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New Medicare data shows wide disparity in healthcare costs
Yesterday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released for the first time data detailing the 100 most common medical procedures in more than 3,000 hospitals nationwide, how much those...
View ArticleLunchtime rundown: Medicare data released, Rahall seeks re-election
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid released new data detailing the 100 most common medical procedures at hospitals nationwide, how much hospitals charge Medicare for those services and how much...
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Lunchtime rundown: Spelling bees, sequester cuts and campaign questions
…and we’re back. Sorry for the unannounced hiatus. I took a few days off last week, sans laptop, and didn’t get around to telling you guys. I’m sure you missed me. In other news, this happened: My...
View ArticleLunchtime rundown: WVU approves land for baseball park, Charlotte Lane runs...
At a meeting this morning at WVU Tech, the West Virginia University Board of Governors voted to raise tuition and freeze employee salaries. Members also agreed to purchase a seven-acre parcel of land...
View ArticleLunchtime rundown: W.Va. delegation takes on Obama’s “war on coal,” lawmakers...
The big news of the day are two U.S. Supreme Court rulings striking down the Defense of Marriage Act (which all five members of West Virginia supported when it passed in 1996), and California’s...
View ArticleLunchtime rundown: Sen. “Books” McCabe, local reaction to DOMA decision, and...
Today’s front page features my story on State Sen. Brooks McCabe‘s impressive home library, which features more than 1,000 books about West Virginia. McCabe, D-Kanawha, has been collecting the books...
View ArticleLunchtime rundown: Bloomberg hosts Manchin fundraiser, legislature studies...
I’ve spoken to Senate President Jeff Kessler several times in the past about his idea for a “future fund,” a state-run trust fund built from Marcellus Shale natural gas tax revenues. He introduced a...
View ArticleLunchtime rundown: Tomblin has Medicaid questions for feds, Lane apparently...
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin on Monday sent a letter to Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, requesting answers to a series of questions about expanding Medicaid...
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Post-lunchtime rundown: Dams need inspecting, Dems rally behind coal,...
Just in case you’ve ever wondered how a dam works Of West Virginia’s 170 watershed dams, 169 are designated “high hazard”: if they should break, high levels of property damage and loss of life likely...
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Lunchtime rundown: Overhaul planned for state juvenile system, Rockefeller...
The Harriet B. Jones Treatment Center in Harrison County (Photo courtesy of the West Virginia Division of Juvenile Services) Court-ordered fixes to the state’s juvenile corrections system could cost...
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Lunchtime rundown: Suspected shooter is AG employee, more announcements for...
Photo by Bob Wojcieszak Apologize for the lack of a lunchtime rundown yesterday, but I was preoccupied with coverage of a shooting in the South Hills neighborhood of Sherwood Forest. Mark Bramble, a...
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Lunchtime rundown: Morrisey expresses Obamacare worries, WV Radio disputes...
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and 12 other Republican lawyers-in-chief are raising concerns about “navigators” hired to help folks enroll in the healthcare...
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Lunchtime rundown: Local Syrians urge action, Republicans buy more ads...
Local residents with ties to Syria gathered at the West Virginia Capitol on Wednesday evening to urge U.S. action in the war-torn country. (Photo by Billy Wolfe) The United States and its allies appear...
View ArticleLunchtime rundown: West Virginia Poll show Manchin approval rating drop,...
The most recent edition of the West Virginia Poll finds U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin‘s popularity in the Mountain State has declined precipitously, just since the beginning of the year. Manchin’s approval...
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Lunchtime rundown: Top Dems speak at UMWA rally, dozens protest Syria...
The Capitol Notebook took a brief Labor Day break, but we’re back this morning with your daily lunchtime rundown. Eugene Estep snaps a picture of his wife, Louise Estep, with Sen. Joe Manchin at the...
View ArticleLunchtime rundown: Tennant’s office clears Team Mingo, state Senate gets an...
An attorney for Secretary of State Natalie Tennant‘s office found the Team Mingo 2012 political action committee accepted inappropriate contributions but did not violate state law. The finding points...
View ArticleManchin urges patience (45 days’ worth) on Syria
Last week, Sen. Joe Manchin said he would wait to see all the evidence before making a decision on whether the U.S. should strike Syria over alleged chemical weapons attacks there. This morning,...
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Capito says she’ll vote “no” on Obama’s Syria plan
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., confirmed in a statement Monday evening she would vote against military intervention in Syria. “I will be voting against a resolution to...
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Lunchtime rundown: Manchin urges patience in Syria, Capito says she’ll vote...
Terry Reasoner, 65, left, and Kathryn Stone, 85, both of Charleston, joined other protesters along Kanawha Blvd. on Monday to protest America’s proposed intervention in Syria. (Photo by Craig...
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Federal, state meth statistics don’t match up
As you can read in today’s Daily Mail, federal and state statistics on meth lab busts don’t really jibe. Here’s a chart to explain what I’m talking about. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has collected...
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