Almost $5 million in federal funding has been awarded to some of the counties ravaged by floods in 2016.
Pocahontas, Randolph and Greenbrier Counties will receive more than $4.8 million to help repair federal roads from the United States Department of Transportation.
Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito made the announcement in a joint news release.
Manchin says the repairs will help bring back community connections and allow commerce to flow freely across the state. Capito notes the funds will also help restore roads used to get to work and home.
In June 2016, heavy rain fell over West Virginia, overwhelming many communities in the southern part of the state. It has been called the worst flood in West Virginia’s history. Former Governor Earl Ray Tomblin announced a state of emergency for 44 of the state’s 55 counties, and 23 people died.
Details remain scant about a deal announced with China Energy to invest nearly $84 billion in the natural gas and petrochemical industries in West Virginia during the next 20 years. The deal, which makes up roughly a third of China Energy’s total proposed investments across the country, came during President Donald Trump’s visit last week to Beijing.
Governor Jim Justice and state commerce secretary Woody Thrasher held a press conference Monday to outline how the deal came about, but didn’t provide specifics about the memorandum of understanding, or MOU, between Chinese industry leaders and West Virginia government officials.
Thrasher revealed last week that early projects would include two natural gas-fired power plants, likely in Harrison and Brooke counties, with construction potentially starting in the next six to eight months. He and officials from the Shenhua Group, who are part of the state-owned China Energy company, have agreed at this point to not release additional projects or the MOU, which is understood to not be legally binding.
“I don’t want to get into the specifics of the projects,” said Thrasher. “There’s a whole wide series of projects. Can I guarantee you that they’re going to spend 83 billion dollars in 20 years? No. But what I can guarantee you is: the governor has directed me to do everything within my power to facilitate these projects going forward.”
WVU Energy Institute director Dr. Brian Anderson added that potential projects would run the entire spectrum of natural gas and petrochemical products and facilities. He did mention interest in building an underground storage hub for natural gas liquids, which he says would link to production facilities through pipelines.
“When the the value chain of the petrochemical industry from the natural gas liquids would start with the necessary, fundamental framework infrastructure that would support that petrochemical sector,” said Anderson. “And so one thing that Texas does have that West Virginia doesn’t is a storage and trading hub for these natural gas liquids. It creates a spot market for the efficient trading and pricing of those natural gas liquids.”
Secretary Thrasher noted that China Energy’s interest in West Virginia had waned at various points in the negotiation process, with investors considering locations in Texas or the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Both Justice and Thrasher say that the state has offered nothing in exchange for the investment or been asked to provide tax breaks, changes in policy or any other incentives at this point.
“President Trump is on their you-know-what over there and everything. And he’s demanding that we get our trade to bounce back and balance. They asked for nothing,” said Justice. “Now, would we surely afford them the incentives that we afford to others within our state? Absolutely, we would. But at the same time, thus far, I can tell you they’ve asked for nothing.”
With some details of the agreement unclear to the public and nothing legally binding as of yet, Justice urged a sense of cautious optimism moving forward.
“We want to be realistic,” said Justice. “We want to absolutely believe that it’s happening. But, at the same time, we don’t want to just drop all of our guards and think, ‘Yeah, yeah, it’s done, done.’”
Thrasher said there is a schedule moving forward to solidify potential projects and that he expects to see construction beginning by this time next year.
Both he and Justice attribute the potential investment to Justice’s relationship with President Trump and Trump’s interest in reviving West Virginia’s economy.
At the U.S. Capitol and in most statehouses nationwide, supporters of LGBT rights are unable to make major gains these days. Instead, they’re notching victories in seemingly unlikely venues, such as Morgantown, West Virginia, and Birmingham, Alabama.
They are among scores of cities and towns in Republican-governed states that have acted on their own, passing resolutions and ordinances pledging nondiscrimination protections for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people in the absence of comparable statewide laws.
De Pere, Wisconsin — a Green Bay suburb not noted for LGBT activism — took a big step last week toward joining the movement. After an intense public meeting, its city council gave preliminary approval on a 5-4 vote to a measure that would broaden the local nondiscrimination ordinance to cover transgender people. The measure would prohibit businesses, employers and landlords from discriminating against people due to their gender identify.
Alderman Casey Nelson, who introduced the measure, said he wasn’t sure if anti-transgender bias was a problem in De Pere, but he wanted to send a message that the city of about 25,000 was welcoming and tolerant.
