Free Republic

Regulations: The Clean Water Act is being rewritten to give a government bureaucracy the power to regulate every body of water from the Mississippi River to a rain-flooded field. The first casualty may be American coal. With all the concern for the harm that cap-and-trade and regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant might do to the American economy and free markets, the Environmental Protection Agency is doing quite enough damage with an existing law on the books — the Clean Water Act. Congress plans to revise it to make it an even more powerful bludgeon against industry, energy producers and...

Areas receiving funding will include health, safety, education and training programs More federal funding could be headed to West Virginia. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., Dec. 14 announced that the House of Representatives and Senate have completed action on the Fiscal Year 2010 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill. The measure includes funding for health, safety, education, and training programs in the Mountain State. The bill includes more than $630 million for programs in West Virginia. The bill is part of an Omnibus Appropriations bill, which combined six of the 12 annual spending appropriations measures. The bill...

TEAYS VALLEY W.Va. -- With two weeks left till Christmas, it seems the Grinch has struck a church in Putnam County, stealing something very special from an 87-year old member. Otis Wells discovered someone stole his 1967 Gibson acoustic guitar, a gift he received 42 years ago. "It's just a part of me. I don't make music or hardly even sing without my guitar." Somehow, someone pulled the amplifier plug from the Gibson stored at the Teays Valley Nazarene Church where he plays on the "praise team," along with a Charleston police officer. "The musician in me just wants him...

A freelance photographer is crying foul after police arrested him at a West Virginia mall, where he had taken pictures of a child sitting on Santa's lap, according to MyFoxDC.com. The photographer, Scott Rensberger, told MyFoxDC.com that a man came up to him on Tuesday after he took the photos and asked him to delete them. Rensberger said he complied, but then police officers approached him, questioning him why he was taking pictures of children.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic Rep. Brian Baird said Wednesday he will not seek re-election next year so he can spend more time with his family and pursue other ways to serve. The six-term congressman who represents southwest Washington said the job has been the highest honor and greatest responsibility of his life. Baird, 53, of Vancouver, serves on the House science and transportation committees. While his 3rd District seat is considered competitive, he easily won re-election in 2008 and was not considered in jeopardy this cycle. "I find it is increasingly difficult to spend the time I need with my...

Work on a West Virginia wind power project has been halted by a federal judge who sided with environmentalists' claim that the project would harm an endangered bat. U.S. District Judge Roger Titus issued the order Tuesday, citing potential harm to the federally endangered Indiana bat. John Stroud, co-chairman of one of the environmental groups that filed the lawsuit, Mountain Communities for Responsible Energy, said group members were "really delighted with the ruling." "We've been working on this for a while and the judge saw things our way, and we're really pleased," said Stroud, a rare book dealer who owns...

HUNTINGTON -- Bar owners are worried about what a smoking ban would mean for business. We stopped by some establishments in downtown Huntington this evening to ask bar owners about a recent USA Today article that showed bar owners all over the country ignoring smoking bans because paying customers outweigh local fines. Although many like the idea, they're not willing to lose their business for the sake of smoking. Cabell County is on a dwindling list of West Virginia counties that allow smoking in bars. Rivals Sportsbar and Grill bartender Kristan Johnson said she hopes nothing changes. "I think it's...

WINFIELD W Va -- According to a Sheriff's Department spokesperson, Lura Fisher beat her daughter because she wasn't happy with her grades. Fisher turned herself into the Sheriff's Department late Wednesday morning. The investigation started earlier this week when administrators at her daughter's school noticed marks on her. Fisher's daughter is in fifth grade, and Fisher is free on bond.

State Sen. Dan Foster says he'll propose an increase in the West Virginia cigarette tax again this year. CHARLESTON W Va-- State Sen. Dan Foster, D-Kanawha, said he always pushes for a cigarette tax increase. Foster calls a dollar-a-pack hike a good idea for two reasons. "It raises revenue for the state, in the sort-term, greater than $100 million a year," he said. "And, it decreases the number of smokers which has the potential to decreases our long-term health care costs." And, if you believe two-pack-a-day smoker, Dylan Pugh, it might work. Pugh said a dollar increase might be enough...

Residents from all over the Ohio Valley, from as far as Charleston, met Tuesday night to debate health care. Bob Connors, a member of We the People of the Ohio Valley, said he believes President Barack Obama's health care bill will bankrupt the country. "If the government is in control of anything in your life you lose liberty ... if they decide you have to buy health insurance..that is not liberty and you don't have the choice to say no," said Connors.

