West Virginia's Fiscal Woes

Last week brought the bad news that both general tax and State Road Fund revenues were failing to match projections, with deficits threatening both components of the overall government budget.

The Associated Press follows up by reviewing the situation elsewhere.

"Before West Virginia's news, half the states had reported deficit threats in the opening months of their budget years, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures," the article said. "While four of those states have yet to estimate their shortfalls, the rest predict gaps that totaled $12.9 billion as of Oct. 30. The dismal roster includes three of West Virginia's neighbors."

AP also notes that "the National Association of State Budget Officers has also been tracking the worsening fiscal landscapes. Its Twitter account has relayed a steady stream of bad news from dozens of states since the month began."

The gloom-and-doom includes talk of tax hikes, special legislative sessions to cut in-progress budgets, furloughed and laid-off public workers and crimped services.

For now, at least, "Gov. Joe Manchin is banking on reduced spending and a special reserve of $168 million to keep the general revenue budget balanced" for West Virginia, AP reports.

More on the Health Care Bill

The Associated Press offers a summary of the health care legislation passed by the U.S. House, and also reports that the "government health insurance plan included in the House bill is unacceptable to a few Democratic moderates who hold the balance of power in the Senate."

AP, the News and Sentinel of Parkersburg and MetroNews are among those checking in West Virginia's House delegation after the weekend vote.

AP reports as well that Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, the sole delegation member to vote against the bill, has asked the state Department of Health and Human Resources for a cost impact estimate.

"The federal legislation would increase the number of people eligible for health insurance through the Medicaid program," the article said. "Increasing the eligible Medicaid population, Capito says, could be a significant burden on West Virginia's finances."

They Voted for You: Health Care (Updated)

U.S. Reps. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, and Nick Rahall, D-3rd, helped the House pass the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, voted against the bill in the 220-215 roll call, as did all but one of the chamber's GOP members.

Passage followed a successful amendment that would "impose tough new restrictions on abortion coverage in insurance policies to be sold to many individuals and small groups," The Associated Press reports.

Mollohan, Capito and Rahall all voted for that amendment in a 240-194 roll call.

"Ironically, that only solidified support for the legislation, clearing the way for conservative Democrats to vote for it," the AP article said.

AP also explains the road ahead for the legislation, while outlining its key provisions:

The legislation would require most Americans to carry insurance and provide federal subsidies to those who otherwise could not afford it. Large companies would have to offer coverage to their employees. Both consumers and companies would be slapped with penalties if they defied the government's mandates.

Insurance industry practices such as denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions would be banned, and insurers would no longer be able to charge higher premiums on the basis of gender or medical history. In a further slap, the industry would lose its exemption from federal antitrust restrictions on price gouging, bid rigging and market allocation.

Update: Before the bill's passage, the House rejected by 258-176 an amendment that would have substituted a GOP-crafted alternative.

Capito co-sponsored that amendment and voted for it, while Mollohan and Rahall voted against.

The GOP version "would have lowered costs for people with insurance but done little or nothing to expand coverage to those without any," AP reports separately. "Rep. Timothy Johnson, R-Ill., opposed the measure and was the only lawmaker to cross party lines."

W.Va. and Obama

A French television news channel recently visited the Parkersburg area for a report on how "anti-Obama sentiments run high in the Mountain State," Public Broadcasting reports.

Those interviewed included Ron Lott, who described himself as a Vietnam veteran and who espoused the widely, thoroughly and exhaustively discredited allegation that the president is not a "natural born citizen."

“He’s a Kenyan born nationalist, and I believe that any man that wants to hold the highest office in this country who can’t produce a birth certificate is a fake,” Lott is quoted as telling France 24.

Public Broadcasting also offers audio.

Report: Feds Issue Subpoenas after MU/Perdue Episode

Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed Marshall University's provost and the professor at the center of a grade-changing controversy involving the daughter of state Treasurer John Perdue, the Charleston Daily Mail reports.

The professor, Laura Wyant, told the newspaper that "she had been asked to bring before the grand jury all records in her possession related to Emily Perdue," the treasurer's daughter whose grades are at issue in the matter.

"(Wyant) said the FBI also interviewed her recently," the article said. "Nelson Sorah, a spokesman for Treasurer Perdue, said the office had received 'not a word' from federal investigators."

Marshall's student newspaper, The Parthenon, also reports on Wyant's subpoena.

Wyant earlier told that newspaper that the FBI had contacted her "and expressed concern that she was asked to falsify grades for the daughter of an elected state official."

Wyant said the FBI told her they were investigating whether records were falsified -- "and that’s a felony," she told the newspaper -- and "whether John Perdue violated the state ethics law" that says that "hose in public service should use their positions for the public benefit and not for their own private gain or the private gain of another.”

W.Va. Still Looking At Cell Phone Ban for Motorists

Citing deaths blamed on distracted drivers, West Virginia lawmakers haven't given up on banning hands-on devices for those behind the wheel and now may get some federal help, The Associated Press reports.

"Two efforts may converge if millions of federal dollars are set aside for states that adopt such restrictions," AP's Tom Breen writes. "The money could help speed along the passage of a bill that only failed in this year's legislative session because of a last-minute amendment."

Delegate Nancy Peoples Guthrie sponsored the legislation this year and plans to introduce it during the 2010 session, the article said, while the federal money would come from a bill co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.

The article also notes that the 2009 attempt "passed by a wide margin in the House of Delegates and Senate passage seemed likely, except for the addition of an amendment relating to the placement of cell phone towers in the state. With time running out on the session's last night, the House and Senate couldn't come to an agreement on the amendment and the bill died."

And while an interim study committee is crafting a 2010 version, it "currently focuses mostly on texting while driving," the article said.

W.Va. Now Fears Budget Deficit

Guarded optimism marked the opening months of the budget year, but now West Virginia officials believe recession-rocked revenues will not match expectations, The Associated Press reports.

Even though October beat its estimate, state government remains $16 million below projections for the year that began July 1, figures show, and officials expect that gap to grow.

Deputy Revenue Secretary Mark Muchow offered a ballpark estimate of $100 million for the shortfall he expects by the June 30 end of the budget year.

But while other states are laying off workers, shuttering services, cutting programs and even talking tax hikes, Manchin administration officials maintain that such options aren't on the table in West Virginia.

"We are vigorously looking for additional efficiencies in state government," spokesman Matt Turner told AP. "(Gov. Joe Manchin) believes there is much more that can be done to improve efficiency and save money."

AP also observes that West Virginia has an ace in the hole: "$168 million in revenues left unspent from the two previous budget years," the article said. "That surplus is in addition to the state's emergency reserves, which exceed $537 million. The state also has yet to tap the bulk of its estimated $1.8 billion share of federal stimulus funding. "

Muchow noted that West Virginia's "rainy day fund" exceeds the national average in size relative to the state budget, and called tapping it a last resort. Senate Finance Chairman Walt Helmick, D-Pocahontas, echoed that sentiment to MetroNews (with audio).

Another Competitor to the W.Va. Lottery (Updated)

Ohio voters on Tuesday approved a ballot issue allowing casinos in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo, The Associated Press reports.

The Buckeye State joins Pennsylvania and Maryland, each of which recently legalized slot machine casinos, as neighbors of West Virginia with advanced gambling options.

