By ALI SCHMITZ Charleston Gazette-Mail CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Kanawha County continued to lose people last year, as did most counties in West Virginia, according to U.S. Census estimates released Thursday. West Virginia’s most populous county lost almost 2,000 people last year, a 1.04 percent decrease in population, according to the[Read More…]
Month: March 2017
Water pollution bill moves forward to Senate floor
By KEN WARD JR. Charleston Gazette-Mail CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A controversial bill that could allow more toxic chemicals to be discharged into West Virginia’s rivers and streams cleared another hurdle Wednesday night, on its way to giving business and industry lobbyists a long-sought change in state water pollution rules. Members[Read More…]
Senate Judiciary Committee passes bill on water quality
By DAVID BEARD The Dominion Post CHARLESTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee heard several hours of testimony for and against the water quality bill opponents have dubbed the “Cancer Creek Bill” before approving it and sending it to the Senate floor. While a Department of Environmental Protection official defended the[Read More…]
House Education Committee passes governor’s K-12 bill
By RYAN QUINN Charleston Gazette-Mail After about four hours of discussion, questions and amendments, the West Virginia House Education Committee passed at 11 p.m. Wednesday Gov. Jim Justice’s wide-ranging K-12 education bill. Wednesday was the first appearance of the bill in a legislative committee. It now heads to the House[Read More…]
Legislators take Justice to task for lighting emergency lantern
By ANDREA LANNOM The Register-Herald CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Delegates and senators criticized Gov. Jim Justice’s lighting the State of Emergency lantern on top of the Capitol dome Wednesday, calling it a political ploy and disrespectful to victims of last summer’s floods. The governor ordered the lantern lit Tuesday to highlight[Read More…]
GOP health care plan raises concerns for seniors, women and addicts
By WENDY HOLDREN The Register-Herald BECKLEY, W.Va. — Between net premiums and increased out-of-pocket costs, West Virginians currently enrolled for health coverage through the marketplace would see an average increase of $6,100 under the new Republican-proposed replacement plan. The American Health Care Act (AHCA) is slated for a vote today[Read More…]
House bill puts settlement money in general revenue
By WENDY HOLDREN The Register-Herald CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A bill was introduced last week in the West Virginia House of Delegates which would require the Attorney General to put settlement money and recovered funds into the state’s general revenue fund. House Bill 3062, sponsored by Delegate John Shott, R-Mercer, establishes[Read More…]
Citizens talk broadband, other issues with Justice
By LACIE PIERSON The Herald-Dispatch HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — While legislators stayed in session in Charleston, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice continued his statewide tour talking to West Virginians during a town hall event in Huntington on Wednesday. Within the span of an hour Wednesday evening, Justice answered questions about everything from[Read More…]
Justice: Cuts to higher education “destructive”
By ANDREA LANNOM The Register-Herarld CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A day after switching on the State of Emergency lantern to highlight proposed reductions under legislative leadership’s budget framework, Gov. Jim Justice said proposed cuts to higher education could be “destructive.” In a Wednesday news release, Justice said the proposed framework means[Read More…]
Bill eliminating Regional Education Service Agencies in West Virginia advances
By JOSELYN KING The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register WHEELING, W.Va. — School districts in West Virginia would get an extra year to form cooperative agreements for services presently provided by the state’s eight regional service education agencies under legislation now on its way to the House Finance Committee. House Education[Read More…]