Mollohan's leadership of Appropriations panel seen as possible conflictFor three years, Rep. Alan Mollohan has chaired the important Appropriations subcommittee that controls the Justice Department's $65 billion budget. At the same time, he has been under a Justice Department investigation, according to documents and two sources briefed on the probe. The investigation has centered on the West Virginia Democrat's finances and nonprofits he created and helped fund in his district, and has put him in the unusual position of wielding control over an agency at the same time it is probing his conduct and contractors he helped while in office....

Two men attempted to Rob Gifford's gas station in Reader Sunday night, but all they got away with were some ventilation holes in their getaway vehicle. At approximately 11:20 p.m. a man went to the residence next door to the station and asked owner Tom Gifford if he could use his phone because his car had broken down. Gifford got the phone and when he turned around, the man was holding an knife and a second man wearing a ski mask was in his house holding a pistol. The unmasked man asked for money and drugs; Gifford complied. "They didn't...

<p>Contact your Senators and let them know what you think!</p> <p>U.S. veterans or subsidies for United Nations (U.N.) bureaucracy.</p>

<p>West Virginia Sen. Robert C. Byrd became the longest-serving lawmaker in congressional history Wednesday, a milestone to be marked with a morning of Senate tributes and a special resolution.</p> <p>It was unclear whether Byrd would be able to attend Wednesday's session.</p>

n a room filled with hundreds of supporters and local leaders, the Boy Scouts of America today unveiled its plans for a world-class, national center of scouting excellence in the New River Gorge region of West Virginia. The site will serve as a premier Scouting destination, offering a new high-adventure base and national leadership programs and will become the permanent home of the National Scout Jamboree. The BSA's selection of the 10,600-acre site near Beckley was chosen after an extensive, nationwide process that lasted more than 18 months aimed at finding the perfect location for realizing the vision of a...

When the clock strikes midnight tonight, Sen. Robert Byrd will become the longest-serving member of Congress ever — a capstone on a remarkable career in which the adopted son of a coal miner propelled himself from poverty to the pinnacle of legislative power, where he could, did and still does send billions of federal dollars back across the Blue Ridge to help build his home state of West Virginia. Byrd’s stat sheet speaks for itself: • Served 20,774 days — or 56 years and 10½ months — in Congress • Attended 18,582 Senate roll call votes • Elected to Senate...

COAL RIVER MOUNTAIN, W.Va. – This mountain in southern West Virginia, right in the middle of Appalachia’s spine, is fast becoming someone’s Waterloo. It’s too soon to tell who will be the loser: the coal industry, the environmentalists or the people who call this region home. Nearly 500 mountaintops in Appalachia have been destroyed (or used for commerce, depending on your perspective) by mountaintop-removal mining. MRM, as it is known, is cheaper and faster than underground mining. It involves blasting the top of a mountain to remove its layers of coal. The Coalition for Mountaintop Mining, an advocacy group under...

Student refused; was held down for vaccination. It took the strength of two sheriff's deputies to keep a middle schooler still enough to receive a shot of the swine flu, or H1N1, vaccine at a recent clinic. During a regular Wheeling-Ohio County Health Board meeting Tuesday, health department Administrator Howard Gamble told board members about the student's attempt to flee Wheeling Middle School during a vaccination clinic held there last Friday. He noted the boy's mother could not bear to watch the scene and left the gymnasium. "He tried to run. I looked over and saw two sheriff's deputies holding...

So the word was that Democratic leaders worried about the health of Democratic Senate President Pro Tempore Robert C. Byrd, whom they needed as a 60th vote to end any Republican filibuster. On Wednesday, Byrd voted against cloture — meaning he sided with the Republican filibuster. (snip) Byrd could be an ally in stopping Obamacare. He killed Hillarycare 16 years ago. He just may have an inclination to do it again.

HUNTINGTON W.Va.-- The Huntington Police Department made a gruesome discovery Wednesday evening during an unrelated criminal investigation. The officers said they were responding to a report of breaking and entering at around 7 p.m. When they arrived at 24th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, they reporting finding a door forced open to an abandoned concrete building. Inside, the officers said they found a badly decomposed body. The body was so decomposed it appeared mummified. Police officers believe the body had been there for a quite some time. This will be considered a suspicious death until further investigation from the...

The body of a Marshall County soldier was on its way back to the United States on Thursday. 25 year-old Julian Berisford's body will be flown back with a military escort. Julian's death is still very raw to all of his family, especially to his wife Gina. However, they agreed to talk to 7News Reporter Melissa Reid. They want everyone to know just who this hero was.