The outcome follows a pricey and barbed advertising campaigns, with evidence that West Virginia was dragged into the fray at one point.

MetroNews also has an item.

Update: West Virginia officials tell The Charleston Gazette they "know Ohio casinos won't be good for the Mountain State's budget, but they say it's too soon to put a dollar amount on the damage."

While the impact won't be immediate, "the move is expected to hit West Virginia's Northern Panhandle casinos -- Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort in Chester and Wheeling Island -- especially hard," that article said. "Ohioans make up about 45 percent of Mountaineer's and Wheeling Island's patrons combined, lottery officials said."

November Special Session Still Possible

Gov. Joe Manchin tells The Register-Herald of Beckley that "chances are strong that West Virginia lawmakers will spend part of this month’s interims sessions taking up a plan to resolve a municipal police and fire pension crisis."

About that Guy in the Chicken Suit... (Updated)

With Ohio voting today on whether to legalize casinos, The Associated Press questions whether a recent stunt staged in front of West Virginia's Capitol was meant to sway Buckeye voters.

As the article explains, several media outlets had reported on a man in a chicken costume near the Capitol's south steps "waving to morning commuters and passing out flyers that advocated 'Cockfighting at West Virginia Casinos!'

Within days, foes of the pending gambling measure seized on the episode and "invoked the specter of cockfight wagering at West Virginia casinos to urge the Ohio measure's defeat. They argue that a provision of the referendum would allow the casinos proposed for Ohio to host any form of gambling found in other states," AP reports.

And while the man in the costume had refused to give his name to reporters, "a Democratic political activist, John Bradford "J.B." Parker, later presented himself as a spokesman for the West Virginia Association for Gamecock Sports," the article said. "No group by that name is on file with the Ethics Commission, which regulates all lobbyists, or on the register kept by the secretary of state of organizations doing business in West Virginia. The group has a Web site, which consists of a single page that online records show was created five days before the chicken costume appearance."

National gamefowl groups say they've never heard of such an organization, nor have lawmakers from West Virginia's gamecock-breeding areas.

Parker told AP last week that he "would not rule out that the whole thing is a hoax, perhaps meant to influence Ohio voters."

Those who reported on the chicken man include MetroNews, the Williamson Daily News, WKKX radio and The Charleston Gazette. The latter has followed up on the episode.

Update: A reader invokes Roger Stone. AP reported -- before the chicken suit episode -- that Stone is one of "two notoriously aggressive tacticians" pitted against each other in the battle over Ohio's casino ballot issue.

Stone was a cohort of "legendary GOP tactician Lee Atwater," and "ran Ronald Reagan's Ohio campaign in 1984," that article said. "One of Stone's first forays into campaigning was as a volunteer at CREEP, the Committee to Re-Elect the President, whose misdeeds were at the center of the Watergate scandal."

Stone is aiding the anti-casino TruthPAC. The earlier AP article quotes Democratic strategist Gerald Austin, who said the "constant barrage" deployed by that group "is classic Stone and intended to confuse voters. Confused voters generally vote no."

"One of Roger Stone's rules to live by is 'Hit from every angle, open multiple fronts on your enemy,'" Austin told AP. "'He must be confused, and feel besieged, on every side.'"

W.Va.'s Stimulus Job Count at 2,409

The Associated Press reports that "more than 2,400 jobs have been saved or created in West Virginia because of federal stimulus funding, according to those who have been spending the money.

The figure comes from hundreds of reports filed in early October. After a review by state and federal officials, they were posted online by the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board.

West Virginia's stimulus site should also have details from the first quarterly update of stimulus spending and effects.

State government spending of stimulus dollars accounts for two-thirds of West Virginia's total figure, according to numbers provided to AP.

"The largest share of those 1,554 jobs created or retained, about 20 percent, were in education," the article said. "The next-largest share resulted from spending on Workforce Investment Act programs, which offer training and other employment services. Another 16 percent came from road and bridge projects fueled by stimulus dollars."

AP reported earlier that by the Sept. 30 end of the reporting period, state government agencies had spent $250 million of West Virginia's share of stimulus funding.

Montana Governor Headlines W.Va. Dem Event

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer topped the billing at this year's Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner, the annual gathering of West Virginia's Democratic Party.

The Charleston Gazette casts the dinner and Schweitzer's appearance against the percolating issues that "Republican leaders predict...will lead them to victory in 2010."

Others with coverage include WSAZ-TV and WOWK-TV (with video).

Mollohan Still Under Scrutiny?

The U.S. Justice Department has told the House ethics committee to cease its inquiry into Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, according to a confidential committee report obtained by The Washington Post.

As the article explains, federal investigators "often ask that the House and Senate ethics panels refrain from taking action against members whom the department is already investigating."

Mollohan is among more than 30 House members and several aides featured in the report, a weekly summary of committee cases issued in July and later "disclosed on a publicly accessible computer network," the article said.

Posts on the apparent federal scrutiny of Mollohan can be found here, here, here , here, here and here.

The Post reports that "there has been no public action on that inquiry for several years. But the department's request in early July to the committee suggests that the case continues to draw the attention of federal investigators."

Mollohan told the newspaper that "he was not aware of any ongoing interest by the Justice Department in his case and that he and his attorneys have not heard from federal investigators."

Mollohan's latest campaign finance report lists $3,000 spent on Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evan and Figel in July for legal services, the first such payment since October 2008. Mollohan's campaign has paid the Washington, D.C., law firm nearly $300,000 since November 2006, its reports show.

The Skinny on W.Va.'s Proposed "Fat Tax"

Gov. Joe Manchin is questioning the existence of a proposed "fat tax" on West Virginia public employees, The Associated Press reports.

Manchin tells AP's Tom Breen that "talk of punishing hefty state workers who get health coverage through the Public Employees Insurance Agency is inaccurate and misleading." He instead "says he wants to look for ways to reward healthy choices, and wants to hear all the available options."

PEIA's Finance Board began discussing "phased-in personal responsibility agreements" in May, as AP reported at the time.

Agency Director Ted Cheatham "proposed linking premium breaks to blood screenings, advance end-of-life care directives, and ultimately enrollment in a preventive care-wellness plan," that article said. "Board members said they needed more time to weigh that proposal and seek public comment."

In Wednesday's article, "Perry Bryant, a former member of the PEIA finance board, agrees that talk of premium differentials based on health choices came not from Manchin, but from within the agency."

The Charleston Gazette has articles on a proposed "fat tax" here, here, here and here.

The Art of the Deal

Gov. Joe Manchin's approach toward taxing West Virginia's natural gas industry was invoked by a recent article in The Philadelphia Inquirer to contrast the lack of success by his Pennsylvania counterpart on that front.

The article reports that despite that state's recession woes and resulting budget impasse, its "natural-gas industry's leaders and lobbyists beat back (Gov. Ed) Rendell's proposal to tax gas as it is pulled to the surface from the rich black-rock reservoir known as the Marcellus Shale."

The absence of a severance tax on that resource "makes Pennsylvania unique among the 15 states that produce the most natural gas," the article notes.

While weighing a tax, Rendell said he spoke to Manchin about the Keystone State's neighbor, which "also sits atop the Marcellus Shale and has taxed natural gas for years."

"Rendell said Manchin, a fellow Democrat, had assured him that West Virginia's tax did not 'inhibit gas extraction and that it is continuing at a record pace, and it's reaping critically needed revenues so the state can provide services to its citizens,'" the article said.

