The governor’s business troubles remain the story of the week, but we have plenty more to recap

The West Virginia Weakly Reader for Saturday, August 10, 2024.

Yet again, it’s Saturday morning — and, yet again, we are back in your inboxes with this weekend’s Weakly Reader.

Like the rest of America, West Virginians got their first look this week at Democratic nominee for president Kamala Harris’ vice presidential pick, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Big-name Democrats — and Republicans and Independents — in West Virginia chimed in with their feelings on Walz.¹

And while the race for the White House — especially given the bonkers number of curveballs it’s thrown at the American public — is a big story, there was a lot of other news around the state that caught our eye.

Namely, the business affairs of Gov. Jim Justice.

If you’ve been following us for some time, you know our preference for variety and not leaning too heavily on one story, topic or newsmaker.

But the governor, who is running for U.S. Senate, has been dominating West Virginia’s news cycle in recent weeks. Journalists and other observers noticed Justice didn’t hold his usual weekly briefing this week on Wednesday, which may or may not be a coincidence next to this latest round of financial and legal troubles related to his businesses.² But as it turns out, the governor did hold a briefing Friday (forcing me to rework a large part of this morning’s reader) — even taking a question about the issue from reporters from The Charleston Gazette-Mail and WVNews about what he and his family are doing to prevent the auctioning off of the Greenbrier Hotel.³

Speaking of all of this, NPR’s Washington Desk is sending me on a reporting mission about Justice’s race for U.S. Senate, with the looming auction of the Greenbrier Hotel serving as the backdrop. I’ll be making some stops early next week in Elkins (to get a look at Democrat Glenn Elliott’s campaign against Justice), White Sulphur Springs (to hear from members of the local community about how they feel about the auction) and Charleston (because other politicos might have something to say as I gather tape for the story).

If you recognize me toting around my microphone and recorder, come say ‘hi.’ Giles says I should feel obligated to buy any Weakly subscriber a beer or coffee, should we cross paths.

There's plenty of other news to get to this week, but there’s really no getting around Big Jim. So once again, we’ll start there.

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The West Virginia Weakly Reader — For more on the sources we use, have a look at the footnotes to see the original reporting from news outlets across West Virginia.

🏛️ Brad McElhinny of WVMetroNews might have recently been banned from attending and asking questions of Gov. Jim Justice during weekly briefings, but that hasn’t stopped him from dogged and important reporting on West Virginia’s chief executive. Namely, I am talking about the upcoming auction of the Greenbrier Hotel after creditors say Justice’s family businesses have failed to make payments on a loan. In a report this week, Brad detailed the backstory of the hotel going up for auction.⁴ During his Friday briefing, Justice said the potentially looming foreclosure was approaching “blackmail.”⁵

👨🏼‍⚖️ But that wasn’t the only news Brad reported this week on Gov. Justice and his family businesses. Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice have asked a district court in Virginia to hold 23 companies held by the Justices in contempt for non-payment of mine safety fines. “The only thing consistent about Defendants’ payments is the fact that they are consistently late,” wrote the DOJ attorneys in a court filing this week.⁶ Inspections dating back to a decade ago at about 50 mines resulted in the Mine Safety and Health Administration lobbing fines totaling more than $4.7 million. Attorneys for the Justice businesses and the government have been squabbling over the debt for some time, but an agreement in 2020 would have set a payoff date for March of this year. Government officials say the companies didn’t hold up their end of the deal, with many payments late or missed completely. On Friday, Justice told reporters he is not at all involved in the daily operators of his coal companies.⁷

⚒️ The governor also announced the death of a coal miner during Friday’s briefing with reporters.⁸ William “Joe” Crandall was killed in Taylor County’s ACI Tygart Valley Mine, which is owned by Arch Resources. “It surely is honorable, but it’s a tough business, and we should be so respectful and thankful of our miners every day,” Justice said Friday. Crandall’s death marks the third coal mining-related fatality in West Virginia in 2024, according to records from the U.S Mine Safety and Health Administration.⁹

👩‍⚖️ Attorneys for Gov. Justice and other current and former state officials argued in support of ending a long-running class action lawsuit accusing them of failing to provide proper care for children in West Virginia’s foster care system. The state’s attorneys point to statements of fact filed last week by A Better Childhood — the group representing the children in foster care — that acknowledge reforms to the system in recent years.¹⁰ A trial date has been set for November 5, unless a settlement is reached in the case.

🧑‍🦼‍➡️A company that operates group homes serving people with disabilities in Martinsburg says it plans to close its doors for about a dozen clients in November, given staffing shortages.¹¹ enCircle CEO Ray Ratke, which oversees the Virginia-based company, says the planned closures are due to the state’s failure to address the Medicaid reimbursement rate issue and raise worker pay rates. In recent weeks, Gov. Jim Justice asked the public to “stay tuned” in terms of reinstating funding for the IDD waiver program, which is part of the state’s Medicaid reimbursement.

👮‍♂️ Monongah’s police chief stepped down this week following the release of video of a controversial arrest. Beth Delloma was stopped for an expired registration sticker by police chief Nathan Latham before the situation turned chaotic.¹² Delloma asked Lanham for identification and video shows Lanham pointing a firearm at Delloma and then wrestling her to the ground as she attempted to flee. Despite Lanham’s exit from the force, Delomma’s attorney says fears remain that the type of behavior will continue in the future, given that the police chief was allowed to resign rather than be fired.¹³

📚 The superintendent of schools in Wetzel County has filed for an emergency appeal to the West Virginia Supreme Court on a ruling that would force Paden County High School to reopen in the fall.¹⁴ Last week, a circuit court there ordered PCHS to reopen after county superintendent Cassie Porter ordered the school closed in June for health and safety reasons — all related to it sitting on a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-designated “superfund” site. An attorney for families wanting the school to reopen called Porter’s desire to have the school closed “fear mongering” and said neither the EPA or CDC have indicated any unsafe conditions at the school.

