Latest news with #EvanHansen
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Morgantown delegates discuss outcomes of 2025 legislative session
MORGANTOWN, (WBOY) — The Morgantown Area Partnership hosted its annual Legislative Wrap-Up on Thursday, where members of the partnership and local business owners were invited to hear about delegates' ventures in the most recent legislative session and ask questions about it. All legislators relative to Monongalia County were invited, and delegates Anitra Hamilton (D-Monongalia), Evan Hansen (D-Monongalia), Joe Statler (R-Monongalia) and John Williams (D), alongside senators Joey Garcia (D-Marion) and Mike Oliverio (R-Monongalia) were in attendance. At the start of the meeting, each delegate was allowed three minutes to summarize their opinions on what was accomplished within the legislative session, to which many agreed was not much. RFK Jr seeks dismissal of lawsuit against NIOSH cuts 'I've seen a number of different sessions over time and this is probably the worst that I've ever seen as far as how little we got done and how much we focused on things that don't matter—or to the extent that they matter, they matter to the purpose of driving people apart instead of trying to really solve the problem,' Sen. Garcia said. After every delegate spoke, audience members wrote out questions that varied from 'what can be done on their level?' As well as 'what can be done through the legislative process to better suit the citizens of Monongalia County and its surrounding areas?' 12 News spoke with Russ Rogerson, President and CEO of Morgantown Area Partnership, on the significance of hosting events like this one. 'We're able to kind of pull these folks together, take time out of their busy schedule. You know, being in government is not an 'in-session thing, it's ongoing and somewhat 24/7 and likewise on business, being able to take time out of their busy days and come here and be able to have this open conversation,' Rogerson said. Morgantown Area Partnership hosts sessions like this one annually and a few more before the legislative session to help better prepare delegates on how to better serve their regions. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
20-03-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Bringing awareness to help prevent teen suicide - "Be there and be willing to hear them."
It's a very serious topic and it has to be brought to the forefront of the conversation - teenage suicide. The Pittsburgh area has seen two in recent weeks, and while it may be uncomfortable to talk about, this is the beginning of a dangerous time of year for the teenagers in our lives. "Feeling isolated, feeling alone, they definitely are risk factors for things like depression and suicide," explained Dr. Gary Swanson, a child psychiatrist at Allegheny Health Network. "We've certainly seen a rise over the last number of years and we want to intervene and try to help as much as possible. Because one teen suicide is too many." What Ben Platt sang about in the show "Dear Evan Hansen" nearly a decade ago has faded, but teenage suicide has not. Dr. Swanson said there is no consistent cause, it varies from teenager to teenager but there are warning signs. "It's a sort of withdrawal, social withdrawal activity, a withdrawal you can see," he said. Dr. Swanson said if you see it, reach out, and don't be dismissed with a simple "I'm fine." "[Ask] no, how are you really doing? Be there, and be willing to hear how someone might really be feeling," he said. "Knowing somebody loves you, somebody cares for you, it's a tremendously helpful protective factor." Dr. Swanson also said if someone says they're alone, offer to do something with them, and let them know you don't want them to feel alone. He also cautioned that caring is not suggesting. "I would want to reassure them that by asking, you're not making it more likely, you're asking actually helps reduce the risk," Dr. Swanson said. It takes courage to reach out and approach someone you're concerned about and if you're not sure about how to do it, you're not alone. Most people don't. You can get resources from the Suicide Hotline at 988, asking a professional about how to handle it, but no matter what, do not ignore the concern. If you, or someone you know, are struggling, you can get help through 988 at this link .
