Latest West Virginia Headlines

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

McVey Named Next West Virginia Insurance Commissioner

Sep 27 2021 // Allan L. McVey has been appointed as West Virginia’s insurance commissioner.Gov. Jim Justice announced McVey’s appointment Wednesday. McVey fills the vacancy created by the resignation of Jim Dodrill. McVey...

West Virginia Lawsuit Against Opioid Makers Scheduled for April 2022 Trial

Aug 9 2021 // A lawsuit filed by the state of West Virginia accusing several drug manufacturers of misrepresenting the risks of their painkilling drugs will go to trial next April, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said Thursday.The...

Ex-West Virginia Mayor Pleads Guilty to Stealing Flood Relief Funds

Aug 6 2021 // A former mayor in West Virginia has pleaded guilty to stealing federal relief funds meant to rebuild his city after a massive 2016 flood.Ex-Richwood Mayor Bob Henry Baber, 70, pleaded guilty Monday in Nicholas County...

West Virginia Lawsuit Over Opioids Reaches Closing Arguments

Jul 29 2021 // Three major U.S. drug distributors should be held responsible for sending a “tsunami” of prescription pain pills that caused a health crisis in one corner of West Virginia, an attorney for local governments...

In Opioid Trial Closing, West Virginia Blames Drug Distributors. Distributors Blame Doctors.

Jul 28 2021 // CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Lawyers for a West Virginia city and county hard hit by the opioid crisis began wrapping up their case in a $2.5 billion trial on Tuesday arguing major drug distributors flooded the region with the...

West Virginia Attorney General Opposes Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy Plan

Jul 15 2021 // West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said he will oppose OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy plan, arguing that his state, one of the hardest hit by the opioid epidemic, would get shorted in...

Economist Says Huntington, West Virginia Opioid Response Will Cost $2.5 billion

Jul 2 2021 // A 15-year plan to abate the opioid crisis in a West Virginia community will cost local officials $2.5 billion, a forensic economist has testified.George Barrett testified Tuesday that Cabell County and the city of...

Environmentalists To Sue West Virginia Over Pollution At Greensdale Coals Site

Jul 2 2021 // A group of environmentalists said Tuesday it intended to sue West Virginia over evidence of pollutants running into waterways from a coal mine site.In a letter to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection,...

West Virginia Pharmacies Owner Fined In Prescription Probe

Jul 1 2021 // The owner of two West Virginia pharmacies has agreed to pay $300,000 in civil penalties to settle allegations that they filled illegitimate prescriptions in violation of federal law. Federal prosecutors said Beckley...

West Virginia Town Residents Say Coal Dust Is Taking Their Breath Away

Jun 14 2021 // EUNICE, W.Va. — Eunice should have been Becky Rectenwald’s place to settle. The dust settled there instead.Rectenwald, 58, moved to the former Raleigh County mining town from Marmet nearly four years ago for...

West Virginia Governor Hit by U.K. Lender Bankruptcy

Jun 3 2021 // West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice confirmed on Tuesday that he is personally liable for $700 million in loans taken by his coal companies from a lender in the United Kingdom that went bankrupt.The Republican governor took...

Data Expert: Distributors Increased Drug Potency in West Virginia

May 14 2021 // A data expert testifying at a landmark opioid trial in West Virginia said Tuesday that the potency of prescription drugs sent to local communities increased over time, but the three large drug distributors being sued tried...

Insurer Sues West Virginia Gov.’s Company for Failure to Pay Deductibles

May 10 2021 // An insurance company alleges in a federal lawsuit that a company run by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and his adult children owes $166,000 for workers’ compensation and employers’ liability coverage...

West Virginia’s Billion-Dollar Trial Against Opioid Distributors Gets Underway

May 3 2021 // The three largest U.S. drug distributors, who are accused of helping fuel the opioid crisis that has resulted in nearly 500,000 overdose deaths in the United States, will defend themselves in a trial that kicks off on...

Report: 2020 A Record Year for Overdose Deaths in West Virginia

Apr 26 2021 // The number of fatal drug overdoses in West Virginia hit a record last year, according to preliminary state data showing at least 1,275 residents died.The increase comes after two years of declining numbers in a state often...

West Virginia Firefighters Claim Retaliation in Pay Dispute

Apr 21 2021 // Firefighters in West Virginia’s Morgantown say the city manager lowered their pay in retaliation for their refusal to accept a settlement in a separate dispute, although the city says it is just making the...

Report: Drug Addiction Cost West Virginia an Estimated $11B in 2019

Apr 5 2021 // Treating and addressing drug addiction cost West Virginia an estimated $11.3 billion in one year, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy.The report, written by economist Jill Kriesky, says the state...

West Virginia Loosens Virus Restrictions on Bars, Most Businesses

Mar 8 2021 // West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice ordered to loosen pandemic restrictions on Friday at restaurants, bars and most businesses to allow full capacity at those establishments where social distancing is possible. The...

Damage to West Virginia Power Grids from Winter Storm Delays Power Restoration

Feb 26 2021 // Some West Virginia residents are waiting longer than anticipated for their power to come back on after utility crews found new damage from ice storms earlier this month.Drone and helicopter surveillance found the new...

Family of West Virginia Gov to Pay $270K in Suit Over Mine Discharges

Feb 26 2021 // A coal company controlled by the family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice must pay $270,000 to a nonprofit land protection group and comply with selenium discharge limits under a settlement approved by a federal judge.U.S....