Latest news with #Morrisey
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Tucker United fighting construction of power plant and data center
DAVIS, (WBOY) — A community group called Tucker United held a public meeting in Davis on Sunday to discuss the ramifications of the proposed power plant between Davis and Thomas, and what can be done to stop the project. Roughly 100 people filed into St. John's Lutheran Church for the meeting. In a flier, Tucker United said it is against the development of the data center project anywhere in Tucker County. The group claims the project poses a threat due to possible air pollution, high water use that could further strain water sources, and impact on local tourism. Several times during the meeting, members of Tucker United said that the company Fundamental Data, who is behind the project, would not be 'good neighbors' and that the local area would reap few of the economic benefits of the project. Tucker United said that in its correspondence with Fundamental Data, the company would not discuss if the project would bring long-term jobs to the area. Furthermore, they say that under House Bill 2014, which was signed by Governor Morrisey last legislative session, 70% of the tax revenue would go to the state, leaving 30% to the county. 2nd Annual Appalachian Fly Fishing Festival returns to Thomas Among the group's frustrations with the data center project is the secrecy around it, including a 'highly redacted air quality permit' that they have been trying to get more details on. Local leadership and residents were both caught off guard by the proposed power plant, with many learning about the project through a notice posted in the local newspaper. Tucker United is trying to marshal community support, and various members of the community with relevant expertise spoke or were mentioned during the meeting, including a lawyer, an engineer, and a tech project manager. Zina Raye, who works as a project manager in northern Virginia and has had a lot of experience with data centers, connections with the Davis area and said she plans on retiring in Canaan Valley. In an interview with 12 News, she said that the data center would be of a massive scale and that its likely use is artificial intelligence (AI). Raye said that while she believes AI will be largely beneficial to society, she also believes in industry working with the local community when it comes to the building of data centers, which is what she said happened in her home in northern Virginia. 'I believe if public and private partnership exists, that's where you would find that optimal place for this data center. That's where you would take into consideration that West Virginia has this fledgling, wonderful eco-tourism industry, and you don't want to kill your existing industry.' Tucker United is also looking to enlist the support of local leaders and representatives. At the meeting, Mayor of Davis Al Tomson announced that the Davis Town Council adopted a resolution against building the data center next to Davis. Tucker United says it plans to go to the City of Thomas and the Tucker County Commission to make their case to them. Floated during the meeting was advocating for amending House Bill 2014 and creating different zoning ordinances. House Bill 2014 prohibits any county or municipality from enacting rules, laws, or ordinances that 'limit, in any way, the creation of, […] and operation of any certified microgrid district or certified high impact data center project.' Tucker United says that the law has serious implications for not just Davis, but communities throughout West Virginia. Member of Tucker United Shaena Crossland told 12 News, 'I just want to say that if you are a West Virginian, if this is your home, even if it's not and you come here, what is going on right now is really important. And you need to be informed. You need to be aware of what's going on and you need to fight back and take control.' 12 News recorded the majority of the two hour meeting, and you can watch it below. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Gov. Morrisey signs bills increasing child abuse penalties
beckley – Legislation supporting mothers and infants, increasing penalties for child abuse and expanding vehicular homicide charges by classifying the loss of an unborn child as a death became law Thursday after a signing ceremony. Gov. Patrick Morrsiey met with area legislators and other dignitaries at the CrossPoint Church in Beckley to sign three bills into law. The governor said Thursday's signing ceremony and two other announcements earlier this week have a common theme. On Tuesday, Morrisey announced a $1 million Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council for the McDowell County town of Bradshaw address longstanding problems in the sewer collection and treatment systems affecting 106 customers. This announcement was followed up Wednesday when the governor announced reforms in the state's foster care program for children. 'All of these announcements have a common theme whether you're talking about storm recovery, ensuring clean drinking water or protecting the child welfare system. It's really looking around for the most vulnerable among us and making sure we're stepping up to do what's necessary,' Morrisey said. 'That most certainly includes our kids and that's why we're here today.' 'West Virginia has a proud history defending the sanctity of life for a long, long time,' he said. 'And I've been very humbled to be an important part of that serving as the first prolife attorney general in state history and before I left we were still busy defending the state's prolife law in the Fourth Circuit (Court). That's still pending. And we've been working constantly to try and keep expanding the provisions to protect innocent life.' Morrisey described the three bills he was about to sign into law. Senate Bill 537 strengthens the West Virginia Mothers and Babies Pregnancy Support Program by expanding the use of state funds for pregnancy help organizations. 'It's a pretty cool program. It expands the use of state funds for pregnancy help organizations which now can cover some new expenditures for new land for buildings, some additional services for the young moms in need, to help some of the providers meet licensing and accreditation and to engage in staff training,' Morrisey said, adding that the Legislature has allocated $3 million for the effort. House Bill 2123 increases the criminal penalties imposed on a parent, guardian or custodian for child abuse. 