Latest West Virginia Headlines
All the headlines from our West Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
At Least 25 Dead in West Virginia Coal Mine Blast
Apr 6 2010 // An explosion ripped through a West Virginia coal mine owned by Massey Energy, killing at least 25 miners in the deadliest U.S. mining disaster since 1984. Governor Joe Manchin said Tuesday morning that four miners remained...
Bayer to Pay $143K Fine Over 2008 West Virginia Plant Explosion
Apr 2 2010 // Bayer CropScience has agreed to pay a $143,000 fine to resolve safety citations stemming from a fatal explosion at its Institute, West Virginia plant in 2008. Bayer said that the citations are principally related to the...
U.S. Safety Chief Pressures Mines to Install High-Tech Equipment
Mar 30 2010 // America’s top coal mine regulator says he will redouble pressure on the industry to meet a 4-year-old congressional mandate to equip the nation’s underground mines with high-tech communications and tracking...
West Virginia Approves Insurance Liens for Cities
Mar 22 2010 // House and Senate in West Virginia lawmakers have signed off on allowing cities and towns to tap insurance proceeds when clearing away buildings destroyed by fire. The bill has been sent Gov. Joe Manchin, who sponsored the...
West Virginia to Create Electronic Auto Insurance Verification System
Mar 15 2010 // West Virginia lawmakers want to give police and the courts an easy way to verify whether a driver has required liability insurance. The House has approved a measure previously backed by the Senate to instruct the Division...
West Virginia Lawmakers Approve Insurance Liens for Cities
Mar 15 2010 // Lawmakers have signed off on allowing West Virginia’s cities and towns to tap insurance proceeds when clearing away buildings destroyed by fire. The Senate has sent Gov. Joe Manchin his proposal to allow...
West Virginia Lawmakers Approve Creation of Special Business Courts
Mar 12 2010 // Lawmakers hope a new bill will blunt business groups’ criticism of West Virginia’s court system. The Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to allow the state Supreme Court to create special business courts in...
West Virginia Mine Foreman Pleads Guilty to Faking Safety Records
Mar 12 2010 // A foreman accused of faking a safety inspection report at a Patriot Coal Corp. mine pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of making false statements and certifications under federal mine safety laws. John Renner, 40, of...
Profit Plunges at West Virginia’s Brickstreet Mutual
Mar 11 2010 // Competition and the expiration of federal tax exemption cut BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co.’s profit by 66 percent in 2009. The workers’ compensation insurer says it earned $38.9 million last year, compared to...
West Virginia Lawmakers Tackle Vacant Buildings, Insurance Liens
Mar 9 2010 // State lawmakers appear ready to increase the independence of West Virginia’s local governments, and they aren’t waiting on results from an ongoing experiment on the subject. The Senate is expected to take up a...
Chemical Leaks at West Virginia DuPont Plant Appear Unrelated
Feb 1 2010 // Three recent chemical leaks at a West Virginia DuPont plant, one of which killed a worker, don’t appear to be related, a federal investigator said. U.S. Chemical Safety Board investigator Johnnie Banks promised a...
West Virginia DuPont Worker Dies After Chemical Exposure
Jan 27 2010 // Federal safety officials are investigating a DuPont chemical plant Monday after a series of leaks that resulted in the death of one worker and the operation’s temporary shutdown. DuPont officials put the sprawling...
West Virginians Producing Film on Dangers of Texting While Driving
Jan 22 2010 // Several young adults from West Virginia are starring in a new educational film on the dangers of distracted driving that is to be released this spring. Charleston, West Virginia-based MotionMasters is producing the film,...
West Virginia Eyes Lien on Fire Insurance to Fight Abandoned Buildings
Jan 21 2010 // West Virginia may be on the path to helping municipalities pay for debris removal of abandoned buildings with insurance payments in a way that insurers can live with. The issue of how to pay for the cleanup has irked...
West Virginia Seeking to Restore Confidence In State Supreme Court
Jan 20 2010 // Gov. Joe Manchin and the state Supreme Court hope to shore up public confidence in a West Virginia judicial system that has been scrutinized by the nation’s highest court and branded a “hellhole” by the...
West Virginia Workers Compensation Insurer BrickStreet Approved in Illinois
Jan 15 2010 // West Virginia-based BrickStreet Mutual Insurance said it has been approved to begin writing workers’ compensation insurance in Illinois. The move continues an expansion drive for the company, which was approved to...
