West Virginia
ATV-related deaths in W.Va. decline
CHARLESTON — All-terrain vehicle riders appear to be getting the message to ride safely.
A West Virginia University researcher who tracks ATV-related accidents says the number of fatalities has declined for the past two years.
Jim Helmkamp, director of the WVU Injury Control Center, says 30 people have been killed so far this year in ATV-related accidents, compared to 43 by November 2007 and more than 50 by November 2006.
Helmkamp says safety awareness messages may finally be getting through to riders.
Mark Holmes is program coordinator for the Governor’s Highway Safety Program. He says media reports on ATV safety have kept the issue in the public eye, and he believes people have become more aware of the need for safety.
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As session ends, ethics, tax items stalled
Measures offering ultrasound images to women seeking abortions and creating a single agency to manage the state’s vehicle fleet were among those sent to Gov. Joe Manchin on Saturday as West Virginia’s Legislature wound down its regular session.
With the economy still weak from the recession, lawmakers and Manchin both worked from hemmed-in agendas during the 60-day session.
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Snow hampered helicopter rescue
Three hours after a Navy helicopter crashed last month in West Virginia’s snow-covered mountains, National Guard medic Casey Dunfee cracked his cable on the floor of a Blackhawk rescue helicopter to break the ice and lowered himself hundreds of feet to the wreckage below.
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Varied topics left for W.Va. lawmakers
West Virginia’s Legislature headed toward the end of its regular session Friday with just a handful of measures from its recession-inhibited workload left on the agenda.
On the eve of the 60-day session’s midnight finish, the House and Senate began exchanging a final batch of bills that include several items from Gov. Joe Manchin’s agenda.
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W.Va. gets $22M for ‘bad schools’
Nearly $22 million in federal stimulus money will help West Virginia’s worst schools take drastic measures, including replacing principals and overhauling curriculum, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced Thursday.
West Virginia is the first state to receive money through the federal School Improvement Grants program, which seeks to improve student performance by targeting chronically low-performing schools.
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Dead bills pile up in W.Va. Legislature
Teenage tanners, seat belt scofflaws and adults who text while driving are among those who will evade further legislative restriction this year.
With three days to go before the regular legislative session ends, Thursday was the last day for most bills to reach the full House or Senate in time for a final vote.
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W.Va. Senate bolsters proposed FY11 budget
Federal stimulus dollars and a recent pension funding change have allowed West Virginia’s Senate to tweak the upcoming state budget by $248 million.
But the amended budget bill unanimously passed Wednesday still cuts general revenue spending by $47 million from what the Legislature passed last year.
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Proposed fees may doom election funding bill
The head of the Senate Finance Committee warned that the governor’s proposal to publicly finance state Supreme Court races could be derailed by concerns over the fees it would charge.
Senate Finance Chairman Walt Helmick, a Pocahontas County Democrat, questioned whether his committee would consider the legislation after it advanced late Monday from the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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Mountain State cities may get more freedom
State lawmakers appear ready to increase the independence of West Virginia’s local governments, and they aren’t waiting on results from an ongoing experiment on the subject.
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Lawmakers entering session’s crunch time
West Virginia’s Legislature has less than a week to decide the fate of proposals targeting abortion, corporate political spending and prescription drug abuse.
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Foreman says mine boss ordered him to fake records
A mining foreman accused of forging safety inspection reports at a West Virginia coal mine says his boss put profit ahead of potential danger, telling him to stop production and evacuate the mine only if a federal inspector was watching.
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As session ends, ethics, tax items stalled
