Latest West Virginia Headlines
All the headlines from our West Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
West Virginia Voluntary Fire Units’ Insurance Hikes Raise Concern
Jun 17 2010 // West Virginia House Speaker Rick Thompson wants the state to delay workers’ compensation premium increases for volunteer fire departments. BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co. announced the premium increases in May....
West Virginia Delays Black Lung Insurance Premium Hikes
Jun 15 2010 // West Virginia insurance regulators have put black lung premium increases on hold. The National Council on Compensation Insurance asked Insurance Commissioner Jane Cline’s office in May to increase rates for black...
Subpoenas Issued in West Virginia Mine Explosion Investigation
Jun 15 2010 // Government investigators have begun issuing subpoenas to reluctant witnesses to the nation’s worst coal mining disaster in 40 years, accordng to West Virginia’s mine safety director. The five subpoenas issued...
Judge: Stricter Regulation at Massey West Virginia Mine Not Justified
Jun 10 2010 // An administrative law judge ruled this week that there was no pattern of violations that would lead to stricter regulation at a Massey Energy Co. mine in Virginia. A Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission judge...
Inspectors Say No Problems Found in West Virginia Mine After 1 Day
Jun 9 2010 // Teams found no problems Monday during a daylong expedition inside the West Virginia coal mine where 29 men died in the industry’s worst disaster in 40 years, officials said. Teams entered Massey Energy Co.’s...
Explosion at West Virginia Natural Gas Drilling Site Burns 7
Jun 8 2010 // A fireball and explosion burned seven members of a crew drilling for natural gas at an abandoned coal mine in West Virginia Monday, the second big fire at an energy formation known as the Marcellus Shale in less than a...
West Virginia Court Refuses to Modify DuPont $100 Million Damages
Jun 4 2010 // The West Virginia Supreme Court has refused to reconsider its decision involving DuPont and punitive damages arising out of a pollution case. Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont asked the court to reconsider a ruling it issued...
Investigators to Visit Massey West Virginia Coal Mine Today
Jun 2 2010 // Investigators probing the nation’s worst coal mining disaster in 40 years plan to enter the Upper Big Branch mine for the first time today, owner Massey Energy Co. said. Unsafe levels of toxic and explosive gases...
West Virginia Sen. Rockfeller Urges Mine Safety Changes
Jun 1 2010 // West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller is urging President Barack Obama to make several mine safety improvements immediately. In a letter dated Sunday, Rockefeller told Obama he should consider several suggestions made by...
U.S. Mines Facing Shortage of Safety Air Packs
May 28 2010 // One of just two major makers of emergency air packs for U.S. coal mines has stopped selling the devices because they often don’t automatically start and the industry fears it will lead to a shortage, officials...
CEO Defends Massey Over West Virginia Mine Safety
May 24 2010 // The embattled head of Massey Energy Co. went on the defensive Thursday as he faced angry lawmakers who claim the company’s indifference toward safety led to the nation’s worst mining disaster in 40...
West Virginia Could Add Second Agency to Police Mine Safety and Enforce Rules
May 17 2010 // West Virginia is mulling a new state agency dedicated to policing dangerous coal mines in response to an explosion that killed 29 men at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine. The state Board of Coal Mine Health and...
West Virginia Creates Workplace Safety Hotline
May 11 2010 // Gov. Joe Manchin announced the creation of a hotline that West Virginians can call if they feel threatened by workplace safety issues. “I want every miner and every worker in the state of West Virginia to be...
West Virginia Mulls Second Mine Inspection Agency
May 7 2010 // West Virginia is mulling a new state agency dedicated to policing dangerous coal mines in response to an explosion that killed 29 men at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine. The state Board of Coal Mine Health and...
West Virginia Firefighters Angered by Workers’ Comp Increase
May 7 2010 // West Virginia volunteer fire departments are protesting an increase in workers’ compensation premiums charged by BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co. Tom Miller with the Sissonville Volunteer Fire Department says his...
More Investors Suing Massey Directors Over West Virginia Mine Tragedy
Apr 30 2010 // Institutional investors are continuing to target Massey Energy’s board of directors over an explosion that killed 29 coal miners earlier this month. The New Jersey Building Laborers Pension Fund blames Chairman Don...
Massey Says West Virginia Mine Was Clear of Gases Before Explosion
Apr 28 2010 // Air samples did not show high levels of explosive gases just before an explosion in a West Virginia coal mine that killed 29 workers, and what caused the disaster remains unknown, the mine’s owner said. Massey Energy...
Relatives of West Virginia Mine Blast Victims Will Be Compensated
Apr 27 2010 // Massey Energy says it will provide financial packages providing health care and other benefits for the families of 29 miners killed in the nation’s worst mining disaster in 40 years. Massey officials announced Monday...
Safety Violations Found at Massey Mines Since Blast
Apr 20 2010 // Federal inspectors have found more than 60 serious safety violations at Massey Energy operations since the explosion that killed 29 miners, adding to fallout from the disaster that includes a wrongful death lawsuit by one...
West Virginia’s Martinsburg Reports Spike in Arson
Apr 20 2010 // A Martinsburg, West Virginia official says arson is on the rise in the Eastern Panhandle city. Lt. Greg Hoover said the Martinsburg Fire Department investigated 10 arsons in the first three months of 2010. That’s...