Almost 20% of West Virginians eligible to vote are either dead or have moved. Five States with the Most Dead People Eligible to Vote: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming. FUN TIME IN ACORN TOWN: DEAD PEOPLE RULE! Are you lonely when you go to the polling place? Want some company? Perhaps, you'd like to take along a dead "friend" to vote with you. That's a scenario that's becoming more possible across the United States. A combination of old voter registration lists that still contain the names of dead voters and voters who have moved, new "Motor Voter" legislation,...

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Former Cabell County Magistrate Candidate Amy Walker Irwin, formerly known as Amy Daugherty, was arrested Sunday night and charged with possession of a controlled substance. According to the criminal complaint, Irwin was in her car outside a "known crack house" on 17th Street and Dalton Avenue in Huntington when officers approached the car and saw a small piece of apparent crack in plastic next to the gear shifter. The complaint goes on to say Lt. J.T. Combs conducted a field test on the substance and it tested positive for the presence of cocaine. Magistrate Dan Goheen...

LOGAN COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- A body has been discovered underneath a bridge in Logan County. The county's EMS director says emergency crews have been out all night looking for a 56-year-old man who lived at a local nursing home. The man went missing around 10:30 p.m. Monday night. Right now, crews are trying to identify the body that was found in the river underneath the Middleburg Island Bridge, but they do believe this is all connected. Family members tell WSAZ.com Charles "David" Milon, 56, of Logan County, went missing from the Logan Center late last night and they believe...

For more than 70 years, the Stella Fuller Settlement has been ultimate “helping hand”, but now the organization is making some big changes. HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ-TV) -- For more than 70 years, the Stella Fuller Settlement has been ultimate helping hand in Huntington, but now the organization is making some big changes. According to board of director's president Robert Agee, the building that houses the organization is beyond repair. That is why the organization has decided to sell the building and the property and help out the needy with the funds. He says trying to keep the building going with...

"Recall that Alan Mollohan (D-WV) is a former chair of the House Ethics Committee. That's the same Mollohan under federal investigation after the National Legal and Policy Center filed a complaint with the department regarding a bizarre increase in Mollohan's net worth. For 2005, Mollohan and his wife reported assets worth $6.8 million to $25.7 million, up from $116,000 to $315,000 in 1999. His financial disclosure restatements came only after the group's complaint." --Doug Ross, Draining the Swamp NOTE: If the reader is a resident of WV-1 and feels moved to contact Alan Mollohan's office, contact information is provided throughout...

CBS News is reporting that McAllen is the most multilingual city in the United States, according to the latest census data. The Census Bureau Tuesday released its American Community Survey results, which charts a range of social, economic and housing data in U.S. metropolitan areas. CBS reported that the running survey, which is different from the traditional once-a-decade census, tracks three years worth of data. The latest figures cover 2006 to 2008. Among the findings: • McAllen, Texas has the highest percentage of people age 5 and older who speak a language other than English at home - 84.2 percent...

We need to start blasting all his phones, emails , twitter account, facebooks, and writing to the newspapers. Even if you don't live in his state you need to still be active on them and tell them no business in West Virginia if Byrd votes in favor of Obama's reckless Obamacare and cap n trade. Offices Charleston Office 300 Virginia Street, East Suite 2630 Charleston, WV 25301 Telephone: (304) 342-5855 Fax: (304) 343-7144 Eastern Panhandle Office 217 West King Street Room 238 Martinsburg, WV 25401 Telephone: (304) 264-4626 Fax: (304) 262-3039 To read the rest of info follow link http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977872744

While campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama said his cap-and-trade tax plans would "bankrupt" anyone building a coal-fired power plant. Although those taxes haven't materialized, the Environmental Protection Agency has put the brakes on 79 surface mining permits in four states since he was elected. The EPA says these permits could violate the Clean Water Act and warrant "enhanced" review. But the agency went even further last week, announcing plans to revoke a permit for the Spruce No. 1 Mine in West Virginia - a move that has caused anxiety among coal-state Democrats about the future of the...

An attorney for a black woman who claimed torture by a white group in West Virginia says his client fabricated the story to get back at a boyfriend who had beaten her up.

Shades of Tawana Brawley. The Rev. Al Sharpton revealed Wednesday that he gave a $1,000 Christmas gift to a black West Virginia woman who claimed she had been gang-raped by a group of white men - and is now recanting her story. Only this time, Sharpton wants cops to investigate whether Megan Williams "fabricated her story" and the convicted men sprung "if they are being held under false information and she misled authorities." Williams, 22, told cops in 2007 she escaped from a ramshackle trailer near Charleston, W.V., where she was held captive for a week - and where she...

