Bill Clinton To Headline Manchin Fundraiser

With Bill Clinton in town Saturday for the annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, Gov. Joe Manchin has tapped the former president to host a fundraiser beforehand for his 2008 re-election campaign, The Charleston Gazette reports.

Clinton has already proved a huge draw for the state Democratic Party's annual fundraising dinner: with nearly 3,600 tickets sold, and walk-up sales expected to push attendance over 4,000, it will be a record Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner crowd," the Gazette reports.

Interim Highlights & Tidbits, Day 2

* Columbus Day brought dozens of striking nurses and their supports to the Capitol for a rally amid their dispute with Appalachian Regional Healthcare.

As The Associated Press reports, ARH is one of the region's largest health care providers and owns 7 hospitals in Kentucky and two in West Virginia. "About 630 nurses in both states walked off the job last week following the expiration of their contract," AP reports. " Since the strike began on Oct. 1, ARH has brought in replacement workers."

The Charleston Gazette and WOWK-TV were among those covering the rally.

* The Public Employees Insurance Agency told lawmakers Monday that the threat of a potential $8 billion (corrected figure; my bad. -ed.) funding gap has forced it to increase deductibles and add co-payments come July, The Gazette reports.

* The Division of Foresty faces questions from lawmakers after an audit uncovers a bevvy of accounting and record-keeping problems at the agency, AP reports.

* Public Broadcasting charts the progress, or possible lack thereof, shown by West Virginia's Medicaid programs since officials redesigned it to cut costs. With audio.

* Lawmakers also got an update on Gov. Joe Manchin's plan for statewide high-speed Internet access by 2010 _ but also questioned why he vetoed a bill they say could have aided that goal. AP has the story.

Locking 'Em Up In The Mountain State

West Virginia's prisons are so overcrowded, hundreds of convicted felons must serve their sentences in county jails. The jails, meanwhile, are straining county budgets with their daily per-inmate fees.

But the state Council of Churches and a research group at Wheeling Jesuit University believe West Virginia can save the estimated $130 million to $200 million it would otherwise spend on a new prison, if officials rethink their approach to "everything from parole to drug rehabilitation."

As The Associated Press' Tom Breen reports, corrections officials are taking their report seriously.

"The report recommends changing the way the state handles people convicted of nonviolent crimes. It also praises steps West Virginia has already taken," Breen writes. "In particular, it says the state’s 17 day report centers established in the last two years have been valuable in giving parolees access to services ranging from education to help for substance abuse."

The Charleston Gazette, The Register-Herald of Beckley and MetroNews (with audio) also covered Monday's release of the report.

And citing that study, the Beckley newspaper also reports on an interim legislative committee drafted a resolution Monday "to prod the Manchin administration to provide the full $5 million funding of day-reporting centers as an alternative to keeping some convicts behind bars."

But as AP also reports, the push to provide alternatives to incarceration appears at odds with calls for stiffer DUI penalties. A study group gave lawmakers differing views for deterring DUI and punishing repeat offenders within the context of a crowded prison and jail system.

The Gazette and The Register-Herald (with a related story here) also covered that interim meeting.

Fred Thompson Lines Up Leading GOP Lawmakers

The minority leaders of the Legislature, Sen. Don Caruth of Mercer County and Delegate Tim Armstead of Kanawha County, were among several GOP lawmakers who endorsed presidential candidate Fred Thompson on Monday.

All told, 13 of the Legislature's 39 Republicans lined up to support the former Tennessee senator's 2008 bid.

MetroNews covered Monday's announcement from the state Capitol.

In other 2008 presidential campaign news, the Doddridge County Republican Executive Committee will host GOP candidates Gene Zarwell at its annual Ox Roast, Oct. 20.

Interim Highlights & Other Tidbits

* Some lawmakers are eyeing ways to restore oversight for workers' compensation-related administrative rules, but others aren't sure that's a good idea. The Associated Press has the story, as does The Register-Herald of Beckley.

* The Charleston Gazette reports on updates from Gov. Joe Manchin's proposals to create a Web-based system for sharing medical records and to increase broadband access in the Mountain State.

* Lawmakers also received assurances Sunday that President Bush's recent veto of the SCHIP bill poses no immediate threat to the state's program, The Register-Herald reports.

* The Journal of Martinsburg crunches the numbers to highlight the increasing burden of daily jail costs on county budgets. "This year alone, Berkeley County expects to spend nearly $2.1 million on regional jail fees. The fees consume nearly 8.5 percent of the county’s projected $25 million budget," the newspaper reports.

* The scheduled appearance of former President Bill Clinton at Saturday's Jefferson-Jackson dinner in Charleston promises to attract a larger-than-expected crowd, MetroNews reports.

* The Register-Herald also reports that Delegates Kelli Sobonya and Carol Miller, both R-Cabell, have joined State Legislators for Legal Immigration, a group that "seeks full cooperation among all levels of government to keep America’s borders free of invasion."

Fueling The Lottery Debate

Amid the tumult over West Virginia's video lottery parlors, The New York Times has examined the role lotteries play in the revenue picture for the Mountain State and 41 of its peers.

"Lotteries have raised billions of dollars, and of the 42 states that have them, 23 earmark all or some of the money for education," the paper reported Sunday. But the Times' analysis concluded that "lotteries accounted for less than 1 percent to 5 percent of the total revenue for K-12 education last year in the states that use this money for schools."

The article pegs the West Virginia lottery's contribution to education at 1.1 percent of total K-12 education funding. The accompanying graphic also notes that video lottery sales were not counted for part of the analysis. A separate chart (not with the online edition) further noted that key lottery financial data from West Virginia was not available for the Times' analysis.

Figures from the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries suggest that about 28 percent of West Virginia's lottery revenues went to education between the 1986 start of its lottery system and the end of the 2006 fiscal year.

These figures also list 26 states as earmarking lottery revenues for education: 10 states dedicate all such revenue toward this area, while only four of the state provide a lower percentage to education than West Virginia.

Video Lottery: Eyeing The Proverbial Goose

The unexpected ultimatum leveled by video lottery leasing companies against parlors that host the machines underscores the new threat to the industry posed by last month's federal court ruling.

The Associated Press explores the potential impact of this ruling, while also talking to the club owner who helped win it.

