Kanawha County | featured news

By Giuseppe Sabella

A Charleston man allegedly set off an explosion so strong it shook a nearby police cruiser in Kanawha City on Thursday morning.
Police saw Michael Scott Jones, 45, throw something into a dumpster outside his apartment on 6544 MacCorkle Ave., according to a criminal complaint.
The apartment is located near Kmart and the Galaxy Lanes bowling alley. According to the complaint, police saw a flame as Jones tossed an item into the dumpster.

The Kanawha-Charleston Board of Health will meet at 4:30 p.m. today in the second floor conference room at the Kanawha-Charleston Health Center, 108 Lee St. E.

By Jake Zuckerman

Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., spoke Wednesday at the University of Charleston to update constituents on ongoing efforts to reform personal and corporate income tax structures in the United States.
In an forum hosted by Americans for Prosperity, a group funded by the Koch brothers that frequently advocates for tax reform, Mooney said high tax rates have stifled economic growth and chased businesses out to other countries with lower corporate tax rates.

By Jake Zuckerman

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., is staying tight-lipped on the latest, and possibly strongest push to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Despite repeated interview requests, Capito would not comment on the proposal from Republican Sens. Lindsay Graham and Bill Cassidy to repeal the law, also known as Obamacare.
Ashley Berrang, a spokeswoman for the Senator, offered a limited statement.

The 12th annual United Way Day of Caring saw more than 800 people from about 70 local businesses, schools and organizations from Kanawha, Putnam, Clay, Boone and Logan counties, volunteer their time to work in their communities. The volunteers had 66 project sites in the service area covered by the United Way of Central West Virginia.

By Giuseppe Sabella

Two indictments named dozens of people who allegedly stole about 120 firearms and worked with each other to sell methamphetamine in Upshur County, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced on Wednesday.
A federal grand jury handed up the indictments in Clarksburg on Aug. 29, according to a news release.
The indictments contain a total of 69 counts. Several people are accused of distributing meth, carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime or making false statements to acquire a firearm - among other violations.

By Rick Steelhammer

A runway 7,800 to 8,000 feet long is needed to keep Yeager Airport on track for future passenger growth, add more nonstop destinations, improve military capabilities and enhance safety, a consultant developing a master plan for the Charleston airport told members of its governing board on Wednesday.

By Rick Steelhammer

The Kanawha County Parks and Recreation Commission on Wednesday agreed to accept the sole bid it received in an auction involving a 75-acre tract of land near the former Sandy Brae Golf Course near Amma that commissioners only recently realized that they owned.
Director Jeff Hutchinson said the land was near, but not connected to the former golf course property that was sold in 2006, and has since reverted to grazing land for a farm operation.

By Jake Zuckerman

USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue traversed the Mountain State on Wednesday, speaking to the National Association of State Foresters, hosting a listening session with the Agriculture and Rural Prosperity task force, and touring a "lavender mine" at the Green Mining Model Business Program in Hernshaw.

By Ryan Quinn

The Boone County Board of Education's former president and another former member have been indicted for allegedly accepting gifts from people they knew were "interested in a bid, contract, purchase, claim and transaction" with the Boone public school system, according to court documents.
Former Boone school board president Mark Sumpter, who denied the allegations, resigned in October, and former board member Danny Cantley resigned in April.