It was all a lie. Megan Williams, the Charleston woman who claimed she was kidnapped, sexually abused and beaten by "the Logan Six" now says it never happened. The Charleston Gazette reports Williams plans to hold a press conference in Columbus, Ohio later today to recant her story. Williams' attorney Byron Potts told the newspaper his client is tired of living a lie and wants to come clean. Back in September of 2007 Williams was found by police in an outbuilding at the home of Bobby Brewster. She told investigators Brewster and five others held her hostage for nearly a...

Last week, media reports indicated that a vacant lot on Bald Head Island, North Carolina co-owned by Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV) and his former aide Laura Kuhns, and their spouses, is going to a foreclosure auction. The lot was one of five properties co-owned by the Mollohans and Kuhnses that have been part of a controversy that prompted an on-going Justice Department investigation, and Mollohan’s resignation as Ranking Member on the House Ethics Committee in 2006.Kuhns is President and CEO of Vandalia Heritage Foundation, one of five nonprofits to which Mollohan has earmarked well over $100 million. The cozy relationships...

--snip-- It was 150 years ago today, Oct. 16, 1859. The long-haired, wild-eyed Brown was about to launch a raid that would hasten the Civil War and make him the most notorious man in America, a figure who still ignites controversy a century and a half later. Some see him as an Osama bin Laden; others, as a Christian soldier who gave his life to end human bondage. "You could ask 100 people about John Brown and still get 100 opinions," said Jeff Bowers, a ranger at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, which plans three days of activities this weekend...

"Thank you for letting me know of your concerns about health care legislation moving through Congress. I understand - and share - your support for our existing employer based system for workers and Medicare for retirees. Unfortunately, (I AGREE WITH YOU BUT I KNOW BEST FOR YOU) that system is coming under such large and growing strains that its long standing success at giving Americans access to the best health care in the world will be seriously threatened in the coming years. Already, far too many of us fall through the cracks. In my Congressional district alone, 117,000 West Virginians...

A vampire worshiper accused of plotting to kidnap a 12-year-old South Boston girl he met online was under indictment for child molestation in West Virginia and out on bail when caught by Boston police, the Herald has learned. Bryan Confere, 20, of Diamond, W.Va., is being held on $25,000 cash bail pending a pretrial hearing Wednesday in South Boston District Court. He is facing 7 years in prison in Massachusetts if convicted of child enticement and child endangerment. Prosecutors in Kanawha County, W.Va., last week filed a motion to revoke the $70,000 property bond he was free on when Boston...

ANSTED, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The Fayette County Sheriff's Department called for classes to be canceled today after a man started firing shots behind Ansted Elementary early Tuesday morning. Just before 2:30 a.m., 911 dispatchers received calls that someone was shooting a weapon near the school. When deputies arrived at the scene, they found that an 82-year-old man had fired numerous shots at nearby houses. The man continued to shoot as deputies approached him, but they don't believe he was attempting to shoot them. The Fayette County Sheriff's Office Tactical Team and the Crisis Negotiations Team were called in to handle...

Ambulances race to Byrd's home By: Manu Raju September 22, 2009 10:16 AM EST Ambulances and fire trucks were dispatched to the Northern Virginia home of Sen. Robert Byrd Tuesday morning. A neighbor of the 91-year-old West Virginia Democrat said several ambulances were outside his residence in McLean, Va., and a Byrd spokesman said the senator suffered a fall in his home. An officer at the McLean Fire Department said that a unit was dispatched at 9:10 to the address where Byrd lives, but he declined to comment on the substance of the response. Byrd – the longest-serving senator in...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Charleston resident Kelli Davis was in for a surprise when her daughter brought home some routine paperwork at the start of school this fall. Davis signed the form and then handed it to her daughter for the eighth-grader's signature. "I just assumed she knew how to do it, but I have a piece of paper with her signature on it and it looks like a little kid's signature," Davis said. Her daughter was apologetic, but explained that she hadn't been required to make the graceful loops and joined letters of cursive writing in years. That prompted a...

Charleston W.Va. -- It seems a recent spike in shouting interuptions at publicized events has many people wondering -- where are our manners? From the South Carolina Congressman interrupting the President by shouting "You lie!" during his speech last week -- to rapper Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift on stage to say that Beyonce should have won at the Video Music Awards. There's also been a number of other incidents involving *athletes.* We talked to a group of young people at Capital High about whether we're becoming a rude society -- or whether it's just a sign of the times....

