The Greenbrier Hotel, Owned by Gov. Jim Justice and his family, was slated to be auctioned early next week. However, the Justice family reached an agreement with one of his creditors to halt the sale — at least until October.
The Greenbrier Hotel, Owned by Gov. Jim Justice and his family, was slated to be auctioned early next week. However, the Justice family reached an agreement with one of his creditors to halt the sale — at least until October.
After weeks of uncertainty facing the Greenbrier, the Justice family has reached an agreement with Beltway Capital, the parent company of McCormick 101, which was responsible for foreclosing on the Greenbrier.
The Justice family owed $40.2 million on a loan for the property and had fallen behind on payments since the loan was taken out.
Justice says his original lender, JP Morgan Chase, sold the loan to Beltway Capital because of political motivations – he is a Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in November and is heavily favored to win.
“When it’s all said and done, you know, what we’ve done is we’ve acquired those funds,” he said. “It’s going to cost our family a bunch of money.”
Justice has not provided evidence of political interference. JP Morgan Chase had a loan that was in default, and had no clear benefit to Justice losing the election.
The family is still delinquent on another $36 million loan taken out for the Greenbrier with a Louisiana bank. That loan has been in default since December, and the Justices are millions of dollars behind on payments.
Greenbrier employees were notified on Monday that they will lose their health insurance next week due to the Greenbrier Hotel Corporation being four months delinquent on premium payments.
However, if the Greenbrier makes a timely payment, employees could hold on to their insurance, according to a letter on behalf of the health insurance company.
Their situation is unrelated to Justice’s loan delinquencies.
While fireworks are a Fourth of July tradition, the sizzling, popping, colorful explosives are also the leading cause of the holiday’s accidents.
State officials are reminding West Virginians to have a safe Independence Day this year.
While fireworks are a Fourth of July tradition, the sizzling, popping, colorful explosives are also the leading cause of the holiday’s accidents.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimated close to 10,000 Americans were injured by everything from sparklers to mortars last year. An estimated 800 emergency department-treated injuries were associated with firecrackers and 700 with sparklers.
In a joint press release with the Department of Human Services Wednesday, Department of Health Secretary Sherri Young said they want to help make safety a priority.
“We want to wish a happy and healthy Fourth to all,” she said. “As we come together to commemorate the foundation of our country, we want to help guarantee that safety is at the forefront of all our holiday activities.”
Tips include not standing near fireworks after lighting them, never relighting a “dud” and always supervising children around fireworks. CPSC states teenagers ages 15 to 19 years of age had the highest estimated rate of emergency department-treated, fireworks-related injuries, with children ages 5-9 years old having the second highest rate.
Additional holiday safety measures include wearing and reapplying sunscreen, staying hydrated, refraining from operating any machinery or vehicles if consuming alcohol, and practicing water safety. Water safety includes supervising all swimmers, wearing a lifejacket, choosing swimwear that can be detected underwater (bright reds, oranges, yellows, and greens are best), and learning CPR.
“While we celebrate our nation’s independence, it’s crucial to prioritize safety,” said Cynthia Persily, secretary of the West Virginia Department of Human Services. “By reminding West Virginians of a few simple safety guidelines, we can ensure a joyful and accident-free holiday for everyone.”
Staying prepared and taking precautions are the best ways to stay safe while enjoying time with friends and family. If you do find yourself in the middle of a health emergency, seek medical attention immediately by calling 911.
While state and county DoHS offices are closed for the Independence Day holiday, help is still available 24/7. For suspected cases of abuse and neglect, call the Centralized Intake for Abuse and Neglect at 1-800-352-6513. For emergencies, call 911.
West Virginia students are learning about the state’s burgeoning tourism industry as part of a new summer program.
West Virginia students are learning about the state’s burgeoning tourism industry as part of a new summer program.
The first-ever Governor’s School for Tourism kicked off at Independence Hall in Wheeling on West Virginia Day. Selected ninth and tenth-grade students are touring West Virginia for 10 days, learning about the state’s tourism and hospitality sectors.
Students are staying at state park lodges, and will visit historical sites and other landmarks from Cacapon to the New River Gorge.
Since 1984, the Governor’s Schools have offered free summer programs for students in grades 7 to 11, within college-based residential settings. The programs, hosted at the state’s colleges, universities and culturally prominent locations across the state, come at no expense to families and cover a wide range of areas including arts, humanities, mathematics, science and technology.
This year’s schools include a Computer Science Institute at West Virginia University (WVU), an Honors Academy at Fairmont State University and a School for Entrepreneurship at Marshall University.
“In a rural world where you’re sending out a drone over what would be a long drive over Appalachia,” Luxion said. “A drone can fly that thing; it reaches out to those families that are in need within your state whom you have a responsibility to take care of.”
