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WVPB's Top Five Most Viewed Stories of 2015

From the trial of former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship to a visit from President Barack Obama highlighting issues surrounding substance abuse and addiction, headlines about events from West Virginia in 2015 often pushed into the national spotlight.

But despite the national appeal of Blankenship and Obama, the metrics tell a different story as to the most popular stories on our website this year.

Here’s a look at the top five most viewed stories produced by our team this year:

1. Mysterious Morgantown Landmark Opens to the Public

With stunning images of Pietro’s Castle on Tyrone Road in Morgantown, this story from Jesse Wright was by far the most popular story on our website in 2015. The history is as stunning as the building itself. As Jesse reports:

Italian immigrant and stonemason Thoney Pietro earned his slice of the American Dream by building infrastructure across the region, from Mingo County to Pittsburgh. When he retired in 1928, he built a home for his family that reflected his strong Catholic faith, complete with a large cross sitting between two soaring parapets.

2. Data Viz: When Did West Virginia’s Heroin Problem Begin? Which Counties Are Hurting the Most?

Data visualizations were a big draw for our audience in 2015, but it was this piece that highlighted heroin overdose death rates from our radio/digital series The Needle and the Damage Done that captivated the state and those beyond.

News organizations like NPR helped push this piece out via socials. Vox also highlighted our work on the series in their reporting on America’s struggle with painkiller and opioid addiction.

In October, President Barack Obama visited Charleston to discuss the growing problem.

Given the depth of our reporting, the multimedia elements we offered and the reach we were able to achieve, we felt proud to lead the charge in shedding light on this issue.

3. Which West Virginia Counties Have Seen the Most Population Loss in Recent Years?

In 2015, everyone seemed to want to discuss what it will take to keep West Virginians from leaving. There were editorials and letters to the editor, podcasts and all other sorts of discussions on the matter. At the end of the day, though, data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that West Virginia is losing population faster than any state in the country.

As I previously mentioned, 2015 was a huge step forward in West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s data and digital news efforts, this piece highlighting population change from 2010 to 2014 was another huge hit.

4. Five Things to Know About the Fayette County Train Derailment

West Virginia is no stranger to industrial and environmental disasters and 2015 was no exception. In February, a CSX train carrying Bakken crude oil from North Dakota derailed in Fayette County, sending fireballs hundreds of feet in the air and destroying one home. This listicle–one of our initial posts on the incident–became one of the most viewed of the year.

While similar (and deadly) incidents had recently occurred elsewhere in North America, the Federal Railroad Administration cited the Fayette County incident as a reason to push for more strict regulation on crude-by-rail transport.

(Environmental advocate Erin Brockovich referenced our work shared on Facebook, which also helped to spread the story to a wider audience.)

5. Jeffersonian Springs Resort in W.Va. Sells for $560,000

It’s not often a historical resort goes up for sale at auction but when the Sweet Springs Resort in Monroe County sold in November, our audience was all eyes and ears.

Ashby Berkley purchased the property, which was built in 1791, for just over half a million dollars.

As Roxy Todd reported:

[The Sweet Spring Resort] was sold to the state of West Virginia in 1941. The state renovated it as a home for the elderly in 1945. The facility closed in 1991, and the property has stood empty since. Some attempts to renovate the property have so far have failed or stalled.

Bonus: Our Most Popular Podcast Episodes

Podcasts were another huge hit for us in 2015. From the growing success of Us & Them, Inside Appalachia and The Front Porch, West Virginia Public Broadcasting began attracting a wider audience with discussions about everything from what was on everyone’s minds in the area to culture wars looming across America.

Here’s two that scored big for us:

A Look at Upper Big Branch's Safety Record Under Massey

As former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship stands trial in Charleston, federal prosecutors continue to present evidence that he conspired to violate federal mine safety standards leading up to the April 2010 explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine.

Over the course of Massey’s ownership of the mine, the company amassed nearly 5,000 citations from the federal Mine Safety & Health Administration. Of those, many were designated as “significant and substantial” by MSHA standards.

According to MSHA, a violation designated as significant and substantial, often referred to as an “s and s violation” in the industry, indicates “that based upon the particular facts surrounding the violation there exists a reasonable likelihood the hazard contributed to will result in an injury or illness of a reasonably serious nature.”

