W.Va. Governor Approves Bill Regulating Drug Testing for Miners

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has approved a bill requiring employers in West Virginia's mining industry to report all positive drug and alcohol tests to the Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training.

The bill signed Friday takes effect immediately. Employers must notify the administration within seven days if an employee tests positive, refuses a urine sample, or has submitted an adulterated sample. Suspect employees will be suspended from work until they appear before a board of appeals.

New hires must submit to a pre-employment urine test.

Prior to this law, mine industry employers were only required to submit test results to the state if a miner was fired.

House member Clif Moore faces DUI charge

A House of Delegates member from McDowell County was charged with DUI early Saturday morning.

State police arrested Delegate Clif Moore (D-McDowell, 26) during a traffic stop on Route 52 on Elkhorn Mountain.

According to the police report, Moore’s vehicle was swerving and crossed the center line “on several occasions” and field sobriety tests later showed Moore was under the influence of alcohol.

The arrest came around 1:15 a.m.  Moore was arraigned in McDowell County Magistrate Court later Saturday morning. He was released from jail on $500 bond Sunday.

Moore, 65, serves as Assistant Majority Whip in the state House of Delegates and is chairman of the House Banking Committee. He was first elected in 2004.

Moore was charged with DUI in Columbus, Ohio, in 2011 and was accused of driving on a revoked license in McDowell County in 2012.

Wayne man accused of killing neighbor

Witnesses say the Wayne County man accused of killing his neighbor early Saturday morning had been waving a gun around and drinking moonshine earlier in the evening.

Brien Scott Bays, 42, of Crum, was charged in the shooting death Richard Gene Laney, 57, as Laney stood in the doorway of his home on River Bend Road before 1 a.m. on Saturday.

Laney’s wife was asleep in the home at the time.

Laney was shot in the chest and stomach before Bays allegedly left the scene on his ATV. He was arrested later in the day.

Officers with the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department were investigating. They’ve had assistance from state police and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Another $1 million lottery ticket sold in West Virginia

West Virginia’s winning streak continues.

Powerball officials said a ticket worth $1 million was sold in West Virginia for Saturday’s drawing. The location of the ticket purchase was not immediately available Sunday morning.

A second $1 million Powerball ticket was sold in California.

Both tickets matched five numbers for Saturday’s drawing, but not the Powerball.  The winning numbers were 02-03-12-27-38, Powerball 17, Power Play 2.

There were no tickets that matched all of the numbers, so the Powerball jackpot was expected to grow to $60 million for Wednesday’s drawing.

In recent months, several MegaMillions and Powerball tickets worth $1 million or $2 million have been sold in West Virginia.

Winter a budget buster for Dept. of Transportation

Winter ends today in the eyes of the West Virginia Department of Highways, whose budget for snow removal and ice control is projected through the end of March.

Given this year’s heavy snowfall and extended freezes, the program was well over budget.

“We’re about $12.7 million in the hole,” said Department of Transportation Business manager Keith Chapman.

Chapman said it’s often difficult to budget accurately on the snow and ice removal because the weather can vary so drastically in West Virginia from year to year. This year however, the agency was able to find the extra money to make up the difference within its own budget with revenues above estimates for the fiscal year.

“So far this fiscal year, which stated in July, we’re up almost $21 million above estimate,” said Chapman. “The majority of that is from motor fuel tax we’re up 11 million and privileged tax we’re up 10 million.”

The privilege tax is applied to new-vehicle purchases. Chapman said the excess revenues happen occasionally, but not nearly as often as the snow and ice budget going over projections.

W.Va. American Water: No water quality change after foam sighting in Elk River

A water company affected in a Jan. 9 chemical spill in West Virginia says white foam spotted in its source river has not changed water quality at its plant.

In a news release, West Virginia American Water says its water intake was shut down for two hours Thursday to learn more about the Elk River foam. Employees didn't see the foam near the plant's intake.

Environmental regulators say the foam came from upstream of Freedom Industries, where the January spill contaminated 300,000 West Virginians' tap water for days.

State testing showed no unnatural odors or harmful materials.

The water company says foam can form naturally when leaves and other organic substances break down in water. It said the foam dissipated by late afternoon.

The company is awaiting additional test results.

210 citations issued during MSHA's February special impact mine inspections

Federal impact inspections at U.S. mines in February resulted in 210 citations and eight orders.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration conducted the inspections at nine coal mines in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Illinois and Utah. In addition, a surface gold mine in Nevada and an underground salt mine and a crushed limestone operation in Kansas were inspected.

