In a rather public case of "Oops...never mind," Transportation Secretary/Highways Commissioner Paul Mattox was apparently mistaken when he warned lawmakers of a threatened loss of about $111 million in federal road funds.
News of his comments to the Legislature today spurred assurances from the offices of Sens. Robert C. Byrd and Jay Rockefeller, both D-W.Va., that federal highway dollars remain forthcoming.
But West Virginia's main source of money for highway building and repairs, the State Road Fund, remains in trouble, as my updated article reflects.
The AP today also looks at a push to ensure that the state's sixth grade girls (10,235 this year) are inoculated against a virus linked to cervical cancer. West Virginia apparently suffers a high incidence of this cancer, which has a devastating mortality rate. (That article is also here.)
Because the virus is transmitted sexually, vaccinating girls has been a touchy subject. But the pending bill has a champion in First Lady Gayle Manchin.
16 January 2007
A White-Lined Nightmare: UPDATED
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