
Report says more woes for Appalachian coal mining
Hard times are expected to continue in the Appalachian region that was once the heart of the nation's coal production, according to a new report. Coal business in the mountains of eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia is facing declining reserves, higher production costs and competition from other coal basins ...
W.Va. revenue lawyer named new acting WV tax chief
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin is promoting a Department of Revenue lawyer to oversee West Virginia tax policy. The governor is appointing Mark Matkovich as acting state tax commissioner, effective Wednesday. Matkovich will take over that role from Revenue Secretary Charles Lorensen. Lorensen is slated to succeed Tomblin Chief of Staff ...
Dispute over Pa. gas drilling fees
There's been plenty of controversy over Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania, and now tax rates are part of the debate, too. Gov. Tom Corbett's energy executive is questioning research that suggests Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale impact fee will generate billions of dollars less in long-term revenue than the same ...
W.Va. officials challenging EPA clean-air rules
Two state officials are blasting the Environmental Protection Agency over new air pollution rules. Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Randy Huffman and Attorney General Patrick Morrisey issued a statement Tuesday saying the rules should be withdrawn. In February, the EPA directed 36 states, including West Virginia, to review their plans ...
Judge resets hearing for missing W.Va. girl's mom
A federal judge has rescheduled arguments over a plan to move the mother of a missing child from Wheeling to the Clarksburg area. Lena Lunsford's lawyers say publicity about the disappearance of 3-year-old Aliayah (uh LEE uh) Lunsford has made her mother a "social pariah" in north-central West Virginia. U.S. ...
WVU faculty want alternative to PEIA coverage
West Virginia University's Faculty Senate says the school should be allowed to look at other health insurance options for its employees. The state-run Public Employees Insurance Agency currently provides coverage for WVU employees. The Dominion Post (http://bit.ly/r8Ei4o ) reports that the Faculty Senate endorsed a letter on Monday that asks ...
New clinic in Huntington for VA's female patients
The Huntington VA Medical center is inviting veterans to a dedication ceremony this week for a new women's health clinic on the center's campus. The three-story clinic will serve the health care needs of the medical center's 1,200 female patients. The keynote speaker at the Friday dedication will be retired ...
Suspect in W.Va. sheriff slaying to be arraigned
A man accused of fatally shooting Mingo County Sheriff Eugene Crum is set to make his first court appearance. The Mingo County prosecuting attorney's office says 37-year-old Tennis Melvin Maynard will be arraigned in Cabell County on Wednesday. Maynard was indicted last month on charges related to Crum's April 3 ...
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