Charleston Gazette

Winter Rebounds, to Skiers' Relief

Donna Ferguson hit the slopes of Canaan Valley Resort and didn't experience the 70-degree weather and large patches of ice and dirt that ruined a ski trip last year. Like many eastern U.S. resorts, the flakes were flying and the slopes were covered.

Car Bombings in Iraq Kill 63

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Militants struck back Sunday in their first major blow against a U.S.-led security clampdown in Baghdad with car bombings that killed at least 63 people, left scores injured and sent a grim message to officials boasting that extremist factions were on the run. The attacks in mostly Shiite areas - twin explosions in an open- air market that claimed 62 lives and a third blast that killed one - were a sobering reminder of the challenges confronting any effort to rattle the well-a...

Mine Safety Technology On Fast Track

There's growing evidence the underground coal mining industry is close to solving problems such as poor communications and the inability to track missing miners that hindered rescuers called to the January 2006 Sago Mine explosion and other accident sites. Federal law doesn't require a solution until 2009. But West Virginia, the nation's top underground coal producer, is requiring mines to submit detailed plans for wireless two-way communications and tracking systems capable of withstanding a...

Board-Certified Teachers Rare: ; 291 in W.Va. Have Earned Coveted Title

Gerry Kohler remembers it like a dream, or a nightmare. Late nights locked inside the second floor of Van Devender Junior High in Parkersburg, poring over paperwork, books and reading assignments. Sometimes she'd trip the school's alarm in the empty halls after hours.

Status of Bills

The status of bills of interest, 40 days into the 60-day legislative session: BUDGET (HB2007, SB65): Gov. Joe Manchin has requested $3.86 billion in general revenue and nearly $397 million in lottery revenue spending for the next fiscal year. Pending in House, Senate finance committees.

Safety Bill Revision Limits Coal Mine Closures: ; the Capitol Report 2007 Legislature

kward@wvgazette.com Lawmakers have amended Gov. Joe Manchin's mine safety bill to severely limit the types of repeat violations that can prompt inspectors to temporarily close West Virginia coal mines.

Jetblue Cancels Columbus, Pittsburgh Flights: ; Rest for Flight Crews to Help 'Reset Airline'

NEW YORK - JetBlue called off almost a quarter of its flights for today but hoped that would be the last round of cancellations as it struggles to recover from the snowstorm that saw some travelers sitting on grounded planes for hours. The news sent passengers scrambling to deal with the disruption to their plans.

Fidel Castro 'Stupendous,' Niece Says

HAVANA - Fidel Castro's niece said Sunday he was recovering well from surgery and would likely be "very active" again in Cuba's government. "Fidel is stupendous," said Mariela Castro Espin, daughter of acting President Raul Castro, who took over in July after his older brother underwent surgery.

Crash Kills 8 in Afghanistan: ; Pilot Reported Engine Trouble

SHAHJOI, Afghanistan - After radioing in an unexplained loss of power and engine failure, a military helicopter crashed early Sunday in southeastern Afghanistan, killing eight U.S. service members. Fourteen survived with injuries. Officials immediately ruled out enemy fire as a cause of the crash, which left charred wreckage of the twin-rotor Chinook scattered on a dusty, open plain in Zabul province, just 50 yards from the main Kabul-Kandahar highway.

Readers' Voice

* Why does the state allow people to litter by letting them place sheets and paper cups on the fence at the mouth of Cabin Creek? They do not remove them and they remain there until the weather causes them to fall to the ground. Don't people realize that these Cabin Creek billboards look very tacky to people traveling Route 61? * I don't watch golf tournaments anymore because the only person they have the cameras on is Tiger Woods. I see where he is not going to play in some tournaments. Who ...

Government to Raise Unwanted Girls in India

NEW DELHI - The Indian government plans to set up a series of orphanages to raise unwanted baby girls in a bid to halt the widespread practice of aborting female fetuses, according to a senior government official. Dubbed the "cradle scheme," the plan is an attempt to slow the practice that international groups say has killed more than 10 million female fetuses in the last two decades, leading to an alarming imbalance in the ratio between males and females in India, Renuka Chowdhury, the minis...

Charleston Crime Zones

The following crimes were reported to the Charleston Police Department. East district

Familiar Legislation Part of Waiting Game

There's something familiar about the 2007 legislative session, and it's not just the returning incumbents. Abortion. Capital punishment. Public financing of elections. Couch burning.

Manchin Knee Surgery Prompts Simplified Bills

Schedule House

Obituaries: ; Obit

Beulah Beane Beulah Beane, 88, of Rainelle died Feb. 16, 2007, at Heartland Nursing Home in Rainelle following a long illness. Service will be 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20, at Wallace & Wallace Funeral Home Chapel, Rainelle. Friends may call from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at the funeral home.

Road Conditions

Corrections

Heath Barrett of Poca High School was incorrectly identified as a nonathlete in a FlipSide article in the Saturday Gazette-Mail. Barrett plays football and basketball for the school. ***

Sunday's Weather in Charleston:

Eyewitness News: ; Stormteam Weather; Wchs/Fox 11 Karen Wynne's Outlook

Lottery: ; Lotteries; $200,000 Winner Sold in W.Va.

DES MOINES, Iowa - None of the tickets sold for the Powerball game Saturday night matched all six numbers drawn, which were: 1-15-35-37-45: Powerball 32 (x3)