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August Heritage Center workshops, concerts set to begin

ELKINS - Augusta Heritage Center's summer activities will take on a new look this year with its annual workshops and concerts moving to the downtown Elkins area. For years Davis & Elkins College has been the home for Augusta's festivities in the past, but the move to downtown was inevitable after the Augusta purchased the Wilt Building on the corner of Davis Avenue and Third Street back in 2023. "We are excited for this new era of Augusta and are happy to be bringing some programs to downtown Elkins," said Augusta Heritage Executive Director Seth Young. "We are especially excited ...

Elkins to use TIF for wayfinding

ELKINS — The Elkins City Council approved using Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds to create wayfinding signs for downtown. During the council’s June 11 meeting, all nine present council members voted in favor of Resolution 1933, which accepts and authorizes the execution of an agreement with the Mills Group to design wayfinding signs, authorizes the expenditure of TIF funds and directs the Municipal Properties Committee to assist with the project. First Ward Council member Robert Chenoweth was absent from the meeting. According to Resolution 1933, the wayfinding signs project is ...

W.Va. Governor’s Office disappointed in SNAP ruling

CHARLESTON – The office of Gov. Patrick Morrisey expressed disappointment in a federal ruling pausing West Virginia's waiver prohibiting the use of welfare benefits for sugary drinks and sodas. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia released a memorandum opinion Monday ...

Hardesty: School systems heading toward financial ‘rocks’

CHARLESTON - West Virginia has lost the enrollment equivalent of six full counties in a single year, a crisis that state Board of Education President Paul Hardesty warns will lead to financial disaster unless state leaders modernize the school aid formula. In a conference call Wednesday morning, West Virginia Board of Education President Paul Hardesty said continuing declines in student enrollment, an antiquated school aid formula providing less funding to county school systems, and an increase in number and costs of special education students has accelerated the closure of schools and ...

26,000 students apply for the Hope Scholarship

CHARLESTON– State Treasurer Larry Pack, who serves as Chairman of the Hope Scholarship Board, announced 26,617 students have applied for full-funding for the Hope Scholarship Program for the 2026-2027 school year. Using the latest application data available, the estimated cost of the initial application period for the program for the 2026-2027 school year is currently $155 million. The estimated cost will continue to increase throughout the year as applications are received for reduced funding amounts. “We are so excited to welcome thousands of new families into the Hope ...

PEIA finances stable heading into next fiscal year

CHARLESTON - The financials of the health insurance benefit for West Virginia public workers appears to stable heading into the next fiscal year. Members of the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) Finance Board met Thursday afternoon for its regular meeting, with members attending in person at PEIA's Kanawha City headquarters and virtually. The PEIA Finance Board received a report on PEIA's most recent financial statements as of the end of April, detailing the health of the program over the last 10 months of fiscal year 2026. PEIA Director Brent Wolfingbarger told board members ...