'Once again, we have to protect the most precious among us and if you harm a child as a parent or guardian, you're going to pay a heavy price,' the governor said. 'We're now increasing the jail time for abuse of a child that causes bodily injury from one to five years to two to 10 years. For abuse that creates a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury, the incarceration time is once again from one to five years to two to 10 years. And for abuse causing serious bodily injury, incarceration time is increased from two to 10 years to five to 15 years.' House Bill 2871 expands Vehicular Homicide and Homicide by Operation of Motorized Watercraft penalties and considers the loss of a child in the womb as a death for the purposes of prosecution. 'That's good, and that's just common sense,' Morrisey said. 'A life in the womb is still a life. Laws have to reflect that fact and they are.' The governor thanked the legislators attending the ceremonial signing for their support and invited them to share their thoughts. The Mothers & Babies Support Program represents the value of life in West Virginia, said Senator Brian Helton, R-Fayette. 'It shows our state's commitment to life and also the importance of not only that, but also the resources and empowerment for women, particularly single women who are in a distressing time of life to be able to choose life for children,' Helton said. 'That's so important and that program is going to be invaluable.' Senator Rollan A. Roberts, R-Raleigh said that the signing ceremony made Thursday a great day. 'But a few years ago I was privileged to be the caucus chairman for the senate majority and lead that caucus into eliminating almost every kind of abortions that were performed,' Roberts said. 'I think at that time there were 38 abortions a week. I got a signed copy of that bill. My signature is one of the signatures on the bill. That bill sets on my desk today so that every time I walk into my office, I am reminded 38 babies live because of the work of the Legislature and finally getting that through. It was not easy. It was a battle.' Roberts told the governor that at that time, he had said that if they wanted mothers to have their babies, the state had to do something to help them. There was a commitment made by members of the House and the Senate 'to make something good happen for the mothers and the babies.' West Virginia wants to change how other people in the nation perceive it, but the state needs to work on its reality, Roberts said. 'But while we are changing the perception others have of us, we better be working on improving the reality,' he said. 'That's what these bills are all about. This is improving the reality of everyday people and I know the media jumps on all sorts of things. They say oh this wasn't done and that wasn't done and the focus wasn't on this or that. Well, I tell you if we're focusing on foster care, that's a great focus. If we're focusing on mothers and babies' needs, that's a great focus. If we're focused on penalizing those, really penalizing those, who are abusing children instead of giving them a slap on the wrist, let's let them know we are not for that happening. You're going to pay a price if you do this, because the life of a child is impaired for life and we've got to acknowledge that as a society.' Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Gov. Morrisey signs 3 pro-life West Virginia bills
BECKLEY, (WBOY) — West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R) signed three pieces of legislation into law on Thursday that relate to children and pregnant mothers. Senate Bill 537, which expands the use of state funds for pregnancy help organizations, House Bill 2123, which increases the criminal penalty for child abuse by a parent, guardian or custodian, and House Bill 2871, which classifies the loss of a fetus during a vehicle accident as a vehicular homicide death, were all signed during a ceremony in Beckley. Gov. Morrisey said in a press release that the laws are 'strengthening West Virginia's commitment to defending the sanctity of life.' Man allegedly threw Crown Royal bottle near 2 children while in vehicle in Fairmont 'West Virginia has a proud history of standing for the value of and dignity of life,' Morrisey said in the press release. 'I am pleased to sign these bills into law to further defend and protect the most vulnerable among us.' You can read the full text of the bills at the links below: SB 537 HB 2123 HB 2871 Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Morrisey celebrates signing of three bills at Beckley church
Gov. Patrick Morrisey ceremoniously signed three bills during an event at a Beckley, Thursday, May 29, 2025. (West Virginia Office of Gov. Patrick Morrisey | Courtesy photo) West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey on Thursday celebrated the passage of three bills he said protect and defend life 'at all stages.' Morrisey held the ceremonial bill signing for Senate Bill 537, House Bill 2123 and House Bill 2871 at CrossPoint Church in Beckley, West Virginia. 'West Virginia has a proud history defending the sanctity of life for a long, long time, and I've been very humbled to be an important part of that, serving as the first pro-life attorney general in state history,' Morrisey said. 'And before I left, we were still busy defending the state's pro-life law in the Fourth Circuit. That's still pending, and we've been working constantly to try to keep expanding the provisions to protect innocent life.' Senate Bill 537 expands the state's Mothers and Babies Pregnancy Support Program. The legislation allows the program to use state funds to cover new expenditures including new land and buildings, additional services for mothers, and staff training, Morrisey said. The Legislature also allocated $3 million for the program. 'The goal behind that money and this bill is to give organizations that help pregnant women greater flexibility in using their funds,' Morrisey said. 