Latest West Virginia Headlines

All the headlines from our West Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.

New Markets

Mar 10 2008 // The following markets were selected from the MyNewMarkets database of 25,000 coverages and programs. To find additional markets, or to submit markets, go to www.MyNewMarkets.com. Blanket Accident Insurance Nuts &...

West Virginia ‘Castle Doctrine’ Self-Defense Bill to Governor

Mar 10 2008 // West Virginians could wield deadly force against intruders or attackers under a measure now before the governor. The House approved a Senate-passed bill that embraces the so-called “Castle Doctrine,” which...

Elevator Safety Rules Subject of Fight in W. Va. Senate Committee

Mar 6 2008 // Elevator safety and licensing rules recommended by a recent legislative audit and passed by the West Virginia House disguise a bid by the industry’s union to preserve and enhance its share of the market, the...

Outdoor Burning Hours Limited under W.Va.’s Spring Fire Season

Mar 6 2008 // West Virginia’s spring forest fire season is under way. Through May 31, outdoor burning is prohibited between the hours of 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. The chances of a fire escaping in the evening and overnight hours is...

W. Va. Emergency Officials Watch Rivers, Some Residents Evacuated

Mar 6 2008 // Emergency officials are keeping an eye on the Greenbrier and Ohio rivers after heavy rains moved across West Virginia. The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the Greenbrier River at Alderson from Wednesday...

W. Va. Officials Arrest Ohio Man on Fraud Charges

Mar 4 2008 // West Virginia officials arrested a Crown City, Ohio, man on one felony count of filing a fraudulent claim with an insurance company, according to Insurance Commissioner, Jane L. Cline. Cline said Christopher S. Drummond,...

Fire Damages West Virginia’s Historic Greenbrier County Manor

Mar 3 2008 // Investigators with the West Virginia Fire Marshal’s Office were sifting through ashes, trying to determine what sparked a fire that severely damaged the oldest house in Greenbrier County. The fire broke out around 7...

W. Va. Senate Restores 1% Insurance Policy Tax to Help Towns

Feb 28 2008 // The West Virginia Senate has agreed to help cities and towns with their police and firefighter pension funds, partly by reversing a recent tax break on consumer insurance costs. The state would restore a 1 percent...

W. Va. Judge Upholds $196M Award against DuPont

Feb 27 2008 // A circuit judge in West Virginia has upheld a $196.2 million punitive damages award against DuPont in a class-action pollution case. Harrison County Circuit Court Chief Judge Thomas A. Bedell also ordered the Wilmington,...

West Virginia: Kanawha County Man Pleads Guilty To Insurance Fraud

Feb 21 2008 // A Kanawha County, W. Va., man, who was indicted on a felony count of submitting a fraudulent insurance claim to an insurance company pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of one misdemeanor count of insurance fraud, according...

W. Va. Insurance Commissioner Says Employer Owes the State Money

Feb 15 2008 // W. Va. Insurance Commissioner, Jane L. Cline announced that a West Hamlin man who was indicted on several felony counts of workers’ compensation fraud, pleaded guilty to the charges in Kanawha County Circuit...

Boone County, W. Va., Man Arrested for Insurance Fraud

Jan 29 2008 // West Virginia officials arrested a Boone County man for insurance fraud late last month. West Virginia State Police arrested Mathew J. Harrison, 27, of Bim, W. Va., on Dec. 21, 2007, and charged him with five felony counts...

Federal Study Backs Installation of Shelters in Nation’s Mines

Jan 28 2008 // Federal researchers have concluded that airtight refuge chambers could save trapped miners and merit installation in the nation’s 731 underground coal mines. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health...

OSHA Investigating Fatal Accident in West Virginia

Jan 23 2008 // The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death of a man at a McDowell County, W. Va., metal processing plant. Authorities say 46-year-old Mohegan, W. Va., resident Robert Lee Pack died...

W. Va.: Braxton County Man Pleads Guilty to Insurance Fraud

Jan 23 2008 // West Virginia officials said a Braxton County man pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of fraudulent schemes. According to a West Virginia Department of Insurance announcement, Fred Lee Morgan, 61, of Frametown, used...

OSHA Alleges Health, Safety Violations at W. Va. VA Hospital

Jan 10 2008 // Federal inspectors found three alleged health and safety violations at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center near Martinsburg, W. Va., including two deemed serious. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration issued a...

W. Va. Bill would Create Special Program for Low Vision Drivers

Jan 9 2008 // Tonya Conley is one of just 15 people in West Virginia with a driver’s license despite having vision below minimum legal standards. But if a bill recommended by an interim legislative committee passes this year, she...

West Virginia Lawmakers Urged to Ignore Asbestos Proposal

Jan 8 2008 // A leading expert on the way West Virginia’s courts handle asbestos claims urged legislators Sunday to avoid proposed changes to the system. “Not only is it a mistake, it would be unnecessary,” retired...

W. Va. Lawmakers Resume Move Toward Oversight of Workers’ Comp

Jan 8 2008 // West Virginia’s insurance commissioner still objects, but lawmakers continue to pursue some role overseeing the privatization of the workers’ compensation system. A joint Judiciary Committee panel voted Sunday...

After Fire Code Violations, West Virginia Fraternities Struggle with Costs

Jan 3 2008 // At least four West Virginia University fraternities still can’t move back into the houses they were evicted from last spring. Houses for Phi Gamma Delta, Phi Delta Theta, Pi Kappa Phi and Phi Sigma Kappa were...