Another special legislative is in the works, a 'first of its kind' black lung rule appears to be in trouble and a busy week in the courts for the Justice family of companies
The West Virginia Weakly Reader for July 6, 2024
I’m going to keep this pitch for subscribers short because I don’t do well in the heat and neither does my Ornery Dog Jasper — ODJ for short.
With temperatures in the 90s and humidity making it feel THAT MUCH HOTTER, ODJ’s tongue has been dragging on the floor this week. If I had a tongue as long as his, mine would be scraping the asphalt, too.
The heat is enough to sap the energy right of you, which is why I don’t have the gumption to write what Dave and I have come to call our silly little “pre-ramble.”
Anyway — as the kids say, thanks for vibing with us. With your help, The West Virginia Weakly will top 900 subscribers very soon.
The West Virginia Weakly Reader
🎭 Gov. Justice put on a show this week — taking the stage at the West Virginia Culture Center Theater Monday for the final revenue report of his administration. With his now mural-immortalized sidekick Babydog by his side, Justice announced a more than $826-milllion surplus for fiscal 2024, triggering another reduction of up to 4% in personal income taxes.1 He said he wants state lawmakers to look at making an additional 5% cut when he calls them back to Charleston for a special session in August or September. He also plans to put the state’s child care crisis on the agenda.2 Democrats are accusing Justice of an election year ploy. State party chair, Del. Mike Pushkin (D-Kanawha), issued a statement saying “this isn’t a tax cut; it’s an attempted bribe.”3 Senate Finance Chairman Eric Tarr (R-Putnam) is also questioning Justice’s motives.4 Justice is already favored to win outgoing Sen. Joe Manchin’s U.S. Senate seat in November.
⚖️ Gov. Justice’s business interests were back on display this week. The Kentucky company that won an $18 million dollar judgement against the Justice companies in 2023 is now urging a federal court to act on the award, arguing that it could get left behind in the court jostling over assets belonging to the Justice family of companies. There’s a lot to unpack when it comes to them, including a federal judge in New York’s threat to throw out lawsuit seeking more than $8 million from Justice coal companies.567
👏 West Virginia Attorney General and Republican candidate for governor, Patrick Morrisey, is applauding a federal judge’s decision to halt the Biden administration’s freeze on new liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. Morrisey was part of a coalition of 16 Republican-led states that pushed back against the pause that had been praised by environmentalists.8
👨⚖️ Del. Todd Kirby (R-Raleigh) is no longer a member of the House of Delegates. He resigned his seat this week after Gov. Justice appointed him to be a circuit judge in Raleigh County.9
💺 Also this week, Justice appointed Ryan Browning to a House seat representing Wayne County. Browning becomes the delegate from the 28th District following the resignation of Mark Ross.10
⚖️ A class action lawsuit filed over conditions at West Virginia jails does not appear to over. The Beckley attorney representing inmates who sued Gov. Justice and state Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mark Sorsaia is pledging to appeal a federal judge’s ruling that dismissed the suit this week. Attorney Stephen New is vowing “to keep pressing the case because the consequences are too great not to.”11 In May, Gov. Justice ended a two year state of emergency over staffing issues at state correctional facilities.
‼️ In Washington, the powerful House Appropriations Committee is expected to take up the Labor Department’s proposed annual budget bill next week (Wednesday, July 10). It includes language that would gut a new federal rule designed to address rising cases of black lung disease in Central Appalachia. It would ban funding for the implementation of a ‘first-of-its-kind’ rule designed to limit the amount of silica dust coal miners are exposed to while working underground. Advocates say the ban is “criminal.”12
☢️ That didn’t last long. The former Cleveland police officer who fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice in 2014 has resigned from the White Sulfur Springs Police Department. There had been an outcry after the hiring of Timothy Loehmann became public last week.13 White Sulfur Springs Mayor Kathy Glover issued a statement on Monday, saying Loehmann has resigned.14
🛞 Wheeling Mayor Denny Magruder has completed his first week on the job. He and two new members of the city council were sworn in on Monday.15 Magruder succeeds two-term mayor Glenn Elliott, who is Gov. Justice’s Democratic opponent in the race for outgoing U.S. Senator Joe Manchin’s seat in the upper chamber.
