We will look back on the 2026 regular session of the Legislature as the session that fell on deaf ears.
The West Virginia Senate did something rare Wednesday.
Area career and technical centers continue to see a steady increase in interest and applications from high school students and adults alike.
After reaching an agreement on tax cuts and pay increases, state lawmakers in both houses took steps Thursday to avoid a repeat of last year’s executive veto-fest by passing the Fiscal Year 2027 budget with nine days remaining in the legislative session.
West Virginia Superintendent of Schools Michele L. Blatt addressed the U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce’s Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education last month to discuss how states are navigating AI usage in school systems.
As enrollment for preschool programs begins across the state, educators are driving home the importance of introducing young children to a classroom setting to gain critical skills before they advance to kindergarten.
Balls and Lego bricks may be toys, but for Annie Harmon, program assistant for the Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering at the West Virginia University Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, they are a way to introduce kids to a new world: …
HURRICANE — A Kanawha County businesswoman is dead and a Putnam County man has been charged with felonies in the incident, which involved a two-vehicle crash near the eastbound Hurricane exit of Interstate 64 on Thursday afternoon.
If you were anywhere near the Kanawha River around Charleston early Thursday morning, you likely didn't miss the thick fog blanketing the valley.
Five votes prevented Raylee’s Law from coming to a floor vote in the House chamber on Wednesday, as Delegate Shawn Fluharty’s Hail Mary effort to force a debate on the bill fell short.
An experiment in shade is growing at Magic Island on Charleston’s West Side.
The West Virginia House of Delegates has passed legislation that would set up stripping civil service status and access to grievance procedures for thousands of state employees at Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s request, building on moves it made last year and prompting fears it’s threatening job se…
Joe Shelton, elected in 1976 as one of Kanawha County’s first magistrates after the West Virginia Judicial Reform Amendment of 1974 replaced the state’s former lower-court justice of the peace network with a unified statewide magisterial system, died Wednesday. He was 86.
Hours before the crossover day deadline, West Virginia senators passed two bills that target LGBTQ+ people on Wednesday. Senate Bill 590 would prohibit drag shows and other “adult cabaret performance” on public property or where they could be viewed by a minor. Under Senate Bill 1083, trans…
The West Virginia Senate passed an industry-pushed bill Wednesday that would significantly roll back protection of the state’s most vulnerable waters against toxic spills from oil and gas tanks.
Applications for the Hope Scholarship, the state’s education voucher program, have opened up to all West Virginia children in grades K-12 for the first time. The potential massive expansion of the program is impacting lawmakers’ budget making right now, as they are trying to allocate enough …
Can you smell that? Mint, caramel, peanut butter, lemon, chocolate and marshmallow are filling the air in West Virginia as Girl Scouts begin their annual cookie sale.
On a busy “crossover day” at the West Virginia Capitol Wednesday, lawmakers advanced legislation designed to improve communication between law enforcement and disadvantaged members of the communities which they serve.
Although not well known outside the West Virginia valley through which it flows, the Kanawha River has been the inspiration for the names of six U.S. Navy ships over the years, from a gunboat targeting Gulf Coast blockade runners in the Civil War to a fleet replenishment oiler now in the Eas…
More than 60 Capital High School students took part in protest Wednesday at the West Virginia Capitol in Charleston against federal immigration policies.
West Virginia foster care could see a massive operational overhaul after senators approved a bill to begin offloading parts of the system to a private company. Foster care in West Virginia has long struggled to meet the needs of nearly 6,000 kids due to a shortage of in-state foster homes or…
The West Virginia House of Delegates has approved a bill that would impose jail time and fines for homeless people who live on public property throughout the state. Delegates passed House Bill 5319 with a 62 to 32 vote and five members absent. The bill would impose fines of up to $500 or 3…
The West Virginia Senate is on the verge of passing fast-tracked, industry-backed legislation that would weaken protections of vulnerable state waters from toxic chemical spills from aboveground gas and oil storage tanks.
Legislative head butting was on full display last week, as the House of Delegates moved its budget bill into the end zone without Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s requested 10% across-the-board income tax reduction.
The Rev. Katherine Lewis, 61, grew up in Charleston as a daughter of the Rev. Jim Lewis and Judy Lewis. From an early age, she was exposed to the “fingerprints” of her parents’ activism, as Jim describes it.