🧑‍⚖️ In another case that had already found its way into the hands of West Virginia’s high court, former Jefferson County Commissioners Tricia Jackson and Jennifer Krouse will not be returning to their respective posts after being removed earlier this year.¹⁵ State Supreme Court justices affirmed a May decision from a three-judge panel that removed Jackson and Krouse as commissioners after county prosecutor Matt Harvey claimed the two failed or refused to perform their official elected duties after missing several county commission meetings.

🏛️ Two sitting Eastern Panhandle lawmakers are set to square off in a pair of debates for the West Virginia Senate’s 16th District, which covers all of Jefferson County and part of Berkeley County. Patricia Rucker, a Republican who currently holds the seat and Democratic House member John Doyle are finalizing plans for two debates. In interviews with local press, both of the candidates said they discussed focusing on the issues and debating in a civil manner.¹⁶ One will be held Tuesday, October 1 at the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education on the campus of Shepherd University. A time and venue for a second debate to be held in Inwood has yet to be announced.

Longtime Democratic delegate Ron Fragale of Harrison County has died at the age of 74.¹⁷ Fragale was a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from 1990 to 2014. Funeral services will be held in Clarksburg at Davis Funeral home on Wednesday, August 14.

✈️ New York City isn’t exactly my kind of place when I need an escape — it’s too crowded and expensive for my taste. But if the Big Apple and the wider metro area is your kind of getaway, Charleston’s Yeager Airport will begin offering twice weekly flights to New Jersey’s Liberty International Airport in Newark. (I know, it’s not quite New York City, but it’s close enough and it stands to reason many people would commute into the city from Newark.) ¹⁸ Flights will be $49 and will run on Thursdays and Sundays starting in November.

⛈️ Not to entirely dismiss weather-related news stories and put this one at the bottom — but, admittedly, I have a bit of PTSD when it comes to weather reporting that dates all the way back to my school broadcasting class. (Ask me about it sometime and I’ll tell you the story.) But, Debby — the-once-Hurricane-turned-Tropical Storm-turned-Tropical Depression dumped quite a lot of rain on Giles’ neck of the woods late this week, leaving at least one person dead in Harper’s Ferry.¹⁹

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What we’re reading:

• OPINION: Gov. Justice lashes out at MetroNews reporter for asking legitimate questions ~ Hoppy Kercheval, WVMetroNews

• COMMENTARY: Hillbillies Don’t Need an Elegy, but the Mountains Might ~ Junior Walk, The Daily Yonder

• OPINION: Paden City: Appeals process only creates uncertainty ~ Parkersburg News and Sentinel

• OPINION: WV has its own version of George Santos ~ The Charleston Gazette-Mail

• After 20 years of red tape, business dealings and broken promises, a Mingo County drag racing strip may finally open ~ Erin Beck, Mountain State Spotlight

• How the origins of America’s immigrants have changed since 1850 ~ Pew Research Center

1. WV politicians react to Walz VP pick ~ Beth Sergent, The Charleston Gazette-Mail

2. X.com ~ Phil Kabler

3. Gov. Jim Justice Administration Briefing ~ August 9, 2024, via Facebook

4. Justice got a default letter in the mail this spring. Then creditors came for his Greenbrier Hotel ~ Brad McElhinny, WVMetroNews

5. Justice says Greenbrier Hotel foreclosure ‘almost approaches blackmail’ ~ Brad McElhinny, WVMetroNews

6. Feds file for contempt for Justice companies over a half-million dollars of mine safety fines unpaid for a year ~ Brad McElhinny, WVMetroNews

7. Justice doubles down on excuses as family business challenges persist ~ Caity Coyne, West Virginia Watch

8. West Virginia coal miner killed in power haulage accident ~ The Associated Press

9. Fatality Reports, U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration

10. Attorneys for West Virginia officials defend effort to end foster care suit ~ Steven Allen Adams, The Parkersburg News & Sentinel

11. As Justice admin delays funding, group homes to close and displace adults with disabilities ~ Amelia Ferrell Knisely, West Virginia Watch

12. Monongah police chief loses job ~ Mike Nolting, WVMetroNews

13. Attorney fears behavior will surface again after Monongah chief was allowed to resign ~ Mike Nolting, WVMetroNews

14. Wetzel County Schools Superintendent Files Emergency Appeal Of Paden City High Ruling ~ Derek Redd, The Wheeling Intelligencer

15. State Supreme Court affirms three-judge panel ruling ~ Toni Milbourne, The Martinsburg Journal

16. Rucker, Doyle announce plans for ‘civil’ debates ~ Toni Milbourne, The Martinsburg Journal

17. Ronald “Ron” Allen Fragale Obituary ~ Davis Funeral Home

18. Twice weekly flights from New York-Newark to begin in November ~ Rick Steelhammer, The Charleston Gazette-Mail

19. Tropical Storm Debby moves out of the Eastern Panhandle, leaves one dead ~ The Panhandle News Network