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Charleston Mayor Danny Jones revealed at a Sunday evening news conference that "there's every reason to believe" friendly fire killed Patrolman Jerry Jones. Patrolman Jones was shot and killed during a chase that ended in the Quick area of Kanawha County after 1 a.m. Sunday morning. Mayor Danny Jones says police can't prove it at this point, but they believe the shot that killed Patrolman Jones came from one of the city's officers. Mayor Jones says they are not sure which gun the bullet came from, but police believe the suspect during the chase was "armed...

> Yet Fiesta's enduring popularity and strong sales even as consumers cut back are helping to keep struggling Homer Laughlin China Co. afloat. It's the last major dinnerware producer that makes its products in the U.S., as competitors have shut down or moved offshore. >

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday that 79 applications for surface coal-mine permits in Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio and Tennessee might violate the nation's Clean Water Act and require closer scrutiny. Many of the 79 applications would remove mountaintops and dump debris in valley streams. The EPA's action was an abrupt shift from the last big batch of surface mining permits that it's considered during the Obama administration. In May, the agency said it had no concerns with 42 of 48 permits, and blocked six. The latest decision is in line with the Obama administration's call in June for a...

NEW CUMBERLAND, W.Va. (AP) - A New Cumberland woman has apologized for leaving her baby alone in a hot car while she went shoplifting at a Wal-Mart. Twenty-three-year-old Elizabeth Marie Lancaster says she made a huge mistake she'll never forget. After appearing at a preliminary hearing Wednesday in Brooke County, she told a TV station she is mortified by her actions and will accept whatever punishment is necessary. Lancaster is charged with child neglect causing injury and shoplifting. Police say the baby had been left alone in Lancaster's car for at least 20 minutes last month in the Weirton Wal-Mart's...

Holly Hackett (name changed to protect her privacy), a member of HSLDA in northern West Virginia, homeschooled her daughter several years ago. Although her daughter made enough progress to satisfy state law, a local official pressured her into putting her daughter back into public school. After several years in public school, and with middle school looming, Holly decided to homeschool her daughter again. She filed a proper notice of intent. But she received a letter from the local superintendent saying: “As you will recall, I denied your homeschooling request for the 2005–2006 school year due to the fact that your...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - The state Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal of a Public Service Commission decision approving construction of a 124-turbine wind farm in southeastern West Virginia. The court unanimously rejected appeals filed by opponents of Beech Ridge Energy LLC's $300 million project after a hearing Sept. 2. A group called Mountain Communities for Responsible Energy and a Greenbrier County couple contended the PSC was wrong when it approved the start of construction in February. In giving its OK, the PSC said Beech Ridge had met all pre-construction conditions spelled out in an August 2006 PSC...

Coal entrepreneur Don Blankenship put on a shindig at a reclaimed strip-mine site near Holden, West Virginia, for a Labor day picnic for 100,000 of his closest friends. Sean Hannity is there, so I suppose he will yak about it on his show tomorrow. Hank Williams Jr. is the main draw. Ted Nugent is the emcee. Nugent gave ‘em hell and told the crowd to fight back: “We have the perfect president for a nation that doesn’t care.�

LOGAN -- 100,000 people are expected for the rally, and as you can imagine getting that many people in and out of one location takes a lot of preparation. Hours before the Friends of America Rally begins, crews continue to unload the needed equipment, putting the finishing touches on stage preparations that began 5 weeks ago. "It's a continuous show. There's no stopping. That's why we have 2 stages, so there's something constantly being prepared. While someone is performing, something is being torn down while something is being set up," says David Dodd, Event Production Manager for the "Friends of...

To the Editor: The President wants to encourage students to study and stay in school in an address to public schools on September the 8th. That’s commendable. However, the White House’s initial recommendation that teachers nationwide assign students a paper on how to “help the president” the day before his address to the nation on HealthCare does not pass the smell test. In the President’s search for help on a socialist health care bill, he has politicized the public school–its teachers and students. (I am surprised that the White House did not also request that children wear brown shirts to...

On Labor Day, attend the Friends of America Rally. Over 75,000 Friends of America who have already registered will gather at this event. Hank Williams, Jr. and John Rich will be performing and Fox News Host Sean Hannity will be speaking at this free event on Monday, September 7th from 10.30 am until 8 pm. Ted Nugent will be the event’s emcee. The Rally is going to be held on a previous surface mine, just south of Logan, West Virginia. Due to overwhelming demand, this event has sold out.