Tag: Government

Talks Progress On Gubernatorial Debate

West Virginia Metro News Talkline host Hoppy Kercheval said both Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Huntington Mayor Steve Williams’ gubernatorial campaigns have “confirmed their willingness to debate” with the outlet in a Sept. 24 email to WVPB. Kercheval wrote that no date is set, but the debate “will likely be the week of October 28” with statewide radio and video streams.

On Tuesday morning, the Williams campaign released a statement that a different debate at Huntington TV station WOWK had been canceled. However, none of the five registered gubernatorial candidates told WVPB they had confirmed their or other campaigns’ participation with WOWK. On Tuesday afternoon, WOWK released a statement that they were “unable to reach an agreement with the candidates.”

WOWK Station Manager Sean Banks sent invitations to all five candidates – including Libertarian candidate Erika Klie Kolenich, Mountain candidate Chase Linko-Looper, and Constitution candidate S. Marshall Wilson. In documents Linko-Looper and Wilson forwarded to WVPB, that invite included an Oct. 30 live air date for “qualified candidates,” with an attached “Nexstar Debate Participation Criteria” document.

Those qualifications required that candidates pass a 5 percent primary or 10 percent general election polling minimum and have a minimum of $100,000 in monetary donations “on the most recent official forms filed with the appropriate election authority.”

While third party candidates told WVPB they would have accepted the invitation at WOWK, none met the polling qualification. The West Virginia Secretary of State’s campaign finance reporting system lists Williams with only $77,481.81 in total contributions.

“We have another reporting period that falls at the end of this month, for the end of the quarter,” Williams Campaign Manager Mike Plante said when asked about the campaign’s fundraising. “So no, it’s not a barrier.”

Morrisey Campaign Manager Jonathan Ewing did not directly comment on the WOWK debate.

Looking ahead, Metro News did not invite third party candidates.

“AG Morrisey is looking forward to debating his Democratic opponent this fall,” Ewing said in a statement to WVPB. “We’ll be finalizing details in the near future.”

“We’re ready for [Morrisey] to to appear and discuss the issues, and we’re happy to be there,” Plante said.

WVPB will report the time and format of the debate when finalized.

Reducing Domestic Violence, Addressing An Apple Surplus, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, the Charleston and Wheeling areas of West Virginia are among 78 communities in the United States approved for a local-federal partnership to reduce firearm violence in domestic abuse cases. Maria Young spoke to the state’s two U.S. attorneys, who will manage the program.

Plus, many orchards struggled to find wholesale apple buyers last year, causing a surplus. Federal dollars helped orchards that were unable to sell their produce. But, as Jack Walker reports, the apple market may still face risks.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Maria Young produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Time For The Mothman, Honoring A Space Pioneer And Previewing A Queer Film Festival

West Virginia Week is a web-only podcast that explores the week’s biggest news in the Mountain State. Curtis Tate is our host this week.

On this West Virginia Week: 

We’ll hear why the state employee health insurance plan canceled a trial with a popular obesity treatment. We’ll take a look back at the two years since state lawmakers enacted a near-total abortion ban. And we’ll learn about a West Virginia queer film festival.

Plus, why are schools receiving so many threats? Congress honors a West Virginia space pioneer. And the Mothman Festival is upon us.

Curtis Tate is our host this week. Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert.

West Virginia Week is a web-only podcast that explores the week’s biggest news in the Mountain State. It’s produced with help from Bill Lynch, Briana Heaney, Caelan Bailey, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Jack Walker, Liz McCormick, Maria Young and Randy Yohe.


Learn more about West Virginia Week.

Absentee Ballots Sent As General Election Begins

Sept. 20 marks the start of West Virginia’s Nov. 5 general election. County clerks have begun mailing absentee ballots throughout the state.

Donald Kersey, chief of staff to the Secretary of State, said common reasons for absentee voting include traveling outside of your county on election day, physical disability, or temporarily residing outside of the county. A full list is on govotewv.com. 

Kersey described the website – which also provides a way to request an absentee ballot, check your registration and register to vote – as the “dashboard for all things election information in West Virginia.”