Manchin also explained his approach in an interview with the newspaper. As the article recounts:

"The Marcellus Shale is a tremendous producer. A severance tax will not deter" the drillers, Manchin said. "Believe me, if we didn't have the gas, they wouldn't be here."

Manchin said he had faced industry complaints in 2005 when he proposed to expand the tax, with some companies threatening to leave.

He offered to have the state buy up their leases "so you don't lose one penny." No one took him up on his offer.

U.S. Senate Confirms Berger, 97-0

A unanimous U.S. Senate has confirmed Kanawha Circuit Judge Irene Berger for a seat on West Virginia's southern federal court district, The Associated Press and others report.

"A former county and federal prosecutor and Legal Aid Society lawyer, Berger has been a state trial judge since 1994," the article said. "She is the first African-American confirmed for either of West Virginia's federal court districts."

Sens. Robert C. Byrd and Jay Rockefeller, both D-W.Va., had jointly recommended Berger to President Obama, and each urged their colleagues to back her in advance of Tuesday's vote.

Others with coverage include The Charleston Gazette, the Bluefield Daily Telegraph and MetroNews, which also offers audio of Byrd's brief floor speech.

The Charleston Daily Mail reports on the prospects for a Republican to challenge Gov. Joe Manchin's eventual appointee to Berger's circuit court seat.

W.Va. Tries to Get a Grip on Its Vehicle Fleet

Following an audit that raised several concerns about vehicles owned or leased by state government, Gov. Joe Manchin has formed a task force while also touting recent efforts to address the topic, The Associated Press and others report.

"All employees with take-home vehicles must ensure, along with their agencies, that they are properly counting this fringe benefit," AP's article said. "The administration ordered mileage logs for all vehicles and surveyed all executive branch departments and agencies"

Manchin's Department of Administration also surveyed executive branch agencies, including those of other elected officials, and counted 9,312 state-titled vehicles.

That census "identified 56 percent of the total as specialty vehicles," AP reported. "Those include mine rescue and heavy-duty highway trucks, boats and boat trailers, all-terrain and emergency response vehicles, and transports for prisoners and veterans. The remaining 44 percent are 4,083 passenger vehicles."

The new task force, meanwhile, "has until Dec. 15 to improve the way the state manages its fleet. "

The Charleston Gazette also has coverage. The Charleston Daily Mail focuses on the task of gauging the size of the vehicle fleet. MetroNews spoke to state Auditor Glen Gainer about the administration's report, and has audio.

Health Care in West Virginia: Drug Abuse

A new report estimates that "preventable ailments stemming from alcohol and drug abuse" increased costs for West Virginia's health care system in 2007 to the tune of $116 million, The Associated Press reports.

AP's Tom Breen delves into the study by the Prevention Resource Center for the Partnership to Promote Community Well-Being, a group created by Gov. Joe Manchin.

"By 2017, the report estimates, the cost could be more than $201 million, even as the number of patients suffering from alcohol and drug-related diseases has held steady or even declined slightly in the last decade," the article said. "The only way to bring down those costs in the future, the report says, is to spend more money now -- on early intervention, prevention, treatment and recovery."

Abortion and the Health Care Overhaul (Updated)

The Associated Press reports that U.S. Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, has written a letter that he and 29 fellow anti-abortion Democrats have signed asking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to ensure that the pending health care legislation now under debate not provide any federal funding for that procedure.

"House Democrats are at an impasse over whether their remake of the nation's health care system would effectively allow federal funding of abortion," the article said. "Lawmakers on the other side say they've compromised as far as they can to address the anti-abortion lawmakers' concerns by specifying that people receiving government subsidies to buy health insurance couldn't use that money for abortions. Negotiations to find common ground have not yielded fruit."

Mollohan has also issued a release on the topic.

Update: Rep. Nick Rahall, D-3rd, is among those who signed. The anti-abortion group that has posted the letter online identifies Mollohan as its author.

She Voted For You: Financial Overhaul (Updated)

U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, voted against advancing the Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act of 2009 from the House Committee on Financial Services.

Endorsed 39-29 by the committee largely along party lines, the measure would create "a federal agency to regulate home loans, credit cards, savings accounts and other financial services," The Associated Press reports.

The proposed office "is a cornerstone to Obama's broader plan to clamp down on Wall Street and prevent much of the reckless lending that contributed to last year's near-collapse of the market," the article explains. "But the agency also has been the administration's toughest sell to lawmakers worried that the added regulation would strain neighborhood banks and small businesses."

The article adds that "business lobbyists pressed lawmakers to scale back the legislation and won several concessions." The changes "exempted general retailers, auto dealers, title insurers, accountants, lawyers and others," AP reports. "All but the biggest banks were spared from routine agency inspections and no businesses were required to offer standard, government-approved financial services, as Obama had wanted."

Capito earlier voted against a companion measure, the Over-the-Counter Derivatives Markets Act of 2009, when the committee advanced it by 43-26.

That bill would "tighten rules on previously unregulated financial instruments," AP reported in a separate article, which called it "a long-awaited step toward governing the obscure and complex transactions at the heart of the troubles that befell some of Wall Street's most well-known financial houses."

"Republicans said derivative transactions should be disclosed and operate under great visibility but object to trading them in regulated exchanges," that article also said. "Federal regulators have argued for a tougher proposal."

AP also offers "the whys and hows of regulations on derivatives."

Update: The Charleston Daily Mail, The Journal of Martinsburg and The Intelligencer of Wheeling have articles (of 726, 366 and 326 and words, respectively) reporting that Capito's husband, Charles Capito, had been hired by United Bankshares Inc. as an executive vice president and director of business development.

He had been with what has become Morgan Stanley Smith Barney since 1976. The Daily Mail article said Capito had been working on a project for Smith Barney and Citigroup, merged under a previous deal, for the last two and a half years in New York.

He Voted For You: Hate Crimes (Updated)

U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., helped send a measure to President Obama that The Associated Press describes as expanding the definition of a federal hate crime "to include crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability."

Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., did not vote on the legislation, which passed 68-29 (see update below).

"To assure its passage after years of frustrated efforts, Democratic supporters attached the measure to a must-pass $680 billion defense policy bill," the article said. "Many Republicans, normally staunch supporters of defense bills, voted against the bill because of the hate crimes provision. "

Updated: U.S. Reps. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, and Nick Rahall, D-3rd, had earlier voted for the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 while Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, opposed that measure.

All three helped the House approve the defense policy measure with the hate crimes language in 281-146 roll call earlier this month.

A spokesman for Byrd told The Charleston Gazette that "the senator supported the hate-crimes provisions of the defense bill," and that "Byrd had earlier voted to invoke cloture, or end debate, on the measure so it could proceed to final passage."

Casey Pick Rankles Some in W.Va. GOP (Updated)

Some West Virginia Republican leaders are objecting after the head of the state's majority Democrats was recommended for a federal judgeship, The Associated Press and others report.

They cite the partisan position and comments of Nick Casey as well as his ties to Gov. Joe Manchin. Casey had been Manchin's campaign treasurer and became Democratic Party chairman in mid-2004 after Manchin won the gubernatorial primary.

