GOP, Democratic Leaders Spar Over Education Issues

On this West Virginia Morning, tension continues to mount at the Statehouse over education-related issues. Thousands of teachers and public service personnel rallied on the Capitol steps over the weekend demanding change. On last night’s episode of The Legislature Today, host Andrea Lannom spoke with Senate President Mitch Carmichael and Senate Minority Leader Roman Prezioso. We have an excerpt from that interview.

Also on today’s show, the numbers on the Ohio Valley’s opioid crisis are grim, especially so in West Virginia, which has the nation’s highest rate of overdose deaths. But a deep dive into those numbers might help to bring down the death toll. Aaron Payne sat down with the state’s chief health officer to learn how a new data analysis shows opportunities to keep people alive.

And we hear from Appalachia Health News. West Virginia has been getting a lot of attention for the opioid crisis recently. But opioids are not the only drugs, or even the deadliest, that impact West Virginia. Research shows that tobacco kills more than 4 times as many West Virginians as opioids. But Kara Lofton reports that passing even moderate laws to limit tobacco use in the state, are difficult sells.