In the News
Fairmont: Homeless veteran finds shelter
by Allen Siegler
Life has been difficult for Ronald Kirkham over the past six weeks. The Preston County resident and Desert Storm veteran said that because of a domestic dispute involving a friend and their girlfriend, he is no longer allowed to return to his home. “In two weeks, I went from a successful business person to a homeless person on a bicycle,” Kirkham said while eating lunch at a picnic table in Fairmont’s Palatine Park. Kirkham’s experience with homelessness … Continue Reading
November 03, 2022
Manchin praises teen for spurring Hurricane skatepark project
by Amanda Larch
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin presented a Hurricane High School student a certificate of recognition Thursday for his efforts in creating a new multi-use skatepark and for engaging with his community leaders to bring about meaningful change. Nate Giertz, a freshman at Hurricane High, emailed a letter to Hurricane Mayor Scott Edwards last year about constructing a new skatepark in the city after traveling to other skateparks in the area. From there, the city approved the project and construction began … Continue Reading
October 25, 2022
Manchin calls on administration to finalize rural area classification and healthcare funding eligibility research
by Brandy Lawrence
Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) urges Dr. Spiro Stefanou, Administrator of the Economic Research Service (ERS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), to fulfill research to classify rural areas in West Virginia correctly. The ERS develops Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) Codes to define rural communities nationwide. The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) uses the codes to determine eligibility for rural health grants from the Health Resources and Services Administration … Continue Reading
June 29, 2022
Veterans: Congress right to derail cuts to health care
by Editorial
Members of Congress appear to have banded together to get at least one thing right, as they announced this week they have brought a halt to plans to close and downsize rural veterans’ hospitals across the country. They did so by choosing not to vote on a slate of nominees for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission. “I’ve got the whole committee on board, so we’re just shutting down everything,” said U.S. Sen. Joe … Continue Reading
May 24, 2022
Senators from Rural States Trying to Stop Wave of VA Hospital Closures Before They Start
by Patricia Kime
Senators from four states have introduced legislation to dismantle a commission tasked with studying the Department of Veterans Affairs' hospital system and making recommendations on consolidation and closures of facilities. West Virginia Sens. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, and Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, joined senators from New Mexico, South Dakota and New Hampshire to support a bill that would eliminate the VA Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission, saying the process favors … Continue Reading
May 18, 2022
NASA IV&V Facility showcases STEM outreach at WVSSAC State Robotics Championship
by John Mark Shaver
Earlier this week, NASA’s Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility played a key role in West Virginia’s first-ever WVSSAC Robotics State Championship, an involvement that was certainly noticed by state representatives and high-ranking NASA officials. On Monday, 24 teams from 24 West Virginia high schools gathered at Fairmont State University for the competition, which was attended by Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito, administrators from NASA and … Continue Reading
April 19, 2022
Future of Earth’s Defense is Ground-based Planetary Radar
by Jill Malusky
Powerful radar systems have played a major role in the study of planets, moons, asteroids, and other objects in our Solar System for several decades, and now have a “unique role” to play in planetary defense – “providing protection to the nations of the world from devastating asteroid and comet impacts,” according to the newly released Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and … Continue Reading
August 19, 2021
Senator Joe Manchin, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh Tour Ohio County Coal Resources Mine
by Joselyn King
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin says sometimes the coal industry is treated by Washington like a Vietnam War veteran who just returned home. Manchin, D-West Virginia, welcomed U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh Wednesday to the Northern Panhandle, and the pair took a tour underground of the mine at Golden Ridge Portal of Ohio County Coal Resources Inc. in Dallas, West Virginia. “I’ve talked to a lot of miners. And basically, the rhetoric coming out of Washington — because they … Continue Reading
August 16, 2021
Manchin makes pitch to ORV manufacturers
by Chris Lawrence
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin believes the timing is right to court some major off-road vehicle companies to consider West Virginia as a manufacturing site. “They have a test track right here in their back yard, a thousand miles of test track,” Manchin said as he prepared to lead representatives of Honda, Polaris, and Kawasaki on an off road vehicle tour of the Hatfield McCoy Trail. The groups gathered at the Appalachian Outpost’s Broken Axle Restaurant to hear the presentation … Continue Reading
August 09, 2021
FCC reveals new broadband coverage maps
by Staff
The Broadband Data Task Force has published a new map that shows data on 4G LTE mobile broadband networks and availability throughout the United States and was released on Friday. This first-of-its-kind map provides the public with more information on mobile service coverage while the Federal Communications Commission works to fully institute information as part of the Broadband Data Act. The map shows 4G LTE mobile coverage as of May 15, 2021, with broadband and voice on separate … Continue Reading
August 03, 2021
