West Virginia getting attention for public election funding bill
By LAWRENCE MESSINA
Associated Press Writer
CHARLESTON (AP) — Several national groups are taking sides on legislation, approved Monday in the state Senate, that would offer public funds to future candidates for West Virginia’s Supreme Court.
The Justice at Stake Campaign and the Committee for Economic Development unveiled recent polling of West Virginia voters Monday as they endorsed the public financing proposal, part of Gov. Joe Manchin’s agenda this session.
The two nonpartisan groups decry the recent deluge of campaign cash into state judicial races. They were joined by Senate Judiciary Chairman Jeff Kessler, D-Marshall, whose committee endorsed the bill later Monday. That non-unanimous voice vote sent the measure to Senate Finance.
But the Center for Competitive Politics, a nonpartisan foe of such measures, questions the bill’s benefits. That group released an analysis last week predicting the legislation would prompt a legal challenge if enacted.
Manchin has proposed offering public funds to candidates for the two seats on the five-member court up in 2012. The study of the state’s courts he commissioned last year, with retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor as its honorary chair, recommended such a pilot project in its November report. More on page 2A. For more on this story and many others, subscribe to the WCN or the WCN e-paper today!
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Runaway pig’s life on the lam ends
CHARLESTON (AP) — After evading authorities for several months, one of the West Side’s most wanted has been apprehended at last.
The elusive Vietnamese potbellied pig that has dodged police and city humane officers since October was finally captured Sunday afternoon in Roy and Sue Wagner’s yard on Woodland Drive.
It was a bittersweet scene as Sue Wagner watched, shielding her tear-filled eyes from the blazing sun overhead as Charleston Humane Officer Jesse Harris drove away with the pig in the back of his van. She fed the pig for months and had come to love it, but knew it couldn’t stay.
“I would keep him if I could, but I can’t,” she said. “We don’t have a pen for him and he really should be on a farm.” More on page 2A. For more on this story and many others, subscribe to the WCN or the WCN e-paper today!
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Gene test claims to show what diet works best
MARILYNN MARCHIONE
AP Medical Writer
Diet not working? Blame your genes. That’s the pitch behind a new test that claims to show whether people will do better on a low-fat or a low-carbohydrate weight loss plan.
We’re all hard-wired with DNA that controls how we burn and store calories from various foods, and the test claims to sort out this machinery.
A study this week found that women on diets well-matched to their genes, as defined by the test, lost roughly five times more weight than those on mismatched diets.
“We were able to explain why some people were successful” and others were not, even though they ate the same way, said Mindy Dopler Nelson, a nutritional biologist at Stanford University who led the study but has no financial ties to the maker of the test.
Some scientists find this hard to swallow.
It’s another test being peddled without enough research to show it really works, they say.
“I’m afraid this may be another attempt to lure the public into purchasing genetic tests that provide little value for those struggling with their weight,” said Raymond Rodriguez, director of the National Center of Excellence for Nutritional Genomics at the University of California, Davis.
The research shows “nothing that should move the American public out to get their genome tested,” said Dr. Robert Eckel, a former American Heart Association president and cardiologist at the University of Colorado-Denver.
But it sure has appeal. More on page 7A. For more on this story and many others, subscribe to the WCN or the WCN e-paper today!
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Accomplishments and possibilities
Senator Ron Stollings
(D - Boone)
As the 2010 Session winds down, I have been taking the time to look back on some accomplishments and look forward to new possibilities.
A great poet once said, “The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, but in what direction we are moving.” I believe that if where we stand as a legislature has any implication on where we are going, West Virginia’s future is bright.
Along with some assistance from my colleagues, I have had great success in my request for Drug Diversion Bills. According to a National Survey on Drug Use and Health, more than 20 million Americans – nearly seven percent of the population – were estimated to abuse prescription drugs in 2007. Also, prescription drug diversion drains health insurers nationally of up to $72.5 billion a year.
I have been a lead sponsor on bills that would correct these issues, and five of eight have already passed through the Senate and are in the House for consideration. In fact, one of the five bills passed on to the House has completed legislation. Senate Bill 514 will correct a reference in the Code, thereby clarifying the controlled substances that are to be reported when a prescription is filled, or when the controlled substance is dispensed by a medical services provider. This will help the state to keep track of such substances and cut down on the abuse. More on Page 4A For more on this story and many others, subscribe to the WCN or the WCN e-paper today!
God’s gift to W.Va.
Byrd's Eye View
Robert C. Byrd
United States Senator (D - WV)
This year, 2010, is the fortieth anniversary of the premier of John Denver’s musical tribute to West Virginia as “almost heaven.”
When I think of Denver’s classic song, Take Me Home, Country Roads, (which was co-written with Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert) I think about the things that make West Virginia so unique. First, of course, is the kind and generous nature of the people of our beloved state.
Next, I picture the beauty and serenity of our mountains. They seem sacred, and, in fact, mountains are a frequent location for events in the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments. It was on Mt. Sinai that God revealed himself to Moses and gave Him the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19:16 and 20:17). God allowed Moses to view the Promised Land from a mountain. It was on Mt. Carmel where Elijah challenged the false prophets of Baal, and, on Mt. Ararat that Noah’s Ark came to rest (Genesis 8:4).
Some of the most important teachings of Jesus, as well as the critical events in His life took place in the mountains. The Transfiguration of Jesus, one of the most important Miracles, took place on a mountain, probably Mount Tabor (Luke 9:28-43). It was on Mount Olives that Jesus instructed His disciples (Matthew 24:3). The third temptation of Christ took place on a mountain, so that Jesus could see the kingdoms of the world. (Matthew 4:8-9).
And, of course, Jesus delivered perhaps His most important Sermon, the “Sermon on the Mount,” from a hillside, where he also gave us the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 5-7). Jesus gave His life for our salvation and was crucified on a hill, Golgotha (Calvary).. More on Page 4A For more on this story and many others, subscribe to the WCN or the WCN e-paper today!