“Can you imagine living in a community that refuses to accept you for who you are?” Nelson asked.
Advocacy groups say several hundred municipalities across the country have LGBT-inclusive anti-bias measures — many of them in the 31 states that lack fully inclusive statewide laws.
Skeptics say the local laws, in some cases, are mostly symbolic and not zealously enforced. Yet LGBT activists view them as a heartening barometer of nationwide support at a time when President Donald Trump’s administration has taken multiple steps that jeopardize LGBT rights — including weakening protections for transgender students and seeking to ban transgender people from military service.
Morgantown, home to West Virginia University, was among the most recent additions to the list of communities taking LGBT-friendly action. Its seven-member city council voted unanimously on Oct. 17 to extend nondiscrimination protections to LGBT people.
Mayor Bill Kawecki says the action “simply verbalized the kind of community I really hope that we are.”
Earlier in the year, two big cities in South, GOP-led states — Jacksonville, Florida, and Birmingham — adopted similar ordinances. Birmingham became the first Alabama city to take the step; Jacksonville had been one of the most populous U.S. cities that lacked such a law.
In contrast, majority Republicans in Congress have shown no interest in considering a Democratic-backed bill called the Equality Act that would extend nondiscrimination protections to LGBT people nationwide. Companion bills in the House and Senate have a total of two GOP co-sponsors.
The congressional impasse leaves it up to individual states to set their own policies, but there has been little action recently. Since 2009, Utah is the only state where lawmakers have voted to join the minority of other states which extend nondiscrimination protections to LGBT people. And Utah went only part way — applying the protections to employment and housing but not public accommodations.
In states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida, where the electorate is closely divided between Democrats and Republicans, efforts to enact inclusive anti-bias laws have been rebuffed by the GOP-dominated legislatures.
The GOP-led legislatures in Arkansas and Tennessee have gone a step further — enacting laws barring municipalities from passing their own LGBT-inclusive ordinances. In Arkansas, the attorney general is asking the state Supreme Court to prevent the city of Fayetteville from enforcing an ordinance of that nature that it passed in 2015.
Attorney Matt Sharp, senior counsel with the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom, said laws like those in Arkansas and Tennessee are designed to spare businesses from having to comply with a patchwork of different anti-bias laws from one city to another.
Allen Whitt, president of the conservative Family Policy Council of West Virginia, predicted that legislators in his state would propose laws next year that would emulate Arkansas and Tennessee and strike down the local LGBT-friendly ordinances.
Whitt was on hand when Morgantown passed its anti-bias ordinance, and spoke against it.
These ordinances “should be rejected by every city and state because they discriminate against diversity of thought,” Whitt said later in an email. “They are examples of political bullying and liberal city council thuggery at its worst.”
LGBT advocacy groups point out what they see as hypocrisy by conservative Republicans on the issue.
“It’s ironic that the party of small government wants to interfere with cities which want to provide common sense protections for all their citizens,” said Sarah Warbelow, legal director for the Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBT-rights group.
In When De Pere’s health board discussed the ordinance in October, supporters in the audience included Annette and John Grunseth from the neighboring town of Allouez, whose adult daughter is transgender.
“Are you concerned about somebody attacking you because of your gender identity?” John Grunseth asked the board. “I bet most of us don’t even think about that, but this is constantly on our daughter’s mind.”
Wisconsin is one of two states, along with New Hampshire, that extend nondiscrimination protections to gays and lesbians, but not to transgender people. A transgender-inclusive statewide bill is backed by Wisconsin Democrats but has dim prospects due to opposition from majority Republicans.
The chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party announced he’ll be running for West Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives.
Conrad Lucas made the announcement via an emailed letter and online video. This follows an earlier announcement this year, saying he would be stepping down as chairman of the West Virginia GOP.
Lucas is vying for U.S. Representative Evan Jenkins’ seat. Jenkins, a Republican, is running for Democrat Joe Manchin’s seat in the U.S. Senate.
Lucas joins a handful of other West Virginia representatives who are aiming for a shot in Congress, such as Republicans Rupie Phillips and Carol Miller – both members of the West Virginia House of Delegates, and Democrat Richard Ojeda – a member of the State Senate.
Lucas will also be running against former Republican Delegate Rick Snuffer.