"I don't believe that most of our people are going to advertise," Jesse Bane told AP. "I think they're going to be very cautious about how they advertise."

Several others have also weighed the ruling's role in the ongoing gambling debate, including:

* Public Broadcasting (on the Outlook television program as well as in this audio segment),

* The Charleston Gazette,

* MetroNews (with a separate commentary by Talkline host Hoppy Kercheval),

* The Charleston Daily Mail offers a detailed overview of this component of the state lottery system.

The Gazette and Public Broadcasting reported earlier on the paltry results of the first public hearing convened by Kanawha County officials so residents could sound off on video lottery parlors. Only a couple dozen showed up, not all opposed the parlors and not all even wanted to talk about that issue (Public Broadcasting also has audio and transcript).

Manchin Intervenes in Lottery HQ Search

West Virginia's Lottery Commission had just gotten the green light from an environmental assessment for land in Kanawha City it was eyeing for its new headquarters. Then came the call from the Department of Administration, the landlord of all state real estate, scratching the site.

The reason: Gov Joe Manchin, who instead wants Lottery to relocate near the Capitol and on the other side of the river, The Charleston Gazette reports.

"Manchin said Thursday it was his order that halted the purchase of a Kanawha City site for a new Lottery Commission headquarters, and that environmental tests done at the site had nothing to do with the decision," the Gazette article said.

The governor "envisions a new office building constructed along Washington Street and California Avenue adjacent to the state Capitol Complex, with adequate parking. He hopes to bring most of the Department of Revenue, which includes the Lottery Commission, into the structure."

"Gadfly" Announces Congressional Bid

A South Charleston lawyer perhaps best known for lobbing lawsuits against public programs and proposals says he's seeking the U.S. House seat held by Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, The Associated Press reports.

The details come from The Charleston Gazette: Thornton Cooper "bought newspaper and radio advertisements in Charleston Thursday announcing he is a Democratic candidate for the state’s 2nd Congressional District seat."

Dubbed "the Don Quixote of West Virginia politics" in a 1988 AP profile, Cooper has tilted against privatizing state-owned liquor stores, a series of statewide bond sale proposals, several proposed constitutional amendments, Kanawha County school bonds, Charleston's user fee and racetrack table games. To name a few.

Most recently, Cooper attended Thursday's public hearing convened in Kanawha County to air opinions regarding video lottery parlors. The Charleston Gazette reports that Cooper contrasted their situation with the recent table games election. “If you’re going to allow [video lottery], there should be a referendum on a county level, for parallelism,” Cooper said.

Retired from the state Public Service Commission, Cooper told the Gazette "his platform is simple: raise the minimum wage, create universal health care and bring the troops home from Iraq 'as soon as possible without a bloodbath.'"

Cooper is the second Democrat to seek to challenge Capito, a Republican. State Sen. John Under, D-Berkeley, announced his candidacy in June -- and attracted some significant support.

They Voted For You: Blackwater

All of West Virginia's U.S. House members -- Reps. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, and Nick Rahall, D-3rd -- voted for a measure Thursday "to require accountability for contractors and contract personnel under Federal contracts, and for other purposes."

As The Associated Press reports, the bill "would make all private contractors working in Iraq and other combat zones subject to prosecution by U.S. courts," and is "the first major legislation of its kind to pass since a deadly shootout last month involving Blackwater employees."

The "MEJA (Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act) Expansion and Enforcement Act of 2007" passed 389-30.

W.Va. Reacts to CHIP Veto

West Virginia's congressional delegation appears uniformly opposed to President Bush's veto of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act.

As noted here earlier, the delegation voted for expanding the program.

MetroNews hears from both Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin and U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, on the subject. A separate MetroNews piece relays similar sentiments from U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.

The Charleston Gazette reports that "representatives of state health-care coalitions Wednesday decried President Bush’s veto...and urged Congress to override the veto."

The Gazette opines on the veto today. MetroNews Talkline host Hoppy Kercheval offers a different viewpoint, but also invited health care advocate Perry Bryant to post a counterpoint.

The Associated Press offers details from the veto, the reaction nationally and the possible impact on the 2008 elections.

Update: Manchin issued a press release in the veto's wake, saying that West Virginia's CHIP "will continue to serve the qualified children of West Virginia while this issue is resolved."

Quote of the Day

“We’re saying, ‘If you advertise, you’re going to wake up the next morning and have only one machine.’”

-- Anthony “Herk” Sparachane, president of the West Virginia Amusement & Limited Video Lottery Association, explaining his group's demand of a voluntary compliance with limits on advertising to The Associated Press.

An Unexpected Ultimatum For Video Lottery (Updated)

Video lottery parlors have been warned to stick with the advertising limits deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge -- but the admonition isn't coming from the Lottery Commission.

Instead, companies that own the machines and lease them to the parlors have demanded a return to the status quo, and vow to strip machines from bars and clubs that don't comply.

The Associated Press has details, as does MetroNews. A spokesman for the leasing companies explained his group's stance on Talkline (with audio).

The Intelligencer of Wheeling also catches some of the fallout from last week's ruling, including jubilation by a former state lawmaker and congressional candidate who wants to act on the decision at his club.

Update: Gov. Joe Manchin is also warning the video lottery retailers, the Charleston Daily Mail reports.

The Sub-Prime Mortgage Mess in W.Va.

"Wall Street has staggered under a national explosion of subprime adjustable rate mortgage foreclosures," The Charleston Gazette reported over the weekend, but "you can find the beginnings of that blast...in towns like Pineville, Madison, Clay and Charleston."

The lengthy piece chronicles the origins of "predatory" lending in West Virginia, and highlights the lawsuits filed by the firm Mountain State Justice Inc. on behalf of borrowers.

West Virginia has the second highest delinquency rate in the country for subprime adjustable rate mortgages, second only to Mississippi, the article said, citing a survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

"Since 2001, some of America’s biggest out-of-state financial institutions have foreclosed on 5,738 West Virginia homes," the Gazette reported.

The article includes charts explaining the subprime process and on foreclosures and the warning signs that a loan may be "predatory."

Author Kate Long follows up on her Gazette piece with a segment on Public Broadcasting today (audio here).

Walker Explains 2008 Supreme Court Bid

After filing pre-candidacy papers Sept. 25, Elizabeth Walker discussed her desire to run for the Supreme Court next year on MetroNews' Talkline.

