Charleston Gazette

Housing: ; Government Mortgage Partners Sued for Abuses

WASHINGTON - Billions of dollars the government is spending to help financially pressed homeowners avert foreclosure are passing through - and enriching - companies accused of preying on the people they're supposed to help, an Associated Press investigation has found. The companies, known as mortgage servicers, are middlemen who collect monthly payments from homeowners and funnel the money to the banks or investors who hold the loans. As the only link between borrowers and lenders, they're in...

The Environment: ; State Psc Limits Participation by Power Line Intervenors

ONLINE: Read more in Coal Tattoo at http://blogs. wvgazette.com/ coaltattoo/ More than 250 families or companies have been granted permission to intervene in the state Public Service Commission case that will decide if the $1.8 billion PATH power line is built.

Scouting: ; Boy Scouts Eye Fayette Property for $100 Million Jamboree; Event Attracts 40,000 Scouts and 200,000 Visitors

A Fayette County site has emerged as the frontrunner in the Boy Scouts of America's search for a permanent home for its National Jamboree, a 10-day event that attracts nearly 40,000 Scouts and another 200,000 visitors every four years. Earlier this week, the Boy Scouts scrapped plans to build a National Scout Jamboree Center in Goshen, Va., citing concerns about water and sewer capacity. Some area residents also opposed the project.

In Gazz L Maia Sharp

In Sports L State Amateur

Pa. Gym Gunman Had No Ties to Victims

BRIDGEVILLE, Pa. - George Sodini seethed with anger and frustration toward women. He couldn't understand why they ignored him, despite his best efforts to look nice. He hadn't had a girlfriend since 1984, hadn't slept with a woman in 19 years. "Women just don't like me. There are 30 million desirable women in the US (my estimate) and I cannot find one. Not one of them finds me attractive," the 48-year-old computer programmer lamented in a chilling diary he posted on the Internet.

Correction

Wvgazette.Com

A little birdie told me If you're on Twitter, there are three Charleston Gazette "tweets" to follow for news, features and multimedia. See twitter.com to set up a free account, then "follow" any of the addresses below: n twitter.com/gazette_opinion: Daily updates from the the Gazette Opinion page. * twitter.com/kenwardjr: Updates on coal industry controversies, environmental news and other investigative journalism. * twitter.com/thegazz: Arts and entertainment, multimedia and cultural news an...

Folk Remedies Topic of Lunch Lecture

Gay-to-Straight Therapy Repudiated

NEW YORK - The American Psychological Association declared Wednesday that mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can become straight through therapy or other treatments. In a resolution adopted by the APA's governing council, and in an accompanying report, the association issued its most comprehensive repudiation of "reparative therapy" - a concept espoused by a small but persistent group of therapists, often allied with religious conservatives, who maintain gays can cha...

State Briefs

Wood County schools restrict cell phone use PARKERSBURG - A new Wood County schools policy restricting cell phone use has drawn complaints from students who say it's too harsh and from staff members who say it's not strict enough.

House Fire

Readers' Voice

* Best wishes for Alyce Faye Bragg. I hope she gets well soon and I look forward to seeing her column back in the paper again. * The Charleston newspapers need to revisit the design of their new Web sites. There is too much information repeated too many times. These sites are too busy to be functional for the average user of these sites.

Cash-in-Freezer Congressman Found Guilty

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A former Louisiana congressman was convicted Wednesday of taking bribes in a case in which agents found $90,000 in his freezer. Former Rep. William Jefferson, a Democrat who had represented parts of New Orleans, was accused of accepting more than $400,000 in bribes and seeking millions more in exchange for brokering business deals in Africa.

Construction of New Va Clinic to Begin Soon

MARTINSBURG - Work will begin soon on a nearly $6.5 million mental health clinic at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Martinsburg. Acting associate director Timothy Cooke says other capital improvements include expanding the emergency room and replacing the air-handling system for the medical center's 178-bed nursing home. Construction of the clinic is expected to begin this month and to be completed by January 2011.

Va Works to Prevent Veterans From Repeating Crimes

DENVER - Bracing for an influx of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, the Department of Veterans Affairs has launched an ambitious effort to locate veterans who've had minor brushes with the law and offer them treatment to try to prevent repeat crimes. The VA started its Veterans Justice Outreach Program early this year - before public attention intensified on a handful of Fort Carson, Colo.-based soldiers accused of murder, attempted murder or manslaughter after returning from a de...

Obituaries: ; Obit

Obituaries Today Belknap, Rodney B. Canterbury, Edna J. Childers, Steven Christo, Mary J. Compton, Alan P. Cottrell, Richard Criniti, James Daugherty, Bobby G. Epling, Elizabeth M. Gillespie, Steven P. Hager, Curtis E. Harmon, Charles Jr. Harrison, Eva J. Hawkins, Daniel E. Haws, Mabel F. Holton, James R. Hooper, Karen F. Johnson, Donald L. Jones, Pauline H. Littlepage, Louise M. Marion, Gladys V. Matherly, Arnold B. Maxwell, Tyler M. McCune, Deloris J. Miller, Sharon L. Paxton, Richard T. Pl...

Around the World

Amsterdam 77 51 PCldy Athens 95 64 Clr

Todays Forecast Around the Country and Wednesdays Temperatures to 8 P.M.

Anchorage 60 m Cldy Atlanta 91 71 PCldy

Health Official to Retire: ; Bianconi has Worked in Behavioral Health for About 30 Years

Another top official at the state Department of Health and Human Resources is leaving the agency. John Bianconi, Bureau for Behavioral Health and Health Facilities commissioner, plans to retire, DHHR spokesman John Law confirmed Wednesday.