🌇 Beckley is now a week into a new era. The city transitioned to a city manager form of government following the end of Mayor Rob Rappold’s second term this past Sunday.16 Rappold is retiring after some 30 years in city government. Beckley Treasurer/Recorder Billie Trump is serving as interim city manager. The city is encouraging applicants for the manager’s job to apply by July 16th.17
🏫 West Virginia’s Hope Scholarship program is set to expand. State Treasurer Riley Moore announced this week that “enrollment numbers have met the threshold established by the Legislature to expand this program to all West Virginia school children beginning in the fall of 2026.” Riley called it a “monumental leap forward for school choice,” saying the expansion means up to 40,000 more students will be eligible for the program that helps to cover the costs of home school and private school students.18
🛝 If Davis Mayor Al Tomson has his way, big changes are coming to the mountaintop town, the highest in West Virginia. He has unveiled plans to expand a park along the Blackwater River to include a clamshell for outdoor music, a network of ADA-compliant paved trails and playground equipment. But Tomson is not the most popular man in Davis right now. Last month, Davis voters rejected a zoning ordinance that he strongly supported.19
🔫 Guns in West Virginia — A godmother and her family are reported to be facing eviction from their apartment in Martinsburg after police said she saved lives when she exchanged gunfire with a man who provoked an altercation with her visiting godson. Katrina Addie is a corrections officer. She says wasn’t shooting to kill, but to protect her godson, other children on the scene at the time and her neighbors. The eviction notice she received this week cites “illegal action on the property.” Police have charged a 24-year-old suspect with 18 counts of attempted malicious wounding. Investigators say they found eighteen 9mm shell casings along with several bullet fragments at the scene.20
🎵 Tickets go on sale next week for September’s three-day Healing Appalachia concert at the State Fair Grounds near Lewisburg. The lineup features Tyler Childers, West Virginia native Sierra Ferrell and the rock band My Morning Jacket. The concert is a fundraiser supporting efforts to combat opioid addiction in the Appalachian region.21 In case you missed it, here’s Dave’s essay on his history with Childers and the Huntington music scene that nurtured him and others.
Everyone’s got one — a roundup of opinion that caught our eye this week.
Silence from leaders on black lung troubling ~ Charleston Gazette-Mail editorial
Babydog is not West Virginia’s Lil Sebastian. She’s ‘puppaganda.’ ~ Leann Ray, West Virginia Watch
Dog eat dog at the Capitol ~ Steven Allen Adams, The Intelligencer
Justice tout $826M surplus, upcoming session to address personal income tax, child care ~ Beth Sergent, Charleston Gazette-Mail
Senate Finance chairman questions governor’s tax cut upon tax cut pitch ~ Brad McElhinny, WVMetroNews
Judge threatens to throw out lawsuit seeking $8M+ from Justice coal companies ~ Mike Tony, Charleston Gazette-Mail
Kentucky firm wants payment following 18M+ judgement against Justice companies ~ Mike Tony, Charleston Gazette-Mail
Yet another entity seeking millions from Justice companies says it can’t fall behind all the other claims ~ Brad McElhinny, WVMetroNews
Judge overturns Biden’s LNG export pause ~ Niina H. Farah, E&E News by Politico
Judge dismisses case alleging inhuman conditions across WV corrections system ~ John Raby, Associated Press
‘It’s criminal’: Advocates decry attempt to halt new silica rule meant to protect miners ~ Caity Coyne, West Virginia Watch
White Sulfer Springs hires Timothy Loehmann, officer involved in fatal shooting of 12-year-old ~ Stephen Baldwin, The Real WV
New Wheeling council ready to continue building city’s next chapter ~ Eric Ayers, The Intelligencer`
Rappold ends term as Beckley mayor as city transitions to city manager form of government ~ Carrie Hodousek, WVMetroNews
Beckley city manager position now open to applicants; community survey available ~ Josephine E. Moore, The Register-Herald
Hope Scholarship meets requirements for expanding eligibility to all West Virginia students in 2026 ~ Steven Allen Adams, The Intelligencer
Mayor unveils ambitious plan to transform Davis waterfront, and will try again to enact zoning ~ Dan Parks, Country Roads News
Godmother who shot at gunman now faces eviction ~ The Panhandle News Network