The longtime Charleston lawyer has also been dinged for his status as a lobbyist, with critics citing an Obama campaign pledge. "Obama had promised not to appoint Washington lobbyists to executive branch posts overseeing regulations or contracts directly related to their former employers," the AP article said. Besides the seat at issue hailing from the judicial branch, "Casey has lobbied the state Legislature," the article said.

U.S. Sens. Robert C. Byrd and Jay Rockefeller, both D-W.Va., jointly recommended Casey for a vacancy in the state's northern U.S. District Court (Charleston falls outside that district, another point of contention for critics). They stand by the pick.

"Through a spokesman, Byrd said Thursday said the negative comments by Republican partisans were unwarranted, and that he can attest to the content of Casey's character," AP reported.

The Charleston Gazette also has a story (updated: and reported that Rockefeller responded by calling Casey "a dedicated public servant and well-respected lawyer.")

MetroNews hears from Casey's GOP counterpart on the topic.

Update: A reader questions why Republicans have been criticizing a potential anti-abortion nominee to the federal judiciary, and also asks why that has not been part of the discussion.

Like Manchin, Casey is considered anti-abortion. As noted above, he also lobbies for the state's Roman Catholic diocese, a leading voice on that side of the abortion debate. He has helped the diocese participate in Pro-Life Day at the Legislature since at least 1993.

When Manchin won the 2004 nomination and Casey accepted the Democratic reins soon after, their stance on the issue prompted speculation that there would be "an effort to remove a pro-choice plank" from the party's platform, as The Charleston Gazette reported at the time.

That speculation returned during the crafting of the party's 2008 platform, as The Gazette and others reported.

While the 2004 platform says state Democrats "support decisions of the United States Supreme Court regarding the right of every woman to make choices regarding reproduction," the 2008 version does not appear to include that language. But it does say that "West Virginia Democrats believe that government, at every level, should not interfere with an individual's or family's right to make a personal or medical decision."

(Note: Some of the wording in the update has since been edited to conform to AP style.)

Manchin Seeks Obama Sit-Down

Gov. Joe Manchin tells The Associated Press that he's lobbied the White House for an in-person meeting with President Obama "over his administration's stance on climate change and its pursuit of cap-and-trade legislation."

"Coal is going to be our primary provider of electricity for the next 30 years. That's the practical reality," Manchin is quoted as saying. "West Virginia is very much willing to be involved and play a responsible role."

"But the governor also said his desire to meet is unrelated to his recent frustrations with Obama's Environmental Protection Agency," the article said. "He instead wants to revisit the sort of talks the two had when Obama was in the U.S. Senate."

Byrd, Rockefeller Tout Casey for Federal Bench

The head of West Virginia's Democratic Party has been recommended for a federal judgeship by the state's U.S. senators, The Associated Press reports.

Nick Casey "has distinguished himself as an attorney, as well as a tireless advocate for many social and civic causes," Sens. Robert C. Byrd and Jay Rockefeller, both D-W.Va., said in a letter to President Obama quoted in a Tuesday release.

The senators want Obama to nominate Casey for a seat in the state's northern federal court district left vacant by the 2006 death of Judge Craig Broadwater.

Long a lawyer in the southern district, Casey helps head a Charleston law firm and has been Democratic chairman since June 2004, after Gov. Joe Manchin won the party's nomination for his current office. Casey had been the governor's personal attorney and campaign treasurer, the AP article said.

Byrd and Rockefeller had earlier recommended another Charleston lawyer and Democratic stalwart, Ned Rose, for the judgeship in January. But Rose withdrew from consideration without explanation in July.

Obama nominated the senators' other pick, Kanawha Circuit Judge Irene Berger. She appeared last month before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has since endorsed her nomination for a southern district seat.

7 Arrests at Manchin's Office Cap Mining Protest Sit-In

Seven environmental activists were arrested Monday in the reception room for Gov. Joe Manchin after they staged a sit-in to urge his intervention in a pending mountaintop removal mining project, The Associated Press and others report.

Those arrested were among a group of several dozen protesters who "delivered a letter asking Manchin to act," AP reported. "He met briefly with the group, listening and taking questions. But he said they were wrong to believe he can unilaterally yank the permits in question."

W.Va. House members Press EPA on Mountaintop Removal Mining

House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Vice Chairman Nick Rahall, D-3rd, and member Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, used a Thursday hearing on the Clean Water Act to quiz a top Obama administration official "about her agency’s position on mountaintop removal coal mining," Public Broadcasting and others report.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson said the "neither EPA nor I personally have any desire to end coal mining, have any hidden agenda or any agenda whatsoever that has to do with coal mining as an industry," the report said. "I believe that coal can be mined safely and cleanly."

The appearance follows what Rahall and Capito call frustration and concern about federal scrutiny of the mining method, as reflected at this week's public hearings in Charleston and Kentucky.

"Jackson said the 79 permits currently under review have been held up for years by litigation and had never been reviewed by the EPA," Public Broadcasting reports. "She said there are some scientific concerns about the large amounts of valley fills that have been allowed since a new stream buffer rule was developed in 2008 under the Bush administration."

Public Broadcasting offers audio, while the committee links to video and hearing details.

The Charleston Gazette has an article, as does The Register-Herald. The Beckley newspaper focuses on Rahall's remarks and also includes comments from state legislators on the topic.

The Charleston Daily Mail includes hearing details while reporting that "U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials are close to making a decision on six of the 23 West Virginia permits" under review.

MetroNews has an item on the hearing, with audio.

The West Virginia Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training reports that as of early August, about 37% of the coal produced in the state in 2009 came from surface mining, of which the mountaintop removal method is a part. The share from all surface mining has averaged 38% so far this decade, and 36% since 1996, the earlier year for agency figures.

November Special Session Still Possible

The Associated Press reports that "West Virginia's Legislature could tackle pension debts, the gas tax and retiree benefit costs at a special session next month."

But that's only if enough lawmakers express support in advance for the measure "to help Huntington and other municipalities close funding gaps in police and fire pension programs," Manchin administration officials say.

But if the governor does call one, lawmakers tell AP they "expect to tweak a portion of the state gas tax that's based on wholesale prices. Other likely agenda items include $2.5 million for a Medicaid waiver program and a change to the way the state accounts for non-pension retiree benefits."

They Voted for You: Guantanamo Bay

U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-3rd, helped pass a plan that The Associated Press described as allowing suspected enemy combatants held at Guantanamo Bay to be shipped to U.S. soil, in cases in which they are to be prosecuted for their suspected crimes.

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, voted to block the provision, as did all but one of the House GOP members present. They were rebuffed 193-224.

Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, did not vote on that measure, or on passage of the underlying $42.8 billion Homeland Security appropriations legislation. Both Rahall and Capito voted for the bill in a 307-114 roll call.

"Permitting Guantanamo prisoners to be transferred to U.S. soil to stand trial had been a bipartisan compromise earlier," AP reports. "It mostly tracks current restrictions put in place in June and is similar to a version backed by Republicans earlier in the year."

But "without a plan from the administration for closing the facility," some GOP critics reverted to "calling the administration's plan misguided and potentially dangerous," the article also said.

Weighing in on Health Care

Far more subdued than Tuesday's hearings on mountaintop removal mining was the Culture Center forum on health care. As The Associated Press reports, players including the state chamber of commerce, West Virginia's largest private insurer and a statewide network of community health centers were among those taking part.

