Teacher Pension Transfer Results Due

West Virginia's Consolidated Public Retirement Board expects to get the final tally today from the bid by Teachers' Defined Contribution plan members to transfer into another pension program.

"Transfers will be allowed if the number equals at least 65 percent of TDC members," The Associated Press explains. "That means at least 12,343 teachers, school service personnel and other enrollees must approve the transfer."

The state has promised to subsidize payments required to ensure full benefits under the other program, the Teachers' Retirement System, but only if 75 percent or more move.

The Charleston Gazette also sets the stage for Tuesday's meeting.

"One likely issue will be what to do about teachers at a Marion County high school, where the principal submitted transfer forms after the May 13 deadline," The Gazette reported. "At present, the CPRB cannot accept those transfers."

An official said "that was the only instance where a supervisor failed to submit collected transfer forms before the deadline."

The West Virginia Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia, both supportive of a transfer, have each been mulling over a Plan B if the tally falls short.

Same-Sex Marriage in W.Va.

The West Virginia Family Foundation wants a special session, or an item added to the one expected later this month, for "a resolution to let voters decide if a ban on same-sex marriage should become part of West Virginia's Constitution," The Associated Press reports.

The group says "rulings in California and New York threaten West Virginia's law," which "bans same-sex marriage and says the state won't recognize such marriages performed in another state," the article said.

"Manchin spokeswoman Lara Ramsburg says the governor believes the group's proposal is better suited for a regular session, rather than a special session," the article continued.

Manchin Figures in SuperDelegate Mix as Dems End Primary Season

Gov. Joe Manchin remains one of three West Virginia "super" or unelected delegates uncommitted to either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, The Associated Press reports.

He's also chair of the Democratic Governors Association, and so is poised to play a role in the Democrats' efforts to solidify their support after today's primaries in South Dakota and Montana, AP also reports.

"Officials said that if Obama failed to gain 2,118 delegates by tonight, one possibility under discussion was to have key leaders to issue a statement Wednesday urging superdelegates to state their preferences as soon as possible," that article said. "The leaders suggested were Sen. Harry Reid, the majority leader; Speaker Nancy Pelosi;" and Manchin.

AP's count found that "Obama was 41.5 delegates shy of the 2,118, needed to clinch the nomination at the party's convention in Denver," while Clinton had 1917.5.

AP also has a separate report on the task that awaits Manchin and other DGA members: "Eleven of the nation's governors will have to perform some political sleight of hand if Barack Obama clinches the Democratic nomination for president. After months of supporting Hillary Rodham Clinton, they will have to convince voters they're just as happy with her rival."

Obama has been endorsed by another 11 Democratic governors, while Manchin is among six uncommitteds, that article notes.

Byrd Hospitalized

Quoting a spokesman, The Associated Press reported late Monday that Sen. Robert C. Byrd "has been hospitalized at his doctor's urging after suffering from lethargy and sluggishness at his home."

"He was found to have a fever, and at his doctor's request he was taken to a nearby hospital," the report said. "Press secretary Jesse L. Jacobs says the West Virginia Democrat will be there overnight for observation."

The 90-year-old's health has been a recurring topic on Capitol Hill. The longest-serving senator in U.S. history "was hospitalized March 5 for tests after a reaction to antibiotics," AP noted. "A week earlier he was hospitalized at Walter Reed Army Medical Center after a fall at home."

The Charleston Gazette also has a report.

Quote of the Octennium

"So, I had Cheneys on both sides of the family, and we don't even live in West Virginia. You can say those things when you're not running for re-election."

-- Vice President Dick Cheney, to a National Press Club audience Monday.

Cheney Makes West Virginia A Punchline

Vice President Dick Cheney was wrapping up his Monday appearance at a National Press Club event when the final question from the audience addressed his apparent blood ties to Barack Obama.

Cheney went on to explain that research into his family tree revealed Cheneys on his mother's side of the family.

"So, I had Cheneys on both sides of the family, and we don't even live in West Virginia," the vice president quipped.

The remark drew laughter, and perhaps some groans, from the Washington, D.C. audience.

"You can say those things when you're not running for re-election," Cheney continued, to additional laughter and slight applause.