If voters have issues with registration, their county clerk, or receiving or submitting their absentee ballot, Kersey directed them to call the secretary of state’s office at (304) 558-6000.

Absentee ballots must be postmarked by Oct. 30 and received, at the latest, by the canvassing board six days after the election.

“There’s a lot of volume during the election period, so the timing of a ballot getting back is critical,” Kersey said.

Early voting opens locally on Oct. 23 and ends Nov. 2. You can vote during business hours and two Saturdays. The deadline to register to vote in any form is Oct. 15.

Brooke County’s Wellsburg Bridge Finalist For National Transportation Award

One year ago, thousands of West Virginians and Ohioans gathered at the Ohio River to celebrate the opening of the Wellsburg Bridge.

Stretching 1,875 feet across the river, the bridge has connected the Brooke County city of Wellsburg with the Ohio community of Brilliant since September 2023.

The West Virginia Division of Highways project cost roughly $131 million, establishing a 4,100-ton bridge in a community tens of miles away from the nearest river crossing.

Recently, the project’s acclaim has extended beyond Appalachia. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has named it one of 12 finalists for America’s Transportation Award.

The annual prize is awarded to a transportation project in the United States that excels in safety, community development, innovation and operations, according to the award program’s website.

Other finalists come from around the country, from an Arizona interstate improvement project to Florida pedestrian safety efforts.

The Wellsburg Bridge is eligible for the grand prize, which is determined by AASHTO staff, as well as the people’s choice award, which is determined by public voting.

The bridge is aesthetically striking, with an 830-foot main span that cuts a 40-minute drive to a five-minute trip, according to highway officials.

The project “ensured safer access to the main span during construction while keeping the Ohio River’s central channel open for barge traffic,” reads the award program website. “The new Wellsburg Bridge now links the two communities, eliminating the lengthy commute.”

It also received acclaim at the Southeastern Association of State Highway Officials in August, picking up regional awards alongside the Grant Street Bridge in Bluefield and US 340 stabilization efforts in Jefferson County.

“This is an incredible day for both Wellsburg and Brilliant because we are finally opening a bridge connecting these two communities that is long overdue,” Gov. Jim Justice said during the September 2023 bridge opening.

“This bridge is going to make life better for everyone who travels through West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle,” he said.

Voting remains open until Oct. 29 at 11:59 p.m., and residents can vote every 24 hours. The winners will be announced during the annual AASHTO meeting, held in Philadelphia this year from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1.

The Wellsburg Bridge and other nominated projects “serve as the best of the best transportation projects completed by state departments of transportation across the country,” said AASHTO Executive Director Jim Tymon in a Sept. 10 press release.

To vote for a winner of the 2024 America’s Transportation Award, visit the award program’s website.

Justice Declines Debating Elliott In US Senate Race

Gov. Jim Justice has declined to debate former Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott, his Democratic opponent in the race for U.S. Senate.

“The people of this state know me,” Justice said during a virtual press briefing Thursday. “They know me and they know me really well.”

Justice said he has done “almost zero campaigning” for the race. He is the current frontrunner for the seat in a heavily red state.

“The race is over,” he said. “You know, we’re going to win the race.”

Justice’s refusal comes after Republican nominee and Attorney General Patrick Morrisey agreed to debate Democratic nominee and Huntington Mayor Steve Williams in the state’s gubernatorial race.

Elliott said he would be willing to debate Justice in a statement to West Virginia Public Broadcasting following Justice’s Thursday briefing.

“It doesn’t surprise me that Jim Justice has no interest in debating me,” Elliott said. “Frankly, he has shown very little interest in actually being governor, giving me no reason to believe his tenure as senator would be much different.”

However, both candidates responded to issue-based questions from Morgantown newspaper The Dominion Post in an article posted on Tuesday.

During his Thursday briefing, Justice referred to the Post’s interview as a “little debate.” While the two candidates were on the same Zoom call, they did not directly respond to each other.

The newspaper’s candidate Zoom invitations and interview rules use different terminology, describing the questions as “an interview, not a debate.”

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