Beckley Register-Herald - Sean O’Leary, senior policy analyst at the nonpartisan West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy, reports in a blog post that West Virginia had recovered roughly two-thirds of the 93,900 jobs it lost in March and April. Read full article. “As previous posts have shown, most of those gains occurred in May…
WVCBP in the News
Mountain State Spotlight - In late July, Mountain State Spotlight reported on a variety of gaps in the feeding programs aimed at making sure kids across the state got adequate food. Asked about the story, Justice said if there were gaps, the state would do what was needed to fill them. Read full article. But when school…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - While West Virginians are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and trying to figure out if their kids can attend school, the oil and gas industry is working with the West Virginia State Tax Department to cut its property taxes by as much as $62 million per year. Read full article. Last month,…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - A Citizens Guide to Climate Change, a 16-page report on the impending climate crisis and summaries of potential solutions proposed to counter it, has been released by the newly formed West Virginia Climate Alliance. "This guide is the beginning of a dialog with West Virginians," said Charleston's Perry Bryant, a member of…
Energy News Network - Coal’s downturn has taken a toll on Appalachian Ohio, but solar power could be one step on a potential path forward as the region’s economy tries to rebound. Read full article. A recent analysis by Ohio University suggests that utility-scale solar projects could create tens of thousands of jobs and billions…
West Virginia MetroNews - More than a dozen West Virginia groups have signed on to a letter pushing for additional federal COVID relief for families and communities. Read full article. “Across West Virginia, food and housing insecurity are growing, local governments are facing budget crises that threaten public services, and unemployed workers are struggling to make ends meet as the economic and health crisis…
Allegheny Front - A coalition of progressive environmental and policy groups has an economic plan for the Ohio River Valley of Appalachia — including Southwestern Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia. ReImagine Appalachia breaks away from traditional fossil fuel extraction, and relies on federal stimulus dollars to build a sustainable economy with an eye towards racial equality…
WOWK - On this week’s Inside West Virginia Politics, we discuss how the state prepared to reopen West Virginia schools, procedures schools will follow, and how schools will feed school children attending school remotely. Listen to the full segment here. In segment 4, Seth DiStefano, policy outreach director for West Virginia Center on Budget and…
Beckley Register-Herald - Gov. Jim Justice and state Revenue Director Dave Hardy would have you believe, by evidence of a press briefing this past Thursday where each gushed about buckets of cash on hand and revenue collection improvements year over year, that the West Virginia economy is resurgent and so filled with goodness that fish…
WV Schools May Need Help to Reopen, but Justice Hasn’t Used Any of $1.25B in Federal Dollars on Them
Huntington Herald-Dispatch - On July 20, Gov. Jim Justice rejected calls to use some of the state’s $1.25 billion in federal COVID-19 relief dollars to help schools reopen safely and provide internet and computer access to families who may want their children to return to school remotely. Read full article. “Everybody wants to start running…