Charleston Gazette

Recycling Program On Last Legs: ; Kanawha May Give $100,000 to Keep Program Going

Kanawha County Solid Waste Authority director Norm Steenstra said he will be forced to shut down the county recycling center on June 1 unless he finds a vast influx of money. And soon. The Solid Waste Authority, which takes recyclable materials from the county's cities and runs the Slack Street recycling center in Charleston, has about $150,000 left in the bank, Steenstra said Monday.

Lottery: ; Lotteries

In Session

79th Legislature Day 56 Turnpike disaster prompts new rules

Jobless Fund Tax Plan Advances in House

Historic Status: ; State Moves to Delist Blair Mountain; Landowners' Objections May Have Been Ignored

Manchin administration officials moved this week to have Blair Mountain - site of the landmark 1921 coalfield labor battle - removed from the National Register of Historic Places. Randall Reid-Smith, director of the Division of Culture and History, wrote to the National Park Service to ask federal officials to take Blair Mountain off the register.

Energy: ; Eastern Wind Could Replace Coal; Coal Industry Challenges Official's Stats As 'Optimistic'

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Windmills off the East Coast could generate enough electricity to replace most, if not all, the coal-fired power plants in the United States, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Monday. But those numbers were challenged as "overly optimistic" by a coal industry group, which noted that half the nation's electricity currently comes from coal-fired power plants.

Mortgage Scams Facing Government Crackdown

WASHINGTON - Federal and state officials are cracking down on mortgage modification scams, accusing "criminal actors" of preying on desperate borrowers caught up in the nation's housing crisis. Government officials said Monday that scammers are seeking to take advantage of borrowers in danger of default by charging them upfront fees of $1,000 to $3,000 for help with loan modifications that rarely, if ever, pay off.

App Power Seeks 18.5% Interim Hike

Appalachian Power wants to raise electric rates by 18.5 percent in July, while the state Public Service Commission continues to review the company's previous request to increase rates over the next three years. In a motion filed Monday, the power company said any further delays - the commission doesn't expect to rule on the multiyear rate hike request until December - would add $122 million to the company's projected losses.

Corrections

A story in Sunday's Gazette-Mail incorrectly listed some election results from Dunbar's primary elections. In the Democratic primary, candidates Evelyn Coleman and Tom Bailey were the winners in the city's 3rd Ward, while Everette E. Sullivan and Gail L. Harper were the winners in the 4th Ward. ***

Federal Grant to Continue St. Albans Streetscape

St. Albans City Council will continue their streetscape project after a $125,000 grant from the Department of Transportation was approved at Monday night's meeting. The streetscape project will focus on adding new sidewalks, streetlights, landscaping and general construction projects to the B street area of the city, said Mayor Dick Callaway.

State Briefs

Winter weather coming back to parts of W.Va. Put away the shorts and sandals and dig out the sweaters. Wintry weather is returning to parts of West Virginia.

Money Seized in Alleged Pill Ring: ; Wayne Doctor's Office Ok'd Prescriptions Far Past U.S. Average

Federal authorities have seized more than $36,000 from the bank account of a doctor's office in Wayne County allegedly at the center of an illegal pill ring, according to court documents. On Friday, the Community Trust Bank in Pikeville, Ky., turned over a check for $36,161.13 from the account of Justice Medical Center to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in response to a search warrant served on the bank on March 25.

Menu-Labeling Bill to Get More Changes

A controversial plan to require fast-food and chain restaurants to post calorie contents of menu items (SB419) is expected to get a substantial revision in the House this morning. "We have basically crafted a new bill," House Government Organization Chairman Jim Morgan, D-Cabell, said Monday.

Duerring 'Almost Sure' Stimulus Can Save Jobs of 5 School Employees

Kanawha schools Superintendent Ron Duerring said he's "almost 200 percent sure" the county can use federal economic stimulus dollars to save the jobs of three social workers and two school nurses, but he needs to wait on some final guidelines. Still, a 3-2 majority of Kanawha school board members voted to eliminate the positions until they're sure the jobs can be funded in July.

Agreement Reached in Boone County Well Water Dispute

A tentative agreement has been reached in the dispute between five coal companies and the Boone County families that say their well water has been contaminated by coal slurry. The agreement stems from a civil suit in which 144 current and former residents of Seth and Prenter sought an injunction to stop the companies from injecting slurry into the ground.

'Liberty and Justice for All'

ABOVE: The 54 people who became naturalized American citizens on Monday recite the Pledge of Allegiance. LEFT: Anna Akers of Nitro, a native of the Philippines, holds her 2-year-old son Sean after she was sworn in as an American citizen at the Robert C. Byrd U.S. District Courthouse on Monday. For a list of the new citizens, see page 6A.

Camera Store to Stay Open Amid Bankruptcy

The Ritz Camera store at Charleston Town Center Mall will remain open while the bankrupt company reorganizes. On Monday, Ritz Camera Centers Inc. announced it's closing 300 stores nationwide. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February.

Some Businesses Make Layoffs Their Last Option

WASHINGTON - Even as the recession cuts deeply into their revenue, some companies are opting to do the unconventional: They're keeping all their employees and finding other ways to trim costs. Their strategy isn't about mercy. It's built on the notion that layoffs bring high costs and hassles of their own.

New Muni Pension Proposal Allows Closing Plans Down

Financially strapped cities would be able to close out costly police and firefighter pension plans under the latest version of a bill to stabilize those severely underfunded programs. An amendment by Sen. Robert Plymale, D-Wayne, would allow cities to close pension plans with excessively generous retirement benefits, much as the state closed the Trooper A retirement plan to new State Police troopers in 1994.

Sec Considers Reining in Stock Market Short Sales

WASHINGTON - The Securities and Exchange Commission is weighing options for reining in rushes of short-selling that can sink stock prices and will work on a plan to give shareholders access to annual corporate ballots for directors, the agency's chief said. SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro and the other four SEC commissioners are scheduled to vote Wednesday on new short-selling rules - a change being pushed by investors and lawmakers - and are expected to put forward several proposals for public co...