The inspections began in 2010 after the Upper Big Branch Mine explosion in West Virginia that killed 29 coal miners.

Bakers sought for pie-making contest at State Fair of W.Va.

The State Fair is looking for the best pie makers in West Virginia.

Bakers receiving the most votes from each county will be invited to a pie bake-off Aug. 9 at the State Fair in Fairlea.

Nominations on the county level are being accepted until May 14 on the State Fair's website, www.statefairofwv.com.

The top vote getters in individual counties will participate in the fourth annual pie bake-off. Prizes include $150 and a State Fair pie dish for first place, $100 for second place and $50 for third place.

WV-TAP researchers to detail water study findings on Friday

Those with the outside group West Virginia officials hired to study the tap water in parts of nine counties following the Jan. 9 Freedom Industries leak on the Elk River will present their research findings in Kanawha County on Friday.

The independent team with the West Virginia Testing Assessment Project, WV-TAP, will detail the data collected thus far, including new laboratory testing results, during a public meeting at West Virginia State University’s Ferrell Hall in Institute.  It begins at 9:30 a.m. and is expected to run through 3 p.m.

“We conducted testing for PPH.  We conducted testing for MCHM.  We also looked for other chemicals that we believe neither the state nor the federal government looked for and we did find some information.  None of the information we found, however, raised serious concerns for us,” said Dr. Andrew Whelton, an assistant professor at the University of South Alabama, who is leading the WV-TAP project.

“If we had found some really glaringly concerning information, we would have went directly to the government and asked them to do something about it.”

Whelton said he was confident researchers would be able to answer many of the public’s questions about the quality of their tap water.  He has been working with Jeffrey Rosen, president of Corona Environmental Consulting, along with two other senior scientists.

In February, water testing was conducted in ten homes in the affected region.

“We want to answer the people’s concerns.  We designed the WV-TAP program based on what the people were asking and so we prioritized those questions and some of those questions are going to be answered.  Certainly, not everybody’s question is going to be answered,” he said.

When the WV-TAP project first launched in February, Whelton said there were three objectives:

1. Conduct a focused residential drinking water sampling field study to collect data that would be used to support the design of a larger more comprehensive program for the nine affected counties.

2.  Determine the drinking water odor threshold for MCHM because, Whelton said, it’s possible people can detect MCHM odors at concentrations less than sensitive laboratory instruments can detect.

3.  Convene an international panel of experts to examine the West Virginia safety factor applied to their 10 part per billion (ppb) MCHM drinking water screening level.

That final objective will be addressed next week.  On Tuesday, the experts on WV-TAP’s Health Effects Panel are scheduled to release their report focused on at what levels the chemicals involved are safe in drinking water.

It’s the main question some state officials have struggled to answer during the past more than two months, since the mixture of crude MCHM and PPH leaked into the Elk River — the water source for West Virginia American Water Company’s Kanawha Valley Water Treatment Facility which provides water to 300,000 West Virginians.

In the days after the leak, officials with the Centers for Disease Control said MCHM in tap water is safe for use at levels below one part per million, but a lot of unknowns were part of that determination since the effects of MCHM have not been studied in humans up to now.

Constructing a successful business

The West Virginia Construction and Design Exposition wrapped up Thursday morning. The event, in its 35th year, is the region’s largest trade show for the industry.

More than 5,000 people attended the two-day event including 455 vendors who set up booths in the Grand Hall and Coliseum of the Charleston Civic Center.

Expo Show Manager Shannon Louk said it’s all about meeting and making contacts with the who’s who in the construction and design world.

“What we want to do is for them to walk away with having met contacts and decision makers that can help their business,” explained Louk. “It really helps in bringing business to the state.”

With so many vendors on display, Louk stressed it’s a great opportunity to grow a business.

“We have a lot of folks who just want to see what’s new and available in their industry. We have a lot of contractors a lot of engineers, architects,” said Louk.

On top of the expo the event also featured 80 seminars and meetings on everything from state building codes to accessible work zones and keeping your environment and wallet green. 

Attendees get credits that go towards their continuing education hours.

“We hope that people walk away having learned something from their seminars, not just filling in the box of gaining their CLUs but really learning something and take something away,” according to Louk.

The event also featured the third annual Marcellus 2 Manufacturing Ethane Development Conference which focused on West Virginia’s natural gas industry and how it’s impacting the state.

