Briefs
WV resident charged with fraudulently becoming U.S. citizen; allegedly failed to disclose role in abuse of prisoners
A West Virginia resident from Bosnia and Herzegovina was arrested in Morgantown on Thursday and charged with lying to authorities in order to become a U.S. citizen more than 10 years ago. According to a news release from the Department of Justice, Nada Radovan Tomanic, 51, is charged with two counts of unlawful procurement of […]
West Virginia school district to implement solar power
A West Virginia school district will partner with Solar Holler to implement solar electric in a project the solar power developer called the “largest single demonstration” of the energy source in public schools in Appalachia. As many as 10,000 solar panels will be installed in the Wayne County school district’s buildings under a Power Purchase […]
WV residents in flood-prone areas urged to work with county governments for mitigation grants
West Virginians living in areas that are at risk for flooding or other natural disasters are being urged by the state Emergency Management Department to work with their local governments to apply for federal hazard mitigation grant funds. The grants are available through the Federal Emergency Management Association and were created to help localities invest […]
Justice ‘deeply concerned’ about potential downsizing or closure of South Charleston mail facility
Gov. Jim Justice said Tuesday the United States Postal Service’s review and potential downsizing or closure of a South Charleston facility has “deeply concerned us in West Virginia.” In a letter to Postmaster General Louis Dejoy, Justice said potential changes to the Charleston Processing and Distribution Center “strikes at the heart” of the state’s postal […]
Weld drops out of AG race, will seek reelection to state Senate
Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, is dropping out of the race to be West Virginia’s next attorney general, he announced Wednesday. Weld will instead seek re-election to the state Senate. “Politics is a grind that sometimes requires candidates to compromise their core principles for political gain,” Weld said in a statement posted to the social media […]
PSC opens investigation into Charleston’s West Side gas outage
The West Virginia Public Service Commission said Friday it has opened an investigation into a gas outage that left more than a thousand residents on Charleston’s West Side without heat, hot water or the ability to cook. The announcement came a day after West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice declared a state of emergency in Kanawha […]
State fires Sharpe contract nurse charged with murder in unrelated incident
The state Department of Health and Human Resources says it has fired a contract nurse for William R. Sharpe Jr., Hospital who was arrested and charged with murder in an incident unrelated to the Weston psychiatric facility. Tamra Jo Garvin, 51, was booked into Central Regional Jail in Braxton County at 6 p.m. Tuesday, according […]
State DNR seeks meat processors for Hunters Helping the Hungry program
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources is seeking more meat processors to participate in Hunters Helping the Hungry, a program that allows state deer hunters to donate game to the state’s food banks. The number of meat processors for the program is down from 20 in 2017 to 12 this year, program coordinator Trevor […]
Bluefield State University’s president to step down after public battles with faculty
The embattled president of Bluefield State University in Mercer County will retire at the end of the calendar year, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. The outlet has followed BSU President Robin C. Capehart’s tenure as he fought publicly with faculty members over the university’s finances, declining enrollment and more. There was also controversy around […]
Two correctional officers plead guilty to conspiracy for assault that led to inmate’s death
Two former correctional officers admitted their roles in assaulting a Southern Regional Jail inmate who died last year as a result. Steven Nicholas Wimmer and Andrew Fleshman both pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges of conspiring with other officers to use unreasonable force against the inmate, identified in court documents as Q.B., a 37-year-old pre-trial […]
Open enrollment for Healthcare.gov continues through Dec. 15
Open enrollment started Wednesday for people who get their health insurance on the federal government’s health insurance Marketplace, healthcare.gov. The plans, established through the Affordable Care Act, are open to people who don’t have access to health insurance through a job, Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program or another source. Open enrollment continues through […]
Justice says employees who destroy evidence should be terminated
Addressing an order by a federal magistrate that said state officials intentionally destroyed evidence in a lawsuit against it, Gov. Jim Justice on Wednesday touted his office’s transparency. “Everybody knows, anybody in my office, or any of our secretaries — everybody knows I expect everybody to be transparent,” Justice said. “I expect everybody to be […]