Charleston Gazette

Medicare Will Cover Impotence Medicines: ; Watchdog Groups Object, Saying It Diverts Resources

WASHINGTON - Sexual performance drugs such as Viagra will be covered in Medicare's new prescription drug program, a lifestyle rather than lifesaving benefit that conservatives and watchdog groups say the government shouldn't provide. Like those for maladies such as high blood pressure and heart disease, prescriptions for Viagra and similar drugs in its class will be tightly controlled. The new prescription coverage begins Jan. 1, 2006, and is expected to cost more than $500 billion over the n...

Troop Reduction Could Begin in March

WASHINGTON - The first visible move toward reducing the American military force in Iraq could come as soon as March. That's when thousands of soldiers and Marines whose tours were extended prior to the election are due to go home. If they do, that would shrink the overall force to about 138,000, the level that prevailed for much of last year before U.S. commanders decided they needed extra troops for election security.

New River Gorge Housing Proposed: ; Development Includes 600 Acres the National Park Service Intends to Purchase

kward@wvgazette.com An Atlanta company wants to build a 2,200-home development along a 10-mile stretch of Fayette County's scenic New River Gorge.

Changes Explained to Workers' Comp Employees

pjnyden@wvgazette.com The more than 800 people who work for the state Workers' Compensation Commission want to know what new legislation will mean for them and their jobs.

1,700-Home Community Planned

BRIDGEPORT - Developers announced Tuesday they will begin building a planned community with 1,700 homes this spring on a 2,000- acre parcel along Interstate 79 in north-central West Virginia. Charles Pointe will be built by S&A Homes of State College, Pa., over the next 10 to 15 years, said Jamie Corton, a managing partner in Genesis Partners.

Faa to Outsource 21 Jobs in Elkins

jginsberg@wvgazette.com Twenty-one people in Elkins who provide weather briefings, flight planning and search and rescue support to general aviation pilots will lose their jobs, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Tuesday.

Putnam Approves Cruiser Purchases

WINFIELD - Putnam County commissioners voted Tuesday to buy the sheriff's department two new police cruisers. Sheriff Mark Smith had asked for the new cruisers to replace older vehicles with high mileage used by deputies on road patrol. The county will spend about $46,000 and reassign the old vehicles to other sheriff's employees.

'Sex Offender' at Concord Just a Streaker

tara@wvgazette.com Concord University has a registered sex offender on the faculty, college officials confirmed Tuesday - but he's actually just a streaker.

Officials Can Answer Fact-Based Questions, Manchin Staffer Says

sfinn@wvgazette.com State officials do not have to get approval from the governor's office before speaking to the press, despite an earlier directive telling them to do so, according to state Communications Director Lara Ramsburg.

Man Gets $15.6 Million for Coffee Label Photo

GLENDALE, Calif. - A jury has awarded $15.6 million to a man whose image was used for years without his permission on Taster's Choice coffee labels. Russell Christoff, a former model from Northern California, posed for a two-hour Nestle photo shoot in 1986 but figured it was a bust - until he stumbled across his likeness on a coffee jar while shopping at a drug store in 2002.

Business Briefs

Independence Air adds Florida, Las Vegas stops DULLES, Va. - Independence Air is expanding its service to Florida in hopes of boosting its bottom line.

Fed Expected to Keep Boosting Interest Rates

WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve policy-makers are likely to keep bumping up short-term interest rates this year, a defense against an inflation flare-up now that the economic expansion is on firm footing. The Fed is expected to boost its key federal funds rate by one- quarter point to 2.50 percent today. The policy-makers, in their first gathering of 2005, opened a two-day meeting Tuesday.

China May Be Changing Currency System

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration believes China is moving toward changing a currency system that U.S. manufacturers contend gives Chinese companies a huge competitive advantage in global trade. John Taylor, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for international affairs, expressed optimism that a campaign to get Beijing to stop linking its currency, the yuan, to the U.S. dollar is showing progress.

Mps to Be Mobilized

About 110 members of an Oak Hill-based National Guard military police unit are being deployed for duty at bases in North Carolina and Louisiana. Members of the 1863rd Military Police Company will first go for training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., before being assigned to Fort Bragg, N.C., and Fort Polk, La.

Seabees Off to Iraq

HUNTINGTON - Members of the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 24, Detachment 1024 are preparing to help Iraq rebuild its war-torn infrastructure. Gov. Joe Manchin saluted the 29 Seabees as they departed Monday from Huntington, and he met with their families at Huntington's Naval Reserve Center as officers checked over military paperwork.

Lottery: ; Lotteries

Boil-Water Advisory

Tuesday's Weather in Charleston:

Eyewitness News: ; Stormteam Weather; Wchs - Fox 11; Tony Mainolfi's Outlook

World Weather

Amsterdam 46 38 Rain Athens 53 34 Cldy