By BRETT DUNLAP Parkersburg News and Sentinel PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — Jim Justice believes he can do a lot to help the state of West Virginia. The Democratic candidate for Governor was in Parkersburg Thursday meeting with residents and business owners and speaking at the monthly meeting of the Wood County Democratic[Read More…]
Month: October 2015
Editorial: Openness in federal court
From The Charleston Gazette-Mail’s Gazette Editorial Page, Oct. 9, 2015: The trial of former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship got off to a rocky start, at least from the standpoint of openness and public access. Early on, U.S. District Judge Irene Berger issued a broad gag order that prohibited just about[Read More…]
WVSU president says college is ‘strong’ despite budget cuts
By Samuel Speciale The Charleston Gazette-Mail INSTITUTE, W.Va. — After a speech where he outlined a promising future for West Virginia State University, bolstered by enrollment growth and increased fundraising, WVSU President Brian Hemphill acknowledged continued higher education budget cuts have him concerned. “The state is going through a difficult time[Read More…]
Blankenship: Defense resumes fight over phone recordings
By Ken Ward Jr. The Charleston Gazette-Mail CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The jury in the Don Blankenship criminal trial was sent home early Thursday after defense lawyers resumed their efforts to prevent jurors from ever hearing recordings of telephone conversations in which the former Massey Energy CEO dismisses the problem of black lung[Read More…]
Witness: Blankenship put production over safety
By Wendy Holdren The Register-Herald CHARLESTON, W.Va. — “Production came first. Safety came second,” a former Upper Big Branch coal miner testified Thursday during Day 6 of the criminal trial of former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship. Bobbie Dawn Pauley cited multiple safety hazards she witnessed firsthand underground, including the[Read More…]
Broken rail cited as cause of Mt. Carbon derailment
Daniel Tyson The Register-Herald MONTGOMERY, W.Va.— February’s derailment of a CSX oil tankers at Mt. Carbon was caused by broken rail, according to a report just released by the Federal Railroad Administration. Acting Administrator Sarah Feinberg released the accident report Friday morning, accompanied by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. Feinberg said[Read More…]
The Gazette-Mail Editorial: State can’t tax its way to prosperity
Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015 editorial from Daily Mail page: West Virginia ought to know better than any state that it can’t tax its way to prosperity. It wasn’t that long ago when the state’s tax burden on businesses was among the highest of the 50 states. That — combined with[Read More…]
The Associated Press shares 10 things to know Friday, Oct. 9
Dorothy Abernathy, regional media director of The Associated Press, shares 10 things you need to know Friday, Oct. 9, 2015. Look for full stories on these late-breaking news items and much more in West Virginia newspapers: 1. WHO UNEXPECTEDLY WON THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE The National Dialogue Quartet in Tunisia[Read More…]
Jury awards woman $1.6M in DuPont C8 trial
COLUMBUS – After three weeks of testimony, a federal court jury returned a verdict Wednesday against DuPont in the first of 3,500 cases charging DuPont knowingly contaminated drinking water supplies around the Washington Works. Jurors awarded $1.6 million when they found Carla Marie Bartlett contracted kidney cancer as a result[Read More…]
W.Va. gas production predicted to double by 2020
WHEELING, W.Va. – In the year 2020, West Virginia should produce 2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas – an amount nearly double the volume the state yielded last year. Also, if even one of the multi-billion-dollar ethane cracker projects proposed for the Marcellus and Utica shale region by PTT[Read More…]