West Virginia officials were less than thrilled, as The Associated Press and others report.

"I truly cannot believe that any vice president of the United States, regardless of their political affiliation, would make such a derogatory statement about my state or any state for that matter," said Gov. Joe Manchin. The Democrat issued a statement requesting an apology.

U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, has benefited from Cheney headlining her fundraising events. "This is exactly the type of stereotyping that we don't need from our elected officials," she said in a statement. "It's disrespectful, and it's certainly not funny. ... As a proud state, I can say we are disappointed."

Noting that the Bush-Cheney ticket carried the Mountain State twice, U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., said that "now that he or the administration he represents no longer needs their vote, Mr. Cheney apparently feels that he is now free to mock and belittle the people of West Virginia."

As The Charleston Gazette reports, Cheney later apologized through a spokeswoman.

"The vice president's offhand comment was not meant to hurt anyone,'' Cheney spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride said. "On reflection, he concluded that it was an inappropriate attempt at humor that he should not have made. The vice president apologizes to the people of West Virginia for the inappropriate remark.''

C-SPAN carried the afternoon event, and has video. Cheney responds to the question about 57 minutes into the event.

WSAZ-TV also has raw video and coverage.

Update: Others with coverage include The Washington Post and its blog The Sleuth; The Chicago Tribune's Beltway blog The Swamp, which also hosts video from MSNBC; the New York Daily News; and The New York Times, in an article titled "Cheney Discloses His Lighter Side."

MetroNews has an item and audio.

Special Legislative Session Expected for June

The governor's office tells The Associated Press that supplemental budget measures and possible funding for the proposed teacher pension transfer are on the table for a special session expected to coincide with June's interim legislative meetings.

Supco Appeal Refusals, Revisited

The Associated Press explores the implications from the state Supreme Court's unanimous decisions last month rejecting appeals requests. One stemmed from a high profile coal-contract dispute involving Massey Energy, the other from a fight over natural gas royalties that resulted in a record-high jury award.

"Parties on both sides of those debates question whether either case fits neatly into the narrative that casts the Mountain State as hostile to business and prone to award 'jackpot' jury awards," AP reports. "So does the author of an upcoming West Virginia Law Review article that examines the continuing push to label the state a 'judicial hellhole.'"

But AP also relays views that "what the court's decisions may instead reveal is a potential gap in the state's judicial system, created by the absence of an intermediate appeals court and the absolute discretion wielded by its Supreme Court when considering which cases to hear."

Update: An official from Chesapeake Energy, hit by the record verdict, echoes calls for a mid-level appeals court to MetroNews. With audio.

W.Va. Groans Under Gas Prices

The Associated Press' Tom Breen highlights efforts by one industry group, West Virginians for Better Transportation, to aid the state's main roadbuilding and repair fund amid rising fuel costs.

"West Virginia drivers can now log onto http://www.keepwvmoving.org to calculate their daily, weekly, monthly and yearly state gasoline tax bill," Breen writes. "The group worries that high prices are keeping people off the road, which means lower tax revenues. The problem is that the state Road Fund, which pays for maintenance, paving and repairs on state roads and bridges, relies on gas taxes for about 60 percent of its revenue."

AP reported earlier that "county school systems need an extra $5 million to keep their 3,000 buses rolling in the wake of record diesel prices, and Gov. Joe Manchin might ask lawmakers for the money this summer during a special session."

And the Charleston Daily Mail noted previously that "overall fuel tax revenues for West Virginia have been growing at a steady pace since the early 1970s, but so has the tax rate. That trend could change if the cost of fuel remains as high as it's been in recent months."

The Williamson Daily News, meanwhile, cites sources in reporting that Senate Majority Leader H. Truman Chafin, D-Mingo, "is expected to present a letter to Gov. Joe Manchin Monday asking to help the trucking industry." The newspaper expects Chafin to request a freeze on at least some fuel taxes.

DaughterGate Update

Forces remain arrayed against West Virginia University President Mike Garrison, in the wake of Friday's Board of Governors meeting.