The aerospace industry looks extremely promising for West Virginia according to panelists who were part of a robust industry discussion at the Culture Center Monday.
The diverse group of aerospace experts included representatives from Vertx Partners, Aurora Flight Sciences – A Boeing Company, Marshall University, Mid-Atlantic Aerospace Complex, TMC Technologies and ASSURE – the FAA’s Center of Excellence for UAS Research.
Moderator Col. Sean Frisbee (USAF Ret.) is the president of Vertx Partners. He said the state is positioned to become a powerhouse for the state as well as the national defense.
“It’s an exciting industry, it’s booming and we want to make sure West Virginia stays on the leading edge of the industry,” Frisbee said. “A lot of people don’t realize it but aerospace literally touches everybody.”
Frisbee talked about technologies commonly used by people in their everyday lives which stem from the aerospace industry.
“GPS for example, how could we possibly live without our Google maps, Waze and so forth,” Frisbee said. “But also the cameras that you have on your phones, the technology to make that camera as good as it is and as small as it is comes from aerospace.”
“How many of you use memory foam mattresses? The technology was developed by NASA as a safety measure as well as a comfort measure for astronauts,” he said. “Earbuds, headphones and even baby food can look at its origin back to developing food for astronauts.”
A newer technology Frisbee said holds huge promise is a silent leaf blower.
“It is incredible, you are holding a leaf blower, and there is literally no noise coming out of it,” he said. “And that technology is being developed for drones in order to reduce the acoustics of these drones that fly around.”
West Virginia’s aerospace industry is worth an estimated $1.35 billion a year, which Frisbee said contributes $486 million to the state’s GDP and more than $24 million in state and local taxes.
“But what we see globally is just an incredible growth of this industry,” he said. “From the commercial systems in defense, the emerging space economy and sustainability initiatives, battery development as well as alternative fuels to reduce carbon emissions which could be an important role here in West Virginia.”
Panelists discussing the future of aerospace technology at the WV Division of Culture and History.
Caroline MacGregor/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Tracy Miller is the president of the Bridgeport based Mid-Atlantic Aerospace Complex which specializes in aviation and aerospace component manufacturing. She said the future for the industry in the state offers boundless opportunities for West Virginians.
“You’re adding value to the existing aerospace industry that we’ve had and you’re saying, folks, there’s ways to redefine it,” Miller said. “We’re in the flow of a new definition of aviation and I think it’s up to all of us to put your aerospace hat on, we can be the brainpower behind anything we want to be in aviation.”
The panel lauded the idea of investments in airports and education and working with schools like Marshall University to develop the state as an innovative hub to secure space assets from potential cyber-attacks.
Marshall University Chief Aviation Officer Bill Noe said the future for aerospace technology is limitless.
“This aviation space right now, it’s not even a big pond, it’s an ocean and there’s room for so many fish to swim in it, it’s ridiculous,” he said.
Noe said Marshall University has strategically employed momentum to grow the state’s aerospace industry and expose more people to aviation.
“It goes into the air traffic control training, it goes into dispatch training, flight attendant training, it goes into the airlines, creating this area of space that will interest people, inspire people and really create a delightful outlook on their futures that we can really provide,” he said.
Denise Lindsey, is the vice president for TMC Technologies Federal Civilian Division. She said supporting educational opportunities for school kids is key.
“The K- through 12 is super important from a space perspective as well,” she said. “They grow up, they read books, they learn about their planets but to actually be engaged in a curriculum or activity that involves space is a game changer.”
Lindsey said space camps would also be a great investment for the state.
“If you really want to get the kids involved in space in our region, start up a space camp,” she said. “That could be in anyone’s district, I think it would be a great idea.”
The focus of discussion also centered heavily around Advanced Air Mobility systems – drones that can be used to move people and cargo. The idea is being embraced in West Virginia as a way to transport goods and medicines to the state’s difficult to reach and underserved rural Appalachian communities.
“The thing that excites me about this is, we’ve got a lot of technology, but we’ve got a lot of people in this state who would directly benefit,” Noe said. “We can get there with this technology. We can take pain points and smooth those out, and we’re going to be not only training it and researching it and figuring it out, but it’s going to be done right here and it’s just one of the strong pillars of opportunity we can have.”
Executive Director of ASSURE Col. Stephen Lux Luxion (USAF Ret.) said while there’s a lot of talk and money surrounding urban mobility, the greatest generation where drones can help the most are in remote communities where medical inaccessibility and below-average health outcomes exist. Rural Advanced Air Mobility offers the potential to redefine healthcare in the state.
“In a rural world you’re sending out a drone over what would be a long drive over Appalachia,” Luxion said. “A drone can fly that thing; it reaches out to those families that are in need within your state whom you have a responsibility to take care of.”
