West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Perry Bennett / West Virginia Legislative Photography

W.Va. House Passes Education Reform Bill, SB 451 Heads Back to Senate

Updated on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019 at 6:54 p.m. The West Virginia House of Delegates has passed its version of a long, sweeping and controversial education reform bill. The proposal, which calls for teacher and school service pay raises, but also other ideas opposed by public educators such as charter schools, is a stripped-down version of the measure the Senate passed last week.

As Trump Declares National Emergency To Fund Border Wall, Democrats Promise A Fight

Tower for drilling horizontally into the Marcellus Shale Formation for natural gas, from Pennsylvania Route 118 in eastern Moreland Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, USA — Ruhrfisch [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)

EQT Agrees to $53 Million Settlement for Improper Gas Royalty Payments

WVPB Podcasts & Programs

The Black Talk

How old were you when you first learned that police may think of you as a threat? You’ve never been told that? Chances are you’re not African American. In this episode, Trey Kay examines “The Black Talk,” which is the sober conversation that many black families have with their teenage kids – particularly teenage boys – about how they should conduct themselves when stopped by the police.

Listen: Kenny White on Mountain Stage

Appalachia's Connection to the United Kingdom

Reporters Recap Contentious Week at the Capitol

By Liz McCormick • 6 hours ago

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Listen to "The Legislature Today" on Feb. 15, 2019.

SB 451 – comprehensive education reform – is now back in the Senate, and the chamber is expected next week to consider the massive bill as amended by the House of Delegates. In this reporter roundtable, host Suzanne Higgins speaks with fellow statehouse reporters on the evolution of SB 451, and we explore other issues moving through the legislative process.

Alderson Broaddus sophomore takes a look at history of WQAB

By Lalena Price • 7 hours ago

West Virginia Public Broadcasting's latest addition to its network of radio transmitters has a long history of serving North Central West Virginia. Alderson

Broaddus University student reporter Lauren McMillen, a sophomore mass communications major from Pittsburgh, tells the story of WQAB, 91.7 FM.

How to Bake Bread like Appalachia's Ancestors

By Caitlin Tan • 7 hours ago

See a recipe for salt rising bread at the bottom of this page.

Salt Rising bread has a long history in Appalachia. Typically, people outside of the region have never heard of it.

The bread often brings to mind a variety of distinctive scents and grandmothers tending to a time-intensive dough in a wood-heated kitchen.

Making a Living as a Traditional Weaver in Appalachia

By Caitlin Tan • 8 hours ago

Most Americans typically wear clothes made in factories overseas. The same goes for fabrics in homes, such as potholders, rugs and blankets. But it has not always been this way.

Appalachians Share Solutions for Coal Transition with Congress

By Jan Pytalski & 100 Days in Appalachia • 9 hours ago

Democrats in the U.S. House are continuing their focus on climate change, this week shifting from its environmental to its economic impact and looking to Appalachia for next steps to aid communities with fossil fuel-based economies.

On Thursday, members of the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee heard testimony on how struggling coal communities are working to transition to more efficient, greener industries that can still provide the region with an economic base.

DHHR, WVU To Implement 2nd Substance Use Pilot Project

By West Virginia Public Broadcasting • 9 hours ago

Doctor, Health, Doctor with tablet, Doctor with iPad — Public Domain Pictures

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources and West Virginia University are launching a pilot project to address substance use in Berkeley and Jefferson counties.

When W.Va. Delegate Compared LGBT to KKK, He Highlighted the History of Religious Right Prejudice

By Tiffany Stevens & 100 Days in Appalachia • 9 hours ago

When West Virginia House of Delegates member Eric Porterfield, R-Mercer, called the LGBT community “the modern-day version of the Ku Klux Klan” in an interview with a Charleston Gazette-Mail reporter last week, it drew condemnation not just in the state, but nationwide.

Why Fewer Appalachians Signed Up for Affordable Care Act Coverage in 2019

By Taylor Sisk & 100 Days in Appalachia • 9 hours ago

Fewer residents of Appalachia will have health insurance under the Affordable Care Act in 2019 than the year before. Enrollment numbers are down throughout the region, as they are nationwide, and some advocates say they aren’t surprised.

In 11 of the 13 Appalachian states that enroll residents through the federal HealthCare.gov website (Maryland and New York administer their own ACA marketplaces), only Mississippi saw a rise in enrollment numbers. West Virginia and Virginia saw the largest declines.

Arch Coal Plans to Open W.Va. Mine, Add Nearly 600 Jobs

By Associated Press • 9 hours ago

Arch Coal Inc. says it plans to open a longwall mine in northcentral West Virginia and employ nearly 600 employees when it's fully operational.

Appalachia’s Folkways: Handmade and Passing It On

By Jessica Lilly , Roxy Todd & Eric Douglas • 10 hours ago

Caitlin Tan / West Virginia Public Broadcasting

This week on Inside Appalachia, we’ll hear from Appalachians who have a knack for making things with their hands -- people who make the essentials of life in the old ways.

“And when I sit down at one of those looms and I start creating a piece of cloth, I feel connected to the place of my ancestors, the people who have come before,” said weaver Jane Gilchrest.

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