Tag: Economy

After Flood, White Sulphur Springs Businesses Bounce Back

Small businesses in Greenbrier County are bouncing back following last year's devastating floods.The Register-Herald reports that the city of White…

Small businesses in Greenbrier County are bouncing back following last year’s devastating floods.

The Register-Herald reports that the city of White Sulphur Springs staged a series of ribbon-cutting ceremonies earlier this month to welcome nearly a dozen businesses that have either newly opened or reopened after the June 23 floods. The floods killed 23 people and ravaged homes, businesses and infrastructure.

RockFab, a store that sells kitchen countertops and other stone products, opened less than three weeks prior to the disaster. Despite the fact that more than 14 inches of water surged through the store, manager Rhonda Shay says the business is once again open.

Other White Sulphur Springs businesses recognized during the March 4 ribbon-cutting ceremonies include a home furnishing store, a clothing boutique and a gun store.

W.Va. Dept. of Commerce Requests More State Dollars

The West Virginia Department of Commerce gave the House and Senate Finance committees a presentation Monday morning to explore the state’s competitiveness in attracting businesses.

The Commerce department also asked for a significant increase in its funding. However, that request collided with the reality of the state’s dire budget situation.

The Joint Standing Committee on Finance met in the House Chamber for the Department of Commerce’s informational meeting. The presentation was part of Governor Jim Justice’s Save Our State plan to bring more business and jobs to West Virginia.

The presentation explored ways the state could improve its competitive standing by enhancing infrastructure, building up a stronger workforce, and identifying good site building locations. Presenters also said that so-called Right-to-Work legislation has been a positive factor in attracting some businesses to the state.

But the state’s Right-to-Work legislation has not been fully implemented in West Virginia yet. It’s been challenged in a court case, and deemed unconstitutional by a Kanawha County Judge. The case will likely be decided by the West Virginia Supreme Court.

The Department of Commerce Cabinet Secretary Woody Thrasher says that even though the state is facing a budget shortfall this year, it’s not the time to cut the Commerce Department.

“West Virginia is dead last, and the reason we’re dead last, is a variety of reasons, but relative to the Department of Commerce, it’s because we do not have the tools in our toolbox to attract business specifically, really good sites,” Thrasher said, “I think we’re doing a really good job on workforce training. I think we’ve got a great quality of life, but we are way behind everybody else when it comes to having sites ready.”

Thrasher told lawmakers the Department of Commerce would need at least $35 million in increased funding for improving the state’s business climate, attracting more industry, and for site readiness.

House Finance Vice-Chair Eric Householder, of Berkeley County, says he felt inspired by the presentation, but he says increasing the Department’s budget could be tough.

“Right now, it’s going to be extremely difficult,” Householder said, “Currently we fund Commerce roughly around $10 million a year. It’s a tough budget year, as we all know, and it’s going to be extremely difficult, but we’re gonna do what we can. You gotta keep in mind, we’re trying to get the best return on investment for taxpayers.”

Democratic Delegate Larry Rowe, of Kanawha County, is a member of the House Finance Committee. He says he feels the request from the Commerce Department is a reasonable goal to achieve.

“We’re spending $10 million, and little of that is going to programming, most is going to personnel and expenses, so what I’d like to see us do is define very clearly what that extra money would be for and where it’s going to be spent,” Rowe said.

During the presentation, Cabinet Secretary Thrasher mentioned that by the end of the summer, he and his team hope to rebrand the state by having the Department of Tourism join the Department of Commerce. He also noted how getting the state’s Community Colleges involved more heavily in training the workforce will also be key in getting more industry in the state.

McDowell as a Microcosm: Bernie Sanders Goes 'All In' with Chris Hayes

Despite hailing from Vermont, former Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders attempted to shine a light on poverty in middle America this weekend with a stop in West Virginia. Sanders held a town hall in McDowell County for an MSNBC taping of “All In with Chris Hayes.”  

For about two hours, Sanders, Hayes, panelists and a crowd of about 350 discussed issues affecting the area, which Sanders says is a microcosm of rural America.

