Kanawha County | featured news

By Phil Kabler

Medicare won't pay for patients at one of West Virginia's two state-run psychiatric hospitals as of Thursday, according to a termination notice from the federal Department of Health and Human Services.
The notice states that, "The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has determined that the William R. Sharpe, Jr. Hospital is not in compliance with the Medicare requirements for a psychiatric hospital."

By Ken Ward Jr.

A lawyer who has spent years fighting DuPont Co. over the company's toxic C8 pollution has been named among those to receive this year's Right Livelihood Award, an international honor that is sometimes known as the "Alternative Nobel Prize."

By Ken Ward Jr.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said today that he will oppose President Donald Trump's nominee to run the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration.
In a statement, Manchin said that he had reviewed the qualifications "and record of safety" during MSHA nominee David Zatezalo's time in the coal industry and was "not convinced" that Zatezalo "is suited to oversee the federal agency that implements and enforces mine safety laws and standards."

By The Associated Press

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) - A lawsuit alleging that a former West Virginia officer used excessive force that led to the death of a woman at a hospital has been settled for an undisclosed amount.

By By Damian Paletta, Mike DeBonis and Carolyn Y. Johnson
The Washington Post

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump and top Republicans on Wednesday will unveil a proposal to cut personal and corporate taxes by at least $5 trillion over 10 years, people familiar with the matter said, promising to recoup more than half of the lost revenue by eliminating numerous unspecified tax breaks and deductions.

APPLE GROVE, W.Va. (AP) - A Mason County polymer producer says it plans to halt operations.
County commissioners were notified by M&G Polymers USA LLC that the Apple Grove plant will close.
The letter last week said all employees at the plant are affected but did not specify the total number.
Terry Tyzack, a spokesman for parent company M&G Chemicals, says the company is facing financial challenges and is working with lenders to address them. The company is based in Corpus Christi, Texas.

This report is the result of a collaboration between the Gazette-Mail and HuffPost.
By Eric EyreStaff writerBusiness is booming for one somber industry in West Virginia: the transportation of dead bodies.
The state's Department of Health and Human Resources paid private contractors $881,620 in fiscal year 2017 to shuttle corpses from one place to another - more than double the expense two years before. The number of body transports went from about 2,200 in fiscal year 2015 to about 4,200 in fiscal year 2017 (which ended June 30).

The Kanawha Valley Coin Club will hold their monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the South Charleston Public Library. For more information, call 304-727-4062 or visit www.kvcc.eznetway.com.

By Carlee Lammers

For Capital High School's Lauren Carnell, twirling is a family affair.
Carnell, a senior at Capital High School, was crowned Miss Kanawha Majorette 2017 at the 71st Gazette-Mail Kanawha County Majorette & Band Festival on Tuesday.
For Carnell, wearing the crown has been a dream she's had for years - especially since watching her older sister, Olivia, win the title in 2014.

By Max Garland

A developer's plans to build a shopping center along Corridor G are no more.
Interstate Realty, a Tennessee-based commercial developer, is ending its plans to build the Little Creek Village shopping center after the development became "economically infeasible," co-owner Mike Nidiffer said Tuesday.
The shopping center would have sat across from Southridge Centre at the intersection of Preferred Place and Corridor G. According to Interstate's site plan, Little Creek Village would have had space for about 17 businesses, including two anchor stores.