Proposed substance abuse treatment center would be a first in West Virginia

More West Virginians died as a result of substance abuse in 2013 than auto accidents. That doesn’t come as a surprise to Jim Wilkerson. He’s the development director of the T Center. Once it’s built, it will be the first of its kind residential facility for the treatment of substance abuse in West Virginia.

The developers kicked off a $10 million capital campaign on Thursday during a ceremony in Charleston.

Jim Wilkerson is leading fundraising efforts for the $10 million project.

Wilkerson, who struggled with substance abuse earlier in life, stressed the T Center will be unique.

“In my own personal situation, I ended up having to travel out of state. There are no facilities like this in the state,” he stressed.

Wilkerson said the West Virginia does have a lot of good substance abuse programs but they don’t offer long-term treatment.

“A lot of programs, they take a patient in and they work with them to detox them. Often times they’re released without the right support for a successful recovery,” explained Wilkerson.

The plan for the T Center is to offer long-term treatment, anywhere from 14 days to three months, however long it takes to make sure those with alcohol and drug problems have the skills to cope with their addiction once they walk back out into the real world.

That will include help for loved ones.

“Patients have the ability to include and involve their family in their recovery,” he stressed.

There will be individual counseling for family members as well as group sessions with the patient.

The T Center will be located somewhere in the Charleston area. The developers are looking a several different pieces of property that will provide “a serene sitting” for treatment. They hope to raise the funds and complete construction in late 2016.

Wilkerson admits treatment doesn’t come cheap but the goal is try to make the T Center as affordable as possible.

Manchin joins Senators pitching Obamacare fixes

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin joined a group of five Democratic senators and one independent who are proposing a list repairs to the Affordable Care Act.

“We have to fix it, repair it. We’ve got to have insurance and we’ve got to have people healthier, but they have to be responsible (changes) too,” Manchin said on Thursday’s “The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson” on Fox News.

“We can’t force products into the market where the market is not going to accept them.”

Those making the proposals with Manchin (D-W.Va.) are senators Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Angus King (I-Maine).

“We’ve had some moderate, reasonable people who have sat down and we think we have an a lot of our Republican colleagues that will join us on this and these responsible changes,” said Manchin.

The proposals include:

— A bill to restore startup funds for new consumer-driven health insurance cooperatives, like those already operating in 23 states.

— Allowing state insurance regulators to develop models for selling health insurance across state lines.

— Providing a new lower-cost, high-deductible option called the Copper Plan to add to the existing Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze plans in the federal exchanges. The Copper Plan would still meet the ACA’s coverage requirements.

— Extending the Small Business Health Care Tax Credits and expand those credits to include businesses with fewer than 50 employees. The current cap is 25 employees.

— Expanding the option for voluntary coverage to employers with fewer than 100 employees.

— Streamlining and simplifying reporting requirements for healthcare coverage.

— A bill that would let family members working for the same business, on the same employer health plan, count as one full-time equivalent employee.

— Permanently allowing people to enroll for healthcare coverage through insurers or other certified web-based entities and not just healthcare.gov.

— Opening access to agents and brokers to assist with enrollment in healthcare plans on the ACA exchanges.

It was not immediately clear if U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) would bring any or all of the proposals to the Senate floor. White House support for such changes is also questionable.

“I would hope they would look at the reasonable changes we’re trying to make that fits the American public,” said Manchin. “People do want health care, but they want affordable health care. They’d like to keep what they have.  They’d like to be able to stay healthy, like to be able to have incentives and rewards.”

As of Thursday afternoon, federal officials said six million people had enrolled for healthcare coverage through the exchanges.

Monday is the deadline for enrollment, an ACA mandate, through www.healthcare.gov. Those who begin the enrollment process by March 31 will have additional time to complete that process because of a recently announced extension.

EPA’s McCarthy disputes ‘War on Coal’ phrase

Federal EPA administrator Gina McCarthy told members of a U.S. Senate committee Wednesday the agency is seeking more than $1 billion in the next federal budget for climate change and air quality efforts.

McCarthy said $199.5 million would be specifically for climate change work. The administrator told members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works there’s proof the atmosphere is warming and that is having an impact on the health of Americans.

“What the science tells us is when the temperature gets warmer it increases the level of ozone and that ozone pollution actually has an impact on respiratory health, as well as cardiac health,” she said.

Some of the questioning by committee members focused on recent clean air rules aimed at reducing emissions from coal-fired power plants. U.S. Senator Deb Fischer, R-Nebraska, asked McCarthy about coal.

“We hear about the war on coal and you hear about that is well. Is there a war on coal?”

