The State Journal back issues from December 2004:
TRASH TO TREASURE
Dec 03, 2004; ... Picture all the electronic gadgets you've used up -- your first calculator, your old laptops and desktops, the many cell phones, TVs and VCRs - all piled together in your back yard. Heave on a photocopier or fax machine, out of fairness. Now think about the. piles in your ...
Shopping Turnout Starts Hot, Cools
Dec 03, 2004; ... The holiday shopping season started with a boom but leveled off to a tepid finish by the end of the post-Thanksgiving weekend. West Virginians began lining up at stores all across the state as early as 3 a.m. the Friday after Thanksgiving. They sat with hot chocolate and coffee at their ...
Project Seeks Solution to Plastics Recycling Problem
Dec 03, 2004; ... MORGANTOWN-Of all the challenges to recycling end-of-life electronics -collecting them to central locations, figuring out who should pay - the most intractable is how to recycle the plastics. The Mid-Atlantic Recycling Center for End-of-life Electronics is working on that very ...
Wood County to Provide Platform for Recycling Computers
Dec 03, 2004; ... Working with partners nationwide, the Mid-Atlantic Recycling Center for End-oflife Electronics in Wood County is at the forefront of a national solution to the growing problem of retired electronics. The MARCEE project aims to be the first-ever total recycling solution for endoflife ...
DN American Charts End-of-Life Electroanics Collections
Dec 03, 2004; ... What is the most efficient way to collect end-of-life electronics for recycling? Curbside? Return to manufacturer? Trade-in at retailer on replacement? DN American of Fairmont, the information technology partner of the MidAtlantic Recycling Center for End-of-life Electronics, is helping ...
McDonough Takes Strategic View of 'Remaking Things'
Dec 03, 2004; ... In contracting with internationally renowned architect and designer William McDonough, founding principal of William McDonough + Partners of Virginia, the Mid-Atlantic Center for Recycling End-of-life Electronics is bringing innovative strategies to polymer recycling. One of the primary ...
Logan Newspaper, Reporter Deny Accusations of Libel
Dec 03, 2004; ... A Logan County newspaper and newspaper reporter have denied charges that they libeled a Roane County businessman. The Logan Banner's owners, Newspaper Holdings Inc., and reporter Chris Stratton said in an answer to a civil case filed in Mingo County that businessman David Heeter's claims ...
Wheeling Prepped for Super Six Football Showdowns
Dec 03, 2004; ... It is a moment all high school football players dream about. That moment when they step out on the field and play for it all. They stare ahead through the opposition, mustering strength and intimidation. On the outside they are brave and determined, but on the inside they pray for only ...
Appeal Likely in Marion Court's Ruling Against UHC
Dec 03, 2004; ... The West Virginia Health Care Authority and United Hospital Center may appeal a recent decision by a Marion County Circuit Court judge to overturn a certificate of need for a replacement hospital in Harrison County. Late last week, Judge Fred Fox reversed a decision by the Health Care ...
Southern Highway Projects Target Economic Renewal
Dec 03, 2004; ... Residents of southern West Virginia hope four new highway construction projects will help renew the region's economic life through easier and safer access to the rest of the state and nation. When completed, the four-lane, 65 miles-per-hour-speed-limit King Coal Highway will stretch from ...
West Virginia Northern Gearing Up for Expansion
Dec 03, 2004; ... West Virginia Northern Community College is spending about $10 million to transform an old grocery warehouse into classrooms and laboratory space for students at its Wheeling campus. The project, part of a nearly $14 million College Square expansion, will create a more integrated campus ...
Lottery Commission to Hold Drawing for 253 Video Game Permits
Dec 03, 2004; ... The West Virginia Lottery has plenty of experience in hosting drawings to give away something of value. But more often than not, the drawing is for millions of dollars, not a permit to run video lottery machines. On Dec. 9, the Lottery Commission will hold a drawing for 28 ...
Steel Leaders Worried About Byrd Amendment
Dec 03, 2004; ... World Trade Organization sanctions levied last week on a range of U.S. exports are drawing fire in the steel belt. The sactions are retaliation for a 4-year-old law that allows companies harmed by underpriced imports to share in tariffs assessed on them. The WTO, hoping to ...