A labor and employment lawyer in Charleston, Walker said her goal is to ensure that West Virginia's highest court is fair and impartial.

"The impediment that we have seen by a court that is unpredictable, that can tend toward judicial activism at times, I think just stands in the way of progress, stands in the way of jobs, stands in the way of opportunities for everyone," Walker told host Hoppy Kercheval.

Kercheval asked whether either of the justices whose seats are up in 2008 have contributed to that. Elliot "Spike" Maynard has already launched his re-election campaign, while Larry Starcher has not announced his plans for next year.

"I am talking about judges who have written in their opinions, and Justice Starcher has been one, (and) others throughout the time that I certainly have experienced, that have been open to say that they are not of a mind to treat everyone who comes before the court fairly," Walker said. "That's individuals, that's criminal defendants, that's companies."

Walker also said she sees the judiciary as "a branch of government with a limited role."

"The Legislature has its role as creating laws, certainly the executive branch in promoting policies or any agenda," she told Kercheval. "The Supreme Court is not there to, in my view, support a particular agenda, other than offering a court system where everyone is treated fairly."

MetroNews also offers audio.

Walker is with Bowles, Rice, McDavid, Graff & Love. Her family operates Walker Machinery Co., a distributor of construction, mining and forestry equipment and the sponsors of the "Coal Keeps The Lights On" ad campaign.

The only Republican among five precandidates for Supreme Court, Walker is also considered along with Maynard to be the pair in that race that can expect heavy support from Don Blankenship, the Massey Energy Co. chief.

(Update: Kercheval heralds Walker and Maynard as a "conservative dream team" in his online column today. He also notes that unless a second Republican enters the race, state GOP Chairman Doug McKinney plans to cross party lines and vote for Maynard in November.)

They Voted For You: "Soft Partition" of Iraq

Sens. Robert C. Byrd and Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., both voted for a resolution last week "to express the sense of Congress on federalism in Iraq."

Drawing on the premise that "Iraq continues to experience a self-sustaining cycle of sectarian violence," it proposes that the U.S. "should actively support a political settlement in Iraq based on the final provisions of the Constitution of Iraq that create a federal system of government and allow for the creation of federal regions, consistent with the wishes of the Iraqi people and their elected leaders."

The measure, sponsored by Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., prevailed 75-23.

The Associated Press has details of the resolution -- and the less-than thrilled responses from the Bush administration and representatives of Iraq's major political parties.

The 2008 Money Race: Hillary Clinton

The former first lady and New York senator has attracted more than $240,000 from West Virginians, collecting $201,000 of that during the last three months, The Associated Press reports.

All candidates have until Oct. 15 to file their quarterly finance reports with the Federal Election Commission, so it's too soon to tell whether Clinton leads the Democratic field in Mountain State fundraising. John Edwards was ahead after the previous quarter -- but that's when all of the candidates from both parties had received a collective $243,000 from West Virginia donors.

Clinton's latest contributors include state party stalwarts, current and former legislators and lawyers. The latter category includes several of the leading plaintiff lawyers in the state. Clinton also benefited from a Charleston fundraiser in July.

Gambling In The Mountain State

* VIDEO LOTTERY ADVERTISING: Since The Associated Press first reported Friday that a federal judge blocked the ad ban on video lottery parlors, The Charleston Gazette hears from club owners eager to act on it.

(Update: The judge's order is available online.)

* VIDEO POKER PARLORS: Kanawha County prepares to hold its first public hearing this week on video lottery, as MetroNews reports. But the move has spurred allegations of grandstanding from West Virginia Amusement & Limited Video Lottery Association President Herk Sparachane, according to Public Broadcasting (with audio).

* TABLE GAMES: Public Broadcasting also reports that the state's two Northern Panhandle tracks should begin offering live poker by Nov. 1, once the Lottery Commission develops the regulations necessary for casino table games (also with audio).

Byrd's Busy Week

U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., did not limit his activities this week to threatening cuts to Iraq war funding, talking tough with Bush administration officials and kicking hecklers out of the Senate Appropriations Committee

Colleagues from both sides of the aisle were on hand as the Senate Commission on Art unveiled a new portrait of history's longest-serving U.S. senator at the Capitol.

The Charleston Gazette has a story, while C-SPAN is offering video of the unveiling ceremony.

(Update: The Charleston Daily Mail offers a slideshow from the unveiling.)
(Update II: About a minute into the C-SPAN video is where Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., refers to Byrd's accomplishments "for the state of Virginia." Grrr.)

The 89-year-old also saw the new Public Higher Education Center in his home county of Raleigh named the Erma Byrd Center to honor his late wife, the Register-Herald of Beckley reports.

And earlier this month, Wheeling Jesuit University awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters to his late wife, who died in 2006 just months shy of their 69th wedding anniversary. The Gazette reported on that event as well.

More Changing of the Guard

September's end marks the departure of several more figures from state government:

* Billy Jack Gregg is retiring after 26 years at the Public Service Commission as "the only Consumer Advocate West Virginia has ever had," as MetroNews reports.

"Gregg says he is most proud of his office's efforts during his tenure to thwart the attempted deregulation of the electric industry in West Virginia and the successes, he says, they had in limiting the increases for customers when natural gas prices shot up a few years ago," the MetroNews piece said.

* Ben Beakes is leaving as chief of staff to Secretary of State Betty Ireland. With Ireland deciding not to seek another term next year, Beakes is joining Petroleum Products Inc., The Associated Press reports.

Beakes gained a reputation as a tireless and knowledgeable aide to Ireland with county election officials, voters and the press. A Friday Parkersburg News article underscores the often touchy terrain facing the state's chief elections office.

They Voted For You: MoveOn.org

The U.S. House followed the Senate's lead this week and adopted a resolution that "condemns in the strongest possible terms the personal attacks made by the advocacy group MoveOn.org impugning the integrity and professionalism of General David H. Petraeus."

The measure passed 341-79, with Reps. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, and Nick Rahall, D-3rd, all voting for it.

The Associated Press offers details on the resolution, while MoveOn.org has also responded.