In 2010 alone, MSHA officials slapped mine operator Performance Coal Company–a subsidiary of Massey–with 930 citations. The company oversaw the Upper Big Branch mine.

Blankenship’s defense filed a motion to prevent the MSHA citations from being admitted as evidence, calling the hundreds of citation issued during the indictment period (from January 1, 2008 to April 9, 2010) hearsay. On October 6, Judge Irene Berger ruled the citations could be used by the prosecution, noting:

“[T]he citations are not being offered for the truth of the matter asserted in them or, in other words, to prove violations of safety standards but are being offered as evidence of the defendant’s knowledge, intent, and/or willfulness as well as notice. That being the case, the documents are not hearsay and are admissible in my opinion given the allegations in the counts of the indictment. I further anticipate, if the documents are offered, giving the jury a limiting instruction that they cannot consider those citations for the truth of what’s contained in them but they can be considered for the fact that they were issued and, thus, can be used by them in their consideration of notice and the defendant’s knowledge, intent, and/or willfulness."

MSHA safety citations have long been a problem at the Upper Big Branch mine–long before the indictment period.

Here’s a look at the citations issued to the company by year of date issued during the time that Performance Coal Company operated the mine:

Most Frequent Citations at Upper Big Branch Under Massey

Performance Coal Company was issued citations stemming from violations of a wide range of MSHA standards–everything from failing to create a roof control plan, issues with rock dusting and the accumulation of combustible materials.

The interactive graphic below breaks down each of the company’s citations by MSHA standard, with the largest circles representing standards with the highest frequency of citations.

§75.400 Accumulation of combustible materials. – Coal dust, including float coal dust deposited on rock-dusted surfaces, loose coal, and other combustible materials, shall be cleaned up and not be permitted to accumulate in active workings, or on diesel-powered and electric equipment therein. (526 citations issued.)

§75.202 (a) Protection from falls of roof, face and ribs. – The roof, face and ribs of areas where persons work or travel shall be supported or otherwise controlled to protect persons from hazards related to falls of the roof, face or ribs and coal or rock bursts. (378 citations issued.)

§75.370 (a)(1) Mine ventilation plan; submission and approval. – The operator shall develop and follow a ventilation plan approved by the district manager. The plan shall be designed to control methane and respirable dust and shall be suitable to the conditions and mining system at the mine. The ventilation plan shall consist of two parts, the plan content as prescribed in §75.371 and the ventilation map with information as prescribed in §75.372. Only that portion of the map which contains information required under §75.371 will be subject to approval by the district manager. (241 citations issued.)

§75.503 Permissible electric face equipment; maintenance. – The operator of each coal mine shall maintain in permissible condition all electric face equipment required by §§75.500, 75.501, 75.504 to be permissible which is taken into or used inby the last open crosscut of any such mine. (217 citations issued.)

§75.220 (a)(1) Roof control plan. – Each mine operator shall develop and follow a roof control plan, approved by the District Manager, that is suitable to the prevailing geological conditions, and the mining system to be used at the mine. Additional measures shall be taken to protect persons if unusual hazards are encountered. (121 citations issued.)

A full listing of MSHA standards can be accessed through the agency’s website.

Editor’s Note: West Virginia State University graduate student and West Virginia Public Broadcasting Media Diversity Fellow Ikram Benaicha contributed to this report.

Who's Giving Money to West Virginia's Tax Reform Committee?

When Republican lawmakers took control of the state Legislature for the first time in some 80 years in 2015, party leaders maintained their legislative priorities wouldn’t change.

Over the past several years, the party has been pushing tort reform–something they accomplished during the 2015 legislative session–and initiatives to create a better business climate in West Virginia. Those changes are expected to come through the Joint Select Committee on Tax Reform.

A committee that did not exist a year ago, some of its members were also not in the Legislature or in their current chambers this time last year. More than 1,600 donors contributed more than $1 million during the 2014 election cycle to elect members of the committee, with the exception of two Senators who were elected in 2012.

Contributions from Businesses, PACs and Organizations

Of the non-individual donors, or businesses, political action committees and other organizations, that donated to committee members, the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce donated the most at $12,500. The Chamber was followed in donation totals by the West Virginia Bankers Association at $11,400, American Electric Power at $10,750, and the West Virginia Hospital Association at $10,600.

