Latest West Virginia Headlines

All the headlines from our West Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Ex-Coal CEO Asks Supreme Court to Toss West Virginia Mine Blast Conviction

Sep 18 2017 // Attorneys for former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship have made a last pitch to the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out his conviction connected to a 2010 West Virginia mine explosion that killed 29 miners. Attorneys for Don...

NCCI Files 10% Reduction in Workers’ Comp Loss Costs for West Virginia

Sep 18 2017 // West Virginia employers will see a projected $21 million reduction in workers’ compensation premiums in the coming year, according to a recent statement from Gov. Jim Justice.The National Council on Compensation...

West Virginia Doctor Gets 20 Years in Prison for Illegally Distributing Painkillers

Aug 30 2017 // A West Virginia doctor accused of illegally distributing painkillers to three patients who later died has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. Dr. Michael Kostenko, who faced 22 charges, admitted at the second day...

NCCI Files 10% Reduction in Workers’ Comp Loss Costs for West Virginia

Aug 29 2017 // West Virginia employers will see a projected $21 million reduction in workers’ compensation premiums in the coming year, according to a recent statement from Gov. Jim Justice.The National Council on Compensation...

West Virginia Miner Who Survived 2006 Sago Blast Dies on Job

Aug 28 2017 // A coal miner who died on the job in West Virginia was the brother of one of the 12 killed in the Sago Mine disaster of 2006.The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that authorities identified the miner found dead Friday as...

West Virginia to Use $22M from Drug Distributor Suit for Addiction Treatment

Aug 24 2017 // West Virginia’s Department of Health and Human Resources says it will use $22 million in settlement money from drug distributors to help address the addiction epidemic in the state. Legislation passed this year...

Gas Leak at West Virginia Restaurant Sends 7 to Hospital

Aug 23 2017 // A fire official says seven people have were sent to the hospital after a suspected gas leak at a West Virginia restaurant.Media outlets report the incident happened Monday at a Buffalo Wild Wings outside the Huntington...

Federal Funding Available to West Virginia Flood Victims

Aug 22 2017 // President Donald Trump has made federal funding available residents in four West Virginia counties dealing with severe flooding, landslides and mudslides.The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced the money is...

Drug Company Deflects Blame in Lawsuit Over West Virginia Opioid Crisis

Aug 18 2017 // A West Virginia city’s lawsuit against a drug company has led to a dispute over which is at fault in the opioid epidemic.The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported last week that one of the nation’s largest drug...

A.M. Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for West Virginia National Auto Insurance Co.

Aug 17 2017 // A.M. Besthas revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B (Fair) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bb” of West Virginia National Auto Insurance Co.,...

Businesses Owned by West Virginia Gov Settle Flood Clean Up Suit for $550K

Aug 16 2017 // Three businesses owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and his family have agreed to settle for $551,420 a lawsuit that claimed they had not paid for $771,268 of cleanup work after the Greenbrier resort was hit by severe...

West Virginia Woman Awarded $1.5M Over Deputy Crash Into Home

Aug 15 2017 // A West Virginia woman who filed a lawsuit after being injured when a deputy crashed into a townhome has settled for $1.5 million. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the settlement was finalized Thursday. Samme Gee sued...

West Virginia Car Dealer Settles Suit With Former Employee for $2.1M

Aug 11 2017 // An attorney says a settlement has been reached in a lawsuit involving a West Virginia car dealership and a former employee. John Howard Motors Attorney Johnnie Brown told The Dominion Post that the car group and its owner...

Fatalities Rising as Coal Mine Production Increases

Aug 8 2017 // Ray Hatfield Jr. was six months into his latest coal job when he was crushed to death in a Kentucky mine.Hatfield, a 23-year industry veteran, was cleaning a conveyor belt that shuttled coal to the surface of the...

West Virginia Floods Prompt State of Emergency

Jul 31 2017 // West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice declared a state of emergency Saturday for parts of northern West Virginia with flooding from heavy rains.Counties included in the Saturday morning declaration are Ohio, Marshall, Wetzel,...

Portion of Hospital Parking Garage in West Virginia Collapses; Injures 3 Workers

Jul 28 2017 // A hospital spokesman says three construction workers have been injured when a small section of a hospital parking garage collapsed in West Virginia.Charleston Area Medical Center spokesman Dale Witte says crews were...

1 Person Killed by Weekend Flooding in West Virginia, Kentucky

Jul 27 2017 // Heavy rains that pounded parts of West Virginia and Kentucky last weekend left one person dead and two people missing, authorities said Monday.In West Virginia, Ohio County Emergency Management Agency Director Lou Vargo...

How Mapping Disasters Can Help Devastated Communities Rally

Jul 17 2017 // On Meredith Beers’ laptop, the intensity of the twister that touched down here in February is marked in green, yellow and red.The colors illustrate light, medium and heavy damage from the 150-mile winds that tore...

$1.23M Fine Against West Virginia Gov. Justice’s Coal Company Upheld

Jul 14 2017 // A federal appeals court has upheld $1.23 million in civil contempt fines ordered against one of Gov. Jim Justice’s family coal companies.The court says it lacks jurisdiction to hear an appeal of the $30,000 daily...

Federal Judge Halts West Virginia $151M Water Crisis Settlement

Jul 12 2017 // A federal judge has declined to grant preliminary approval to a $151 million settlement stemming from a 2014 chemical spill that sparked a water crisis in West Virginia.Local news outlets report Judge John T. Copenhaver...