As members of the West Virginia Legislature consider impacts to the next general revenue budget from President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, a state official laid out how that bill will affect Medicaid programs. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/busines...

The West Virginia Board of Education is asking the state’s highest court whether lawmakers have any legal authority to approve or reject rules approved by the state board. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

The chairwoman of a West Virginia House of Delegates subcommittee is working with the state Department of Education on a centralized online portal for homeschool parents and an office dedicated to answering questions about school choice. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

In today’s Reporter’s Notebook: I’m not sure a public education official advocating for public education is an action that requires resignation. One might even say that’s his job to do that. www.newsandsentinel.com/opinion/loca...

An annual report on the condition of West Virginia county school systems both academically and operationally showed some improvement in key areas. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

The U.S. Senate voted once again on the clean Republican continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded until November and a Democratic continuing resolution tied to health care subsidies, with both failing. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

Gov. Patrick Morrisey and West Virginia law enforcement officials on Thursday announced additional operations with federal immigration authorities, as well as a separate action that netted a large amount of narcotics. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

Paul Hardesty, the president of the West Virginia Board of Education, has a blunt message for lawmakers: if they care about competition in the education space, then untie the hands of public educators and county school systems. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

Tax collections for West Virginia’s general revenue fund in September came in above estimates for the month, reversing a slight decline and adding to a small by growing surplus. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/busines...

Attempts by both Republican and Democratic U.S. senators to end an impasse on federal government funding that started a shutdown of services Wednesday failed for a second day. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

Newly released documents show that a proposed sale of four long-term care facilities owned by the state of West Virginia could come to a $140 million deal when all is said and done. www.weirtondailytimes.com/news/local-n...

The state’s chief financial officer is asking Gov. Patrick Morrisey to call a special session before the end of the year to follow President Donald Trump’s lead and temporarily eliminate income taxes on tips and overtime. www.theintelligencer.net/news/top-hea...

With no short-term deal in place to keep the federal government funded over the next several weeks, non-essential services will begin to shut down Wednesday, affecting thousands of federal employees in West Virginia. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

Some of the faces are the same, some of the titles are different, but the process for approving next calendar year’s property tax assessments for major utility and business property continues on. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/busines...

A proposed database to keep track of pole attachments as utility companies and internet service providers fight over the costs of pole replacements in order to expand broadband across the state could cost as much as $8 million. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/busines...

State officials and federal lawmakers are praising a plan from the administration of President Donald Trump to breathe new life into the waning coal-fired power industry, though opponents said the plan will do little to slow the slide away from coal. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/busines...

In today’s Reporter’s Notebook: A recruitment effort is underway to primary some Republican state senators with more traditional conservative business-friendly candidates. But those candidates will have an uphill climb. www.newsandsentinel.com/opinion/loca...

A Kanawha Co. judge ruled that the WV Water Development Authority’s $5 million grant to an Ohio-based Catholic trade school for program expansion into the state is constitutional after it was able to show the funding was not going to religious programs. www.theintelligencer.net/news/top-hea...

I sat down with Agriculture Commissioner Kent Leonhardt to catch up on the successes of the Department of Agriculture and some of the ongoing challenges. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/busines...

His first week as West Virginia’s cabinet secretary for DoHS, Alex Mayer was being summoned to Ritchie County by a circuit judge to man a shift as a Child Protective Services worker. But now, Mayer is citing decreases in child welfare vacancies. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

Does the Equal Protection for Religion Act give Gov. Morrisey the authority to use an executive order to allow for religious exemptions to West Virginia’s compulsory vaccine law for school-age children? Attorneys for the state want to know. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

Five months after agreeing to divest West Virginia’s public long-term investments from Chinese companies, the Investment Management Board approved a divestment plan Wednesday. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/busines...

Gov. Patrick Morrisey said West Virginia’s partnership with federal immigration enforcement officials netted the arrest of a dozen suspected illegal immigrants on the West Virginia Turnpike over the weekend. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/communi...

While focus remains on a lawsuit filed by Raleigh Co. parents seeking an injunction against local/state education officials requiring them to accept their granted religious exemptions, motions were filed in the Kanawha Co. case opposing religious exemptions. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

West Virginia’s entire congressional delegation signed onto a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the state’s law banning transgender girls and women from participating in sports for biological girls and women. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

In today’s Reporter’s Notebook: West Virginians are in the next big block of Senate confirmations; another possible federal government shutdown; a quiet week in state government; and praise for the state workers rehabbing the Capitol Press Room. www.newsandsentinel.com/opinion/loca...