'What a good, noble cause.' The West Virginia Mothers and Babies Pregnancy Support Program was established by House Bill 2002, signed by former Gov. Jim Justice during the 2023 legislative session. State lawmakers passed a law making abortion illegal with narrow exceptions in September 2022 in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down Roe V. Wade. The program provides funding for 'pregnancy support organizations' except those 'that performs, prescribes, refers for, encourages or promotes abortion as an option for a pregnant woman.' House Bill 2123 increases the penalties for a parents or guardians convicted of child abuse resulting in injury or neglect causing the risk of injury from one to five years in prison to two to 10 years in prison. The bill had unanimous support in both the West Virginia House of Delegates and in the Senate. 'Once again, we have to protect our most precious among us, and if you harm a child as a parent or guardian, you're going to pay a heavy price,' Morrisey said. House Bill 2871 expands the vehicular homicide offense to include aggravated vehicular homicide and clarifies that victims can include embryos and fetuses. The bill was also passed unanimously by both chambers of the Legislature. 'Now, the loss of a child in a womb, that can be considered a death for purposes of prosecution,' Morrisey said. 'That's good, and that's just common sense. A life in the womb is still a life. Our laws have to reflect that fact, and they are.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Gov. Morrisey introduces new foster care transparency and reform initiatives
bluefield – More transparency about child neglect and death cases in what's been called a broken foster care system were among the remedial steps that West Virginia's governor announced Wednesday. Standing behind a lectern bearing the sign Transparency In Foster Care, Gov. Patrick Morrisey spoke in Charleston about changes coming to the state's child welfare system. Hearing from residents who have dealt with the system helped to create the reforms. 'Last week, I had a chance to attend a listening session held by the Department of Human Services in Martinsburg about the child welfare system in West Virginia,' Morrisey said. 'In the overall listening tour we had eight meetings across the state which was organized by our terrific Human Services Secretary Alex Mayer, who unfortunately can't be here today because he's doing great things for the state.' The state Department of Human Services has been working to identify ways to improve the child welfare system, according to the governor. 'We launched this listening tour because we know the most valuable input we can have is from folks on the ground. Parents, guardians, grandparents, judges, lawyers, social workers and more gathered at these eight stops around the state to provide feedback based upon their lived and shared experiences,' Morrisey said. People attending these public sessions described a system with many problems. 'When I attended the session in Martinsburg, I heard some of the attendees talk about a broken system, that they were disjointed, siloed, frustrated, a lot of words that we don't want to stand for any program in the state let alone something that affects so many of our kids,' Morrisey said. 'Frankly, it's tough to sit and listen to all those negative experiences about what many of the folks went through. I know that I shared some of that when I worked down the hall as the attorney general. We didn't have some of the tools that we needed to ultimately bring the kind of change to the system that's required. That's changing now.' Hearing about many child welfare issues that could have been avoided with better communications was difficult, he said. Eliminating bureaucratic red tape and giving Child Protective Service workers the right tools would have helped, too. 'I think you know all of these issues have been going on for a very, very long time and. unfortunately, it's the kids who suffer and we can't tolerate that,' Morrisey said. 'West Virginia cannot, I repeat, West Virginia cannot keep kicking the can down the road as was done in the past. That's not the model of this administration. In my administration, we're making urgently needed changes to take the first steps to address issues within the child welfare system.' Morrisey said when he first took office, he received a letter from a local news outlet about one of their Freedom of Information Act requests that 'essentially had been stonewalled and ignored by the previous administration.' 'The information had to do with the fatalities and near-fatalities of children in West Virginia's child welfare system,' the governor said. 'There was no excuse, I repeat, there was no excuse to keep this information shielded from the public. No excuse. We're going to be different. We're going to be up front with the people of West Virginia and we're going to be as transparent as the law possibly allows. So today, we're releasing the response to that FOIA and all that the law allows.' The child welfare reforms announced Wednesday included: • Fully complying with the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) and federal guidelines requiring public disclosure of key information in child abuse or neglect cases resulting in fatalities or near fatalities. • Overhauling the Child Welfare Dashboard to make it simpler to use and easier to interpret the data. • Requiring supervisors to conduct monthly reviews with their child welfare cases and work with our state office team to identify opportunities for improvement and launching a department-wide 'Leadership Education and Development' (LEAD) initiative to better prepare our supervisors. • Creating a Critical Incident Review Team to conduct a deeper dive into every critical incident. • Introducing a Comprehensive Practice Model to provide a foundational framework that can be standardized across the state. • Allowing caseworkers to gather more comprehensive information on cases rather than relying solely on the referral. 'For far too long, we've asked families and frontline professionals to navigate a system that has not kept pace with the complexities our families and children face today. That must change,' Secretary Mayer said later. 'We are listening—intentionally—and using that feedback to shape a more responsive, accountable and transparent system built on trust. ' Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@
