Remember the potential auction of The Greenbrier Hotel? That's off the table -- for now, at least.
The West Virginia Weakly Reader for Saturday, August 24, 2024
As of this very moment, the auction of The Greenbrier Hotel — just one part of a sprawling number of businesses owned by Gov. Jim Justice and his family — is off the table.
We’ll explain all of it — as much as we understand it. But, it’s been a busy week keeping up with it all.
Given the seemingly endless stream of news related to the governor and his prized historic property, we’re offering a caveat about this morning’s edition: We’re only standing by what you’ll read as of RIGHT NOW! — as in 8 a.m. on Saturday, August 24, 2024, the moment this newsletter is supposed to land in your inbox.
As we’ve mentioned, Giles and I have decided the purpose of The Weakly is to give fellow West Virginians (at least those willing to subscribe) a recap of news they need to know around the state — week in, week out.
And just like our real jobs in which we deliver stories from around the world, we pride ourselves on giving the most accurate and up-to-date information on the current state of affairs. Which means, even if we started working on today’s edition a week ago (we did), things were bound to evolve throughout the week (they most certainly did).
It’s been difficult for us to focus on much else beyond The Greenbrier Hotel and Gov. Jim Justice as of late. The story has been building, week after week.
Given all of this happening within the context of Gov. Justice’s seemingly shoe-in bid for U.S. Senate, decision makers at NPR allowed me to pursue story on it all for a national audience. But with this week’s news, putting that story together has proven quite the task — and I’m more or less back to the drawing board.
Also, Giles had been cautiously trying to plan a trip to Lewisburg to witness the auction himself. Of course, those plans had to be scrapped.
So, it’s totally fair to say this story — despite us having other jobs and other responsibilities in life — has been a juggling act for the both of us in recent weeks. It’s no doubt been even more consuming for those working day-in-day-out in newsrooms across West Virginia.
If you pay close enough attention to this newsletter and the reports we’ve cited from local journalists, you’re bound to be bored by whatever I come up with for NPR. You already know what’s been happening and why it matters — and to be fair, what I’ll put together isn’t really for a West Virginia audience.
Yet the timing of all of this chaos comes as I begin two glorious weeks away from the overnight shift, my normal job on the newscast unit.
Make no mistake, I enjoy getting paid to do what I do. But, I can’t say it enough: I’m very much looking forward to sleeping like a normal person for a couple of weeks — and, well, maybe avoiding the perpetual flux that this story has brought.
The point is: Look on the bright side every once in a while. Or do something to will it into reality.
Also, sorry for no emojis to introduce the stories we’re recapping this week. Believe it or not, that necessitated an amount of brainpower I just didn’t have in me this go-around.
Gov. Jim Justice said Thursday that he had secured funding to prevent The Greenbrier Hotel from going up for auction on the courthouse steps in Lewisburg this coming Tuesday. According to a statement released by the Justice family, funding was secured to avert an auction of the hotel.1 The Greenbrier Hotel Corporation has until October 24 (my 40th birthday, by the way!) to pay a specific amount in full. “Beltway reserves its rights if the Justice family fails to perform,” the Justice family said in the statement. The announcement comes just days after attorneys for The Greenbrier Hotel and the Justice family had filed a motion in court to block the auction from taking place.2 That hearing, which had been set for yesterday morning, was effectively rendered moot by the announcement that funding had been secured.
While the auction of The Greenbrier Hotel appears to have fizzled away (at least for now), other news about the hotel’s parent company came into the forefront. Attorneys for a health insurance company said about 400 union workers at the historic hotel are on the cusp of losing their benefits as a result of unpaid employer contributions. First reported this week by The Real WV3 (a publication backed by former Senate Minority Leader Stephen Baldwin, a Democrat from Greenbrier County), a letter issued Monday by attorneys representing Amalgamated National Health Fund states The Greenbrier Hotel Corporation is “four months delinquent in its contributions to the Health Fund, owing approximately $2.4 million in delinquent contributions with an additional $1.2 million in contributions currently, or soon to be due and owing.” Attorneys for the insurance provider say Greenbrier Hotel employees are set to lose benefits on Tuesday, August 27 — the same day the property had been slated to go up for auction. Later union officials representing the workers said those benefits would extend another week, but said “the delinquencies are factual.”4
As if that weren’t enough new related to Gov. Justice and The Greenbrier Hotel Corporation, even more financial woes came to the surface this week. First Guaranty Bancshares filed suit last month in federal court in Louisiana, alleging owners of the historic hotel have yet to pay back any part of a $35 million loan granted under the Federal Reserve’s Main Street Lending Program authorized under the CARES Act.5
As news about The Greenbrier Hotel’s financial woes mounted, West Virginia Democrats began calling on Justice to drop out of the race for U.S. Senate. State party chair and Kanawha County Del. Mike Pushkin cited the potential loss of health benefits as the final straw.6 “It’s one thing to default on a bank loan or a tax obligation or even a fine from a regulatory agency,” Pushkin said in a news release issued early in the week. “It’s another thing altogether to fail to pay the health care premiums for your workers with money that isn’t even yours. Because of his negligence, hundreds of workers and their families may lose their health care coverage.” Justice’s opponent in the race for Senate, Glenn Elliott, also took aim in a post on social media.7 And even once Justice announced that his family had secured funding to avoid an auction, Democrats continued to pounce, saying he needed to be transparent about where that money was coming from.8
(Can we take a collective deep breath before moving on to other news? Something that doesn’t involve the governor and his family’s stake in The Greenbrier Hotel? Yes? Okay, good. Moving along…)
In a Thursday briefing, the governor announced his administration will increase Medicaid funding to address in-home care for seniors and people with disabilities.9 The move comes amid a shortage of workers in that field, and will go toward a 15% Medicaid reimbursement rate increase for providers that serve West Virginians under a waiver program, though there is no requirement how providers will allocate the money.