During the nearly two-hour discussion, "the need for a public option in the developing federal legislation appeared to be the biggest disagreement," AP reports. "Panelists appeared more solidly behind expanding the existing Medicaid program."

And as AP explains, the conversation was partly framed by Tuesday's emergence of a health care bill from the Senate Finance Committee.

"The measure meets most of the requirements set out by President Barack Obama," the article said. "He had promised voters during his campaign to overhaul the system by extending insurance coverage to virtually all Americans, lowering medical costs and ending insurance industry practices of refusing protection to people with so-called pre-existing conditions or dropping coverage to those who become seriously ill."

U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., voted for the bill in committee.

The Charleston Gazette also has an item on the forum.

Miners Get Loud about Mountaintop Removal

At simultaneous public hearings held by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in West Virginia and Kentucky, environmentalists found themselves shouted down by "thousands of coal miners fearing the loss of jobs if mountaintop removal mining is curtailed or outlawed," The Associated Press reports.

The hearings allowed public comment on the corps' "proposal to eliminate or at least suspend a streamlined permitting process for surface mines in six Appalachian states," AP's Tim Huber explains. "Hearings were also being held in Tennessee and are set for later this week in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia."

Others with coverage include The Charleston Gazette (with photos), MetroNews (with audio and a sidebar), Public Broadcasting (with audio), and the Charleston Daily Mail.

Election 2010: Congress

U.S. Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, cruised to a 14th House term last year for wont of an opponent, and West Virginia's GOP is hoping to avoid a repeat of that in 2010, The Associated Press reports.

"Republicans hope the political climate has changed, and that Mollohan's positions on issues like health care will make him susceptible to a conservative challenger," AP's Tom Breen writes. "But whether those hopes have any concrete basis is an open question."

The article also notes that "the last time Republicans made a bid to unseat Mollohan was 2006, in the wake of reports alleging a federal probe into whether he has benefited from directing federal funds to nonprofit groups he helped start." But it adds that "Mollohan has said he's never been contacted about the investigation," and that "to date, no one has been charged."

Mollohan continues to bear scrutiny over these allegations, and his campaign fund listed spending more than $296,000 between November 2006 and October 2008 on legal fees. However, it has reported no such spending since then.

The AP article also said that four Republicans have filed precandidacy papers to challenge Mollohan next year. Such filings are free, and non-binding. The official filing period begins Jan. 11, and the fee for congressional candidates is $1,740.

Breen also writes that "state Sen. Clark Barnes, R-Randolph, has also said he's considering a challenge to Mollohan, although Barnes hasn't filed paperwork yet."

Like much of his district, Barnes does not reside in Mollohan's district -- but the U.S. Constitution would not require him or any other congressional candidate even to live in West Virginia until Election Day 2010.

W.Va. Lottery Fight Continues

A dispute over non-lottery gambling machines in West Virginia is pitting a Harrison County business against the Lottery Commission, The Associated Press reports.

A Kanawha Circuit judge has temporarily extended the license that allows Buck's Inc. to lease "limited" video lottery machines to participating bars and clubs, after the commission refused to renew it.

The commission is expected to petition the Supreme Court to block Judge Jim Stucky's ruling.

Lottery officials denied the renewal by citing "an ongoing dispute over “video-enhanced raffle ticket dispensing machines,”the article said. "State and federal investigators seized 144 of the devices in January from a customer of Buck’s, the Elks Lodge 482 in Clarksburg. Both the Tax Department, which regulates raffles and bingo, and the Lottery Commission argue such machines violate state law."

Both Buck's and the Elks lodge have challenged that finding in several pending court filings.

WV Court Study Ends Public Phase

Possible additions to West Virginia's court system was the focus of the third and final meeting of the Gov. Manchin-appointed Independent Commission on Judicial Reform.

The Associated Press has details. Others with coverage include The Charleston Gazette, the Charleston Daily Mail and MetroNews.

Rockefeller Rebuffed on Public Option

The Senate Finance Committee's version of health care overhaul legislation will not include a "public option" provision, after it rejected the necessary amendment from U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, The Associated Press reports.

The West Virginia Democrat's bid for a "new federally-run insurance plan that would compete with private insurers" fell 15-8, AP reports. Five members from his party joined the committee's Republicans to defeat the proposal. A similar amendment from Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., also failed.

"The bill includes new consumer protections, including a ban on companies denying insurance on the basis of pre-existing conditions," the article said. "At the same time it provides government subsidies to help lower-income Americans afford insurance that is currently beyond their means. It also includes steps that supporters say will begin to slow the growth in health care costs nationwide."

AP also explains that "Finance is the last of five congressional panels completing work on President Barack Obama's No. 1 domestic priority, a top-to-bottom reshaping of the U.S. health care system to hold down costs and extend coverage to the uninsured."

Public Broadcasting has coverage (with audio), and notes that "Rockefeller can still bring an amendment to the Senate floor."

MetroNews has a report, and audio from the committee debate.

Marshall's Turn for a Grading Dispute

Both state Treasurer John Perdue and his daughter Emily have spoken to The Charleston Gazette about a dispute over grades she's received for independent coursework at Marshall University.

The younger Perdue "said she did nothing wrong and got no special treatment when she earned two A grades this summer to replace two 'incomplete' grades for courses she took during the spring 2009 semester," the article said.

She and her father said the school had allowed her to remedy the incompletes under the instruction of Rosalyn Templeton, executive dean of Marshall's College of Education and Human Service.

The Democratic officeholder had earlier told The Associated Press and others that his daughter "has become an innocent victim in an internal power struggle" in Templeton's department.

The daughter's professor during that spring coursework, Laura Wyant, has asked Marshall's Faculty Senate to investigate the grade changes, arguing they were done without her permission.

School Provost Gayle Ormiston told AP that he's reviewed the situation and concluded that Perdue's daughter "earned the grades" after she completed the coursework.

The Charleston Daily Mail, which first reported the story, called Templeton's involvement an "unusual step" as she had not been the instructor for the two independent study classes. That article also said that "Emily apparently needed the courses to gain admittance to Marshall's business school."

The Daily Mail also interviewed some of the daughter's classmates, who questioned her attendance at the coursework's non-mandatory class meetings and said that she brought her mother with her to these meetings at least twice. It further quotes an e-mail to report that Emily Perdue and her father met with a business school dean about completing the coursework so she could enter the program.

AP noted that "Perdue's situation comes two years after West Virginia University became embroiled in a master's degree scandal involving Gov. Joe Manchin's daughter. Former WVU President Mike Garrison resigned and former Provost Gerald Lang gave up his administrative post after investigators found that Mylan Inc. executive Heather Bresch was wrongly awarded a retroactive degree."

Update: the Herald-Dispatch of Huntington reports that Wyant "will take whatever steps are necessary to file a grievance" over the grade changes.

Byrd Released from Hospital

U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., has been released from the hospital after a two-day stay, his office tells The Associated Press.

A fall at home prompted his latest trip to the hospital, where tests detected signs of an oncoming infection.

"Byrd's office said Thursday he will continue receiving antibiotics and recuperating at home before returning to Congress for the debate on health care legislation," the article said.

They Voted For You: Jobless Benefits

West Virginia's U.S. House delegation -- Reps. Alan Mollohan, D-1st; Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd; and Nick Rahall, D-3rd -- all voted for the "Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009."