The West Virginia Department of Education's Office of Career Technical Education held its annual Hospitality Cup in Embassy Suites by Hilton in Charleston, Tuesday, Mar. 3, 2026. Over 60 students from 11 schools participated in cooking and food management competitions over two days.
The city of Charleston is in its best financial position in 20 years, although it is still in a deficit, according to Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin and Finance Director Andy Wood.
A man and a woman were found dead following a fire at their home in Seth, Boone County, early Tuesday morning, according to a news release from the West Virginia Office of the State Fire Marshal.
Creatures straight from the imagination of some of Charleston's youngest residents will soon take shape at Legal Aid's new headquarters in the Elk City area of Charleston’s West Side.
West Virginia consumes far more coal for its electricity than any other state.
Across West Virginia, teachers and staff are learning their jobs have been cut due to dire school finances. While reduction in force letters are going out, lawmakers haven’t signed off on changing the school funding formula for next year that could give more money to counties. Tracy Moss, 36, was surprised in February to learn […]
The MAGA crowd views public education and higher education with suspicion, convinced they exist just to indoctrinate students with liberal concepts like liberty, diversity and equality.
With just two weeks remaining in the 2026 legislative session, a plan to provide hope and confidence to West Virginians undergoing cancer treatment is getting a second chance to cross the finish line.
Editor's note: This story was updated March 2 with a comment from state Agriculture Commissioner Kent Leonhardt.
The opposition couldn’t be clearer — and it was heeded.
The West Virginia Secretary of State has been sued by the federal government for refusing to turn over state voter information.
Find a collection here of Charleston Gazette-Mail stories on the financial and legal entanglements of U.S. Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va.
Danny "Bo" Smith fishes rain or shine, but this weekend will sport good fishing weather. He fished along the Kanawha River in Charleston on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026.
There’s a buzz at St. John’s Episcopal Church as the new CICADA Center prepares to emerge for its grand opening Sunday.
It’s been nearly three years since West Virginia lawmakers created a trust fund for flood resiliency.
After more than two hours of debate, the House of Delegates passed its budget bill on Wednesday afternoon, notably leaving out Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s requested personal income tax cut. The budget bill debate showcased little to no love between House Finance Chairman Vernon Criss, R-Wood, and the Republican governor. “We’ve never had a conversation with […]
A proposed plan to pause all utility rate increases for one year lost its teeth Thursday, before ever seeing the inside of a legislative committee room.
HUNTINGTON — Zumba classes at the Phil Cline Family YMCA in Huntington feel like more of a party than a workout. That energy comes in part from instructor Connie Akerley, 66, of Huntington.
The number of passengers boarding commercial aircraft at Charleston’s West Virginia International Yeager Airport increased 8% during 2025, while average ticket prices decreased 12% during the same period, according to an annual report presented on Wednesday to the Charleston airport’s govern…
Members of the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday advanced for a full House vote a bill designed to criminalize camping in public spaces.
The Municipal Auditorium Special Committee met Tuesday for the first time since April 2024.
Spring is still around the corner after recent winter weather, but with warmer temperatures come more events throughout the region. For now, it was business as usual for municipalities in the Kanawha Valley, with ribbon cuttings, job openings and upcoming events planned. St. Patrick’s Day is…
A memorial tribute celebrating the life of Daniel “Danny” Boyd will be held Saturday at the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame’s Museum of Music, located in the Charleston Town Center. An accomplished filmmaker, educator, author and professional wrestler, Boyd died on Feb. 5 at the age of 69.
Editor’s note: As we celebrate Women’s History Month in March, we present this feature on Becky Cain Ceperley, who has spent nearly 60 years in public service in Charleston and beyond.
A Boone County woman was sentenced to up to life in prison Wednesday in the death of her teenage daughter, whose emaciated body was found at their home in a case that prompted scrutiny of the state’s overwhelmed child welfare system.
President Donald Trump had a lot to say during the one hour and 47 minutes he took to deliver the longest State of the Union address in U.S. history Tuesday night.
Just 24 hours removed from signing the Small Business Growth Act into law, Gov. Patrick Morrisey told reporters on Tuesday that it’s too early to say whether it’s a deal breaker if the Legislature excludes an across-the-board personal income tax cut from the state’s budget.
A $1.16 billion regional electric power line project planned to cross through West Virginia has proven deeply unpopular with residents and officeholders throughout the state.
