Tag: The Intelligencer

West Virginia City Sues for $20 Million Hydro Plant Insurance Claim

A West Virginia city has filed a federal lawsuit seeking a $20 million insurance claim to cover damages at its hydroelectric plant.

The Intelligencer reports that the lawsuit was filed this month in U.S. District Court in Wheeling.

The city’s lawsuit claims Liberty Mutual Insurance Company wouldn’t cover losses at the plant located at the Hannibal Locks and Dam.

The lawsuit says one of the plant’s units was not operational for two and a half years, costing the city money from electricity it could have been producing.

It says bolts and nuts connecting a rubber hub to the turbine shaft were broken or disengaged, among other damages.

The lawsuit says Liberty denied the claim by concluding that the loss fell within an exclusion of coverage.

Plan to Move West Virginia Civil War Monument Postponed

A plan to relocate a Civil War monument from Wheeling Park to a grassy area at West Virginia Independence Hall has been postponed.

The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register reports a monument committee met last week to discuss the relocation, which was announced last year.

Committee co-chair Margaret Brennan says the ground outside Independence Hall presents potential issues. The committee brought in a special geotech engineer to survey the land. Brennan says officials don’t want the 25-ton Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Monument to sink.

She says the project will take more time than estimated to ensure it’s done effectively. She says the relocation will eventually be put out for bid.

That, along with the ground issues, has added to the project’s cost.

Brennan says the committee needs to raise more money.

Deadly Floods Voted Top News Story of 2016 in West Virginia

A National Weather Service meteorologist called it a “1-in-1,000-year” storm. By the time it was over, 23 West Virginians were dead.

Flooding that ravaged the state in late June was voted the No. 1 news story in 2016 in West Virginia by Associated Press member newspapers and broadcasters.

The sentencing of former Massey CEO Don Blankenship and his subsequent appeal was voted second, and the state’s substance abuse epidemic was third.

The floods destroyed or damaged thousands of homes, businesses, roads and bridges; prompted a massive response from volunteers and organizations; and dominated headlines for months. President Barack Obama issued a disaster declaration for a dozen counties.

“The June 2016 floods were a natural disaster of the magnitude that many West Virginians had never witnessed before,” said Lauren McGill, metro editor at The Herald-Dispatch in Huntington. “The number of deaths and the extent of the destruction caused by the flooding shocked the entire state, and will not be soon forgotten.”

Leslie Rubin, a reporter at WCHS-TV in Charleston, said the flooding “was something unlike anything I had ever seen. There were countless stories of hope and help that showed what it really means to be a West Virginian. On the other end of that, it is still painful to see the effects of the flood that will forever leave a mark on our state.”

West Virginia’s ongoing struggles with substance abuse also received votes.

But the story line finished just shy of overtaking Blankenship, who is serving a one-year sentence after being convicted of misdemeanor conspiracy for what prosecutors called a series of willful safety violations before the 2010 Upper Big Branch mine explosion that killed 29 men. Before his appeal was heard in October, Blankenship released a manifesto from prison declaring himself a political prisoner.

Among the substance abuse stories this year included the heroin overdoses of more than two dozen people in a five-hour span in Huntington in August. Two people died. Elected leaders, communities, and health- and faith-based groups are seeking ways to end the scourge of drug addiction.

“The substance abuse issue is one that impacts every state resident, in every county and from every demographic category,” said John McCabe, managing editor of The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register. “It’s ripping families apart, leaving children to be raised by grandparents, or, worse, in the foster care system. This is one of our defining issues at this time, and as a community, we need to tackle it head-on.”

Rounding out West Virginia’s top 10 stories were:

— Greenbrier resort owner Jim Justice, a Democrat, is elected governor over Republican Bill Cole.

— West Virginia voters overwhelmingly choose Republican Donald Trump for president over Hillary Clinton. Trump’s win nationally gives hope to coal communities that have seen economic downturns in recent decades.

— A January blizzard dumps 42 inches of snow in parts of West Virginia.

— Mylan CEO Heather Bresch, daughter of Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, is grilled on Capitol Hill about the sky-high price of lifesaving EpiPens and the profits for her company.

— After months of stalled negotiations on balancing the state budget, lawmakers in mid-June opt to bank on higher taxes on cigarettes, e-cigarettes and other tobacco products to raise about $98 million a year.

— Buoyed by Trump’s popularity, Republicans maintain their control of West Virginia’s Legislature, while the GOP wins four of the six statewide offices.

— Coal companies including Alpha Natural Resources and Blackhawk Mining announce the additional layoffs of hundreds of miners in West Virginia as the industry’s downtown continues.

Union Approves New Contract for 5 West Virginia Coal Mines

Members of the United Mineworkers of America have approved a new collective bargaining agreement that covers five northern West Virginia mines.

The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register reports 60.3 percent of union members voted in favor of the new contract with the Bituminous Coal Operators of America. The deal runs through 2021.

The current collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of this year. Union members had rejected a previous contract proposal on June 28.

The new agreement does not include a raise for workers, and both active and retired union members will have slight increases in their out-of-pocket health care costs.

UMWA President Cecil Roberts said it was a tough vote for the union members to take. He said layoffs in the declining coal industry has put pressure on those still working.

State Approves Expansion of Acuity Facility in Wheeling

Acuity Specialty Hospital Ohio Valley plans a $1 million expansion of its long-term acute care facility in Wheeling.

The West Virginia Health Care Authority has issued a certificate of need for the project. The certificate allows Acuity to add 16 beds to its 13-bed facility within Wheeling Hospital.

A date for the expansion hasn’t been set. Acuity director Joe Garcucciotold The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register that the project is in the planning stage.

Energy Companies to Pay $18 Million for West Virginia Worker Death

Energy companies will pay $18 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the widow of a man who died in a flash fire at a natural gas station in Tyler County.

The settlement involves the April 2013 death of Bruce Phipps. Karen Phipps filed the lawsuit in Ohio County Circuit Court after her husband and two other workers were severely burned at the Eureka Hunter Pipeline facility in the town of Wick. The other workers survived.

The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register reports that officials believe the fire occurred when a vapor cloud formed at the station and ignited.

Besides his wife, Phipps also is survived by a daughter, two grandchildren and three siblings. An annuity created by the settlement will benefit his survivors.

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