U.S. Sens. Robert C. Byrd and Jay Rockefeller, both D-W.Va., voted against a Sept. 20 amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 that aimed to "express the sense of the Senate that General David H. Petraeus, Commanding General, Multi-National Force-Iraq, deserves the full support of the Senate and strongly condemn personal attacks on the honor and integrity of General Petraeus and all members of the United States Armed Forces."

The Senate measure passed 72-25.

Spinners In The Hands Of An Angry Byrd

Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., dished out some fire and brimstone during Wednesday's appearance by Defense Secretary Bob Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Peter Pace before the committee.

As The Associated Press reports, Byrd's speech at a hearing on a $190 billion Iraq combat funding request was punctuated by "tough rhetoric" and "was interrupted several times by cheers of anti-war protesters."

"The American public was sold on this war with metaphors about mushroom clouds and
fanciful visions of our troops being greeted as liberators," Byrd told the pair at one point. "The fear tactics and half-truths continue, as the President suggests that terrorists will 'follow us here' if we withdraw from Iraq, and the Administration grasps at every straw to demonstrate 'progress' on the ground."

C-SPAN offers video of the entire three-hour hearing. Byrd's speech takes up the first 12 minutes. (The so-called "Greek Chorus" begins at 8:55, but also check out the reaction by other committee members, particularly Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., at 8:11. And things really go south at 1:28:15.)

The committee has posted the text of Byrd's prepared remarks.

(Thanks to the Charleston Daily Mail for picking up a Washington Post column opining on the hearing, which was marred by "two dozen hecklers in the audience from the antiwar group Code Pink" who "continued to shout at the witnesses and wave signs for the better part of an hour.")

Byrd had vowed in a speech earlier this week that "I am convinced that the best way to support our troops is to bring them home, and the only way to get them home may be to somehow restrict the funds for this disastrous war."

The Charleston Gazette and MetroNews (with audio) were among those to cover the Monday remarks, while the Appropriations Committee has also issued a release on Byrd's statement.

(Update: Public Broadcasting has a piece on both Monday's remarks and Wednesday's hearing.)

Today's Batch O' Facts: West Virginians In The Military

West Virginians remain proud of their patriotism and their historic willingness to enter harm's way when their nation calls. The state has consistently seen solid contingents from its population fight in armed conflicts going back to the Civil War.

But in a question to Rudy Giuliani during his recent presidential campaign stop in Morgantown, one reporter asserted that West Virginia led the nation in residents per-capita serving in the military.

And state officials are among those who have boasted that West Virginia leads the nation in veterans, per-capita.

The latest figures from the U.S. Department of Defense count 9,318 active duty military and 7,480 reservists as Mountain State residents. These numbers suggest that nine out of every 1,000 West Virginians are in the military.

Fourteen states have higher rates, with Alaska leading the nation with 59 per 1,000 residents.

West Virginia ranks 12th for active-duty military (Alaska is again 1st), and 20th for reservists (Hawaii is 1st).

(DoD figures also count the number of active duty personnel stationed in states: West Virginia has just 489, while California has more than 150,000.)

As for veterans, the 2000 Census counted 201,701 in West Virginia, or 11.15% of the population, ranking the state 10th. Maine had the greatest share, 154,590 for 12.13% of its population.

The American Community Survey estimated veteran populations last year, again ranking West Virginia 10th with 12.5 percent of its residents veterans. Alaska topped that survey, at 14.6% of its population.

They Voted For You: Iran

U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., voted for a Wednesday amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 that sought "to express the sense of the Senate regarding Iran."

Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., voted against the amendment proposed by Sens. John Kyl, R-Ariz., Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and others.

It prevailed 76-22.

Critics of current U.S. foreign policy have seized on specific language in the amendment:

"(T)hat it should be the policy of the United States to combat, contain, and roll back the violent activities and destabilizing influence inside Iraq of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, its foreign facilitators such as Lebanese Hezbollah, and its indigenous Iraqi proxies (and) to support the prudent and calibrated use of all instruments of United States national power in Iraq, including diplomatic, economic, intelligence, and military instruments in support of (this policy) with respect to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxies."

DeLay Comes To West Virginia

Former U.S. House Majority Tom DeLay, R-Texas, addressed a Fairmont State University audience Tuesday as part of the school's Celebration of Ideas Lecture Series.

The Times-West Virginian of Fairmont has an article, on the subscriber portion of its web site. Will add any additional links asap.

They Voted For You: SCHIP

West Virginia's entire House delegation - Reps. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, and Nick Rahall, D-3rd -- voted to accept the Senate's amendments to the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act.

The vote was 265-159. Capito was among 45 House Republicans to support the measure, while eight Democrats opposed it.

But as The Associated Press reports, "the Democratic-led victory may prove short-lived because the margin was too small to override President Bush's promised veto."

Bush has mischaracterized the bill, according to FactCheck.org, giving "a false description of proposed legislation to expand the 10-year-old federal program to provide health insurance for children in low-income working families."

Several West Virginia groups have weighed in on the legislation and Bush's veto threat, including to The Charleston Gazette, MetroNews and Public Broadcasting.

The Climate Change Debate In W.Va.

"Clean coal" technology, pursued by West Virginia to maintain its role in the nation's energy mix, is "hugely expensive" and "probably one of the worst ideas ever proposed," a Charleston audience was told Tuesday.

S. Fred Singer, described by The Charleston Gazette as "one of the nation’s most outspoken and controversial climate change skeptics," said that "that humans aren’t making the world warmer, and said state residents shouldn’t try to curb greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants."

Singer spoke at an evening event "sponsored by Payne Engineering Co., the First Presbyterian Church of Charleston, Blackbird Technology Group of Indiana, and BB&T," the Gazette reports.

Public Broadcasting also covered the forum, reporting that Singer is considered "a sort of Rorschach test for your views on climate change. Environmentalists call him a 'climate change denier' -- like the people who deny the Holocaust. They blame him for working with conservative groups and the energy industry to delay action on climate change."

But Singer found a receptive audience Tuesday, which "listened eagerly as Singer gave his hour-long speech and took pot-shots at Al Gore, climate scientists and even his former friends in the oil industry, who he says are only admitting now to climate change because they see how can make money off it," the report said.

Singer is also "the founder of the Science & Environmental Policy Project, which disputes the prevailing wisdom on climate change," Public Broadcasting reports.

