Tag: politics
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JOE’S HAIR AND THE FLOWBEE? IT’S NOT A JOKE SENATOR’S WIFE CALLS HAIRCUTTING GADGET ‘A PRETTY NIFTY DEVICE’
This story was originally published in the Charleston Daily Mail on September 26, 2012. U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s latest ad claims his wife, Gayle, has cut his hair for more than 20 years. What the ad fails to mention is Gayle routinely receives assistance during those ear-lowering sessions. Joe Manchin – former W.Va. governor and […]
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‘BROKEN SYSTEM’ CAUSES HOLDUPS OFFICIAL SAYS CONTRACTOR IS TAKING TOO LONG TO PROCESS BACKGROUND CHECKS
This story was originally published in the Charleston Daily Mail on January 9, 2013. Problems with a contractor hired to process state background checks are leaving job seekers in limbo for months and costing state businesses lots of money. The holdups have even slowed the adoption process for some children. Speaking at a legislative interim […]
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A Job You Wear
This story originally appeared in the Spring 2016 issue of WV Living magazine. On June 15, 2015, elected officials, members of the public, and journalists crammed into the dark wood-paneled council chambers at Charleston City Hall to watch Kanawha Circuit Judge Todd Kaufman administer the oath of office to Mayor Danny Jones. He had been […]
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Speed Limits
This story originally appeared in the November/December 2015 issue of West Virginia Focus magazine. Patrecia Gray’s home is tucked away up a narrow hollow in Mason County. She bought the property in the 1970s with her husband, partly because it reminded her of the Laura Ingalls Wilder book On the Banks of Plum Creek. “We […]
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To the Dogs
This story was originally published in the May/June 2015 issue of West Virginia Focus. When Sam Burdette first visited the Tri- State Greyhound Park in Cross Lanes in the mid-1980s, he didn’t even know how to read the program. The sheets of paper were filled with an overwhelming array of fractions and decimals, arranged in almost […]
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The Flip
This story was originally published in the March/April 2015 issue of West Virginia Focus magazine. Talking with Bill Cole, you get the sense he doesn’t use phrases like “over the moon” very often. But that’s how the baritone-voiced, serious-faced Senate President describes his frame of mind on election night 2014. Although he was not up […]
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The farmer makes a run
This story originally appeared in the Charleston Daily Mail on Aug. 28, 2012. FAIRVIEW, W.Va. – Kent Leonhardt wants you to make him the state’s next agriculture commissioner. He promises he’ll work hard to improve food safety and increase the number of farms in West Virginia. A career Marine who took up farming following two […]
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Walt Helmick: the water farmer
This story was originally published May 23, 2012 in the Charleston Daily Mail. MINNEHAHA SPRINGS – High on a Pocahontas County ridge, a natural spring spits out 20 gallons of water each minute. It runs down the mountain through a mile of pipe, supplying water to five cottages and a wood-fired hot tub, before making […]