West Virginia Public Broadcasting - If someone had a crystal ball, they could tell you exactly what the future holds for Weirton. Sadly, there are no magic tools to make this a short story. But, with a bit of help from the gift of gab, I’ll tell you about the current trajectory of the area.…
WVCBP in the News
West Virginia Public Broadcasting - When life long Valley Head resident Melissa Wilfong first heard that the 600-mile Atlantic Coast natural gas pipeline was going to be constructed just a few miles from her community, she wasn’t happy. “My first thought was, ‘oh no, they're going to just tear up everything and be a nuisance,’” she…
Charleston Gazette-Mail – Earlier this month, the West Virginia Supreme Court ruled in a case in which local tax departments and gas companies battled over the way property taxes should be calculated. But the companies and counties are still trying to figure out how they’ll be affected by the court’s decision. Read article. Ted Boettner, executive…
West Virginia Metro News - The House Finance Committee spent just over two hours hashing over HB 168, the so-called Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship program, and barely passed it, with two Republican members crossing over. Read article. Shortly after, chairman Eric Householder, R-Berkeley, took up another tax credit bill, HB 167, but apparently sensing party discord,…
Charleston Gazette - Last month, West Virginia Chamber of Commerce President Steve Roberts penned an opinion column praising the Legislature for taking “a step back from the unknown consequences” of a piece of legislation related to clean water that he said “was not ready for legislative approval.” Read op-ed. “West Virginians have seen all too…
The Parthenon (Marshall University) - Amid the state legislature’s summer special sessions for education reform and following the recent release of a report on “The State of Public Education in West Virginia,” by the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy took to social media Wednesday to address an apparent…
Charleston Gazette - The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce does a great job of representing the economic interests of its members. It can kill bills with a frown and win without even showing up. That’s been true with both Democratic and Republican majorities. Read op-ed. Of course, this is probably easier to do when one represents…
Huntington Herald-Dispatch - After completing her prison sentence for operating a clandestine methamphetamine lab, Tracy Jividen began to restart her life. Read article. She went to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources to sign up for food assistance, which she had been on prior to her felony drug conviction. "The form said, 'Do…
Beckley Register-Herald - In the U.S. today, 29 states have an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program designed to put cash back in the pockets of low-income families. With 23 percent of its workforce toiling in poverty wage jobs, West Virginia is not among those states. Read article. That’s a situation that the West Virginia Center…
Public News Service - The controversial Rockwool heavy-industry project could get a big federal tax break designed for poor areas - despite being in one of West Virginia's richest counties. Read article. The Rockwool proposal for an insulation-manufacturing plant has drawn intense opposition from critics, who say it would bring industrial pollution to Jefferson County,…