Family Spreads Magic, American Dream
Dec 03, 2004; ... BLUEFIELD, Va. - Since its beginning in 1911 when the Ammar family ancestors started peddling goods by foot, the Magic Mart retail chain has become a more than 1,000-employee business in four states. Brothers Keleel Abraham and Saleem Abraham Ammar came to America in 1911 from the ...
Bigglesworth Broadcasting Acquires Kenova Frequency
Dec 03, 2004; ... With a $2.225 million bid, Bigglesworth Broadcasting is the new owner of an FM radio frequency in Kenova. Earlier this month, the Federal Communications Commission auctioned off 258 FM radio frequencies across the country The Kenova frequency brought in one of the highest bids for the ...
Love of Racing Spurs Creation of Racer X
Dec 03, 2004; ... MORGANTOWN - A need for speed runs in the Coombs family. So does a head for business. After a life of motocross racing, Morgantown resident Davey Coombs has turned his passions for speed and the written word into a motocross publishing company, Filter Publications, which produces Racer X ...
Hatfield-McCoy Trail Traffic Increases, Suffers First Fatality
Dec 03, 2004; ... The Hatfield-McCoy Trail in southern West Virginia has had its best-ever year as the result of national recognition and increased ridership, but it also reported its first fatality. On June 5, US. Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton announced the trail's addition to the National ...
Some Mylan Investors Agree with Rejection of Icahn Bid
Dec 03, 2004; ... MORGANTOWN - Attitudes differ among investors in north-central West Virginia following Mylan Laboratories' rejection last week of an offer from its largest shareholder, Carl Icahn, to buy the company. In a letter to Mylan's board Nov. 19, Icahn offered to buy the company at $20 per ...
Who's Who In West Virginia Business: John C Allen, John Allen Builds Reputation of Family Business
Dec 03, 2004; ... BUCKHANNON - By bringing an entrepreneurial spirit to the family construction business, John C. Allen has grown J.F. Allen Co. of Buckhannon into a nationally recognized road builder. Returning home from Virginia Military Institute in 1962 to join the company founded by his father in the ...
Who's Who In West Virginia Business: Alvarez, MEC Construction Broaden Range of Work
Dec 03, 2004; ... BRIDGEPORT - In growing MEC Construction of Bridgeport, the business his father started in 1981, David B. Alvarez has found an ideal way to help West Virginia and West Virginians. Alvarez earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from West Virginia University in ...
Who's Who In West Virginia Business: Karen Bowling Lives Life's Dream as Caregiver
Dec 03, 2004; ... BECKLEY - In high school, Karen Bowling considered herself a caregiver, someone who wanted to make a difference in people's lives. This coal-miner's daughter and Mullens native achieved that goal. She epitomizes the qualities and character that make her one of the state's best and ...
Who's Who In West Virginia Business: Paul Helmick, Helmick Committed to Building Businesses
Dec 03, 2004; ... CHARLESTON - For Paul Helmick, experience is necessary to find success, whether he is teaching eager entrepreneurs or learning from the professionals who have gathered decades of knowledge. Helmick is the CEO of Charleston-based Premier Strategies. "You grow and improve based on ...
Who's Who In West Virginia Business: Ansted's Robin Hildebrand Serves Up Success
Dec 03, 2004; ... ANSTED - Robin Hildebrand is fired up for the Christmas holidays. The founder of Blue Smoke Salsa Inc. has gift baskets full of West Virginia goodies, including her signature salsa, proudly displayed in her shop along Main Street in Ansted. Her storefront is decorated with faux ...
Who's Who In West Virginia Business: George Karos, As Druggist and Mayor, Karos Finds Remedies
Dec 03, 2004; ... MARTINSBURG - Masontown Mayor Lydia Main has a theory on why pharmacists make good city leaders. After decades of running a main-street pharmacy and leading the government of her hometown, a hamlet of 1,000 northeast of Morgantown, she's given the matter some thought. "When ...
Who's Who In West Virginia Business: Suzanne Wilson, Wilson Steps Up to Run, Build Family Business
Dec 03, 2004; ... CLARKSBURG - When R.D. Wilson Sons & Co. of Clarksburg celebrated its centennial last year, it was a family enterprise in the process of remaking itself at the hands of CEO Suzanne Wilson. As it has for a century R.D. Wilson provides paper goods and janitorial and facilities ...