Thieves Exploit Mine Safety Push

In the wake of the Sago mine disaster and Aracoma mining deaths in early 2006, West Virginia adopted the stockpiling of emergency air packs in its quest to improve mine accident survival and rescue efforts.

The resulting caches, stored well within a mine, have become magnets for thieves, The Associated Press' Tim Huber reports. Massey Energy Co. alone estimates that 100 to 200 of the air packs have been stolen from its mine in recent months.

Rather than a new law, officials tell Huber they want prosecutors to pursue regular theft charges but to make such cases a priority.

"The approach comes on the (heels) of a harrowing attempt to steal eight emergency air packs from Massey Energy Co.'s Aracoma Alma No. 1 Mine earlier this month," Huber writes. "Authorities are searching for a suspect who allegedly started a multi-ton vehicle, taped the controls and sent it some 3,000 feet down the mine's tracks, where it collided with a second vehicle."

Witnesses Allegedly Bullied In DHHR Case

Public Broadcasting reports on allegations that the state Department of Health and Human Resources has intimidated witnesses not to testify in a discrimination case against DHHR.

(Update: The Charleston Gazette reported last week on the lawsuit and the alleged intimidation.)

The underlying lawsuit alleges people like Shawn Shumbera, a patient at the state-run Bateman Hospital in Huntington, have been wrongly barred from enrolling in a public program that would allow them to live on their own.

"The non-profit group Mountain State Justice says that DHHR officials routinely discriminate against people like Shumbera, who has been diagnosed as both mentally retarded and mentally ill," Public Broadcasting reports.

A lawyer for Shumbera alleges that a pair of Bateman staffers were willing to testify on Shambera's behalf -- until they were called in to a meeting with the hospital's CEO, a DHHR lawyer and other officials.

The witnesses now allegedly say they've changed their minds about Shumbera's case, and that they would not testify.

One of them allegedly said, "you need to remember who signs my paycheck," Public Broadcasting reports.

A DHHR spokeswoman declined comment for the story, "because of the lawsuit and because they don’t want to violate Shumbera’s privacy."

Public Broadcasting also offers the full text of the segment.

Election 2008 - Short Takes

* Elizabeth Edwards expects to be in Charleston for an Oct. 9 fundraiser for her husband's presidential campaign. As The Associated Press reports, the Democrat, North Carolina senator and 2004 vice presidential nominee had outraised the rest of the presidential hopefuls among West Virginia donors as of the last filing period. The Charleston Daily Mail, which was first with the story, notes that the event co-sponsors include Sen. Dan Foster, D-Kanawha and a physician, and city lawyer Harry Bell.

* The U.S. House campaign of state Sen. John Under, D-Berkeley, was the intended beneficiary of a Monday evening fundraiser in Washington, D.C. Hosts were to include top brass from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and both of West Virginia's U.S. House Democrats, Reps. Alan Mollohan and Nick Rahall. Unger has previously touted DCCC backing of his bid to unseat Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd.

* Delegate Tim Manchin, D-Marion, tells the Times-West Virginian of Fairmont that he has decided against a run for one of two state Supreme Court seats on the 2008 ballot.

Quote of the Day

“The ideas put forth in my book are more consistent with those of the Republican Party than those of the Democratic party.”

-- West Virginia University economics professor Russ Sobel, while promoting Unleashing Capitalism at a GOP picnic Sunday covered by The Intelligencer of Wheeling.

The Debate Over "Open For Business"

More than 61,000 votes were cast by last week, online and by phone, for a new slogan for West Virginia's highway welcome signs.

Conventional wisdom predicts that few favored "Open For Business," the mantra championed by Gov. Joe Manchin. But as The Associated Press reports, the debate over that slogan overlaps with the discussion over whether Manchin's efforts to date render such a slogan accurate.

In the name of "Open For Business," Manchin has led trade missions abroad, touted West Virginia at all manner of business summits and forums, and has even commissioned an eight-page ad supplement for major metro daily newspapers.

But also influencing the debate over the state's business climate is Unleashing Capitalism, edited by West Virginia University economics professor Russell Sobel.

The book has its critics, including some who welcome the effort but offer a mixed review. The AP article recounts how one GOP lawmaker denounced its chapter on the coalfields -- likening it to denials of the Holocaust -- as revisionist history.

But the book has been warmly embraced for its advocacy of free-market and libertarian principles. Both the state Chamber of Commerce and Republican Party have been offering copies to anyone interested, and Sobel has found himself a speaker in demand.

The Intelligencer of Wheeling reports the latest such public presentation, at a Republican Party picnic Sunday in Brooke County.

“Unleashing Capitalism will be our party platform next year,” GOP Chairman Doug McKinney told the newspaper. “Our philosophy will be, ‘It’s the economy, Stupid.’"

"McKinney and Sobel were among those attending an 'old fashioned picnic' for Republicans Sunday at Eric Freeland’s farm on Windsor Heights in Brooke County," the article said. "Copies of Sobel’s book were available for $10 each at the event."

West Virginia's Mini-Casinos

Kanawha County plans to hold public hearings next month so residents can weigh in on the 157 bars and clubs that together host 731 video lottery machines in the county.

Officials there hope to catch the attention of the Legislature, but lawmakers tell The Associated Press that they're highly unlikely to do anything about these mini-casinos until their licenses come up for renewal in 2011.

The AP's Vicki Smith also notes the revenues that flow from these machines to the state _ for Promise scholarships, schools and economic development funding _ and to county and local governments across state government.

The article also cites the 2001 law that created this arm of the state lottery system, by outlawing the infamous video poker "gray machines."

(At least one reader earlier questioned some of the representations made about gray machines. The AP article draws from a census conducted by the State Police in early 2001. It found 13,519 of these machines at 2,645 locations statewide. The video lottery system, as of August, had 8,178 video lottery terminals at 1,658 locations.

These gray machines operated in places well beyond the Alcohol Beverage Control Administration-licensed clubs and bars to which they are now limited. The census found them in grocery and convenience stores, video rental stores, bowling alleys and pool halls and, yes, even laundromats.

These machines were widely believed to pay out illegally. By way of comparison, the machines operating legally grossed $397 million during the last fiscal year.)

The Journal of Martinsburg also delves into the video lottery issue. Berkeley County officials expect the machines to deliver $311,000 in revenue this year, and they tell The Journal "that’s fine by them."