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and Senate Republican majority leadership are pushing for their Democratic colleagues to support a clean short-term bill to keep the government funded past an end-of-September deadline. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

Earlier this week, Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced that West Virginia was working on its application for the new federal Rural Health Transformation program. Now, Morrisey wants to hear from the public on how to improve rural health care. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/busines...

Last week, a judge in Raleigh County took testimony from a former state health officer in a case that could determine whether Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s religious exemption executive order is legal. Now, the new state health officer will have to testify. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

As he prepares to defend the deployment of the WV National Guard in the nation’s capital in a Kanawha County courtroom, Attorney General McCuskey joined with other states in defending President Donald Trump’s use of the National Guard in Washington, D.C. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

Gov. Patrick Morrisey said West Virginia will apply for federal dollars made possible by President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill for rural hospitals and health care access. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McCuskey laid out his argument to the U.S. Supreme Court defending the state’s law meant to keep transgender girls and women from competing with biological girls and women in public school and college athletics. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

A review of data from West Virginia’s annual Balanced Scorecard for public schools and public charter schools shows that math, reading and writing proficiency is not only returning to pre-COVID levels but also exceeding those levels in some cases. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

In today’s Reporter’s Notebook: PEIA still remains a far better health care benefit than most private health insurance plans, especially while pay lags behind. Lawmakers and Gov. Morrisey need to tread lightly with any substantive changes. www.newsandsentinel.com/opinion/loca...

The current governor of WV has made religious freedom his battle cry in the fight to allow for exemptions to school-age vaccines. The previous governor & current U.S. senator praises vaccines & the need to protect children. Both sparred Thursday. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

A ruling on a permanent injunction to block local & state education officials from rejecting religious vaccine exemptions to West Virginia’s compulsory vaccine law as mandated by Gov. Morrisey’s January executive order is likely still weeks away. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

It has been more than 11 months since the West Virginia Water Development Authority awarded $5 million in infrastructure dollars to an Ohio-based Catholic trade school to expand into the Mountain State, while a lawsuit to block that funding continues. www.theintelligencer.net/news/top-hea...

A performance review of the West Virginia Ethics Commission conducted by legislative auditors revealed disparities between the commission’s enforcement of lobbyist financial reporting and its oversight of mandatory ethics training. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

No special session was called this week to address future costs for PEIA, but a new report aims to provide lawmakers with recommendations for bringing costs down, including booting county/city participants and spouses with access to other coverage. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

Former lawmaker David Kelly was on the other side of the podium for the first time as the recently-appointed commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation during legislative interim meetings Tuesday. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

Despite a scheduling order from the WV Supreme Court which set up possible arguments next year regarding a religious vaccine exemption executive order for state’s compulsory immunization law, a hearing on a permanent injunction will continue. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

After several years of introducing unsuccessful bills to place the national motto inside public schools, colleges and universities, the first privately purchased “In God We Trust” signs will be shipping out to West Virginia schools soon. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

West Virginia is more than two months into fiscal year 2026, but work has already begun on the draft general revenue budget for 2027 that lawmakers will consider in January. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

In today’s Reporter’s Notebook: My thoughts on the recent passing of state Supreme Court Justice and former House Speaker Tim Armstead. www.newsandsentinel.com/opinion/loca...

Members of a West Virginia Legislature interim committee Sunday received updates on systems meant to hold child placement agencies accountable and provide better communication between the state and foster families. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

While a Raleigh Co. case involving the legality of Gov. Morrisey’s executive order allowing for religious exemptions to WV’s compulsory immunization is now before the state Supreme Court, the executive order faced its first setback in Mineral County. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

State Treasurer Larry Pack sat down with me for an interview this week focused on his job nearly nine months into his term, his plans as the state’s chief financial officer, and what his political future might hold. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

The WV Supreme Court set key deadlines in an appeal by state & local school officials of preliminary injunction on behalf of three Raleigh County parents allowing for a religious vaccine exemption for their children, but don’t expect a resolution soon. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

Once again, Congress is facing another impending government shutdown by the end of the month if lawmakers can’t come to an agreement on funding packages. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-n...

With future federal funding for local public broadcasting stations remains up in the air, West Virginia Public Broadcasting is working to adapt and be nimble while continuing to provide the state educational programming. www.newsandsentinel.com/news/busines...