West Virginia Sen. Manchin: Infrastructure package includes $200M for Corridor H
by Charles Young
West Virginia could receive nearly $200 million to support the completion of Corridor H as part of the infrastructure package currently before Congress, according to Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. On Tuesday, Manchin, along with Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, announced the inclusion of their bipartisan, bicameral Finish the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) Act in the $1 trillion infrastructure bill. The Corridor H project has remained unfinished for nearly 60 years, Manchin … Continue Reading
July 30, 2021
Manchin wants King Coal, Coalfields Expressway projects prioritized
by Charles Boothe
With funding coming for the King Coal Highway and Coalfields Expressway from the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said a process must be in place to target projects on those two highways that are ready to go. The bill, which includes $550 billion in new spending, is setting aside $110 billion for roads, bridges and major projects around the country. Manchin said during a virtual press conference Thursday that West Virginia will get its share, although … Continue Reading
July 23, 2021
Sens. Manchin & Capito & U.S. Rep. McKinley ask EPA to step in immediately to help Clarksburg WV with water issue
by Matt Harvey
U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito and U.S. Rep. David McKinley have written the administrator of the U.S. EPA seeking immediate help for Clarksburg in dealing with elevated levels of lead in drinking water. The letter expresses the federal lawmakers’ concerns about the “elevated levels of lead in drinking water in certain homes” in Clarksburg. “We write to request immediate assistance” from the EPA, the lawmakers continued, “in providing … Continue Reading
July 08, 2021
Manchin draws attention to Mountain State infrastructure before returning to D.C.
by Lacie Pierson
From the Marmet Locks and Dams in the Kanawha River to the mountaintop Yeager Airport, Sen. Joe Manchin took to the roads, rails, rivers, and air to highlight infrastructure needs in the Mountain State as part of promoting a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure proposal. Manchin, D-W.Va., toured the breadth of infrastructure packed into the Kanawha Valley amid negotiations for a nationwide infrastructure package that has been proposed as low as $1.2 trillion and as high as $6 trillion over … Continue Reading
July 01, 2021
Manchin says infrastructure plan can work
by Steven Allen Adams
While the White House works to keep Republicans and progressive Democrats on board, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin remains optimistic about a traditional infrastructure package he helped negotiate last week while preparing to hold the line on spending on human infrastructure. Speaking by phone Wednesday, Manchin, D-W.Va., said last week’s infrastructure proposal is the largest such plan since the creation of the interstate system more than 70 years ago and the largest investment in U.S. history. … Continue Reading
November 29, 2020
Gary getting emergency help: Funds made available for McDowell County city’s water system repairs
by Staff
Emergency repairs for the City of Gary’s water system, which suffered a breakdown last July that left hundreds of people without service, was among the projects and entities receiving money Friday from the Appalachian Regional Commission. U.S. Senators Joe Manchin, D-WV and Shelley Moore Capito, R-WV, members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, stated Friday that $485,000 from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) was going into the planning and implementation of infrastructure … Continue Reading
November 20, 2020
Manchin: Moderate Democrat puts brakes on party
by Editorial
Some in the Democratic Party are suggesting a virtual re-do of our political system. U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is both right and responsible in letting them know he will not go along with that. Depending on how two U.S. Senate races scheduled for January in Georgia go, it is possible Democrats will be able to get some of their agenda enacted. Radicals in the party say that should include “packing” the U.S. Supreme Court, adding states to the Union to gain more … Continue Reading
November 11, 2020
Joe Manchin digs in: 'Under no circumstances' would break tie to nuke filibuster and pack court
by Salena Zito
Joe Manchin said on Tuesday he is committed to voting against packing the courts or ending the legislative filibuster no matter what situation arises. “Under no circumstances would I support packing the court or ending the filibuster if there is a 50-50 tie,” said Manchin in an interview with the Washington Examiner. In a deadlocked Senate, Manchin could be the deciding vote on a wide range of issues — somebody who could make or break Joe Biden's efforts to pass … Continue Reading
August 20, 2020
Post Office is essential, but needs retooled
by Matt Harvey
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., was in Clarksburg Friday, and he was on a mission. He wanted to remind us all that the U.S. Postal Service continues to play a vital role in this day and age, especially during a pandemic and preceding a national election. “My main concern is, is the Postal Service able to do the job that we intended them to do? Locally it’s operating and operating effectively, and I want to make sure it continues that way,” he said. Manchin was at the mail … Continue Reading
August 18, 2020
Attacks on USPS from within unwarranted
by Editorial
Kudos to Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., for calling on Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to immediately address the needless debilitation of the U.S. Postal Service in West Virginia. Under mounting pressure — including pending lawsuits from 20 states — DeJoy now says he will “postpone” changes to mail operations until after the November election. Manchin and others should stay tuned to make sure that’s the case. Manchin sent a letter to DeJoy, detailing a visit to … Continue Reading