During a special session of the West Virginia Legislature in October, lawmakers passed a bill that makes redeveloping historic buildings in the state more viable, financially. The bill had widespread support from both sides of the aisle, but some are concerned it doesn’t go far enough.
The state historic rehabilitation tax credit was put in place as an incentive for individuals, developers, and property owners to take dilapidated, historic buildings and bring them back up to snuff — rehabilitating them into apartments, businesses, or community spaces…
Just like the Charles Washington Hall in Jefferson County.
What Rehabilitating Historic Buildings Could Look Like
The City of Charles Town took advantage of the state historic rehabilitation tax credit a few years ago to help rehabilitate the Charles Washington Hall in the city’s downtown area. At the time renovations began, a 10 percent tax credit was in place in West Virginia. The credit provides dollar-for-dollar reductions in income tax and corporate income tax liability for historic rehabilitation projects.
But the new legislation bumps that tax credit to 25 percent — though, it doesn’t go into effect until December 31.
Credit Liz McCormick / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
A new auditorium space in the Charles Washington Hall in Charles Town, W.Va.
The Charles Washington Hall, originally built in 1874, is now home to an auditorium, a soon-to-open restaurant featuring Appalachian cuisine, and a small, organic, locally-sourced grocery store. Renovations were completed earlier this year.
The grocery, called Bushel & Peck, is the main presence at the location.
“It’s a beautiful building; wood floors and ceiling molding are really striking to me,” Abby Beavin, Assistant Manager at Bushel & Peck, said, “and all the beautiful wood detail. It has kind of its own challenges, like making a food safe facility in a historic building, but I think it’s a beautiful, beautiful space, with beautiful natural lighting.”
Bushel & Peck moved into the space at the beginning of October, so the market is still getting situated. Beavin hopes it will help revitalize downtown Charles Town and create a tighter community.
“It’s a difficult time to keep the main street businesses alive,” she noted, “You see a lot more of them boarded up in small towns than you do opening a new business. So, it’s a risk, but, you know, we’re out here and we’re gonna see what happens and see what works and what this will mean for Charles Town.”
Credit Liz McCormick / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Last year, the Hub traveled the state to bring awareness to community members and lawmakers about the benefits of increasing the historic rehabilitation tax credit.
Jake Dougherty, Executive Director of Wheeling Heritage, was heavily involved in that campaign.
“We’ve seen people and developers choose Winchester, Virginia, over Martinsburg; Saint Clairsville, Ohio, over Wheeling; Ashland over Huntington; Waynesburg over Morgantown; it’s happening all across the state, and that’s revenues and that’s a stronger tax base, and that’s more jobs that aren’t happening in West Virginia, and they’re right across the border,” Dougherty explained.
A couple versions of a bill to increase that credit were introduced during the regular 2017 state Legislative session, but it wasn’t until a special session in October that advocates like Dougherty got their wish.
House Bill 203 increased the state’s historic rehabilitation tax credit from 10 to 25 percent, making the credit more competitive with West Virginia’s bordering neighbors like Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania — BUT the bill also has a $10 million cap, or limit, per project and an annual, overall statewide cap of $25 million — unlike some neighboring states like Virginia, which have uncapped incentive plans.
Credit Will Price / West Virginia Legislative Photography
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West Virginia Legislative Photography
Sen. Glenn Jeffries, D-Putnam.
Democratic Senator Glenn Jeffries, of Putnam County, was the lead sponsor of a Senate version of the bill during the 2017 regular session.
He said, while he’s relieved something finally passed, he’s concerned the caps will discourage developers — especially the annual $25 million cap.
“I don’t want to see us hinder potential investors to come to West Virginia, invest their dollars, and [then] take it somewhere else,” Jeffries said, “If you keep the cap on it, that just pushes your application, and it’s first come first serve; somebody walks in there on day one, and the first three application takes up that $25 million, you gotta wait until the following year.”
Jefferies said he understands the reason for the limits — uncapped incentives could become a financial juggernaut in an already tight state budget if too many developers take advantage of the program all at once. But Jeffries argued it’s a long, step-by-step process to get approved and complete a renovation, so it wouldn’t hit the state in the way opponents fear. He plans to introduce amendments to the bill during the 2018 session.
The National Register of Historic Places has just over 700 historic buildings registered in West Virginia — like the Charles Washington Hall. To-date, 175 in-state projects have used the 10-percent historic rehabilitation tax credit.