Quote of the Day

"History will prove him to be the best Supreme Court justice West Virginia has ever had.”

-- State Republican Party Chairman Doug McKinney, on Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard, a Democrat, during a Thursday appearance on MetroNews' Talkline.

Crossing Party Lines, West Virginia Style

West Virginia GOP Chairman Doug McKinney told MetroNews Talkline host Hoppy Kercheval on Thursday that he would vote for Supreme Court Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard -- a Democrat -- if only one Republican runs when two seats are up on the court next year.

Maynard launched his 2008 re-election campaign last month. Such support of a Democrat may prompt some in the GOP to “throw me out of the party for that," Dr. McKinney added, "but you have to give the guy his due.”

They Voted For You: Troop Deployments

U.S. Sens. Robert C. Byrd and Jay Rockefeller, both D-W.Va., supported an amendment Thursday to "specify minimum periods between deployment of units and members of the Armed Forces deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom."

The measure proposed by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., to amend the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008" required 60 votes but failed 56-44.

Byrd and Rockefeller also voted for a separate amendment to the bill to "safely redeploy United States troops from Iraq." It fell 28-70.

The Associated Press covered the recent Senate action, while The Register-Herald of Beckley hears from West Virginia's senators on the matter.

Also Thursday, Byrd and Rockefeller cast votes against a measure related to the Iraq bill that would "express the sense of the Senate that General David H. Petraeus, Commanding General, Multi-National Force-Iraq, deserves the full support of the Senate and strongly condemn personal attacks on the honor and integrity of General Petraeus and all members of the United States Armed Forces."

That amendment passed, 72-25.

The Blankenship Factor in 2008, Revisited

Last week, The Associated Press touched on the potential 2008 political activities of Don Blankenship, the Massey Energy Co. chief.

The article featured several fellow Republicans critical of his "disastrous" 2006 campaign targeting legislative races.

The article and those comments have generated reactions here, here, and here, among other places.

Hoppy Kercheval followed up on MetroNews' statewide Talkline show by putting the question to West Virginia Republican Party Chairman Doug McKinney.

“I’ve never viewed Don’s involvement as a negative," McKinney told Kercheval, adding that he hopes for Blankenship's support in 2008.

The Media and The "Logan Six"

The rape and torture case emerging out of Logan County has drawn wide attention, with national news outlets descending on southern West Virginia and the coverage among the most-read items on Yahoo and Google.

Public Broadcasting takes a step back and assesses the media's handling of the story on its weekly Outlook program. The show is also posted on YouTube, here and here.

GOP Searching For Ireland's Successor

With Secretary of State Betty Ireland, the sole Republican on West Virginia's Board of Public Works, choosing not to seek re-election, the state GOP is looking for a candidate to keep the office in its column.

Hoppy Kercheval of MetroNews has in his column today that Sen. Mike Hall of Putnam County "is seriously considering running for the Republican nomination."

Fresh from last year's successful jump from the House to the state Senate, Hall could run for statewide office while keeping his legislative seat. "But the fact that Hall joined the senate not that long ago is one issue that’s giving him pause," Kercheval writes.

“I’m sensitive to the fact that I just got elected (to the senate),” Hall told Kercheval.

"Another concern for Hall," the column notes "as it is with most candidates, is the ability to raise enough money for a viable statewide campaign."

Mollohan Remains on Group's "Most Corrupt" List - Updated

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has again included Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, in its annual report on "the most corrupt members of Congress."

The third annual list includes 22 members as well as "two to watch." Sixteen members have been replaced from last year’s list of 25.

Updating its allegations about Mollohan's earmarks, personal finances and related items from last year's report, CREW notes that while Mollohan was "named as the chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State and Related Agencies, he recused himself from working on matters related to the Department of Justice’s budget."

CREW also cites press reports that say the FBI subpoenaed financial records from non-profits benefiting from Mollohan earmarks, and that at least one person has received a grand jury subpoena.

"Despite all of the legal questions surrounding some of Rep. Mollohan’s previous earmarks, Rep. Mollohan requested a $1 million earmark to allow the Department of the Interior to expand a wilderness area abutting property owned by the congressman," the report said. "At least one local real estate agent opined that the value of Rep. Mollohan’s property was likely to increase substantially as a result of the earmark."

Update: The Associated Press reported in August that "Mollohan says he has done nothing wrong and has yet to hear from federal investigators." CREW's 2006 list and the allegations it cited both played a role in the 1st District race that year. Mollohan won that race with 64 percent of the vote.

Keystone Slots Take Their Toll on W.Va.

Ten weeks into the fiscal year, both of West Virginia's Northern Panhandle racetracks have seen business plummet in the face of competition from Pennsylvania slot parlors.

Video lottery revenues at Mountaineer Race Track & Gaming Resort dropped by $3.6 million, or 7.5%, when compared to this time last year, according to Lottery Commission figures.

Revenue fell by $7.8 million, a 20.8% decline, at Wheeling Island Racetrack & Gaming Center.

The Associated Press offers some numbers, drawn from The Weirton Daily Times.

"Since opening, the Meadows Racetrack & Casino in Washington, Pa., with 1,738 slot machines, has brought in $59.5 million, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board," the AP article said.

As in Kanawha County, voters in Hancock and Ohio counties each approved casino table games for their respective tacks to blunt the competition. "But no track offers them yet because the state is still training the regulators who will oversee the games," the AP article notes.

West Virginia Shuts Down Data Mine

The nation's pharmaceutical industry can no longer tailor its pitches to West Virginia doctors and patients while armed with knowledge of which medications are taken by about 200,000 Mountain State residents, The Associated Press reports.

"The Public Employees Insurance Agency has asked its pharmacy benefit manager, St. Louis-based Express Scripts, to stop providing that information to drug manufacturers," AP's Tom Breen writes. "Advocates of ending the disclosures say the drug companies use the information to encourage doctors to prescribe brand name medications instead of cheaper, generic equivalents."

Dead Eye Joe

Just days after blasting clay pigeons at a new state park shooting range, West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin bagged an antelope and some bragging rights over the weekend at the storied One Shot Hunt in Wyoming, The Associated Press reports.

In Wyoming for a conference promoting coal, Manchin joined host Gov. Dave Freudenthal in rating an "X" score on the competition, meaning each killed an antelope with the required single shot.

But Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter "rated only an O, meaning that he had either missed his antelope, or triggered more than a single shot in bringing it down," AP reports.

Begun in 1940, the hunt has underscored the rivalry between Colorado and the 'Cowboy State, "a place with 500,000 residents and more antelope than people," the AP article explains. "And every one of those Wyomingites, it seems, is fiercely proud that they don't live in Colorado."

McDowell County Still Banking On $24m Landfill

A Virginia company will open a 175-acre landfill in McDowell County for in-county customers Oct. 2, the Bluefield Daily Telegraph reports.

But in-state trash is not why EnviroSolutions Inc. spent an estimated $24 million on the facility.

The company's quest to accept out-of-state waste by rail foundered earlier this year, when the Legislature failed to act on its bill allowing the landfill to accept more than 50,000 tons of trash per month.

A pair of lobbyists methodically worked the state Senate through most of the 60-day session to ensure passage by that body - only to hit a wall in the House of Delegates with just days remaining in the session.

A House public hearing that drew critics of the proposal, and raised questions about whether the landfill would ease the county's trash problems, signaled the legislation's defeat.

Ex-Justice May Join '08 Supreme Court Race

Former Supreme Court Justice Margaret Workman tells The Associated Press that she plans to launch an exploratory committee for her old job.

"Workman said she will not run if Starcher seeks another 12-year term," the AP article notes. "While Justice Elliott 'Spike' Maynard launched his re-election bid last month, Justice Larry Starcher has not announced his 2008 plans."

The Charleston Democrat became the first woman elected to a statewide office in 1988, and retired from the court in 1999. She has since unsuccessfully run for Congress and the state Senate.

Update: Starcher may be considering a new line of work, according to the Charleston Daily Mail.

Tolling on the W.Va. Turnpike

Gov. Joe Manchin talks to MetroNews about whether the West Virginia Turnpike might raise toll rates, in the wake of legislative passage of a tax break for in-state motorists.

Untangling Teacher Pensions

As The Associated Press reports, the devil's in the details regarding the five options recommended to the Legislature for addressing severe funding problems in the Teachers Defined Contribution retirement program.

W.Va. Lawmakers Weigh In On Logan Torture Allegations

As the unfolding case involving at least a half-dozen Logan County residents continues to attract national press attention, U.S. Sens. Robert C. Byrd and Jay Rockefeller, both D-W.Va., have each issued statements on the case, MetroNews reports.

Delegate John Overington, R-Berkeley, is meanwhile researching state law to see whether he should propose legislation making torture a specific crime.

"Torture by itself when it’s not involving other cases doesn’t appear to be a crime”, he told The Register-Herald of Beckley.

The Associated Press has reported on the debate over whether the incident should be prosecuted as a hate crime. AP also examines the incident within the context of race relations in the mostly white Mountain State.

Whittaker's Woes

It's been nearly five years since Jack Whittaker hit the then-record Powerball jackpot. But the West Virginia contractor has become as known for what has befallen him since as when he gained national headlines for that Christmas 2002 win.

Whittaker recently shared his story with The Associated Press' Shaya Tayefe Mohajer.

"His wife left him and his drug-addicted granddaughter -- his protege and heir -- died. He endured constant requests for money," she writes. "Almost five years later, Whittaker is left with things money can't cure: His daughter's cancer, a long list of indiscretions documented in newspapers and court records, and an inability to trust others."

AP also offers a Q&A from the Whittaker interview.

Update: The AP interview with Tayefe Mohajer coincides with the settlement of one of several legal cases involving Whittaker, this one dealing with $49,000 worth of allegedly forged checks, the Charleston Daily Mail reports.

Manchin Continues To Preach Clean Coal

Gov. Joe Manchin met with three of his counterparts in Wyoming this week to urge federal funding of clean coal technology, The Associated Press reports.

"Manchin said there has been a 'movement away from coal,' but it won't last," the article said.

"It's going to be here. It's needed. It has to be part of the equation," Manchin said.

The governors seek federal incentives for such efforts as coal gasification, "which involves turning coal into gas before burning it. The process is cleaner than burning coal directly," the AP reports. "Incentives also could be used to get utilities to trap carbon dioxide from power plants and pump the gas underground, possibly as a way to recharge old, depleted oil fields."

Environmental advocates question how "green" some of these "clean coal" methods are, however.

Update: Federal data released this week shows "black lung disease rates among U.S. coal miners have doubled in the last decade," The Charleston Gazette reports.

Giuliani Returns To West Virginia

Rudy Giuliani raised more money from Mountain State donors Wednesday, during a morning event at Morgantown's Waterfront Hotel. Afterward, the frontrunner of the 2008 GOP presidential field talked to reporters.

Besides Sept. 11 and Iraq, Giuliani spoke of the need to capture Osama bin Laden, The Associated Press reports. And while critical of Democrats and several of their presidential contenders, he demurred at an offer to smack Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va.

WBOY-TV has video from the event, while MetroNews offers an interview of Giuliani with Talkline host Hoppy Kercheval.

Petraeus, Crocker and W.Va.'s Delegation

As a member of the Armed Services Committee, U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., was among those to question Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker during their appearance this week on Capitol Hill.

C-Span has video (and links to all footage from the two days of hearings here).

Public Broadcasting and MetroNews, meanwhile, each fielded contrasting reactions to this week's presentations from Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd.

Public Broadcasting has audio, as does MetroNews.

Grading W.Va.'s Development Office

Legislative auditors say the Development Office and its divisions, including the one devoted to international trade, have no way to track their successes and failures, The Associated Press reports.

But the auditors tapped federal data to find the following:

* Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) dropped by 27 percent between 1990 and 2004, despite trade offices in Japan, Taiwan and Germany for most of that time;

* Exports increased 44 percent from 2000 to 2006, but exports per-capita continue to lag behind eight of nine states deemed regional competitors;

* Per-capita FDI is average when compared to these nine competing states.

The Legislature in Martinsburg

The Legislature has wrapped up its monthly three-day series of interim meetings, held this time in Martinsburg. Among other highlights:

* PULL! Gov. Joe Manchin joined lawmakers to mark Monday's opening of the Wobble Clay Shooting Range at Cacapon State Resort Park in nearby Morgan County. The Journal of Martinsburg reports that the range is the first of its kind at a West Virginia state park.