The legislation "approves the extra three months of benefits for those jobless living in 27 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, with unemployment rates topping 8.5 percent," The Associated Press reports.

Those states include West Virginia, which reported a seasonally adjusted rate of 9 percent in August.

The bill passed 331-83. "The job market appears to be the last to recover from a recession that officially began in December 2007," the AP article said. "Jobless benefits have already been extended to record lengths through federal intervention."

Byrd Falls at Home (Updated)

U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., was taken to a hospital for evaluation Tuesday morning after falling at his Beltway residence, The Associated Press reports.

"Spokesman Jesse Jacobs says the 91-year-old West Virginia Democrat apparently stood up too fast and fell and that his caregiver called an ambulance 'out of an abundance of caution,'" the article said. "He said that Byrd is being examined but that at this point there is no indication that he will be admitted."

AP also notes the frail health of history's longest-serving U.S. senator, and his recent return to work after an extended illness.

Update: Byrd has been hospitalized, AP reports. "Blood tests showed his white-blood cell count was high, which raised the possibility of an early-stage infection," the article said.

O'Connor Takes Her Seat on W.Va. Judicial Study Panel

Retired U.S. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is in Morgantown today as honorary chairwoman of the West Virginia's Independent Commission on Judicial Reform.

The Associated Press set the stage for the group's latest meeting, and is covering. The meeting focuses on methods that states employ to select their judges and justices.

They Voted For You: ACORN

U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, helped the House amend a student aid bill to "deny all federal funds for ACORN," the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, The Associated Press reports.

Reps. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, and Nick Rahall, D-3rd, voted against the move in the 345-75 roll call, joined by other Democrats. Two House Democrats voted "present."

AP called the vote "a GOP-led strike against the scandal-tainted community organizing group that comes just three days after the Senate took similar action."

U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., helped pass the Senate measure, an amendment "to deny housing and community grant funding to ACORN," AP reported. It prevailed 83-7. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., did not vote.

The Intelligencer of Wheeling has articles here and here scrutinizing Mollohan's vote. The latter also reports that Capito has requested congressional hearings "on the current and past allegations against ACORN to ensure that the taxpayer's money is not being used improperly or illegally."

Update: The Wheeling newspaper has shared the latter article with The Weirton Daily Times and the Herald-Star of Steubenville, Ohio.

Manchin Pulls Plug on "Bonus" Proposal

Recession-fueled fears have prompted Gov. Joe Manchin to shelve plans to give some 20,000 state employees a $500 bonus-like payment, The Associated Press reports.

"The administration earmarked $34.7 million for the payments from an unexpected surplus that totals around $168 million," the article said. "But officials may now need that money to avoid any deficit threats."

Manchin also told AP "he does not regret calling last month's special session to attempt the payments, but would not have done so had he seen the latest figures."

Quote of the Day

"I mean, I got so many amendments that it’s really quite impressive."

-- U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., reacting to the Senate Finance Committee's health care bill, as quoted by Politico.

(Rockefeller was one of several senators to meet with President Obama in the Oval Office on the health care issue Wednesday, according to a White House statement. "These meetings underscore the President's continued commitment to working with senators on both sides of the aisle to pass health insurance reform this year," it said.)

They Voted For You: Joe Wilson

U.S. Reps. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, and Nick Rahall, D-3rd, voted for a resolution (Political Wire has also posted text) that "disapproves of the behavior" of colleague Joe Wilson, R-S.C., "during the joint session of Congress held on September 9, 2009."

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, voted against the resolution, as did all but seven GOP members present for the 240-179 roll call.

A dozen Democrats voted against the resolution, while five voted "present."

Capito has issued a press release explaining her vote, while also pointing out a YouTube video of her Fox Business Channel appearance in which she "criticized Rep. Wilson for his outburst, calling it 'very inappropriate'" (and is referred to as "Congressman Capeeto" at least twice; the Wilson comment is 5:21 into the interview).

Kennedy: Byrd Invoked Rome to Argue Vs. Gays in the Military

Monday's posthumous publication of True Compass: A Memoir, by Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., has revealed an anecdote about Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., and one his favorite scholarly subjects.

Several have picked up on the passage, including Politico. Kennedy was recounting a meeting at the Clinton White House, where the then-president asked Democratic members of the Armed Services Committee for their opinions about gays in the military.

The last senator to speak was Robert Byrd, and he came up with a new one on all of us. ... He informed us, with many ornate flourishes, that there had been a terrible problem in ancient Rome with young military boys turned into sex slaves. I don’t remember the exact details, but I think the story involved Tiberius Julius Caesar being captured and abused and used as a sex slave. He escaped and then years later he sought vengeance and killed his captors.

Anyway, it was something like that. The room fell silent. The senator continued. Then President Clinton stood up. His response was short and sweet. ‘Well,’ he said. ‘Moses went up to the mountain, and he came back with the tablets and there were ten commandments on those tablets. I’ve read those commandments. I know what they say, just like I know you do. And nowhere in those ten commandments will you find anything about homosexuality. Thank y’all for coming.’ He ended the meeting and walked out of the room.”

(Nerdy footnote: Kennedy's recollection may be at fault, but the incident more likely involved Gaius Julius Caesar, of crossing the Rubicon fame (and not Augustus' successor as emperor).

The anecdote appears to confuse/conflate Caesar's alleged affair with the king of a potential Roman ally with his brief capture at the hands of Cilician pirates, both from early in his career.

Presumably, invoking the Sacred Band of Thebes would not have supported the argument. Pederasty, on the other hand, does appear to have been a recurring issue in ancient military life for both Rome and the Greek city-states. )

The Riveting World of Unfunded Liabilities

This month's legislative interim session featured at least two of West Virginia's more pressing unfunded liability problems -- serious gaps between on-hand assets and promised benefits.

Led by Huntington, a number of West Virginia's largest cities and town have been struggling beneath swelling liabilities in their police and fire pension funds. Interested parties have crafted the so-called "Huntington Plan" as a possible solution, but it requires legislative action.

Gov. Joe Manchin has said he will call the special session that plan supporters seek only if enough lawmakers appear to support it. Otherwise, the plan must wait until next year's regular session.

As The Associated Press and others report, a Monday meeting of the Legislature's majority Democrats revealed lingering concerns about the plan, particularly from those representing rural areas.

"Those areas rely on volunteer fire departments, which have sought retirement-like benefits to recruit and keep members," the article said. "The Huntington Plan does not address such benefits, but does dedicate a sliver of revenue from insurance policy surcharges toward ailing municipal pension funds."

The volunteer departments want that money instead, AP reports.

Sam Love, a lobbyist for volunteer fire departments, reminded a Monday interim committee that his clients provide the bulk of fire protection in the state. ‘‘If that one-tenth of one percent goes any where, it should go to the volunteer departments,’’ Love was quoted as saying.

Plan advocates remain hopeful that they can sway enough lawmakers. Others with coverage include The Charleston Gazette and The Register-Herald of Beckley.

---

AP and The Gazette are also among those reporting on an update to lawmakers regarding West Virginia's "other-post employment benefits," or OPEB liability.

These benefits are mostly health care promised to state employees, teachers and school workers once they retire. A consultant for the state told lawmakers Monday that "the Mountain State’s per-capita liability exceeds $4,000 — ranking it fifth nationwide — and the figure is projected to double within 10 years," AP reports.