Gov. Justice has also extended a State of Emergency for all of West Virginia’s 55 counties as a result of continuing drought conditions.10 According to a proclamation from the governor’s office, the State of Emergency will remain in effect for another 30 days.
State Sen. Chandler Swope (R-Mingo) has withdrawn a challenge regarding his defeat by fellow Republican Craig Hart in May’s primary election.11 Swope backed down Monday, according to a filing Swope’s attorneys submitted to the Mingo County Commission. Swope’s challenge to the primary results came down to simple math — with the incumbent alleging a number of registered Democrats were incorrectly allowed to vote in the GOP primary. Despite the error, attorneys for Swope acknowledged the “legal burden to exclude entire precincts from the vote is extremely high.” Swope’s surrender came with an understanding that state election officials would train poll workers and Mingo county officials to address irregularities found during a review of election documents.
The Charleston City Council has passed an ordinance that decriminalizes the possession of marijuana in small amounts.12 According to the ordinance, there would be no penalty for adults committing a first offense of possession up to 15 grams. A second offense would bring a maximum fine of $250 — and a third (or any subsequent) offense would yield a maximum fine of $500. The move by the council in West Virginia’s capital city follows a similar effort cleared by local lawmakers in Morgantown back in 2020.13 (If you happen to click on that citation, never mind that NORML has mistaken Charleston for Charlestown — those stoners!) Charleston’s new marijuana possession law goes into effect as of today. While 24 states and the District of Columbia — including our neighbors in Maryland, Ohio, and Virginia — have all legalized marijuana for recreational use, it remains legal in West Virginia for medicinal use only. According to a report earlier this year from Pew Research, most U.S. citizens live in a state where the plant is legal — and have at least one dispensary in their home county.14
Morgantown’s City Council has advanced an ordinance that would expand a ban on camping in public places. The proposal, which cleared a first reading during a contentious meeting Tuesday, would explicitly prohibit camping on any street, park, trail, or public property within Morgantown city limits without approval, was passed on a 4-3 vote.15 The advancement of the measure follows a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said an Oregon city can enforce a ban on sleeping outside.
Two major coal companies are joining together to create what they’re calling a “merger of equals.” Arch Resources and CONSOL announced a merger this week, saying there will be no overlap in customers or products in a new venture known as Core Natural Resources.16 “Our assets are highly complementary, resulting in increased diversification across coal types, end uses, and geographies,” Jimmy Brock, the current chairman and CEO of CONSOL said in a news release. Brock will serve as executive chairman of Core Natural Resources’ board of directors — and Paul Lang, the CEO of Arch Resources, will serve as chief executive officer and as a member of the board of the new company.
What we’re reading (and watching)
‘Hillbilly Elegy’ is back in the spotlight. These Appalachians write a different tale ~ Clayton Kincade, NPR
Young coal miners suffering from black lung ~ Ted Koppel, CBS Sunday Morning
Editorial: SHAMEFUL: Agencies who ignore law are doing harm ~ Parkersburg News and Sentinel
OPINION: Jim Justice should sell The Greenbrier ~ Hoppy Kercheval, WVMetroNews
Auction of historic Justice-owned Greenbrier Resort averted for now ~ Steven Allen Adams, Parkersburg News & Sentinel
A ‘fire sale’?: Justice family files motion to stop Greenbrier Hotel auction ~ Beth Sergent, The Charleston Gazette-Mail
Employees at The Greenbrier warned their health care may end next week ~ Stephen Baldwin, The Real WV
Labor reps say Greenbrier healthcare coverage will be extended one week, but ‘the delinquencies are factual’ ~ Brad McElhinny, WVMetroNews
Lawsuit contends The Greenbrier took out a $35 million pandemic relief loan and has paid nothing back ~ Brad McElhinny, WVMetroNews
Enough is Enough: Jim Justice Must Drop Out of U.S. Senate Race ~ West Virginia Democratic Party, News Release via Facebook
No, Governor Justice, Things are not “All Good in the Neighborhood” ~ West Virginia Democratic Party, News Release via Facebook
Justice announces Medicaid rate increase in hopes of improving state’s in-home care worker shortage ~ Amelia Ferrell Knisely, West Virginia Watch
Gov. Justice extends State of Emergency for all 55 counties due to drought conditions ~ News Release, Office of Gov. Jim Justice
Swope withdraws Mingo County primary election challenge ~ Lori Kersey, West Virginia Watch
Charleston City Council passes marijuana penalty bill ~ Isaac Taylor & Sam DeCoste, WOWK-TV
West Virginia Local Decriminalization ~ National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws
Most Americans now live in a legal marijuana state – and most have at least one dispensary in their county ~ Athena Chapekis & Sono Shah, Pew Research
Morgantown City Council approves camping ban expansion measure through first reading following hot debate ~ Mike Nolting, WVMetroNews
Arch and CONSOL announce merger, saying they’ll produce an international powerhouse ~ Brad McElhinny, WVMetroNews
Love these weekly updates! Thank you!
Much appreciated!