* A GRAND TOUR: Besides Cacapon, lawmakers were invited to visit such sites as the Caperton Furniture Works, historic Eastern Panhandle farmland, a particularly vexing traffic intersection in Inwood, Quad Graphics and the farm of Delegate Bob Tabb, D-Jefferson.

* GET ON THE PURPLE BUS: Thoughout the session, the "Children's Rights Initiative for Sharing Parents Equally" parked its violet-and-white tour bus/camper-type vehicle outside the host hotel. Allied with in-state father's rights groups, CRISPE advocates 50-50 custody arrangements "as the default legal position at separation or divorce."
Legislators were invited on board, as was Manchin during his Monday appearance at interims. Clad in purple shirts, members of this group also attended most meetings and in several cases filmed them.

* A NIGHT AT THE RACES: Charles Town Races & Slots hosted a Monday evening reception that drew more than 200 legislators, spouses, staffers and lobbyists.
Manchin also attended, as did several lawmakers who opposed the track's bid for casino table games (an unsuccessful effort, as Jefferson was the sole county among the four that voted to reject the referendum). That group included Delegate John Doyle, D-Jefferson, who exchanged words with a Charles Town official at the reception. Doyle later told AP that he was made to feel unwelcome, and left to avoid any further confrontation. The official was adamant to AP that he did not tell Doyle to leave or throw him out.

Quote of the Day

"All you need to be an expert on the Supreme Court is a couple of drinks and a mouth."

-- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, to a Monday audience at an AARP-sponsored event at Marshall University in Huntington, as quoted by The Associated Press.

Clarence Thomas: You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas told a Huntington audience Monday that "the rapid pace of computer and information technology change" means new and ever-daunting legal conundrums for the nation's highest court, The Associated Press reports.

"Issues like abortion will be rendered almost simple compared to the issues we will face,'' Thomas told a crowd at an AARP-sponsored event at Marshall University.

The AP's Tom Breen also reports that Thomas touched on the unique nature of the court in this era of the 24-hour news cycle and endless spin.

"The real hard part of our work is behind closed doors,'' Thomas said. "We don't have a PR machine. We don't have town hall meetings. We're referees and none of us thinks a referee can make up rules as they go along.''

The Herald-Dispatch of Huntington covered the speech as well, and like AP noted that it marked the first visit by justice to the college named for the father of U.S. judicial review, Chief Justice John Marshall.

Audit Questions Spending By Gambling Helpline

After reviewing just $500,000 spent by a private contractor to run West Virginia's Problem Gamblers Help Network, Legislative auditors raised questions Monday about $90,000 worth of expenditures.

As The Associated Press reports, the audit presented during legislative interims prompted leading lawmakers to request a further review of spending by First Choice Health Systems.

Auditors had drawn a sample from First Choice's spending, selecting 234 expenditures out of 7,600 during a three-year time period.

First Choice has already agreed to repay more than $16,000 and continues to review the other flagged spending. The reimbursed amount reflects spending clearly not covered by its contract with the state _ on such things as flowers, food and travel.

"The spending included $1,573 to fly two daughters of a problem gambler to New York, for the taping of her interview by a national news program. Another $675 covered charges for a cell phone in the name of an employee's spouse," the AP article said.

"The expenses also included $1,200 in Christmas bonuses, $360 for a 2005 staff dinner at a New Orleans seafood restaurant and $68 for a horse carriage tour of that city."

MetroNews also has a story on the report, with audio from an interview with Legislative Auditor Aaron Allred.

In other gambling-related news:

*The Charleston Gazette reports that "Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper is declaring war on neighborhood gambling parlors."

* The Charleston Daily Mail observes that Carper also "has asked the county assessor to start reassessing property that belongs to Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming Center in Nitro and all the land that surrounds it" as the track prepares to offer the recently approved casino table games.

W.Va. Coal on CNBC

CNBC visited Logan County, interviewed a local mining family and toured an underground mine as part of a segment, "Coal Mining: Very Risky Business."


CNBC aired the piece in advance of Sunday's memorial service for six miners left entombed beneath a Utah mountain after last month's collapse.

W.Va. Teacher Pension Quandary

Legislators meeting in Martinsburg for their monthly interim session are weighing ways to help teachers whose 401(k)-style individual retirement accounts simply haven't yielded sufficient benefits.

As The Associated Press reports, an actuarial consultant has outlined five scenarios through which the state could allow these account holders to merge voluntarily with the state's remaining teacher pension fund, the Teachers Retirement System.

Each option could actually save the state money _ but only if all 19,851 account holders agree to the terms. That's deemed highly unlikely, as 44 percent of them failed to take part in a recent election on the merger issue, 39 percent of those who did voted against merging and more than a 1,000 sued (successfully, thus far) to block the merger.

The Journal of Martinsburg is also out in force to cover the interims, with stories here, here and here.

A "Blankenship Factor" in 2008?

Several GOP lawmakers opined to The Associated Press on the question, during ongoing legislative interim meetings in Martinsburg.

The Massey Energy Chief sought to influence legislative races last year. His statewide advertising campaign spent at least $2.7 million (he reported $3.6 million to the Secretary of State, but seems to have double-counted expenditures) promoting Republican candidates while lambasting Democratic incumbents.

The results: the Democrats gained seats in both chambers, despite Blankenship's vow to hand the House to Republicans (the ad campaign focused on the House, though Blankenship and his allies also contributed to Senate candidates).

"His whole program and approach were really defective, in many ways," Sen. John Yoder, R-Jefferson, told AP. "The cookie-cutter approach, I think, was a disaster for House members."

Another Republican, Sen. Clark Barnes of Randolph County, has conducted a detailed analysis of how Blankenship's efforts failed _ and found one area where it apparently aided the GOP.

Blankenship is expected to target the state Supreme Court races next year. After all, his 2004 ad campaign helped Republican Brent Benjamin defeat then-incumbent Justice Warren McGraw.

Two of the high court's five seats are on the 2008 ballot. Blankenship is expected to support his friend since childhood, Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard, and Charleston employment lawyer Elizabeth Walker. Her husband is an executive with Walker Machinery, the Blankenship industry ally and sponsor of the "Coal Keeps The Lights On" radio ads.