West Virginia State Government

“Week in the Know” November 3, 2017

 

 

 

Does the time change of Daylight Savings Time have an affect on you?

 

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The Politics of Daylight Saving Time
The debate around whether to fall back and spring forward has been heating up in state legislatures.

 

 

 

 

Justice appoints Jeff Campbell to vacant District 42 seat
Jeff Campbell has been a teacher in the Greenbrier County school system since 2001 and has taught Social Studies at Eastern Greenbrier Middle School in Ronceverte for the last nine years. He also has been a radio broadcaster in Greenbrier County for 33 years, and, for 29 years, he has served as statistical coordinator for West Virginia University football broadcasts.
Photo by:

Mike Wyatt

Greenbrier Photography Studio

 

 

 

U.S. Senate Photographic Studio

US Senate Minority Leader

Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

State Democrats to gather in Charleston Friday for annual dinner
The West Virginia Democratic Party will host its annual Roosevelt-Kennedy Dinner Friday at the Charleston Civic Center, with U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., serving as the event’s keynote speaker.

 

 

 

Senate gives up on forced pooling, may consider other gas industry reform bills
State Senate President Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson, said the Senate has given up on trying to pass legislation allowing for the forced pooling of natural gas resources.

 

“Forced pooling has no chance,” Carmichael said Monday.

 

But that doesn’t mean the state Legislature will not pursue bills aimed at encouraging oil and gas drilling in the Mountain State.

State Senate President Mitch Carmichael

 

State and local officials consider meals tax bill
When the 2018 session of the West Virginia Legislature opens, one bill Del. John Shott (R-Mercer County) may once again try to push through is the local meals tax option.

But it will depend on support from municipal organizations.

 

“If the County Commissioners Association (CCAWV) and the Municipal League indicate those organizations will support it, I will,” he said. “If not, it probably has no chance of passage and I doubt I will offer it.”

House of Delegates Judiciary Chairman

Del. John Shott (R-Mercer County)

 

 

 

CREDIT JEFF GENTNER / AP PHOTO
Over a Thousand High School Students Registered to Vote
Last Month, more than a thousand West Virginia high school students registered to vote. Secretary of State Mac Warner says he hopes to see even more eligible young voters sign up to vote in November.

 

 

 

DHHR implements drug testing requirements for TANF welfare recipients
West Virginia residents who apply for welfare now are subject to a drug screening, state health officials announced Monday.

 

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources has implemented a requirement that people who apply for assistance from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program pass a drug screening.

Photo: Fotolia, Pixelrobot

 

WV employers say they have job openings but they need adaptable, drug-free workforce

 

Some of the most prominent employers in West Virginia say they’re hiring but they need applicants who demonstrate team spirit, flexibility and problem-solving skills.

 

The four employers included representatives of Appalachian Power, Toyota West Virginia, Procter & Gamble and a small business, MotionMasters.

 

Those companies were represented on a panel focusing on career readiness at the annual Education Summit in Charleston. Tucker was the panel’s moderator.

WV cities sue accreditation agency over opioid ‘misinformation campaign’

 

The cities of Charleston, Huntington and Kenova, along with the town of Ceredo, filed a class-action lawsuit against the nation’s largest health care accreditation agency Thursday, alleging the group took part in a “misinformation campaign” that downplayed the dangers of prescription painkillers.

 

The cities are suing The Joint Commission, a Chicago-based nonprofit that accredits more than 21,000 hospitals and other healthcare organizations in the United States.

 

 

 

Justice approval ratings plunge in latest Morning Consult poll
 Gov. Jim Justice’s approval rating among West Virginia voters has plummeted following his party flip from Democrat to Republican in August, according to the latest Governors’ Approval Rankings released Tuesday by Morning Consult, a Washington, D.C.-based digital media and survey research company.

 

Justice’s disapproval numbers jumped from 24 percent in a Morning Consult poll released in April to 46 percent in the poll released Tuesday — dropping him in the rankings from the 15th-most popular governor in the U.S. to 12th-most disliked.

 

 

 

WV Broadband Council launches Internet Speed Test
The West Virginia Broadband Council wants residents to test the speed of their internet service to determine where the state is strong and weak in connectivity.

 

The council created a Speed Test Portal for residents to measure internet speed. This test will provide data to generate a statewide broadband coverage map to identify the presence and level of broadband service in the state, the council said in a recent news release on the effort.

 

 

 

Ruby tells tourism industry partners West Virginia needs cohesive marketing message

 

Tourism Commissioner Chelsea Ruby told industry partners her office’s new strategic plan is a “road map of where we’re going and what we want to do” to make West Virginia a tourism hot spot.

 

Ruby told about 200 tourism professionals attending the Governor’s Conference on Tourism this week that once visitors come to West Virginia, they tend to fall in love with the state and what it has to offer. The challenge, she said, is convincing outsiders to give the Mountain State a chance.

West Virginia Tourism Gets ‘Almost Heaven’ Rights

 

A song beloved by West Virginians will now represent the state across the country. The West Virginia Tourism Office is hoping the song will help promote the state.

 

The West Virginia Tourism Office says it has obtained rights to use the song “Take Me Home, Country Roads” in marketing and will begin this week.

 

 

 

 

Ohio picks 11 growers for medical marijuana program
Ohio has chosen its first 11 growers for its medical marijuana program, but it could be months before they can start their first crop.

 

The smaller growers announced Friday by the Department of Commerce would cultivate up to 3,000 square feet. That’s a small portion of the anticipated cultivation. Up to a dozen larger growers for sites up to 25,000 square feet are expected to be announced later this month.

 

 

 

Scott Cosco

Hartman Harman Cosco, LLC

H2Cstrategies.com

800-346-5127

 

 

Hartman Harman Cosco, Public Policy Strategists, LLC, (H2C) is a strategically assembled bipartisan lobbying firm comprised of legal, communications and policy professionals. H2C possesses the insight and intuition that only comes from decades of hands on experience leading community and statewide initiatives.
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