The main opposition group, "Mountaineers for Integrity and Responsibility," has collected signatures from "576 alumni, 263 faculty members, 186 students, 50 staff members and 165 others" for a petition seeking Garrison's ouster, The Associated Press reports.

AP also follows up with faculty who have twice voted no confidence in Garrison. Update: so does the Charleston Daily Mail.

AP's Vicki Smith was among those was among those reporting Friday that the board "believes President Mike Garrison did nothing to influence the improper awarding of a master’s degree to the governor’s daughter last fall."

MIR has planned a 1 p.m. Monday rally at WVU's Mountainlair. "Students, faculty members, local leaders, WVU Administrators and University President Mike Garrison have all been invited to be part of the rally," MetroNews reports.

Update: AP reports that the rally drew "about 100 students and faculty members," but that WVU's Faculty Senate also demanded that Garrison's administration "provide details on alleged irregularities in some 70 degrees awarded through its executive master's of business administration program."

MetroNews, The Charleston Gazette, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Public Broadcasting are among those with coverage of the "action plan" presented by Garrison at Friday's meeting.

The board has posted Garrison's interim reports in two parts, here and here.

The Charleston and Pittsburgh newspapers delve into allegations by WVU officials that "many other students in the College of Business and Economics had similar problems" to that of Heather Bresch, daughter of Gov. Joe Manchin.

Update: Public Broadcasting examines what it calls a "key discrepancy" between Garrison's action plan and the independent report it responds to. With audio.

MetroNews highlights the personnel changes made "in connection with his response to the Heather Bresch degree controversy." It also offers an interview with Garrison and audio.

Public Broadcasting and MetroNews also offer audio from Friday's board meeting, and the latter has additional multimedia links as well.

Draft Report "Out" on WVU Health Sciences

MetroNews reports that "confidential interim" findings from a review of West Virginia University's Health Sciences Center identify "a series of problems with the giant health care complex."

The review's report details "serious deficiencies in anesthesiology, cardiothoracic surgery, and general surgery," and "also concludes there are management dysfunctions throughout the system that exacerbate the problems," MetroNews said.

"The general contents of the report were described to Metronews by a source familiar with the report," the item said. "The report has been delivered to WVU President Mike Garrison for review."

Supco Ruling Dooms $35m Chesapeake Project

Chesapeake Energy has scuttled plans to "invest up to $35 million to build a futuristic regional headquarters in Charleston," because of last week's Supreme Court ruling upholding a $405 million verdict against it and other gas producers, the Charleston Daily Mail reports.

Company spokesman Scott Rotruck "called the state Supreme Court denial 'stunning' because it does not give the companies an opportunity to challenge the verdict," the article said. The denial "sends a profoundly negative message," he told the newspaper.

Timing Proved Crucial for Record W.Va. Bond Deal

West Virginia issued bonds last year in exchange for $911 million in up-front cash. It promised the buyers of those bonds future annual proceeds from its multibillion-dollar settlement with major U.S. cigarette makers, whom it had sued in the 1990s to recoup tobacco-related health care costs.

As The Charleston Gazette reports, market analysts have lauded state officials for their sense of timing.

"As it turned out, it was also the last major issue of taxable tobacco settlement bonds on Wall Street before the bond market took a severe downturn, driven by the subprime mortgage crisis," the article said, citing Citigroup advisor Paul Creedon.

Subsequent declines in cigarette sales would have also meant diminshed returns for the state from its litigation settlement, had it not diverted them to bondholders in exchange for the up-front cash.

Table Games Offer New Source of Child Support

The emergence of table games at West Virginia racetracks present a new avenue for pursuing past-due child support, The Associated Press reports.

Along with Colorado, the state is "moving ahead with plans to garnish the winnings of casino gamblers who owe child support," the AP article said. "West Virginia's Department of Health and Human Resources is working on a plan that could be in place within 90 days, while Colorado is rolling out its system July 1."

The casino industry opposes the plan, with one lobbyist telling AP "there's no system in place that would compute winning and losing.''

"While many states check big winners of traditional lottery games against lists of people who owe child support, the National Conference of State Legislatures believes Colorado and West Virginia would be first to go after casino winnings," the article notes. "Mississippi and New Mexico have statutes allowing casino payouts to be intercepted for child support debts, but neither is doing so."