“Senator, I don’t think that’s fair to say,” McCarthy answered. “What we’re trying to do is our job to protect public health by reducing pollution from some of the largest sources.”

McCarthy’s work at EPA was applauded by some committee members including committee chair Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California. She said some Republicans are opposed to everything the EPA does.

“People are not with the Republicans on this,” Boxer said. “Seventy-five percent of Americans say the U.S. should take action on climate change even if other nations do not. Because they’re smart. We don’t wait on China to decide how to treat our people, or our economy, or human rights.”

McCarthy did pledge the EPA plans to further work with utilities and individual states on clean air issues.

Antero Resources makes major natural gas announcement

West Virginia natural gas will be used at the proposed cracker plant in Wood County. Antero Resources made the announcement Wednesday.

The company has signed an agreement to become an ethane supplier for the Ascent petrochemical complex in Washington, West Virginia. Antero intends to provide 30,000 barrels of ethane per day to the project headed up by Odebrecht and Braskem.

The natural gas will come out of the ground in West Virginia and be processed here in the state.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin called the announcement good news for the state’s economy.

“[Antero will provide] at least 40 percent of the ethane they will be using in West Virginia at this plant,” said Tomblin. “Obviously this is the first great step.”

The governor stressed it eases some of his concerns.

“The thing that I do not want to see is our natural resources, our natural gas drilled and produced in West Virginia put in a pipeline and shipped south,” said Tomblin. “I think it’s just so important that we keep all that and use it here in West Virginia.”

The cracker plant is still technically in the “proposed” phase. However, back in January Odebrecht purchased the property near Parkersburg to begin development. Gov. Tomblin said he’s heard construction isn’t too far away.

“Possibly by the first quarter of next year we could start to see construction. It is my understanding that there is a team on the ground, here in West Virginia from Odebrecht,” explained the governor.

Antero resources is based out of Denver, Colorado but has a field office located in Bridgeport. All its operations are in the Appalachian Basin and the company operates 15 drilling rigs in West Virginia. The company currently employs 264 workers.

Tomblin is hopeful that Odebrecht will purchase the other 60 percent of natural gas for the Ascent plant right here at home.

“[I want to see] that product stay in West Virginia to be used in West Virginia by West Virginians,” stressed Tomblin.

The natural gas is used to make ethane to manufacture polyethylene, which is used in making plastics.

Text to 911 coming to Kanawha County

As society communicates more and more in the virtual world of text messages it only made sense for law enforcement and emergency officials to follow along. The Kanawha County Commission has approved funding for new software which will enable county Metro 911 operators to receive text messages from those in an emergency.

“We feel that will be an advantage to the public because there are certain circumstances, like domestic violence, kidnapping and other times where they can’t talk on the phone, but they’ll be able to text 911,” said Kanawha County Sheriff and 911 Director John Rutherford. “It will come straight into 911 the same as a phone call and dispatchers will be able to text back to those individuals.”

Kanawha County would be the first to have text to 911 in West Virginia.

There have already been a few cases in Kanawha County where those in danger were able to communicate with law enforcement via Facebook. Rutherford said this is another layer of protection using modern technology.

“On a personal note, I was kidnapped many years ago and in the trunk of a car,” said Rutherford. “With texting you’ll be able to text 911 and let them know what has occurred. You’ll be able to get word to authorities without having to talk and the person who has been attacking not knowing you’ve contacted 911.”

Rutherford expected the system to be in place by May to begin receiving the emergency texts at the 911 center. 

516 chemical storage sites in Kanawha County

The January 9 chemical leak on the Elk River in Charleston raised everybody’s awareness of the risk associated with chemical storage. The Kanawha County Commission soon after the spill asked the county’s emergency planners to catalog and inventory all chemical storage facilities in the county. The work is done and planners found at least 516 facilities in the county where chemicals are stored.

“The number very much surprised me,” said Kanawha County Commissioner Dave Hardy. “That number includes a lot of oil and gas wells and that skewed the number substantially, but still there are a lot of facilities in Kanawha County that store chemicals.”

Officials used the Tier 2 reports, which are required by the state at most chemical storage facilities, to identify the storage sites. However, Deputy County Emergency Manager C.W. Sigman, said those reports don’t cover every potential threat.

“We’re not going to be satisfied with those numbers. We’re going to go out and do some windshield views,” he said. “A lot of places are under that threshold limit, but still pose a threat. They don’t have enough chemicals requiring them to fill out the paperwork and pay a fee, but if you have a thousand gallons of pesticide on a farm we want to know about it.”