The event was originally scheduled for February at the National Guard Armory in McDowell County but was abruptly canceled.  Representatives of the state said the U.S. Department of Defense prohibits the use of military buildings for political or campaign purposes.

When host Chris Hayes opened the show, he asked the crowd if McDowell County was “Trump Country.” The crowd reacted with a disapproving and collective “no.” Others in the crowd murmured words like “unfortunately.”

In reality, Trump took 74 percent of the vote in McDowell County in the November election and handedly won West Virginia as a whole. But Sanders’ sustained popularity in the area is a result of his 2016 campaign stop at a local food bank and his consistent efforts on the trail to bring light to the issues facing many in the community: poverty, few jobs and a lack of access to education.

Sanders took more than 55 percent of McDowell County’s vote in West Virginia’s May 2016 primary — beating out the inevitable Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in all of the state’s 55 counties.

Hayes, Sanders and a group of more than a dozen panelists discussed a wide range of issues Sunday, touching on everything from a sluggish coal economy to health care, education and infrastructure. Issues they say aren’t exclusive to McDowell County, but are relevant in rural communities across the country.

While MSNBC did not allow other media to record audio or video, Sanders told reporters after the event the most powerful moment for him was when Hayes asked the crowd if anyone had been personally affected by the opioid crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, McDowell County has the highest rate of drug-induced deaths in the country at 141 per 100,000.

“When I saw so many hands went up for people who had lost loved ones as a result of the opiate crisis, that is just chilling. That is just incredible,” said Sanders.

“This is an epidemic and —  by the way, again — not just in West Virginia. It exists in Vermont. And we have got to get a handle on it in a number of ways. We need more treatment. But, also, we need to give the young people opportunities so that drugs are not what they are seeking out,” he added.

100 Days of Appalachia is published by West Virginia University Reed College of Media Innovation Center in collaboration with West Virginia Public Broadcasting and The Daily Yonder. For more on the project, follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

Delegate Ed Evans of McDowell County was a member of the panel. Despite being a Democrat, Evans says he voted for Trump because of his promise to revive the coal industry. During the taping, Evans said he doesn’t believe Trump will focus on the opioid crisis and help bring an addiction treatment center to the area that’s been so stricken by the problem. Evans said that, because of coal’s rich past, government should be looking to help his county – one he said that’s given America so much in the past.

“McDowell County doesn’t need to be left behind — we need to be included. We need we need drug rehab. We need it so badly. We need jobs. We need infrastructure. We need drinking water that’s clean. We need housing. There are so many things,” said Evans.

“West Virginia was built on the backs of McDowell County coal miners. Now, whether people believe that or not — it’s true. This was the billion dollar coal fields. The coal that came out of here that made the steel across America, the tanks for the war.”

Following the taping, Hayes also spoke to reporters, saying that his hope for the town hall was to shine a light on issues affecting McDowell County, but also to show that the same problems exist elsewhere.  

McDowell County, West Virginia has the highest rate of drug-induced deaths in the country at 141 per 100,000.

“In the city of New York, in the borough of Staten Island, you’ll see the opioid crisis is intense and severe and acute and it’s got people spinning their heads around in the same way it does here, right? So, things that are happening here whether it’s people’s economic struggles or whether it’s people’s health care struggles. Those are applicable,” said Hayes.

“And I think, part of the idea is — in America right now — in the political conversation we have with each other a lot, we tend to reduce places to stereotypes and some part of what we’re trying to do is get past that.”

Sunday’s event was taped for an hour-long special episode of MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes.” The program aired Monday, March 13, 2017 at 8 p.m. You can watch through the links below. 

House Moves to Create the W.Va. Fresh Food Act

Members of the House of Delegates are looking for ways to help grow the state’s agriculture industry. A bill in the chamber’s Agriculture Committee would require the state to purchase more locally grown food.

House Bill 2566 creates the West Virginia Fresh Food Act. As introduced, the bill would require state funded institutions to purchase at least 20 percent of their produce from West Virginia farmers.

Members of the House’s Agriculture Committee amended the bill Tuesday to allow institutions to gradually increase their in-state purchases– starting at 5 and reaching 20 percent over a period of four years if it’s economically feasible.

