Tag: Government

Mingo Co. Commissioner resigns as part of plea agreement

A Mingo County Commissioner who pleaded guilty to federal extortion charges stepped down Monday from his post.

Commissioner David Baisden announced his resignation in a press release through the Mingo County Commission Office. It is effective immediately.

The resignation follows a guilty plea entered in Federal Court on October 2. During the hearing, Baisden admitted to using his position in an attempt to get tires for his personal vehicle at a discounted price.

“I’ve always had it in my heart to serve the people of this county in a manner they could be proud of,” Baisden said in a statement. “It was never my intention to do anything to put Mingo County in a negative light. I love this county, and I love the people. I continue to want to do what is best for them.”

According to the news release, Baisden has served as commissioner since January 1st, 2007, and began his second term at the beginning of this year. He also served as the county’s purchasing agent.

Baisden is scheduled to be sentenced on January 14th, 2014  and faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

“I’m sorry that I will be unable to serve the people of Mingo County for the remainder of the term to which they have elected me,” Baisden said. “I never wanted to let them down.”

Federal lawmakers struggle to make good

U.S. Senators Joe Manchin and Jay Rockefeller, along with 48 other senators and Congressman Nick Rahall (all D-W.Va.) sent a letter today to Defense…

U.S. Senators Joe Manchin and Jay Rockefeller, along with 48 other senators and Congressman Nick Rahall (all D-W.Va.) sent a letter today to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel urging that the National Guard and Reserves, and the civilians who support our troops, receive pay during the government shutdown. 

The letter comes despite the passage of the “Pay Our Military Act” which was signed into law just before the government shutdown.  The intent was to make sure all military personnel receive pay. Still, somehow many service members and civilians, especially in the National Guard and Reserves, have been furloughed without compensation.

Meanwhile the list of legislators who have said that they plan to donate or refuse compensation earned over the course of the shutdown grew to 127 today.

Senator Joe Manchin announced today that he will donate the salary he receives during the government shutdown to the Save the Children charity in West Virginia

Congresswoman Shelley Moore-Capito has also asked that her pay be withheld until the shutdown is over. A representative from her office reports that she intends to donate that pay to a charity, but doesn’t specify which one.

Quick fact: Members of the House and Senate have earned $174,000 annually since 2009–which is about $500 every day. Among congressional leaders, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) earns $223,500 annually, while the Senate leaders Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) each get $193,400.

Government shutdown affects….bass fishing?

With a shutdown in the United States government, nearly one million employees are not able to work. But in northern West Virginia, area fishermen and…

With a shutdown in the United States government, nearly one million employees are not able to work. But in northern West Virginia, area fishermen and women are also feeling that pinch.

This weekend, a bass fishing tournament along the Monongahela River is scheduled to take place. Normally contestants would be able to catch bass anywhere along the river between  Fairmont and Point Marion, Pennsylvania. But because of the  government shutdown, the United States’ Corps of Engineers employees aren’t able to open the locks. So that will limit the ability of fishermen to travel up and down the river. Tim Mitchem is the president with B.A.S.S. Nation of West Virginia.

“Once the government shut down, I received a message that they wouldn’t be able to honor that agreement. They’re not allowed to pay anybody overtime, during a furlough, which is essentially what they’re doing with the staff there. The locks will not be open for us,” he said.

Mitchem is frustrated because the Corps of Engineers and organizations like B.A.S.S. have been negotiating for months to keep the locks open as much as possible during the tournament.

“A lot of people say this is just a fishing tournament. It is, but when you plan for something for over a year, which is what we’ve done, but we’ve got people spending money in the area, and we could have people not even show up to this tournament now, because they are not going to want to fish in a congested area. So it could affect a lot of things. It’s frustrating, but we have to deal with what we have to deal with,” said Mitchem.

The fishermen will be using only one section of the river for the tournament. Metchum says it’s better than nothing, but it’s not that good either. Mitchem didn’t want to move the tournament, since several hotel rooms were already booked.

“It’s not the end of the world, but it’s not an ideal situation, because when you have that many boats in that limited space of water, it’s difficult for guys to find fishing spots that haven’t been fished many times over. Saturday should be an alright day, Sunday will probably be more difficult and we will probably see that when fish are brought in for weigh-in,” he said.

But Mitchem said the tournament will go on, and wants the public to come to enjoy two days of fishing.

W.Va. health exchange enrollment numbers expected next week

After an influx on inquiries in the first 24 hours of the health care exchange, an official at the state Department of Health and Human Resources says the federal government is working to fix bugs and increase capacity both online and at their national call center.
Assistant to the Secretary at the DHHR Jeremiah Samples said Thursday the federal government did experience some technical issues in the first 24 hours of the online exchange. He accounted the issues to the large number of Americans looking for information about health care coverage.

“The feds are saying they’ve had 7 million independent hits from across the country on the federal exchange itself,” Samples said, but added they’ve worked to increase capacity on the site to account for the numbers.

As for the federal call center, a second option for people looking to sign up for health coverage, Samples said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services received more than 295,000 calls the first day, but have also added phones lines to decrease the wait time.

“The first day we were hearing wait times as long as a half an hour,” he said, “and they’re saying that the wait times at the call center have been cut in half since the launch, especially over the last 24 hours.”

As far as the number of West Virginians who have taken advantage of the exchange, the state won’t receive those numbers until early next week, but Samples could say a majority of people using in-person assistors at county DHHR offices are of lower incomes and find they are eligible for Medicaid under the state’s program expansion.

“That’s probably because there’s more experience in that low income population dealing with the DHHR offices,” he said.

As for the large number of not just West Virginians, but Americans who have shown interest in the health care marketplace, Samples said he’s not surprised about the surge in interest.

“We anticipated that there would be three major rushes to assess what coverage was available by the public, Samples said. “Here October 1st. We also anticipate around January 1 because that’s when the coverage actually begins and then towards March 31 toward the end of the open enrollment period.”

He based that assessment on the annual trend the DHHR sees during open enrollment for Medicaid.
 

McKinley hoping for stronger collaboration on shutdown negotiations

First District Congressman David McKinley says he’s wanting better communication with members of the Senate, on how to end the government shutdown that’s…

First District Congressman David McKinley says he’s wanting better communication with members of the Senate, on how to end the government shutdown that’s left close to one million federal workers unable to work. McKinley says the issues behind negotiations deal with health care and the economy.

McKinley is frustrated that more negotiations haven’t occurred with members of the House and Senate to this point. McKinley says he’s also concerned the mess won’t be fixed by the time the debt limit could be increased, which is also fast approaching. He says the Senate needs to have a conference with the House.

“Our endgame is to have negotiations. We want to sit in a room, we’re ready to try to do that. This is not about the budget; this is about our economy. The economy is still too soft,” he said.

McKinley says finger pointing has to stop, and when asked by reporters who he felt was responsible for a shutdown, refused to say. He says the priority has to be figuring out a solution to immediately get government open again, which he hopes will include some way to get to a balanced budget.

McKinley says he’s also not going to support the so-called “clean resolution,” which would fund the government, but has no added language about the Affordable Care Act.

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