All of the locations have been identified and plotted on an electronic map at the Metro 911 Center.  The program enables an emergency official to pinpoint a location, click on the site, and have instant information on what chemicals are stored there and in what amounts.

“This is going to be a very valuable tool for us to use in the future if we have another situation if we have a report of a chemical leak,” said Hardy.

“It’s easier to have that visual representation instead of wondering what’s close by,” Sigman added. “If you look at that map you can more quickly identify where the problem is.”

Sigman said they’ll also be able to identify which fire company is responsible for any emergencies at the site and to develop a protocol now for how to properly notify the public if there’s a problem at that particular site.

The ABC’s of literacy

It takes a village, in some cases, to teach a child to read. That was the focus of the Leaders of Literacy Meeting held in Charleston Wednesday.

The West Virginia Department of Education’s Office of Early Education organized the event.

“We have so many children that are economically disadvantaged that are not performing the same as their peers who don’t struggle with that disadvantage,” said project coordinator Charlotte Webb.

Children who come from low-income families tend to receive less reading support before they start school, miss class more often than peers who come from financially stable homes and may not get the nutrition they need to help their growing bodies and minds.

Webb said it’s become such a problem in West Virginia it can no longer be just one family’s battle. The community must get involved. That’s why leaders in business, the medical field, civic organizations, the governor’s office and other concerned groups got together to talk about how they can better reach out to kids in need.

“What I found when I started in this position was there are a lot of good things going on to support literacy throughout the state. A lot of them are redundant. A lot of them are unknown by other people in the state,” explained Webb. “We would like for people to make those connections in order to maximize the impact they have on literacy.”

Webb said they’re focusing on young children.

“We’re talking to and about children from birth up to third grade knowing it’s going to take everybody in the community to support that.”

Marion County man convicted of killing father-in-law

A Harrison County jury has recommended mercy for the Marion County man who was convicted Wednesday of killing his father-in-law in Baxter on Dec. 11, 2011.

Michael Ian Palmer, 32, of Baxter was found guilty of first degree murder with mercy for the 2011 shooting death of his father-in-law, Everett “Ed” Wilson, 62.  Wilson was shot outside of the door to the home where Palmer lived with his wife and Wilson’s daughter, Kristyn.

Prosecutors claimed Palmer hated Wilson and planned the murder, while defense attorneys argued Palmer was protecting himself at the time of the shooting.  He was arrested in June 2012.

With mercy, Palmer will receive a life sentence, but will be eligible for parole in 15 years.

The Harrison County jury began its deliberations on Tuesday after hearing two weeks of testimony.  The case was moved out of Marion County when a jury could not be seated there.

Guilty plea in deadly Randolph County crash

A Randolph County man pleaded guilty Wednesday to DUI causing a death following a crash last June that killed a teenage boy.

Cole Edmond, 20, of Dailey, admitted in an Elkins courtroom that he was under the influence of alcohol when he lost control of his car on U.S. Route 219 near Tygarts Valley High School last June 20. The crash killed Timothy “Bo” Hornick, 15, of Mill Creek, a passenger in the vehicle. A second passenger was not seriously injured.

Edmond said he had been drinking vodka earlier in the day. Investigators said he lost control of his car heading around a curve and when he tried to get it back on the road he went across the centerline and slammed into an oncoming vehicle. Edmond’s car then went over an embankment.

Randolph County Prosecutor Michael Parker said it was a tragic case that ruined several lives.

“It just goes to show there are real world consequences to the decisions that everybody makes and it could illustrate that specifically to people of the younger generation who may not think before they act,” the prosecutor told MetroNews Wednesday.

Parker said Edmond will face 2-10 years in prison at his May 2 sentencing. The prosecutor’s office will stand silent at sentencing.

Stabbing death in Huntington

A man suffered serious stab wounds in Huntington Wednesday. Christopher Crawford, 38, of Huntington, was pronounced dead a short time later.

Police are looking for the man responsible. The men and a woman were in a car together on 3rd Street on Huntington’s west end when something happened inside the car and the stabbing took place.

The man who allegedly stabbed Crawford ran from the car.

Man jumps on counter points knife in Star City bank robbery

For the third time in less than 24 hours West Virginia police found themselves investigating a bank robbery where a man used a knife in the crime.

The latest robbery took place Wednesday morning in at the United Bank branch in the Monongalia County town of Star City. Police said a man, described at 6-2, 220 lbs., walked into the bank, pulled out a large hunting knife and demanded money.

