An editorial from The Herald-Dispatch HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The recent decision by the Cabell County Commission to raise tariffs on landline telephones illustrates just how lopsided funding mechanisms to support 911 dispatch centers have become in West Virginia. A dwindling number of landline users are paying increasingly higher fees to pay[Read More…]
Month: June 2016
WVU makes student orientation an adventure
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — For the first time, incoming WVU students can experience the wild, cicada-filled outdoors of West Virginia during their orientation visit. New Student Orientation (NSO) and Adventure WV partnered to form NSO Adventure Basecamp, a two-day excursion at the Outdoor Education Center in the University Research Forest. During[Read More…]
Legislature OKs budget with $245M in Rainy Day funds
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Unable to pass tax increases or make major cuts in government spending, the West Virginia Legislature amended and passed a budget bill Thursday evening that uses $245 million in Rainy Day reserve funds and one-time money to close a $270 million gap in the 2016-17 state budget. The[Read More…]
Kanawha won’t put brunch bill on November ballot
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Residents of Kanawha County will not have the opportunity to vote on whether or not they approve of alcohol sales at restaurants, private clubs and wineries before 1 p.m. on Sundays. The Kanawha County Commission voted in their meeting, Thursday, not to put “the brunch bill” on the[Read More…]
Bluefield- and Moorefield-based banks to merge
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. — For the first time since it was founded in 1891 as the First National Bank of Bluefield, First Century Bank is being acquired by another company. Summit Financial Group, Inc., based in Moorefield, has signed a “definitive merger agreement” with First Century Bankshares Inc. “We have always[Read More…]
The Associated Press shares 10 things to know Friday, June 3
Dorothy Abernathy, regional media director of The Associated Press, shares 10 things you need to know Friday, June 3, 2016. Look for full stories on these late-breaking news items and much more in West Virginia newspapers. 1. ‘THIS ISN’T REALITY TELEVISION. THIS IS ACTUAL REALITY’ AP’s Julie Pace says Hillary[Read More…]
WVU Medicine adds Marshall County hospital
GLEN DALE, W.Va. — The West Virginia Health Care Authority has approved West Virginia United Health System’s $15 million acquisition of Reynolds Memorial Hospital. Reynolds officials announced in late February that a letter of intent had been issued to join the health system, which is based in Morgantown. The 90-bed[Read More…]
Tobacco tax back in play after sales tax hike nixed
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Senators put a tobacco tax increase back in play Wednesday — this time, with a 65-cent-a-pack increase in cigarette taxes — but with no assurances that the House of Delegates will be any more likely to pass the tax after rejecting a 45-cent increase on a[Read More…]
Governor has big plans for former mine site
A Daily Mail editorial from the Charleston Gazette-Mail CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The great playwright George Bernard Shaw once said, “You see things; and you say ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say ‘Why not?’” When Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin looks at a 12,000-acre former mine site in[Read More…]
Wheeling hockey fans delight in Kelly Cup games
WHEELING, W.Va. — As recently as March 2012, the future of professional hockey in Wheeling was in serious doubt. Just over four years later, a multi-million dollar renovation of WesBanco Arena is nearly complete and the Wheeling Nailers on Wednesday hosted their first Kelly Cup Finals game in 23 years.[Read More…]