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House Judiciary moves bill concerning absentee ballot applications, deadlines
Feb. 26—dbeard @ MORGANTOWN — A House bill to limit distribution of absentee ballot applications was paired on Wednesday with another House bill to move up the deadline for counties to receive absentee ballots. The new two-part bill received some bipartisan opposition in the Judiciary Committee but was approved and heads to the House floor. HB 2117 began as a bill to just move up the deadline. But HB 2400, which will be on second reading on the floor on Thursday, affects the same code section, so it was decided to merge them in 2117. The current deadline for county clerks to receive absentee ballots is the day after election day. They must be postmarked no later than election day and must be received no later than the hour canvassing is commenced. The bill moves the deadline to 7:30 p.m. election day, when polls close. The provisions patched in from HB 2400 say, "It is unlawful for any person, including any election official, to mail or deliver an application for an absentee ballot to any voter except when specifically requested by the voter ; a member of the voter's immediate family ; or a caregiver of the voter. It sets out criminal penalties for election officials who deliver unsolicited applications and for non-officials who deliver more than 10 applications. Delegate Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, opposed HB 2400 on Monday when the committee advanced it to the floor, and opposed this one on Wednesday. "This is now an omnibus voter suppression bill, " he said. Legal absentee ballots that arrive after the new deadline won't be counted. There was no testimony from county clerks that the existing deadline has delayed canvassing or created any uncertainty, he said. "There's no problem here." And he repeated his earlier arguments about HB 2400, that it will prevent distribution of applications to nursing home residents. "I don't know of any other government document that's illegal to reproduce and distribute. ... This bill will result in fewer people voting, and of those people who do vote, fewer of those votes being counted." Delegate Keith Marple, R-Harrison, also opposed it, noting that clerks and the secretary of state's office haven't supported it. Currently, clerks count all votes received by canvassing and this bill cuts that time period. It doesn't prohibit voting but does prohibit votes from being counted. Delegate Josh Holstein, R-Boone and a co-sponsor of HB 2400, said neither bill prohibits use of absentee ballots for nursing home residents and doesn't stop anyone from asking if someone wants an application. Holstein said 31 states have election-day deadlines for receipt of absentee ballots, including deep-blue states Vermont, Connecticut, Hawaii and Delaware. "This isn't some kind of fringe idea, " he said. "This is pretty standard." The committee approved and advanced the bill in a divided voice vote.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House committees take up absentee ballot, ranked choice voting bills
Feb. 24—dbeard @ MORGANTOWN — The House of Delegates is trying once again to prevent potential abuse of absentee ballots by making it illegal to distribute more than 10 applications for absentee ballots with a specific request by a voter or voters. And a bill to prohibit ranked choice voting began its committee journey on Monday. This year's attempt is HB 2400, approved in a divided voice vote on Monday morning by the Judiciary Committee and sent to the House floor. The revised version the committee approved wasn't available to view on Monday afternoon, but the committee attorney said it reflected the 2022 version, which was HB 4293, that passed out of the House and died in the Senate. HB 4293 said that any election official who knowingly and intentionally mailed or delivered an application for an absentee ballot to any voter without the specific request of that voter would face a misdemeanor charge, subject to fine and jail time upon conviction. It also said that any person who is not an election official knowingly and intentionally mailed or delivered more than 10 applications for an absentee ballot to a group of voters without the specific request of those voters would also face a misdemeanor charge, subject to fine and jail time upon conviction. HB 2400 adds that applications shall be available in either physical form at the clerk's office or online. Delegate Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, has regularly opposed the bills and said again that absentee ballot applications are government forms freely available online, No other government form carries a criminal penalty for distribution. "It's ridiculous " to criminalize distribution of this form. County clerks have a process to determine the validity of an application, he said, and the Preston County Clerk has expressed reservations about the bill. "We should put a little faith and trust in our county clerks." Hansen also noted that this could hamper voting for nursing home residents, who rely on staff to bring them applications for absentee ballots. Likewise for people with disabilities, and those who tend not to vote because of transportation, job or family issues. Delegate Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, said the bill could also criminalize neighbors who help neighbors by bringing them ballot applications. Secretary of State General Counsel David Cook, in answer to some questions, said the bill doesn't pose legal problems in terms of federal regulations for nursing home residents. The committee advanced the bill over the nay votes of the two Democrats. Ranked choice voting Judiciary's Legal Services