WCHS-TV - State lawmakers were up early Wednesday, meeting at the Charleston Marriott. Read/View The main topic was the budget, which is always a priority for the lawmakers, but this session, the ongoing water crisis is on everyone's mind. Now politicians are vowing to take action on a regulatory bill to prevent chemical-related disasters. "Our…
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Charleston Daily Mail - The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy and the American Friends Service Committee released a report last month, "Who Owns West Virginia?" Read Their answer, in parts of the state, was mainly timber and other natural resource companies. A better question would be, "Who farms West Virginia?" West Virginians eat $7…
Bloomberg - The incidents have residents asking themselves whether officials have their safety at heart, said Ted Boettner, director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, a Charleston-based public policy group that favors more government regulation. Read "The real impact will be in the long-term as we experience a brain drain," Boettner said…
Charleston Daily Mail - Several community, labor, faith and civil rights groups are opposed to the shipment of prisoners to out-of-state facilities and expressed that opposition Wednesday in a letter sent to state lawmakers. ReadThe state is examining the cost of shipping its prisoners to private, out-of-state facilities in an effort to reduce the prison…
The State Journal - Is state government doing some things right and some things wrong? Is it too large or too small? Read "We don't know because we don't hold government accountable," said Robin Capehart, former secretary of the state Department of Tax and Revenue. Capehart is now president of West Liberty University. Ted Boettner,…
The State Journal - With the House chamber full, West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin delivered the State of the State address to an expectant crowd that consisted of the Senate President, Speaker of the House, members of the Legislature, Board of Public Works members, Justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals, State Board of…
Wheeling Intelligencer, Weirton Daily Times and the Inter-Mountain - With natural gas companies investing billions of dollars around West Virginia's Northern Panhandle, state Senate President Jeff Kessler believes the time is now to ensure the resulting wealth remains for future generations to enjoy. Read By the time lawmakers leave Charleston in March, Kessler hopes to…
Charleston Daily Mail - House Democrats are proposing a $1 increase to West Virginia's minimum wage as part of a legislative agenda they say is designed to strengthen families, communities and the state's economy. Read "The safety of our families and communities must be the bedrock upon which we build successful communities," said House Speaker…
Charleston Daily Mail - As the state's natural gas industry continues to expand, members of the West Virginia Legislature are developing a plan to keep some of that revenue within the state's borders. Read Senate President Jeff Kessler, D-Marshall, has touted his ideas for a Future Fund since the 2013 legislative session. Now, his idea…
The State Journal - The promise of better days ahead in West Virginia is always front and center this time of the year, as a new session of the state legislature is being prepared. Read But for 2014, that hope may not be more pronounced than ever before. The source for that hope - an…