In West Virginia, non-individual and individual contributors are limited to making $1,000 donations per election. That means during one election cycle, which includes both a primary and general election, contributors can donate as much as $2,000 to a candidate’s campaign committee. However, candidates can contribute an unlimited amount of money to their own campaigns.

Who Raised the Most?

During the 2014 election cycle, newly elected Republican Sen. Ryan Ferns outraised any other member of the Joint Tax Reform Committee, receiving $341,746.40 in donations. According to data from the National Institute on Money in State Politics, Ferns donated $207,695 to his own campaign.

“There are pros and cons to contributing money to your own campaign versus accepting donations from donors. To me, the obvious advantage is there [are] less implications that you’re beholden to any special interest,” Ferns said Tuesday. “It’s hard for anybody to make an argument that I’m beholden to any special interest.”

“It’s unfortunate that campaigns are getting as expensive as they are, but I was outspent by my opponent.”

Sen. Ryan Ferns looks on during a September 15 meeting of the West Virginia Legislature’s Joint Select Committee on Tax Reform. Ferns contributed more that $207,000 to his own campaign, by far the most of any member on the committee.

Ferns’ opponent in the 2014 election, Democrat Rocky Fitzsimmons, raised $481,331. He donated $221,000 of his own money to his campaign.

Following Ferns with the highest number of total campaign contributions were:

Sen. Ed Gaunch (Kanawha County, R): $158,177.50
Sen. Roman Prezioso (Marion County, D): $112,339.60
Del. Eric Nelson (Kanawha County, R): $77,365.00
Sen. Robert Karnes (Upshur County, R): $74,265.40

Sens. Gaunch and Karnes both donated notable totals to their own campaigns. Gaunch contributed $42,445, Karnes $55,595. Sen. Prezioso’s totals are from the 2012 campaign cycle.

Contributions from Legislative Leaders

Both Senate President Bill Cole and House Speaker Tim Armstead are members of the Select Committee–yet both are non-voting members. Speaker Armstead did not contribute to any other Tax Reform Committee members’ campaign. Cole, however, donated to four members:

Del. John O’Neal (Raleigh County, R): $250
Sen. Ryan Ferns (Ohio County, R): $2,000
Sen. Ed Gaunch (Kanawha County, R: $2,000
Sen. Robert Karnes (Upshur County, R): $1,000

The committee will hold its next meeting on Oct. 5 at the Capitol. An agenda for that meeting has not yet been posted.

Below is another interactive data visualization exploring individual campaign contributions by legislator as well as contributor.

W.Va. Ranks Highest in the Nation in Preventable Deaths, Report Says

Despite taking many steps to prevent injuries, West Virginia ranks highest for the number of injury-related deaths in the United States. That’s according to a new report published this week that looks state-by-state at injury prevention policy.

Many of the injury-related deaths that put West Virginia in the lead nationally are attributed to drug overdoses, according to data compiled by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH). The organization published the new report along with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Its title: The Facts Hurt: A State-By-State Injury Prevention Policy Report

“Injuries are not just acts of fate. Research show they are pretty predictable and they are actually very preventable,” said TFAH Executive Director, Jeff Levy on a conference call discussing his organization’s new report.

“Overall, West Virginia has the highest rate of injury-deaths at 97.9 deaths per 100,000 people. New York the lowest at 40.3 deaths per 100,000 people.”

Levy said West Virginia has implemented policies very recently that will hopefully help curb those numbers in coming years – perhaps most importantly, policies to address the drug epidemic the state and nation face. More specifically, a new law went into effect last month, the Opioid Antagonist Act, which expands access to the overdose-counteracting drug Naloxone, allowing addicts and family members the ability to purchase the medicine through a prescription. Levy says drug overdoses became the leading cause of injury-related death in the nation about four years ago, surpassing motor vehicle deaths. Almost half of drug-related deaths are from prescription pill overdoses.

“Prescription drug abuse is a national epidemic,” Levy said, “but it impacts some states much more than others. West Virginia had the highest number of overdose and poisoning deaths. 33.5 per 100,000 people.”