"Rising medical costs — the same culprit fueling the ongoing push for federal health care legislation — have caused these unfunded liabilities to mushroom," AP explains. "The recession, meanwhile, has hampered government employers from paying the annual required contributions to reduce their funding gaps."

Others with coverage include the Charleston Daily Mail and MetroNews.

Water, Coal and Politics in West Virginia

West Virginia helps provide a human face to a massive investigative report by The New York Times published Sunday.

The "extensive review of water pollution records" found that "in recent years, violations of the Clean Water Act have risen steadily across the nation," but that "the vast majority of those polluters have escaped punishment" as state officials have repeatedly ignored obvious illegal dumping, and the Environmental Protection Agency, which can prosecute polluters when states fail to act, has often declined to intervene."

The article highlights a Charleston-area family that contends with painful rashes, rotting teeth and other harms blamed on the water piped into their home. The Times also interviewed Matthew Crum, a former state regulator who blames coal operations for at least some of the pollution.

Crum further alleges that "everyone was terrified of doing their job" because of pressure from mining companies and "their friends in the state’s legislature." In this regard, the article includes this passage:

In 2003, a new director, Stephanie Timmermeyer, was nominated to run the Department of Environmental Protection. One of West Virginia’s most powerful state lawmakers, Eustace Frederick, said she would be confirmed, but only if she agreed to fire Mr. Crum, according to several people who said they witnessed the conversation.

Crum was indeed dismissed after Timmermeyer took the cabinet post, the article said, adding that "Timmermeyer, who resigned in 2008, did not return calls," while "Mr. Frederick died last year."

Before his death last year, the Mercer County Democrat was known as an outspoken advocate of the coal industry. But whether others would characterize the political sway held by the late mining engineer as the article has remains uncertain. And as a member of the House of Delegates, Frederick did not vote on gubernatorial appointees.

Byrd Remembers Ted Kennedy

Looking "frail," but with "a strong voice that hasn't been heard on the Senate floor since February," U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., paid tribute Thursday to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., The Associated Press reports.

"Byrd was steady as he bade a wistful goodbye to Kennedy, who died last month," the article said. "He remembered how Kennedy gave him dozens of roses on his wedding anniversary and would bring his dogs to Byrd's office for visits."

Footage from C-Span has been posted on YouTube.

W.Va. Judge on Capitol Hill as Obama Nominee

Kanawha Circuit Judge Irene Berger is scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee today as President Obama's nominee to the bench of southern West Virginia's Federal Court district.

Live video showed Berger at the hearing's start sitting just behind U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J.

Statue Honoring W.Va. Women Veterans Finds Home

Perhaps in time for Veterans Day, a new statue representing West Virginia women who have served in the military will stand near the Veterans Memorial on the state Capitol grounds, The Associated Press reports.

The state Capitol Building Commission voted Wednesday to place the statue east-southeast of the popular visitor draw. It will be the same height as the memorial's four figures depicting fighting men.

"Award-winning Charleston sculptor Joe Mullins created all five statues," AP explains. "He was commissioned to sculpt the monument to women veterans more than a decade ago. The project was held up after complaints that the statue was too masculine and should be wearing a skirt. A panel of women veterans approved Mullins' design last year."

W.Va. Supreme Court Rehears Massey Appeal, Again

For the third time in nearly two years, West Virginia's Supreme Court heard arguments in a 2002 Boone County case that resulted in a $50 million verdict against Massey Energy Co.

As The Associated Press reports, while the two previous hearing yielded decisions overturning that judgment, "an almost entirely different court heard Tuesday's arguments."

This summer's U.S. Supreme Court ruling set the stage for the latest round. And while it forced the recusal of Chief Justice Brent Benjamin, "three of the four remaining justices are also new to the case: Menis Ketchum and Margaret Workman were elected in November, while Thomas McHugh was appointed following the March death of Justice Joseph Albright," AP reports.

Others on hand for the latest hearing include The Charleston Gazette, WCHS-TV (with video), Public Broadcasting (with audio) and MetroNews (ditto).

Labor Day's Competing Rallies

The hoped-for turnout, headliners, corporate sponsorship and political themes at Monday's Logan County rally drew coverage from The Associated Press, The Charleston Gazette, the Charleston Daily Mail, MetroNews (with audio here, here and here), Public Broadcasting, WSAZ-TV (with video), and WOWK-TV (ditto).

The traditional and more sedate event at Boone County prompted reports from The Gazette, the Daily Mail, WSAZ-TV (with video), WCHS-TV, and WOWK-TV (with video).

Lawsuit Threatened over Judicial "Double-Dipping"

Former longtime South Charleston Mayor Richie Robb has vowed to sue the state over the awarding of pension benefits to a pair of circuit judges and a county magistrate, The Associated Press reports.

The two judges "made headlines last year by filing for re-election, resigning and then obtaining retirement benefits," AP explains. "Running unopposed, Judges Charles King of Kanawha County and Alfred Ferguson of Cabell County later regained their benches."

Robb also faults a Summers County magistrate, J. William Jeffries, for similarly cashing in on his pension. "Robb now plans to sue the state auditor, the Consolidated Public Retirement Board or both to challenge the benefit awards," the article said.

Robb was also the lawyer in last year's unsuccessful court challenge of the recent legislative pay raises.

AP notes that legislation passed this year, as part of Manchin's 2009 agenda, "aims to deter future such instances" of "double-dipping."

Byrd Seeks Naming Honor for Kennedy (Updated)

U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., is among those marking the death of U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass.

"In his honor and as a tribute to his commitment to his ideals, let us stop the shouting and name calling and have a civilized debate on health care reform which I hope, when legislation has been signed into law, will bear his name for his commitment to insuring the health of every American," a statement from Byrd reads in part.

The Hill has an item on Byrd's "wistful statement" and request.

The Associated Press has video of Byrd's sorrowful remarks on the Senate floor back in May 2008 when Kennedy revealed the brain cancer diagnosis.

Update: AP reports on Byrd's friendship with Kennedy, as does The Charleston Gazette.

U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., has also issued a statement mourning Kennedy's death, and spoke to MetroNews about his late colleague and friend.

MetroNews also has audio, and a photo of Kennedy stumping in Logan County with Rockefeller, Byrd and U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-3rd, in the audience.

The Charleston Daily Mail reports on Kennedy's visits to the Mountain State, and offers photos as well.

Gov. Joe Manchin has ordered all U.S. and state flags to be lowered at state facilities until Kennedy's funeral Mass.

The News and Sentinel of Parkersburg and WBOY-TV are also among those relaying statements from West Virginia officials on Kennedy's death.

Quote of the Day

"If it's one-size-fits-all, then we've created an incentive not to be productive, not to contribute to society."

-- Gov. Joe Manchin, expressing concerns at a Southern Governors Association meeting about any future changes to Medicaid eligibility rules, as quoted by The Associated Press.

Manchin spoke earlier to The Intelligencer of Wheeling on the health care topic.

W.Va. Bonus, Revisited

The Associated Press crunches the numbers and finds that full time state workers eligible for Gov. Joe Manchin's proposed $500 "bonus" would pocket around $375 of that after taxes, pension contributions and other deductions.

The retirees earmarked for $266 in the House amendment to the governor's bill would likely have gotten that entire amount, for wont of withholding, the article said.