Delegate Robert Thompson, a Democrat from Wayne County, is the bill’s lead sponsor.

“Not only are you cutting out transportation cost, you’re providing an economic stimulus for farmers in the state, and you’re also helping to reduce the possibility of contamination as well,” Thompson said.

The bill was passed out of committee and now goes to House Finance.

After Obamacare: Thousands Of Jobs Hinge On Affordable Care Act Decisions

As Congress considers repealing the Affordable Care Act, health professionals in Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia grapple with what that might mean for a…

As Congress considers repealing the Affordable Care Act, health professionals in Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia grapple with what that might mean for a region where many depend on the law for access to care. This occasional series from the ReSource explores what’s ahead for the Ohio Valley after Obamacare. See more stories here >>

Credit Alexandra Kanik / Ohio Valley ReSource
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Ohio Valley ReSource

Since the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act the health care sector has grown by more than 19,000 jobs in the Ohio Valley region. And some economists who focus on health care policy are warning that many of those jobs could well hang in the balance as Congress considers changes to the Act.

One of the ACA’s effects in the Ohio Valley region has been to sharply reduce costs for what’s called uncompensated care — that’s the cost of caring for the uninsured.

Dustin Pugel is an economist at the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, a nonpartisan research center. He said in Kentucky’s rural hospitals there’s been about a $150 million decrease in uncompensated care costs just in the first quarter after Medicaid expansion. He worries that if the ACA is repealed more people will lose their health insurance, and hospitals will have to cover that cost again.

“We would definitely see hospitals getting squeezed more and more, and that would be devastating for their budgets,” Pugel said.

Credit Alexandra Kanik / Ohio Valley ReSource
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Ohio Valley ReSource

Pugel said Medicaid expansion payments more than made up for the loss of what are known as disproportionate share hospital payments — the other method by which hospitals were reimbursed for charity care. Those payments from the federal government used to make up for the cost of caring for the uninsured but largely were phased out when more people became insured.

Pugel said even when those payments went away hospitals were still better off because they were getting more money from newly insured patients.

Those changes to hospital finances allowed them to expand programs and add personnel.

“In the first few years of medicaid expansion in Kentucky there were 13,000 hospital jobs alone that grew in the state. Whereas before it was flatlined,” Pugel said.

Pugel said if the ACA is repealed a lot of those people will likely lose their jobs. Kentucky could have the second highest rate of job loss, with estimates of almost 56,000 jobs being eliminated. West Virginia could lose 16,000 jobs by 2019. Ohio stands to lose more than 50,000 jobs if the ACA is repealed.

Kat Stoll is with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. She said West Virginia doesn’t have the room in its state budget to pick up the cost of covering hundreds of thousands of people who would lose their health insurance if Congress moves forward with the repeal of the ACA. She said sick people still get sick, but without insurance they will put off seeking care until it is an emergency, which is usually more costly.

Credit Alexandra Kanik / Ohio Valley ReSource
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Ohio Valley ReSource

“People will die and the people who do get treatment will put a tremendous burden on our hospitals and providers in our rural state,” Stoll said.

West Virginia gained about 6,500 healthcare jobs since the state expanded medicaid in 2014.

A number of competing plans have emerged in Congress that might replace some or all of the ACA. Stoll said the replacement plans she has seen leave a lot to be desired.

Hundreds Apply for New Warehouse Jobs Coming to Milton

Hundreds of people have applied for jobs with wholesale grocery distributor H.T. Hackney Co., which is opening its first warehouse in West Virginia.

State officials announced this week that the company is coming to Milton, creating an estimated 70 jobs. Officials didn’t say when actual hiring would begin or when the warehouse will open.

The Herald-Dispatch reports the company began accepting job applications Thursday at Milton City Hall. The positions to be filled include drivers and mechanics, office and warehouse workers, maintenance personnel and sales staff.

Among those who submitted applications was Huntington resident Richard Fricke. Fricke, who’s unemployed, says he has management experience and hopes to land a job with the company.

Knoxville, Tennessee-based H.T. Hackney stocks more than 30,000 different products and serves retailers in 22 states.

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