Latest West Virginia Headlines
All the headlines from our West Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
West Virginia Workers’ Compensation Writer BrickStreet Drops Policies
Jan 4 2009 // West Virginia’s BrickStreet Insurance is looking to trim costs in 2009 by dropping nearly 1,000 workers’ compensation policies its chief calls the worst of the worst. Greg Burton says the policies have brought...
Inspector Shortage Hampers West Virginia Coal Mine Safety Effort
Dec 30 2008 // An inability to retain inspectors is hurting West Virginia’s efforts to make the inherently dangerous business of coal mining safer. Faced with a turnover rate topping 20 percent, the state is scrambling — for...
Massey Energy to Pay $4.2 Million in 2006 Fatal West Virginia Fire
Dec 29 2008 // A Massey Energy subsidiary has agreed to pay $4.2 million in civil and criminal penalties and plead guilty to federal charges stemming from a fire that killed two miners at a southern West Virginia coal mine in January...
West Virginia High Court: Insurer Not Liable in Underage Drinking Case
Dec 19 2008 // The West Virginia Supreme Court says a homeowner’s insurance company should not be held liable for paying damages stemming from a fatal alcohol-related accident involving underaged drinkers. In its unanimous ruling,...
Truck Drivers Teach West Virginia Teens About Road Safety
Dec 9 2008 // Professional truck drivers will be in West Virginia this week demonstrating to teens how to avoid accidents with tractor-trailers. Share the Road is an outreach program of the American Trucking Association that educates...
West Virginia Judiciary Nixes Switching to Nonpartisan Elections
Dec 5 2008 // A group representing West Virginia’s judiciary has decided not to endorse a proposal to end the election of state judges along partisan lines. The West Virginia Judiciary Association adopted a resolution this week...
U.S. Supreme Court Stays Out of West Virginia Damages Case
Dec 3 2008 // The U.S. Supreme Court is refusing to enter a politically charged case from West Virginia, a major coal producing state, that involves a large punitive damages award and allegations of bias by a state judge. In an order...
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...
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, Argonaut BrickStreet Mutual Insurance, headquartered in West Virginia, will expand its services in 2009 by offering to provide its West Virginia policyholders with workers’ compensation coverage...
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...