But while more than 2 million Americans misuse drugs, the report says, there are a myriad of other ways to die by injury such as motor vehicle accidents, homicides and suicides. The report also points to traumatic brain injuries, warning that TBIs from sports and recreation among children have increased by 60 percent in the last decade. And one in three Americans older than 64 experiences a serious fall each year. While falls aren’t often fatal, they can lead to fatal complications and are a major concern in a state like West Virginia with an aging population. And increases in falls nationwide are anticipated as the Baby Boomer generation ages.

The Facts Hurt says preventable accidents cost the U.S. billions of dollars in medical care that could be better spent on other critical matters in the state and nation, like education and infrastructure projects.

Central Appalachia, Southern West Virginia 'Ground Zero' for Recent Coal Mine Layoffs

The following data and article is the result of collaboration between West Virginia Public Broadcasting and SNL Energy. To see related stories from SNL Energy on this topic, please click here.

As demand for coal decreases because of cheap prices of natural gas, employment in coal mines continues to fall in West Virginia and across Central Appalachia. Since the fourth quarter of 2011, nearly 7,000 coal mining jobs have been cut in West Virginia and six of the state’s counties are in the top 25 counties for coal mining job losses nationwide, according to data provided by SNL Energy.

Quick Facts on West Virginia Coal Mining Production & Employment

Production of coal in West Virginia has dropped from 33,692,338 tons in the fourth quarter of 2011 down to 28,351,854 tons in the first quarter of 2015.

Kentucky leads the nation in coal mine employment losses since the fourth quarter of 2011 with 7,666 job losses (West Virginia is second on that list with 6,700).

Boone County’s 2,698 job losses (representing a 58% loss of employment since the fourth quarter of 2011) tops the nation in coal mine job losses by county.

Aside from Boone, Mingo (801), Fayette (609), Nicholas (558), Logan (557), McDowell (512) and Raleigh (403) counties are all in the top 25 counties for coal mine job losses.

Nicholas County’s 558 job losses since the fourth quarter of 2011 represent a 76% drop in coal mining employment.

From SNL Energy: Narrow band of 16 Central Appalachia counties ‘ground zero’ in coal job free fall

Jordan Bridges, a 27 year old Arch Coal miner in Logan County, has had his hours reduced and continues to worry about the possibility of being laid off.

While coal mining employment seemed to parallel production in West Virginia until mid-2013, layoffs have continued to occur more rapidly, despite the fact that production has leveled off in recent quarters.

Understandably, fears over more layoffs continue in southern West Virginia.

“I’d say that I’ll get laid off. I’d say the job will probably shut down. That’s just the way it is,” said 27-year-old Jordan Bridges of Logan County.

“You can’t keep selling coal [if] you mine it for $40 a ton, but you’re only selling it for $37. They’re not making no money, we’re not making no money,” he said.

More from SNL Energy: ‘Societal depression’ settles over coalfields as layoffs rock
Central Appalachia
Despite overall job losses in the state and the high concentration of layoffs in West Virginia’s southern coalfields, some counties in the north central and northern panhandle regions have seen increases. Still yet, finding work after coal mining remains difficult for those in the southern coalfields and many want to stay.

“I have friends that don’t want to leave. But what are they supposed to do. They were raised here. I was raised here. We want to raise our kids here,” said Bridges.

Editor’s Note: SNL Energy’s analysis of the data is gleaned from coal companies’ reports to MSHA about how many employees, on average throughout the quarter, worked at individual coal mines. The data does not include contractors. Mines that had not yet reported to MSHA for the first quarter are excluded from both the current and historical totals.

Specialists Work to Fill Medical Void in Mingo County for 10 Years Running

Managing chronic diseases is the public health challenge of the 21st century, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The organization reports that 7 of 10 Americans die every year from chronic diseases, like heart disease and stroke, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, obesity, respiratory diseases, and oral conditions. But that burden is worse for aging and low-income populations, like those found in Mingo County.

A man living in Fairfax County, Virginia, will likely live 15 years longer than one 300 miles away in Mingo County, West Virginia, according to mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics.

It’s easy to forget about Mingo County. One doesn’t visit a town like Gilbert accidentally. It takes a concerted effort. It’s a world where coal is still the dominant industry, but the population is aging, and according to data from the US Census and the CDC, the region is home to some of the poorest and least healthy communities in the country. But doctors from all three of the medical schools in West Virginia make monthly trips there to offer specialty care to residents in the region. It all started 10 years ago with the Doctors Brick.

