Good morning and welcome back to 60 Days with Giles Snyder and Dave Mistich. Today is…
Wait, I guess that other newsletter is now defunct, at least temporarily. But how am I supposed to keep track of such things? I am often sleep deprived from working overnights.
When I take a quick glance into the rearview mirror, this past legislative session is mostly a blur. And that’s saying something, considering we arguably put in way less work than anyone during the session.
Neither Giles nor I roamed the marble floors under the dome — even for a single day. We simply curated our little newsletter on state governance from afar, trying to keep track of what was hot and give credit to the bonafide journalists who were doing the real work — those who sacrificed sleep, their mental well-being and possibly a relationship to deliver the goods.
A year and a half ago, Giles coaxed me into doing a newsletter with him on the West Virginia Legislature’s regular session. 2023 was a test run that somehow worked. We refined our process a bit (meaning, reeling back near-obsessive, unsustainable levels of attention) and came back for this year. It worked again.
And now, we’re here bringing you The West Virginia Weakly.
Had I known 60 Days would have carried on beyond the first year, into a second — with a weekly publication spun off, I probably would have told him “No, thanks.”
But after joking with one another about the mind meld we seem to share when it comes to West Virginia and journalism, I’m glad to say we’re in this for the long haul. What The Weakly eventually becomes is anyone’s guess, but if any of the ideas we are kicking around materialize at all, I think it’ll be a big success.
Enough of my pre-ramble (which is the nickname we’ve have given this opening section of the newsletter, in lieu of a preamble).
Let’s get down to business, shall we?
With the regular legislative session having ended just two short weeks ago, the fate of a number of bills remains unknown. So far, Gov. Jim Justice has signed at least 88 of the 279 bills agreed upon by the House and Senate. But, according to the Legislature’s website, more than 100 bills await action from the governor.
Among them are some that caused quite the stir around the Capitol over the 60-day session:
HB 4233 - Non-binary not permitted on birth certificates
SB 844 - Redesignating Educational Broadcasting Authority as Educational Broadcasting Commission
We’ve treaded carefully around the EBA bill because it’s essentially West Virginia Public Broadcasting — the place where Giles and I both cut our broadcast journalist teeth. But many legislative observers have expressed concerns that SB 844 would allow the governor’s office to directly control the output of the station and, thus, compromise the integrity of its reporting.
To be honest, a lot of folks have asked me how I feel about this legislation. I mostly just clam up and say “I’m glad I got out of there when I did” in the fall of 2021. It’s not really rocket science to figure out how a journalist feels about the integrity of their old workplace — and a free press, in general — potentially being jeopardized.
If you need a refresher on what’s been happening at WVPB over the past few years, NPR’s media correspondent David Folkenflik conducted an investigation that was published just over a year ago.
Fun (or maybe not-so-fun, but still) fact: Some former colleagues of mine told me I’m the person that former-communications-director-for-Gov.-Justice turned-WVPB CEO Butch Antolini (who has since left his post as chief of the state’s public broadcaster) wanted to fire on his first day on the job.
Catch me at the right time and place and I may tell you more about it. But probably not.
Speaking of our old shop, Amelia Ferrell Knisely (another WVPB alum) alleged that her termination from the station in late 2022 was caused by her reporting on the mistreatment of people in the care of the state Department of Health and Human Services. (See Folkenflik’s reporting linked above for more on that).
Now she’s moved on to West Virginia Watch — and Knisely has continued her tenacious reporting on the treatment of the state’s most vulnerable. In a story published this week, some horrifying details of a recent incident involving a person in the state’s care were brought to light:
With it being an election year, the finances of Gov. Justice’s family businesses are sure to become a hot topic. They most certainly were in 2016 — and, now, after two terms in office, Justice is seeking election to the U.S. Senate. Brad McElhinny of WVMetroNews had a pair of stories this week on two of Justice’s businesses that are showing signs of financial struggles.
And in other Jim Justice news, Mike Tony of The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that the governor is fighting a request to provide out-of-the-courtroom testimony for a lawsuit alleging inhumane conditions in the state’s jails and prisons.
Campus carry had long been a priority for the Republican supermajority that controls the affairs of Charleston, but it wasn’t until 2023 (the inaugural year of our 60 Days newsletter) that the measure was finally passed and signed into law. With the law going into effect, college campuses across the state are making preparations.
Marshall, WVU making final plans for handguns on campus - Ashley Pelham, The Herald-Dispatch
You all should consider yourselves lucky that I worked my real job last night. Otherwise, I probably would have been too distracted by the release of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (there’ll be more on that at some point, I’m guessing. But I will tell you that I’ve seen it and enjoyed it.) to have caught reports of the West Virginia National Guard being sent to fight wildfires in Hardy County.
National Guard helicopters help battle West Virginia wildfires in steep terrain - John Raby, The Associated Press
One of the things we’re aiming to do with this newly-retooled space is give folks an idea of how to spend their weekends. While we’re both normally slugging it out with our real jobs, that’s no excuse for YOU to sit at home — especially with warmer weather coming, at least eventually.
Given the fact that we aren’t quite over the cold weather hump, there’s not much on our radar for this weekend.
But if you’re into polka (yes, you read that correctly), the Wheeling Polka Festival kicked off yesterday and runs through Sunday.
If not and the weather is bearable, take a hike or something. It’ll be good for you.
Before we let you go this week, we wanted to give a special thank you to our pal and my fellow Morgantown resident, Brian Pickens, who designed our goofy version of the state seal and our masthead.
So thanks for making us look cooler and more interesting than we actually are, Pickens.
What do you think? Give the man a shout out in the comments.
(Maybe if we get a few more subscribers praising his work, he’ll give us a price break on these sweet designs.)
It makes me proud to be a Mountaineer
That seal is delightful!!