Lexington Herald-Leader, The Paducah Sun - There is strong support among voters of all stripes for a proposal that would provide $1 billion for mine reclamation projects in Eastern Kentucky and other areas hurt by a slump in coal jobs, according to a seven-state poll released Monday. Read The poll found that 89 percent of…
WVCBP in the News
Charleston Gazette-Mail - Homeless people in West Virginia will not automatically be exempt from requirements to work or train in order to keep their food-stamp benefits, officials say. Instead, homeless people will be evaluated and exempted from the requirements on a case-by-case basis. Read Regulations for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program do not allow…
Beckley Register-Herald, Bluefield Daily Telegraph - West Virginia ranked fourth in states least vulnerable to identify theft, according to a recent survey. Read The Mountain State ranked low in employment fraud complaints per capita and bank fraud complaints per capita, coming in fourth least in both, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center's Data Breach…
West Virginia Public Broadcasting - On this episode of "The Front Porch," Scott, Laurie and Rick are joined by Ted Boettner of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. Read/Listen They discuss the effect the increasing number of professions requiring licensure or certification has on the state's economy. Are all these licenses really necessary?…
West Virginia Public Broadcasting - The organization Mental Health Matters is holding a series of panel presentations around the state to advocate for juvenile justice and community-based mental health care for youth. Read/Listen Yesterday's forum, the second of six, was held at the University of Charleston and included panelists from mental health, education and legal…
Charleston Gazette - Like it or not, there is no way the Legislature can close the projected $400 million shortage in the state budget without raising revenue, at least not without severe damage to the state. Read It's fine to talk about cutting spending and running a leaner state government. Of course, using the people's…
Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram - West Virginia is the seventh-most poverty-stricken state in the nation, with a poverty rate of 17.9 percent, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau statistics. Read The Clarksburg area is only a little below that, with a poverty rate of around 15 percent. This is statistically unchanged since the recession in 2008,…
Daily Athenaeum - West Virginia is the opioid overdose capital of the country. Read Just last month, there were 26 overdoses in a single four-hour span in Huntington. While all 26 people survived, it seems more to the credit of health professionals and state legislators who in June made the lifesaving antidote Narcan available without…
Huntington Herald-Dispatch - The number of West Virginians without health insurance decreased 31 percent from 2014 to 2015, according to data on health insurance coverage from the U.S. Census Bureau. Read The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy on Tuesday in a release credited the decrease to health care reform, especially Medicaid expansion. The…
The Wall Street Journal - If there is a "war on coal," as Donald Trump and Sen. Mitch McConnell allege, it has been under way for a very long time. In Mr. McConnell's home state of Kentucky, coal mine employment peaked at 75,633 in 1948. It fell by two-thirds to about 25,000 in the late…