Charleston Gazette - Hundreds more West Virginia miners were told Friday that they were being laid off, in the latest blow to the already deeply troubled Appalachian coal industry. ReadAlpha Natural Resources issued a statement announcing the "expected idling" of subsidiary Rockspring Development's Camp Creek underground mine and processing plant in Wayne County and had…
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Wall Street Journal, Nasdaq - Coal miner Murray Energy Corp. on Friday said it would lay off as many as 1,829 workers at mines in Illinois, Ohio and West Virginia. ReadThe shedding of over 20% of the workforce at the nation's third biggest coal miner deals another harsh blow to the industry that is still…
West Virginia Public Broadcasting - A report released this month by the national Center on Budget and Policy Priorities looked at states across the country that cut their higher education budgets in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn. Read or listen. Three of 50 states did not make cuts to their systems during that time,…
The State Journal, WOWK-TV - A new report shows what it could mean if West Virginia continues to cut from higher education funding. Read According to the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, while other states are restoring higher education funding, the Mountain State is cutting. As a result, tuitions have risen dramatically and…
The State Journal - A committee focused on studying the tax structure in the state met for the second time May 4. ReadThe committee heard from several experts, including two people who were on former Gov. Cecil Underwood's Commission on Fair Taxation. Calvin Kent, former economics professor at Marshall University was one of the co…
West Virginia Public News Service, Gilmer Free Press - Some West Virginia legislators want to get rid of the state personal income tax. But in Kansas, where that's being tried, economists are calling it a disaster. Over the last two and a half years, Kansas lawmakers slashed that state's income tax, starting at the top.…
Charleston Gazette - New legislative leaders are studying a major realignment of state taxes, through the Joint Senate Select Committee on Tax Reform. A recent meeting offered a glimpse of what lawmakers have in mind, such as further tax cuts and even eliminating the personal income tax. ReadIn coming months, GOP leaders presumably will clarify…
Beckley Register-Herald - Years of declining efficiency in the coal industry could end soon, especially in the U.S. where both surface and underground mines located in the country's top producing regions have witnessed increased productivity over the last couple years, a recent study shows. Read SNL Energy, a financial website, found coal miners' productivity —…
Logan Banner - April legislative interim committee meetings were highlighted by the launch of a new select committee on tax reform. ReadHouse Speaker Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha, spelled out the mandate of the Joint Select Committee on Tax Reform, stating, "We have a tax structure in West Virginia that's broken, that's burdensome, and that's bewildering to…
Bluefield Daily Telegraph - Lawmakers are taking a stab at tax reform, promising improved economic growth and a better business climate. But based on tax reform results of the past, the West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy says that state residents should be skeptical of any new reconstitution of tax policy, particularly if it…