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…
WVCBP in the News
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…
W.Va. Approved for Federal Enhanced Unemployment Benefit, but Questions Arise Over How Far that Goes
West Virginia MetroNews - West Virginia leaders announced the state has been approved for a $68,269,946 FEMA grant to provide $300 a week in enhanced unemployment benefits. The state has pledged an additional $100 a week. Read full article. But there were already questions about just how far that money would stretch. The West Virginia Center…
The Martinsburg Journal recently ran a letter to the editor titled "Systemic racism does not exist." A member of our team, Quenton, responded, and his words struck a chord with one of the outlet's staff writers as he grappled with the recent murder of Jacob Blake. He reached out to Quenton to discuss both his…
Energy News Network, Gillette News Record - The 28-year-old man clearly had opinions on the future of coal, but wouldn’t share them until out of earshot of a group of unemployed miners at a gas station in southern West Virginia. Read full article here. “Economically, these coal fields are dying,” he said, adding that he…
The Dominion Post- Dear Senators Capito and Manchin, Food for All is a broad and diverse coalition of individuals and organizations across West Virginia who believe that no West Virginian should ever go without access to adequate, nutritious food. Our coalition has dedicated itself to improving food security outcomes for our friends and neighbors across…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, in the unimaginably distant days of springtime, somebody came up with the slogan “West Virginia: Practicing social distancing since 1863.” It made it to a T-shirt. Read the full op-ed. There’s some truth to that, although we didn’t prove to be as immune to the disease as…