The man, dressed in overhauls and wearing a metallic mask, jumped on the bank’s counter and pointed a hunting knife at workers. He got away with an undisclosed amount of cash.

There were two other bank robberies in West Virginia at just before 1 p.m. Tuesday where the robber had a knife.

Preston County police said a man robbed the Wesbanco branch in Bruceton Mills and police in Wheeling are investigating a robbery at the United Bank branch at the corner of 12th and Main streets.

No arrests have been made. 

Governor’s brother pleads guilty to drug charge, tests positive for Valium before hearing

The brother of Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to distributing drugs and will remain on home confinement until his sentencing June 25.

However, that arrangement was made tenuous after Carl Tomblin, 50, of Chapmanville, tested positive Tuesday morning for a non-prescribed controlled substance.

One of the first questions U.S. District Judge John Copenhaver asked Tomblin was had he taken any drugs other than those prescribed to him by a doctor in the last 24-hours. He told the judge no. However, near the end of the hearing, when the judge read the pre-sentencing report, he noted that a drug test Tomblin took before the hearing showed benzodiazapine, better known as Valium.

Copenhaver made it clear if Tomblin tests positive for any unauthorized drugs again he would be going to prison with an increased sentence.

Tomblin pleaded guilty to one count of distributing oxymorphone to an informant with the U.S. 119 Task Force on Dec. 6. However, Tomblin admitted in court he sold the drug one pill at a time to the same informant on at least five separate occasions between December and January. Tomblin estimated he sold between 30-40 oxymorphone pills between Jan. 2013 and Jan. 2014.

Tomblin faces up to 20-years in prison and a $1 million fine. That all depends on his cooperation with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Copenhaver said so far Tomblin hasn’t accepted responsibility for his crime. Not only did he test positive for the drug Tuesday morning, he also checked himself out of a drug rehab in Huntington earlier this month, 25 days into a program scheduled to last six months to one year.

The judge reluctantly agreed to allow Tomblin to post $10,000 bond and remain on home confinement until his sentencing. However, Copenhaver warned Tomblin: “There will be no fooling around with you!”

Tomblin’s mother and father were in the courtroom for the hearing.

House Moves to Block Obama Coal Rule

The House has approved a bill to prevent the Obama administration from imposing a stream-protection rule for coal mining that government experts say would eliminate thousands of jobs. 

The rule is intended to replace Bush-era regulations that set up buffer zones around waterways and were aimed chiefly at mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia. The House bill would reinstate the 2008 rule. The measure was approved Tuesday.

Republicans say the new rule is part of what they call President Barack Obama's "war on coal" and would cost more than 7,000 jobs while slashing production.

The White House has threatened to veto the bill, saying it limits states' ability to tailor safeguards to their own needs and wastes millions of dollars adopting a rule that has been vacated by a federal court.

Tomblin signs municipal gun bill into law; Charleston promises court challenge

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed the municipal gun bill into law Tuesday evening and Charleston Mayor Danny Jones said the city would challenge it in court.

In a prepared statement Tomblin said he signed Senate Bill 317 because he supports 2nd Amendment rights.

 “I also see the need for uniform and consistent gun laws throughout the state. I believe this legislation will give municipalities clarity for regulating firearms in their facilities,” Tomblin said.

Mayor Jones said the law will allow guns to be brought into recreational centers where Head Start and after school programs are held. He said the city would fight the law in court hoping to get the rec centers recognized as school facilities, where guns are illegal.

“We believe these recreational centers are in fact schools,” Jones said Tuesday evening. “If that is in fact the case then not only will it not only be permissible it will be a felony.”

Gov. Tomblin said he understood the concerns when it comes to municipally-owned recreational centers.

“I will continue to work with local and state officials to address those concerns,” Tomblin promised.

Mayor Jones met with Tomblin about the bill two weeks ago and is not surprised that he signed it.

“There’s no upside to him vetoing this bill. Not politically, it’s just not there,” Jones said. “For me there’s just no moral upside to sign it but that’s not a choice I get to make.”

Jones said the city leaders of Charleston would fight the law as much as possible.

“I want it to be on record that the City of Charleston and its leadership did everything to stop it in case there is a calamity at one of these rec centers because the legislature put guns in there,” the mayor said.

Charleston City Council rescinded its controversial gun purchase ordinance last week.

Man Killed in Wayne County Crash

A man from Wayne County died in an accident on Big Hurricane Creek Road in Prichard, according to information from West Virginia State Police.

