Latest West Virginia Headlines
All the headlines from our West Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Investigators to Visit Massey West Virginia Coal Mine Today
Jun 2 2010 // Investigators probing the nation’s worst coal mining disaster in 40 years plan to enter the Upper Big Branch mine for the first time today, owner Massey Energy Co. said. Unsafe levels of toxic and explosive gases...
West Virginia Sen. Rockfeller Urges Mine Safety Changes
Jun 1 2010 // West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller is urging President Barack Obama to make several mine safety improvements immediately. In a letter dated Sunday, Rockefeller told Obama he should consider several suggestions made by...
U.S. Mines Facing Shortage of Safety Air Packs
May 28 2010 // One of just two major makers of emergency air packs for U.S. coal mines has stopped selling the devices because they often don’t automatically start and the industry fears it will lead to a shortage, officials...
CEO Defends Massey Over West Virginia Mine Safety
May 24 2010 // The embattled head of Massey Energy Co. went on the defensive Thursday as he faced angry lawmakers who claim the company’s indifference toward safety led to the nation’s worst mining disaster in 40...
West Virginia Could Add Second Agency to Police Mine Safety and Enforce Rules
May 17 2010 // West Virginia is mulling a new state agency dedicated to policing dangerous coal mines in response to an explosion that killed 29 men at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine. The state Board of Coal Mine Health and...
West Virginia Creates Workplace Safety Hotline
May 11 2010 // Gov. Joe Manchin announced the creation of a hotline that West Virginians can call if they feel threatened by workplace safety issues. “I want every miner and every worker in the state of West Virginia to be...
West Virginia Mulls Second Mine Inspection Agency
May 7 2010 // West Virginia is mulling a new state agency dedicated to policing dangerous coal mines in response to an explosion that killed 29 men at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine. The state Board of Coal Mine Health and...
West Virginia Firefighters Angered by Workers’ Comp Increase
May 7 2010 // West Virginia volunteer fire departments are protesting an increase in workers’ compensation premiums charged by BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co. Tom Miller with the Sissonville Volunteer Fire Department says his...
More Investors Suing Massey Directors Over West Virginia Mine Tragedy
Apr 30 2010 // Institutional investors are continuing to target Massey Energy’s board of directors over an explosion that killed 29 coal miners earlier this month. The New Jersey Building Laborers Pension Fund blames Chairman Don...
Massey Says West Virginia Mine Was Clear of Gases Before Explosion
Apr 28 2010 // Air samples did not show high levels of explosive gases just before an explosion in a West Virginia coal mine that killed 29 workers, and what caused the disaster remains unknown, the mine’s owner said. Massey Energy...
Relatives of West Virginia Mine Blast Victims Will Be Compensated
Apr 27 2010 // Massey Energy says it will provide financial packages providing health care and other benefits for the families of 29 miners killed in the nation’s worst mining disaster in 40 years. Massey officials announced Monday...
Safety Violations Found at Massey Mines Since Blast
Apr 20 2010 // Federal inspectors have found more than 60 serious safety violations at Massey Energy operations since the explosion that killed 29 miners, adding to fallout from the disaster that includes a wrongful death lawsuit by one...
West Virginia’s Martinsburg Reports Spike in Arson
Apr 20 2010 // A Martinsburg, West Virginia official says arson is on the rise in the Eastern Panhandle city. Lt. Greg Hoover said the Martinsburg Fire Department investigated 10 arsons in the first three months of 2010. That’s...
Investor Suit Targets Massey Directors, Execs Over West Virginia Mine Blast
Apr 19 2010 // A trust fund that invests in Massey Energy wants the board of directors and top executives held personally accountable for the recent explosion that killed 29 coal miners. The Manville Personal Injury Trust sued last week...
West Virginia Doctor Probed Over Workers’ Compensation Prescriptions
Apr 19 2010 // Investigators have seized a small fortune from a Mingo County, West Virginia doctor in a case that parallels a previous raid of a Williamson pain clinic, court filings show. The U.S. District Court papers disclose that...
Massey Officials Meeting with West Virginia Miners’ Families on Benefits
Apr 16 2010 // Massey Energy Co. said its officials are meeting with families of the 29 miners killed the April 5 blast at its Upper Big Branch mine to describe the benefits the firm will provide them and denied it was trying to stave...
West Virginia Mine Panel Seeks Greater Role in Massey Investigation
Apr 14 2010 // The West Virginia panel that writes mining safety rules wants to join state and federal inspectors underground as they work to figure out what caused last week’s explosion that killed 29 men. Typically, the state...
West Virginia Mine Death Toll Reaches 29; Grieving Begins
Apr 12 2010 // Time stopped five days ago for the families of 29 coal miners killed in the devastating explosion at Upper Big Branch mine. As thousands waited, hoping for any word someone might have survived Monday’s blast, life in...
West Virginia Mine Accident Could Spur New Regulations
Apr 9 2010 // The U.S. mining industry may face additional regulations following this week’s deadly explosion at a West Virginia coal mine. Key lawmakers have vowed to look into the accident at Massey Energy’s Upper Big...
West Virginia Hoping for a Miracle in Mine Rescue
Apr 7 2010 // Drills boring into a West Virginia coal mine Wednesday carried hope for a “miracle” rescue of four miners missing after a blast killed 25 people in the worst U.S. mine disaster in a quarter century. The...