Famous West Virginians to Encourage Pride in Students
Dec 03, 2004; ... Many people were lucky enough during their school years to have a teacher who inspired and encouraged them to follow their dreams and achieve their goals. All it takes is one special teacher, a favorite subject or a memorable project to make a young person believe in his or her talents and set ...
End-Of-Year Spending Bill Helps Save Amtrak
Dec 03, 2004; ... A final federal government funding plan for fiscal year 2005 rescued Amtrak, at least for now. In a $388 billion, end-of-the-year government spending bill, US. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., helped secure $1.2 billion for Amtrak's operations and management. In fiscal year 2004, it ...
Wheeling-Pitt Steelmaking Furnace Up and Running
Dec 03, 2004; ... Officials at Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. say startup of their new, $115 million electric are furnace at its Mingo Junction, Ohio, plant "marks the beginning of a new era" for the company and its employees. The electric arc furnace (EAF), which brings state-of-the-art technology to ...
Union Workers Continue To Strike at Ormet Corp.
Dec 03, 2004; ... Unionized workers at Wheeling-based Ormet Corp.'s Hannibal, Ohio, plant remain on the picket line despite warnings from company officials that a lengthy strike could jeopardize the bankrupt company's future. Workers walked off the job Nov 22 to protest Ormet's bid for court approval of ...
WHEEL OF JUSTICE
Dec 10, 2004; ... On Charles Love's desk sits a book that espouses the need for an independent judiciary, where the people elect judges based on their record and qualifications, not their political party. West Virginia State Bar member James A. Bent wrote the book to make a case for nonpartisan elections ...
Group Looks to Protect, Promote Coal River
Dec 10, 2004; ... St. Albans resident Bill Queen honestly can say he has floated, swam, rowed or waded all 90 miles of the Coal River. As chairman of the Coal River Recreation Committee, Queen has put in most of these miles using a GPS computer to map out a river route, which he calls the Walhonde Trail ...
Global Grid Exchange to Provide Computing Services
Dec 10, 2004; ... FAIRMONT - In a move that promises to accelerate the timeline of science and other compute-intensive endeavors, the West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation last week launched the world's first public Internet computing grid: the Global Grid Exchange. Through the GGE, ...
Marshall to Receive $2.8 Million Gift from Businessman's Estate
Dec 10, 2004; ... Bliss Livingstone Charles did not hold a degree from Marshall University, but that didn't stop the Huntington attorney and accountant from making one of the largest single donations ever to the school. Marshall will receive $2.8 million from Charles' estate, according to a university ...
'Stollen Honor' Holiday Treat Lands Bakery on TV
Dec 10, 2004; ... SHEPHERDSTOWN - A 20-second spot on a Food Network Christmas special is giving the Shepherdstown Sweet Shop Bakery its 15 minutes of fame. First airing in the days after Thanksgiving, the cable network's "The Secret Life of Christmas" briefly spotlights the Shepherdstown bakery and its ...
Legislators Question Timing of Table Games Session
Dec 10, 2004; ... Northern Panhandle lawmakers weighed in on Gov. Bob Wise's willingness to call a special session table gaming legislation, and not everyone is convinced his timing is right. Wise last week told Charleston Rotarians he would be willing to call a special session in the final weeks of his ...
Kiss: Pension Bond Ruling Expected
Dec 10, 2004; ... The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has nixed a plan to bond out unfunded liabilities in the state's public pensions, a move that would free up a chunk of the state budget that goes to, pay annual pension obligations As Gov. Bob Wise expressed disappointment at the decision, one ...
Marshall Set to Select Interim President
Dec 10, 2004; ... Marshall University's Board of Governors is expected to meet on Dec. 17 to pick an interim replacement for outgoing president Dan Angel and set up a process to find his successor. According to several people on the governing board, the university should announce the meeting sometime this ...
Alcan Spinoff Plan Creates Optimism for Future of Ravenswood Plant
Dec 10, 2004; ... Efforts to keep an aluminum brazing plant open in Ravenswood may pay off soon. Alcan Aluminum Inc. and the U.S. Department of Justice have reached a tentative agreement to allow Alcan to create a new company to run its brazing sheet operations, including operations at the company's ...