Jeffrey A. Doss, 45, of Fort Gay, is identified as the victim.

Details about the crash, including what time it happened, have not been released.

Morrisey: Focus is now on a different question for the EPA Spruce Mine case

The state’s attorney general says a U.S. district court will now be asked to weigh in on a separate question tied to the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to retroactively veto permits under the Clean Water Act.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case involving a permit the EPA pulled years after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued it for Mingo Logan Coal Company’s Spruce Mine – a massive surface mine project – in Logan County.

However, Patrick Morrisey, West Virginia’s attorney general, said that is not the end of the case since the U.S. Supreme Court’s move effectively addressed the EPA’s procedure and not the EPA’s justification.

“The whole debate shifts to whether the veto was based on substantially new information of adverse environmental effect.  That’s something the district court is going to sort out.  That’s a fact-based inquiry,” he said.

“I think that there’s going to be a robust debate on that point.  The company believes that they have very strong evidence that there was no such new information.  I think, given the procedural history here, there’s a reason to question the EPA’s motives.”

Officials with Arch Coal, the parent company of Mingo Logan Coal, have indicated they’ll take the case back to the U.S. District Court for a ruling on the merits now that the U.S. Supreme Court has passed, despite arguments for a hearing from 27 state attorneys general, including Morrisey.

“No one is questioning that the EPA shouldn’t have a role in this process.  The question is when and where,” said Morrisey .

“We think, in this case, that they went beyond where even the state DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) would be normally permitted to engage.”

City of Charleston Approves $88 Million Budget

Charleston City Council has approved its budget for the 2014-2015 fiscal year.

Council members voted unanimously to pass the $88 million budget. There are no raises for employees.

The budget also includes cuts to the city manager and storm water management offices.

Council members said the cuts are needed in order to balance the city's changing budget.

"This year was a tough budget because revenues have been down, but we were able to put together a budget that is slightly over $88 million," Finance Director Joe Estep said.

The city had to use about $1 million from the stabilization fund to balance the budget.

The budget goes into affect July 1.

City of Huntington Passes $45 Million Budget

The city of Huntington passed a $45 million budget for the next fiscal year.

It includes a 3 percent pay raise for all city employees.

City officials said the budget sets the city up for the next three to five years. The goal is to get away from short-term gains that lead to long-term losses.

"If we're going to be as successful as we expect to be in the next 10 years, these next 60 days are going to give us the tools for just the next three to five years to propel us forward," Mayor Steve Williams said.

Exactly where that $45 million will go will be decided during the next 30 to 60 days.

Man allegedly threatened Senator Manchin and family

A Barboursville man allegedly called U.S. Senator Joe Manchin’s offices in Charleston and Washington, D.C. earlier this month and made violent threats against the senator and his family.

Federal authorities arrested Steven Anthony Major, 49, Friday. He appeared before a federal magistrate judge Monday who ordered him detained until a preliminary hearing set for Thursday morning at 10 a.m.

Major allegedly made the calls on three separate occasions last week, March 17-20. The criminal complaint said he identified himself during the calls.

Ex-Mine Boss in W.Va. Wants Conviction Tossed

A former mine boss is asking a federal appeals court to toss out his conviction for his actions at the West Virginia mine where an explosion killed 29 miners in 2010.

Gary May also wants the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to immediately release him from prison. May pleaded guilty to conspiracy and has about four months remaining on his 21-month sentence.

U.S. District Judge Irene Berger last month rejected May's claims that his trial lawyer had conflicts and made him a scapegoat for the Upper Big Branch mine disaster to protect Massey Energy executives. In papers filed with the appeals court, May continues to insist that he has been wrongly linked to the tragedy.

Prosecutors have not filed a response, and no hearing has been scheduled.

Supreme Court Won’t Review W. Va. Strip Mine Case

The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a coal company fighting to reinstate a water pollution permit for a massive West Virginia strip mine.

The justices say they will not disturb a federal appeals court ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency acted within its authority in 2011 when it retroactively vetoed a permit issued four years earlier by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

St. Louis-based Arch Coal Inc. and its Mingo Logan Coal Co. subsidiary challenged the appellate ruling concerning the mountaintop removal coal mine in West Virginia's Logan County.

The case now goes back to a federal district court in Washington.

The case is Mingo Logan Coal Co. v. EPA, 13-599.