Subcommittee took a first look at HB 2683, to prohibit ranked choice voting. It gives a ling definition: "Ranked choice voting is defined as a method for casting and tabulating votes in which voters rank candidates for an office in order of preference, and then tabulation occurs in rounds, with each round dropping the candidate with the least support and then reallocating the first-place votes from the eliminated candidate to the second choice candidates." The bill makes this illegal for any local state or federal election, and any such election conducted in this manner would be invalid. It does not apply to internal party processes. Lead sponsor Rick Hillenbrand, R-Hampshire, said the bill is an effort to assure clarity, where ranked choice voting brings complexity and confusion. "RCV methods are anything but transparent and simple to understand and they're confusing as heck." National Public Radio cites figures from the advocacy group FairVote that indicate as of December 2024, 51 American jurisdictions have RCV in place for all voters in public elections. This includes two states, three counties, and 46 cities. Ballotpedia gives a different figure, saying RCV is used statewide in Alaska, Hawaii and Maine. It says RCV is prohibited in Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Under the House committee process, Monday's discussion was the initial hearing of the bill. At the next subcommittee meeting, the bill can be marked up, debated and voted to advance to the full committee.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House committees take up absentee ballot, ranked choice voting bills
Feb. 24—dbeard @ MORGANTOWN — The House of Delegates is trying once again to prevent potential abuse of absentee ballots by making it illegal to distribute more than 10 applications for absentee ballots with a specific request by a voter or voters. And a bill to prohibit ranked choice voting began its committee journey on Monday. This year's attempt is HB 2400, approved in a divided voice vote on Monday morning by the Judiciary Committee and sent to the House floor. The revised version the committee approved wasn't available to view on Monday afternoon, but the committee attorney said it reflected the 2022 version, which was HB 4293, that passed out of the House and died in the Senate. HB 4293 said that any election official who knowingly and intentionally mailed or delivered an application for an absentee ballot to any voter without the specific request of that voter would face a misdemeanor charge, subject to fine and jail time upon conviction. It also said that any person who is not an election official knowingly and intentionally mailed or delivered more than 10 applications for an absentee ballot to a group of voters without the specific request of those voters would also face a misdemeanor charge, subject to fine and jail time upon conviction. HB 2400 adds that applications shall be available in either physical form at the clerk's office or online. Delegate Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, has regularly opposed the bills and said again that absentee ballot applications are government forms freely available online, No other government form carries a criminal penalty for distribution. "It's ridiculous " to criminalize distribution of this form. County clerks have a process to determine the validity of an application, he said, and the Preston County Clerk has expressed reservations about the bill. "We should put a little faith and trust in our county clerks." Hansen also noted that this could hamper voting for nursing home residents, who rely on staff to bring them applications for absentee ballots. Likewise for people with disabilities, and those who tend not to vote because of transportation, job or family issues. Delegate Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, said the bill could also criminalize neighbors who help neighbors by bringing them ballot applications. Secretary of State General Counsel David Cook, in answer to some questions, said the bill doesn't pose legal problems in terms of federal regulations for nursing home residents. The committee advanced the bill over the nay votes of the two Democrats. Ranked choice voting Judiciary's Legal Services Subcommittee took a first look at HB 2683, to prohibit ranked choice voting. It gives a ling definition: "Ranked choice voting is defined as a method for casting and tabulating votes in which voters rank candidates for an office in order of preference, and then tabulation occurs in rounds, with each round dropping the candidate with the least support and then reallocating the first-place votes from the eliminated candidate to the second choice candidates." The bill makes this illegal for any local state or federal election, and any such election conducted in this manner would be invalid. It does not apply to internal party processes. Lead sponsor Rick Hillenbrand, R-Hampshire, said the bill is an effort to assure clarity, where ranked choice voting brings complexity and confusion. "RCV methods are anything but transparent and simple to understand and they're confusing as heck." National Public Radio cites figures from the advocacy group FairVote that indicate as of December 2024, 51 American jurisdictions have RCV in place for all voters in public elections. This includes two states, three counties, and 46 cities. Ballotpedia gives a different figure, saying RCV is used statewide in Alaska, Hawaii and Maine. It says RCV is prohibited in Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Under the House committee process, Monday's discussion was the initial hearing of the bill. At the next subcommittee meeting, the bill can be marked up, debated and voted to advance to the full committee.