Traveling South

Once a month for the past decade brothers, rheumatologist Dr. James Brick and neurologist Dr. John Brick, make the trip to Gilbert. They used to wake up at 3 am and drive four or five hours from Morgantown. But today they can usually cut the first leg of the trip substantially…

“We’re on the West Virginia University foundation plane,” Dr. James Brick said over the roar of the plane engine. “We just left Morgantown. And we’re going to Charleston.”

After twenty minutes of reminiscing about past trips, the brothers and the president of WVU Gordon Gee along with a couple of medical students touched down at the Yeager Airport in Charleston.

Dr. John and Dr. James are identical twins from Dunbar. Dr. James Brick is a professor and chair of the Department of Medicine at WVU and Dr. John Brick is a professor and chair of the Neurology Department at WVU.

In the hour and half winding and scenic van ride from Charleston to Gilbert the brother doctors told attending med students about the community. Dr. John talked about the economy.

“It’s a small town, maybe 300 people,” Dr. John Brick said. “The major source of jobs was the mining business and Mr. Harless had sawmills there. The sawmills are closed, but there are still mines in the area.”

Buck Harless

The doctors Brick love to reminisce about their old friend and former patient who was instrumental in bringing them to southern West Virginia, the late Buck Harless. Mr. Harless, they say, had an epic life. He started in the world orphaned and died a legend, with timber and sawmill interests in five states, manufacturing operations in four states and also holdings in real estate and coal. But Gilbert, they say, was always Buck Harless’ home.

And he invested in it. Harless built this huge facility, 55,000 square feet, that looks kind of out of place in this tiny town for his community, and named it after his deceased son. The Larry Joe Harless Community Center houses a track, a pool, cinema, basketball courts, and the health clinic.

Specialty Care

“I’ve been coming to see the rheumatologist here ever since this clinic opened because I live just up the street,” said Marica White.

Marica says Dr. Brick saves her from having to make the two-hour trip to Huntington, where her regular rheumatologist is.

“While I can drive if I feel like or have family that will take me, a lot of local people have trouble with transportation,” White said. “So it’s very important to have a neurologist and a cardiologist that these people can see.”

Dr. James Brick explains how it can be difficult for a specialty doctor to sustain a practice in a sparsely populated, rural region. But he said there is a need because the aging population has a lot of chronic illness.

“This was a town that has a lot retired folks living in it, retired miners, people retired from working in the sawmills,” Dr. James Brick said. “I see lots of osteoarthritis—that’s the most common form of arthritis, and Rheumatoid Arthritis, gout, fibromyalgia… Those are the most common diagnoses, but also the most common diagnoses we see in Morgantown.”

But Mingo County is a little different. It’s in an area that has one of the worst life expectancy rates in the nation. In fact, according to mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics, while life expectancy has slowly been increasing throughout the nation, it’s been dropping in regions of southern West Virginia.

Data visualizations by Dave Mistich.

Special People

The Doctors Brick see some patients fairly regularly, and it’s clear that both he and his brother have an affinity for the town and the region.

They sponsor local basketball teams, fire off trivia with visiting med students about the area, and were recently honored by leaders in community for dedicating time every month for over a decade.

However, Dr. John, the neurologist, also observes that medically, the patients he sees are not different from those he treats in the rest of the state.

“They have the same problems as virtually every other population in WV, but I do think the people are unique. They’re wonderful people,” he said. “I get a lot of satisfaction from taking care of them. This is my job but if I could finds a way, I’d do it anyway. They share a little piece of their life with me and that’s what makes it worth it.”

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Interim president of Marshall University, Gary White says the clinic in Gilbert is a successful example of the power of collaboration because all three of the main medical schools in the state, WVU, Marshall, and the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine work together to provide equipment and services.

“Here in the little town of Gilbert we can provide the services that folks desperately need and fulfill the vision that Mr. Harless had,” White said. “I think it can be replicated all across the state.”

A native of neighboring Logan County, White says towns like Gilbert will languish and die without creative and motivated community members. White says the area faces stark challenges today, especially economically, as the coal industry the community relies on has been declining, but he has hope for the future. He believes his community will adjust, and that the last generation has paved the way (literally) to make that possible.

Tag: Data Viz