West Virginia Watch, Cumberland Times-News - Millions of dollars will be released to county commissions across the state by the end of this year as part of their share of opioid settlement funds, and now local leaders are grappling with a tough decision: whether or not to use the influx of cash to get ahead…
WVCBP in the News
Mountain State Spotlight - West Virginians are still held in jails where conditions can be brutal, nasty and deadly. Read the full article. In just the past four years, 85 people have died in custody, more than a quarter of them at the Southern Regional Jail alone. Overcrowding has led to lawsuits that allege people…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - West Virginia’s revenue collections for November were $404.8 million, $44 million above estimates, according to a monthly budget report released by Gov. Jim Justice. Fiscal year-to-date collection from July to November stands at $2.2 billion, exceeding estimates by $286.2 million. Read the full article. “Even as inflation continues to throw us a curveball, our…
Connect Bridgeport - Temperatures are dropping as winter is on its way. United Orthopaedic and Spine Center is holding its annual “Coats for Kids” drive to provide children in need with a coat this holiday season. Read the full article. While you are shopping for new coats for your family, think about the children who…
The Dominion Post - Gov. Jim Justice has made an art form out of speaking much but saying little, and his meaningless verbal abstractions were on full display at a news briefing earlier this month as he non-answered questions about West Virginia jails' myriad problems. If you sifted through enough of the ramblings and Justice-isms,…
Times West Virginian - With the Jan. 10 start date for West Virginia’s 60-day legislative session inching closer, state lawmakers representing Marion County and beyond convened in Fairmont Monday morning to discuss potential changes to state education policy. Read the full article. During the meeting, members of the Marion County Board of Education and local…
West Virginia MetroNews - Gov. Jim Justice has called for a reexamination of conditions in West Virginia’s jails along with an internal investigation, although it’s not completely clear what the focus will be. Read the full article. Justice described wanting a closer look at the jail system during a news briefing earlier this month. The state had…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - Throughout their reign, the GOP legislative supermajority has treated public school and public employees as adversaries, perhaps because they are the literal personification of the party’s failure to achieve a core goal of drastically shrinking the size of government and government services. Read the full article. Certainly, two successful statewide walkouts by…
Dominion-Post - Recently, The Dominion Post Editorial Board met with Kelly Allen from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, and she taught us a few things about how the state’s budget works (or, as is sometimes the case, doesn’t work). Read the full editorial. Unlike many other states, the governor of West Virginia…
West Virginia Watch, Hampshire Review - Child protective services workers are responding to around 68% of abuse and neglect referrals in the required timeframe, according to state health department leaders, revealing some children may remain in dangerous situations. Read the full article. The rate marks an improvement for the West Virginia Department of Health and…