Latest West Virginia Headlines

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

West Virginia Mulls Switch to ‘Nonpartisan’ Judge Elections

Dec 2 2008 // West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin may ask the Legislature next year to end West Virginia’s practice of electing its judiciary along partisan political lines, at least for the state’s circuit court judges.Manchin...

West Virginia Woman Sentenced to Jail for Insurance Fraud Over Jewelry

Nov 18 2008 // A West Virginian woman has been sentenced to up to 10 years for submitting false insurance claims for jewelry. According to state officials, Sherry Kay Peyton, of Williamstown, who plead guilty in May 2008 was sentenced on...

West Virginia Voters Approve Gambling for The Greenbrier

Nov 16 2008 // West Virgina voters have approved a measure that will allow the Greenbrier Resort to add casino gambling to its list of four-star amenities.Voters rejected a similar proposal in 2000, but this year’s measure was...

West Virginia Miners’ Widows Press Claims Against Massey Energy

Nov 12 2008 // Lawyers in a suit stemming from a fatal fire at a Massey Energy coal mine 2006 clashed this week over whether the deaths of two men could have been averted.Bruce Stanley, representing the widows of both men, told a Logan...

West Virginia Workers’ Comp Insurer Plans 50 Staff Cuts

Nov 12 2008 // BrickStreet Insurance said it is looking to shed 50 employees in a move to cut costs following the loss of its monopoly in writing workers’ compensation insurance policies to West Virginia businesses.The action is...

West Virginia Workplace Fatalities Down 23 Percent

Nov 7 2008 // Workplace fatalities are declining in West Virginia, according to preliminary federal figures released Nov. 5.The numbers show a nearly 23 percent decline in workplace deaths between 2006 and 2007, the U.S. Department of...

West Virginia Voters Approve Gambling for The Greenbrier

Nov 6 2008 // West Virgnia voters have approved a measure that will allow the Greenbrier Resort to add casino gambling to its list of four-star amenities.With 100 percent of the vote counted, the measure was approved by a vote of 51...

Deer Plunge through Roof of West Virginia Business

Nov 5 2008 // A spooked four-point buck and his companion apparently jumped from an Interstate 470 bridge ramp in West Virginia and plunged through the roof of the Wheeling Distribution Center.Owner Dan Shay says workers were stunned...

Gas Ignites, 2 Miners Burned at West Virginia Coal Mine

Nov 5 2008 // Two coal miners were burned on their faces and arms Nov. 3 when gas ignited, creating a brief flash of fire at a mine in northern West Virginia.The Whitetail Kittanning Mine was shut down and two investigators were sent to...

Declarations

Nov 2 2008 // Rocky Quarter“It was a rocky third quarter for insurers, but risk managers still saw prices improve on average. It is increasingly clear, though, that premiums cannot continue to fall at this pace, especially with...

Business Moves

Nov 2 2008 // BrickStreet Mutual, ArgonautBrickStreet Mutual Insurance, headquartered in West Virginia, will expand its services in 2009 by offering to provide its West Virginia policyholders with workers’ compensation coverage in...

West Virginia Receives $3.1 Million for Disaster Relief

Oct 30 2008 // West Virginia is getting $3.1 million in federal funds to support its long-term disaster recovery and critical infrastructure needs. U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steve Preston announced the grants as part...

West Virginia-based BrickStreet Policyholders Elect New Directors

Oct 28 2008 // Charleston, W.Va.-based BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co. policyholders elected a new board of directors, to begin oversight of the workers’ compensation carrier in January.The new board includes four current board...

West Virginia-based BrickStreet Launches Out-of-State Coverage

Oct 28 2008 // BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co., headquartered in West Virginia, will expand its services in 2009 by offering to provide its West Virginia policyholders with workers’ compensation coverage in other...

Feds Fine West Virginia Coal Operation $763K over Dust Hazard

Oct 24 2008 // Federal officials fined an Alpha Natural Resources subsidiary more than $763,000 for repeated safety violations at a West Virginia coal operation, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration said.Alpha’s...

Cinders to Help Keep West Virginia Roads Safe

Oct 24 2008 // The increased cost and shortage of salt may mean some slicker roads in parts of West Virginia this winter.But officials in Lewisburg are hoping to keep their streets safe by using more cinders and less salt. Public Works...

Southern Drought Creeping Northward to West Virginia

Oct 20 2008 // Extreme drought conditions, the second-worst possible, have now spread into Kentucky, and severe conditions have returned to West Virginia and southwest Virginia, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.“The last three...

West Virginia Residents Asked to Shelter after Ammonia Leak

Oct 14 2008 // Officials asked residents of the Carbon area of Kanawha County, W.Va. to shelter in place because of a leak of anhydrous ammonia.Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Kathy Cosco says the chemical is leaking...

7 Miners Injured in West Virginia when Vehicle Derails, Crashes

Oct 14 2008 // Seven miners were injured when their underground transport vehicle jumped its tracks and crashed at the Round Bottom Mine in Sylvester, W.Va. Authorities said the mantrip accident happened at 11:45 p.m. on Oct. 10 near the...

West Virginia-based BrickStreet Launches Out-of-State Coverage

Oct 13 2008 // BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co., headquartered in West Virginia, will expand its services in 2009 by offering to provide its West Virginia policyholders with workers’ compensation coverage in other...