AP also notes the full-time state employees _ 10,500 paid through special revenue accounts and 4,000 in federally-funded positions _ who would not have been covered by the funding provided in Manchin's special session legislation.

"The administration's proposal is no different than how other raises have been handled in the past," the article said. "When general revenue-based increases have been paid, agencies that rely on other sources of funding -- like fee-generated special revenues -- must tap their own accounts for the money."

But the article also notes that Manchin's bonus bill made one exception to this tradition, for the 5,000 or so Division of Highways workers who rely on the chronically-strapped State Road Fund.

Manchin Weighs in on Cap and Trade

Gov. Joe Manchin assessed the U.S. House-passed cap-and-trade bill while attending a Southern Governors Association panel on energy issues, The Associated Press reports.

Manchin "Gov. Steven L. Beshear of Kentucky, both Democrats, said the bill their own party is pushing ignores support for the carbon-capture technology necessary to make their states' rich coal reserves viable," the article said.

"We embrace the change," Manchin was quoted as saying. "Do I agree exactly with the way the bills have come out? No, I don't. They've identified and villainized (coal), but they haven't fixed anything."

The article explains that "the cap-and-trade energy bill now before Congress establishes incentives for new technologies such as wind and solar power and new fuels such as diesel from algae. But it holds little appeal to Gulf Coast and Appalachian states that provide most of America's domestic energy, governors from those regions said."

W.Va. GOP Hires New Executive Director

As its fundraising labors continue, West Virginia's Republican Party has hired a new executive director.

The Associated Press interviewed Troy Berman, a 30-year-old Baltimore native who took the job after working on GOP campaigns in his home state as well as Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Texas.

Berman "comes to the post with Republicans at low tide, even by West Virginia standards," the article said. Besides Democratic dominance of the congressional delegation and across state government, "feuding within the Republican Party has spilled out onto blogs, newspapers and talk radio as members clash over how to reverse their sagging fortunes."

Berman tells AP that the upcoming, off-year election will allow the GOP to focus on legislative races. "We expect 2010 to be a good year for Republicans nationwide, and I have no reason to believe that will be different for West Virginia,” Berman said.

Judge Yanked from Massey Case

The state Supreme Court has disqualified a Mingo County circuit judge "from presiding over a water pollution lawsuit against Virginia-based Massey Energy because of his past attorney-client relationship with the defendant," The Associated Press reports.

Judge Michael Thornsbury's recusal had been sought last month by 550 current and former area residents who are suing Massey and a subsidiary "for injecting 1.4 billion gallons of coal slurry into worked-out underground mines between 1978 and 1987," the article said, adding that the lawsuit alleges "slurry seeped through cracks in the earth into the groundwater, poisoning drinking wells, and that decades of exposure put the plaintiffs at risk of cancers and other health problems."

Thornsbury declined to step aside in the case. Acting Chief Justice Robin Davis then rejected most of the allegations raised by lawyers for the plaintiffs, but later agreed to consider "a 1985 case in which Thornsbury — then an attorney, but not a judge — represented Rawl Sales," AP reported.

One of the plaintiffs in that case is also suing in the pending one. Davis concluded this week that the "past relationship could create the appearance of impropriety and lead to questions about his impartiality," the article said.

Both AP and The Charleston Gazette report that Davis cited the role of blasting damages claims in the 1985 lawsuit.

"Davis noted that an expert witness for the residents has reported that blasting activities by Massey may be one cause of fractured underground strata that allowed slurry injected by the company to contaminate local drinking water," the latter's article said.

They Voted for You: "Death Panels" (Updated)

As Political Wire recently observed, Time magazine's Swampland noted similarities between language in the 2003 Medicare prescription drug bill and provisions in some of the pending health care measures described as promoting euthanasia and creating mandatory "death panels."

The Associated Press, FactCheck.org and PolitiFact.com are among those who have debunked the "death panel" claims as "wrong," "nonsense" and "pants-on-fire" false.

"The provision that has caused the uproar would instead authorize Medicare to pay doctors for counseling patients about end-of-life care, if the patient wishes," AP reported.

The 2003 legislation provides coverage to terminally ill patients that includes "counseling the beneficiary with respect to end-of-life issues and care options," according to its conference report (page 663).

U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, helped pass the 2003 measure. Reps. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, and Nick Rahall, D-3rd, voted against it in the 220-215 roll call.

U.S. Sens. Robert C. Byrd and Jay Rockefeller, both D-W.Va., voted against the bill when it passed their chamber 54-44.

Update: Politifact.com weighs in, and finds the comparison half-true: "(I)t's clear to us from our interviews with experts that there's a distinct difference between the 2003 law and the 2009 bill," its analysis found. "Yes, there's the appearance of inconsistency given the similar purpose for both bills, but the 2009 bill is more far-reaching than the 2003 law, which was focused narrowly on hospice patients."

For a Few Dollars More

A Legislative audit estimates that state government has reaped more than $1 million from interest in the last decade by holding back scheduled annual pay increases for its workers by one month, The Associated Press reports.

"Every year, state employees get paid $60 for every year they’ve worked for West Virginia. By law, that lump sum is to be paid on July 1," AP's Tom Breen explains. "Going back more than 20 years, though, the state has made the so-called 'annual increment' payment on July 30."

Quote of the Day

"I don't have a question. I have the answers."

An unidentified woman who "spoke for a long stretch" during last week's Town Hall-style meeting on health care held by U.S. Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, as reported by The Intelligencer of Wheeling.

Protests A-Go-Go (Updated)

West Virginia's congressional delegation has attracted protesters of one stripe of another during their August break, The Associated Press and others report.

Last week's forum on health care co-hosted by U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., got the ball rolling, with AP, Public Broadcasting (with video and audio) and others noting demonstrators from various sides turning out for the event.

WSAZ-TV reported that "all the questions were pre-screened by the organizers of the event." AP reported that "Rockefeller did field a variety of challenging questions from the crowd, though, with some of the more pointed inquiries coming from audience members in an overflow room who couldn’t fit into the Erma Byrd Art Gallery with the main audience."

The handling of the forum helped spur a demonstration later in the week. "A dozen protesters lined up on a street corner next to AARP's Charleston office Friday angry over what they feel is the group's stance on health care reform," MetroNews reported.

(The item quotes Fred Joseph, a repeat GOP political candidate who has previously shown up in "Tea Party" coverage here and here.)

Then there was the Town Hall-style meeting held by U.S. Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, in Wheeling on health care. Those with coverage of that include Public Broadcasting, The Intelligencer, MetroNews (with audio) and WTRF-TV.

And The Journal of Martinsburg, reports that U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, was at a Berkeley County ribbon-cutting ceremony when "a small crowd gathered to protest health care reform, but they quickly dispersed."

"One man, later identified as Russell Mokhiber, was walking along side of a group of people, including Capito, with a small video recorder," that article said. "Mokhiber said he asked to speak to her about health care and the congresswoman responded 'not now.'"

U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-3rd, told the Bluefield Daily-Telegraph that "he will kick-off a series of town-hall style meetings on health care reform Monday morning in Mercer County. The town hall meeting will begin at 10 a.m. at the Princeton Health and Fitness Center in Princeton."

Update: Coverage of Rahall's meeting comes from The Register-Herald of Beckley and Public Broadcasting (with audio).