Firefighters Battle Blaze in Logan

Firefighters in Logan were on the scene of a structure fire late Monday night on Cole Street, but they believe no one was inside, Logan County 911 dispatchers said.

That fire was reported just before 10 p.m. Monday.

Earlier Monday, a family was homeless after a fire along Cole Street in Logan.

That fire happened just after 5:30 p.m. Monday.

It was immediately unknown if the two fires are connected.

Further details about the latest fire are unavailable.

Tomblin makes formal request for disaster aid to President Obama

In a letter to President Barack Barack Obama Friday, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said the Jan. 9 Elk River chemical spill and resulting nine-county water emergency caused $61 million in estimated losses to the economy.

The governor is seeking a federal disaster declaration from the President and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“Please accept this letter as a formal request that you declare a major disaster for the State of West Virginia,” the letter said.

The letter goes on to list specific costs of the emergency which the governor dates from Jan. 9 through Jan. 20.

“The flooding of the chemical Crude MCHM into the water supply of 300,000 customers was unprecedented, and received national and internal attention,” the governor wrote. “The threats to health and safety were immediate, and the impact of the spill has been continuous.”

The state received immediate help with bottled water from FEMA when the emergency began but a federal disaster declaration has been more difficult to gain. The governor had to appeal original roadblocks put up by FEMA.

“A declaration of a major disaster and associated further assistance will lessen our significant financial burden, and will enable us to continue to respond to each new aspect of this event as it arises,” Tomblin said in his letter to the President.

Governor’s warrant signed in Severance case

The governor of Virginia signed a warrant Friday for the return of Charles Severance to his state.

Severance, 53, was arrested in Wheeling last week on charges of being a fugitive from justice.

He’s wanted on a weapons charge but also for questioning in connection with three murders in the Alexandria, Virginia area.

Severance has been fighting extradition. He’s been an inmate in the Northern Regional Jail.

Courtesy Patrol Left with No Funding

The West Virginia Courtesy patrol has been left with no funding for the next fiscal year, but a state official says the problem will be remedied.

The Courtesy Patrol is a welfare-to-work initiative that provides roadside assistance to motorists in West Virginia.

Its current budget is $4.7 million.

Jason Pizatella is Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin's deputy chief of staff. He says that the Legislature recently made some changes to some lottery funds, including one that supports the Courtesy Patrol.

He says neither the governor nor the Legislature intended to leave the patrol unfunded, and the program is too important to fall by the wayside.

He says Tomblin will ask lawmakers to appropriate the money before the start of the new fiscal year July 1.

W.Va. Governor Signs Wild Dangerous Animal Act Legislation

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has signed legislation prohibiting the sale and ownership of wild and dangerous animals like bears, large cats, constricting snakes and alligators.

The Wild Dangerous Animal Act allows the commission of Agriculture to establish permits and fees to register wild animals currently living in captivity. It also exempts zoos and veterinary hospitals.

The legislation also creates a Dangerous Wild Animal Board, whose members will determine which animals to include under the law.

Tomblin's office says the bill was signed on Friday.

The Humane Society of the United States, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the International Fund for Animal Welfare praised Tomblin's move.

The groups say, with Tomblin's signature, there are only five states with little-to-no restrictions on the private possession of dangerous wild animals.

Rafting into spring

The first whitewater rafting trips of 2014 through Adventures On The Gorge will head down the New River in Fayette County this weekend.

David Arnold, managing member of Adventures On The Gorge, said it’s the season for wetsuits.

“The water temperature is in the low 40s so, this time of year, wetsuits are always good,” he said.  “We try to keep people in the boats, but that’s never a guarantee with rafting.”

After the Jan. 9 water emergency on the Elk River, Arnold raised concerns about the potential long-term effects the chemical spill could have on tourism throughout West Virginia, even those sites far from the Freedom Industries leak site in Kanawha County.

At least initially, he said early interest shows little impact with initial reports up by an estimated seven percent for Adventures On The Gorge.

This weekend’s first four rafting trips, set for Saturday, will include groups from Morgantown along with those from Cincinnati and Columbus, Oh. and Charlotte, N.C.

“Spring brings high water so it’s Grand Canyon-style water, big waves.  This is the time of year when, if you really, really love whitewater, you’re going to be out there,” said Arnold of conditions fed by snowmelt in the mountains and seasonal rains to the south.

In March, Arnold said college students who are on spring break, and not easily deterred by colder water, make up the bulk of their rafting business.

“Once we get into April, the numbers build and by Memorial Day Weekend we are wide open, pedal to the metal,” he said.