Local Grocer Finds Way to Fight Giants
Dec 10, 2004; ... HUNTINGTON - In the late 1980s, Forth Foods could see that major chains such as Wal-Mart and Kroger would dominate local grocery stores. So the company prepared by opening its own wholesale warehouse and welcoming the computer age. "The national trend is people like me going out of ...
Merchants Group Hopes to Maintain Marketing Program
Dec 10, 2004; ... Lack of organization, not lack of effectiveness, is why the Kanawha Independent Merchants have done little this year. "We've been dormant for months," said Barry Ogrin, owner of Charleston Department Store and unofficial head of the Merchants. "What we need to do is meet more often, and ...
Advantage Valley Backs Business Startups
Dec 10, 2004; ... For the past eight years, Advantage Valley has worked to promote economic development in a 12-county region that stretches from Charleston to Ashland, Ky., and Ironton, Ohio. During that time, the organization has had both successes and challenges. Now Advantage Valley is gearing up for ...
St. Albans Mayor Strives to Clean Up Community
Dec 10, 2004; ... Friends have joked that becoming mayor of St. Albans was the result of a midlife crisis. "It was this or buy a Harley, and I'm way too clumsy for a Harley," said Richard Milam, a lifelong resident of St. Albans and the mayor since 2001. The real reason Milam ran for mayor after retiring ...
Conference to Examine Transportation Challenges
Dec 10, 2004; ... Many of West Virginia's locks and darns were built to last 50 years, but they've been in operation more than 60. Many railroad systems rely on doublestack rail cars to ship goods, but West Virginia's tunnels don't allow the doublestack cars here. Those are just two problems ...
St. Albans Strives to Reinvigorate Downtown
Dec 10, 2004; ... In the 1970s, the trend was to close downtown areas to traffic and develop them as pedestrian plazas. St. Albans jumped on the bandwagon, closing down Main Street except to pedestrian traffic. Great efforts were made to landscape the plaza and attract customers to the new "outside ...
CLIMBING TO THE TOP
Dec 17, 2004; ... While much can be done during the coming four years to improve education in West Virginia, a look at the state's college-going rate also shows that we've been doing something right. True, the legacy is grim. U.S. Census Bureau numbers for 2003 find West Virginia 50th among states in the ...
Cellular 'Phonebook' Draws Concerns
Dec 17, 2004; ... Cellular telephone companies want to produce a virtual phonebook, and that has some wireless customers on edge. A consortium of wireless providers recently announced plans to release a cell phone directory sometime next year But unlike a regular phonebook, the wireless companies will not ...
Sprint-Nextel Merger Could Alter Wireless Landscape
Dec 17, 2004; ... Sprint, the nation's third-largest wireless provider, and Nextel, the fifth-largest provider, this week announced a $35 billion merger. The move could make the new company the second largest provider in West Virginia. And with 38 million customers, Sprint Nextel will be the thirdlargest ...
Rural Schools Push Value of College Education
Dec 17, 2004; ... College-going rates among West Virginia's 2003 public high school graduates ranged from about 30 percent at a few rural schools to 100 percent at one urban high school. But In spite of the disadvantages rural schools face, a number maintained rates above the national average of 57 ...
College Summit Finds Success In Directing Students to College
Dec 17, 2004; ... As it begins a new cycle in West Virginia next month, College Summit, the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit program aimed at helping mid-tier students navigate the college application process, is growing again. College Summit came to West Virginia four years ago with the help of Energy ...
Various Groups Work to Build State's College-Going Rate
Dec 17, 2004; ... While the PROMISE scholarship may be the largest program aimed at getting more West Virginia high school seniors to college and College Summit the fastestgrowing, other programs bring a variety of approaches to the problem all across the state. The West Virginia Access Center for Higher ...
Manchin May Modify PROMISE Program
Dec 17, 2004; ... The PROMISE Scholarship has its supporters and its detractors, but no discussion of the college-going rate in West Virginia is complete without it. The program will likely see changes under Govelect Joe Manchin. By way of review: The state sponsored, merit-based PROMISE Scholarship aims ...