Weeks Sues over Legislative Pay Hikes

Russ Weeks, the former state senator and 2008 GOP nominee for governor, filed his threatened lawsuit Tuesday over the legislative pay raise bill passed earlier this year.

As The Associated Press reports, Weeks objects "to both $5,000 salary increases for each member of the Legislature and retroactive increases in daily compensation for some lawmakers."

Others covering the Supreme Court petition include MetroNews, The Register-Herald of Beckley and The Charleston Gazette.

The Climate Change Debate and West Virginia

At least two groups are appealing to West Virginians through radio ads as the U.S. Senate weighs "America's Climate Security Act."

The legislation seeks to "direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a program to decrease emissions of greenhouse gases, and for other purposes. "

One of the radio spots comes from AmericasPower.org, sponsored by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. The coalition includes most, though not all, of the major coal producers operating in the state.

The Associated Press reports on the other group, the free-market espousing Club for Growth, running ads throughout the country regarding the bill.

While both spots raise questions about the legislation, the latter group is also focusing on this year's crop of candidates. They include U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.

"The proposed legislation calls for capping carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, transportation and industrial sources with a goal of reducing greenhouse gases by 71 percent by mid-century," the AP article said.

Election 2008 Roundup

The Associated Press starts the week with several items addressing various races in the Mountain State:

• AP's Tom Breen explores whether Democrats will have to cede West Virginia as well as Kentucky and "the Appalachian counties of key Electoral College states like Pennsylvania and Ohio" if Obama becomes their presidential nominee.

• AP also assesses the impact of the DaughterGate scandal on the re-election bid of Gov. Joe Manchin.

• Responding to concerns about coal's role in future U.S. energy policy, "U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-2nd) says creating a viable way to convert coal to liquid fuel has to be a cornerstone," AP reports. "The Republican congresswoman plans to announce new legislation Tuesday in Charleston aimed at promoting the development of such technology nationally."

• (Update): The Charleston Daily Mail contrasts Capito's position on drilling with that of Democratic challenger Anne Barth. "Capito is for drilling in northeastern Alaska for possible gas and oil resources," while Barth "opposes such an initiative," the newspaper reported.
  

Belated Quote of the Day

“They finally assigned someone to West Virginia three weeks ago. I had a couple of contacts with him and I e-mailed him twice and I never heard back. I finally called and they said that the guy had resigned.”

-- Dr. Doug McKinney, chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party, to The New York Times for its weekend report on "disarray" in the camp of presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain.

Manchin Eyes TrAIL Tax

Gov. Joe Manchin has revealed plans to reap revenues from a $1.3 billion, high voltage power line that's plotted to cross north central West Virginia.

The Associated Press and MetroNews are among those reporting on Manchin's proposal, which includes a tax on the Trans-Allegheny Transmission Line.

"The governor's four-part transmission tax plan calls for rate reductions for West Virginia citizens who receive electricity from the line, extra revenue for counties that house the line, extra revenue for the state that will allow it to provide additional services to its residents and free electricity for all landowners who are affected by the placement of the line," MetroNews reported.

The governor's office detailed its proposal after the Sierra Club of West Virginia requested some of the relevant documents in a Freedom of Information Act request.

Appeal Refused in Record Verdict Gas Royalty Case

In an active day for the justices, West Virginia's Supreme Court has let stand a nearly $405 million verdict awarded in a Roane County class-action lawsuit, MetroNews reports.

In what may be a record verdict for the state, the judgment involves around 8,000 plaintiffs who sued over natural gas royalty payments. Punitive damages account for two-thirds of the verdict.

The defendants include NiSource. "President and CEO Robert C. Skaggs, Jr. said the company is surprised and disappointed with the West Virginia Court's decision not to hear its appeal," MetroNews reported.

"The Court's decision to not even address the substance of an appeal in a case of this significance, particularly in light of the $270 million in punitive damages awarded at the trial court level, is unprecedented and contrary to the most basic principles of fairness. We firmly believe in the merits of our position and will continue to vigorously pursue our arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court," he said in a statement.