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Local Government

11 grants available for artists, arts organizations

Applications are open for 11 arts grants through the West Virginia Commission on the Arts of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History. These grant programs are available for artists, local governments and not-for-profit organizations with an arts-related mission. Funding for these programs is made possible by the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, West Virginia State Legislature and Volunteer West Virginia. The deadline for submission through the State Arts Office’s online grants portal, GOapply, is 11:59 p.m. April 1. A ...

Delegates bewildered over veto

Delegate Joe Statler was at an education conference out of state when he heard the governor vetoed a bill intended to provide $2 million support groundbreaking research at West Virginia University’s Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. Statler, R-Monongalia, was gobsmacked. “You talk about something that caught me completely off guard,” he said. His colleague, Delegate John Williams, heard about the veto by text message. “I thought that it was a joke because I was so shocked by it,” said Williams, D-Monongalia. “When you think about the applications of this ...

City Council approves request for support barriers on Sisler Street

KINGWOOD — A request to put up support barriers at the trail head on Sisler Street was approved by Kingwood City Council during this week. Sara Saurino told council the barrier would be a “typical Jersey barrier” that could be moved if needed. She said utility pipes under the area of the trail head make it impossible to use other types of barriers. A Jersey barrier is a modular concrete or plastic barrier that is typically used to separate lanes of traffic and prevent vehicles from crossing over into the other lane. They have a rectangular shape with a wide bottom end to aid ...

Gov.: Human services funding a ‘dog’s mess’

Gov. Jim Justice signed a budget passed on the final night of the regular legislative session — but he wants to call lawmakers back to fill gaps in healthcare and human services allocations. “I will absolutely call our legislators back into special session, and I will call them back possibly very soon,” Justice said at a briefing this week. He cited the need to pass childcare legislation, which went nowhere during the 60 days that lawmakers just gathered. And the governor contended a $4.96 billion general revenue budget passed by the legislature cut health services ...

State officials confident over $465M obligation U.S. Department of Education deadline looming

West Virginia is ahead of a deadline this week to provide supporting documentation to the U.S. Department of Education over the state’s pledge to maintain proportional levels of support for education as a condition of federal COVID relief funds. State officials took note of an obligation to the federal government characterized as $465 million while a general revenue budget was taking shape during the final weeks of the regular legislative session. West Virginia sought a waiver for two consecutive years, pointing toward education spending such as pay raises for teachers and ...