Commission Offers Plan to Energize Coal, Natural Gas
Dec 17, 2004; ... The privately funded, bipartisan National Commission on Energy Policy released a strategy Dec. 8 that tackles major long-term U.S. energy concerns and foreshadows the increased value of West Virginia and its coal and natural gas. Many recommendations in the 148-page report, "Ending the ...
Weirton Council Tables Contentious B&O Tax Proposal
Dec 17, 2004; ... Weirton City Council has put a controversial business and occupation tax proposal targeting the city's largest employers on hold. City officials threatened a 0.1 percent tax on manufacturers with gross sales of at least $25 million per quarter - a measure that would have targeted the ...
West Virginia's Flood Protection Plan has $2.8 Million Price Tag
Dec 17, 2004; ... State and federal officials have unveiled a statewide flood protection plan, but it comes with a cost. After severe floods devastated several small communities in southern West Virginia in 2001, the West Virginia Conservation Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers joined forces with ...
State's Judiciary Still a 'Hellhole'
Dec 17, 2004; ... Despite some legislative action on civil justice reform, West Virginia's third branch of government has placed the state once again on a national list of judicial hellholes published by the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) Each year, ATRA publishes its controversial "judicial ...
Study Says State Gambling Revenues at Risk
Dec 17, 2004; ... West Virginia's normally reliable revenue stream from the state's four racetracks may take a drastic dip beginning in fiscal 2006. A new study from the West Virginia Racing Association examines the economic impact of West Virginia's neighboring states adding video lottery machines to ...
Union President Says Steel Merger Should be Seamless
Dec 17, 2004; ... The president of the Independent Steelworkers Union (ISU) at International Steel Group's Weirton plant says it should be business as usual after the company's proposed merger with Mittal Steel Co. is completed. Mittal, a new company, is being formed through a merger of ISPAT Steel, LNM ...
I-79 Council Backs Legislation to Support Government Mergers
Dec 17, 2004; ... The I-79 Development Council voted unanimously at its annual meeting last week to endorse legislation enabling local governments to merge. Three pieces of legislation prepared by the Commission on Governing in the 21st Century would allow for counties to merge, forming larger counties; ...
AAA Settling Into New Southridge Location
Dec 17, 2004; ... AAA has a new home along Corridor G in South Charleston. The travel organization has been operating out of its new office since Nov. 22 and officially celebrated its grand opening this past weekend. The office is located in the Southridge retail development section of Corridor G at 1000 ...
Weirton Approves City's First TIF District
Dec 17, 2004; ... Weirton City Council has signed off on the community's first proposed Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district, roughly 800 acres adjacent to the city's Three Springs Drive commercial area. A TIF allows local government to bank the additional revenues generated in a specific area - in this ...
Pile Hardware Finds Its Niche
Dec 17, 2004; ... CHARLESTON - If running a business requires a love for that business, as Bill Pile contends, a love for the hardware business must run in the Pile family. FM Pile Hardware Co. on Charleston's West Side has thrived through four generations. "It's the kind of business where, if you don't ...
Groups Compete for Grant to Boost Entrepreneurship
Dec 17, 2004; ... Three Kanawha Valley groups have joined forces to compete for a prestigious $2 million Kellogg Foundation grant to be given out next spring. The Center for Economic Options (CEO), Advantage Valley and West Virginia: A Vision Shared have teamed up to apply for the grant that is designed ...
West Virginia Shows Improvement In R&D Funding
Dec 17, 2004; ... West Virginia leaped to No. 4 among states in private research and development funding, although it continues to lag in employment measures and educational attainment, according to a compilation of state-by-state data released this week. The 18th annual Development Report Card (DRC) from ...
Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program Extended
Dec 17, 2004; ... A last-minute federal spending bill temporarily preserved the federal Abandoned Mine Land reclamation program until Congress decides what to do. The AML program, which was created by the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, was set to expire Sept. 30. Sen ....
Legislation Would Protect Businesses from Credit Card Fraud
Dec 17, 2004; ... Keyser business owner Gary Howell is taking on major credit card companies, hoping to get a state law passed that will protect merchants from credit card fraud. Howell, along with the help of Sen. Jon Blair Hunter, DMonongalia, is gearing up for round two after a proposed law died during ...