The American Civil Liberties Union is filing a lawsuit to void four laws that they claim were passed in violation of open meeting laws during the pandemic. The lawsuit argues that lawmakers knowingly violated a transparency law when the public’s access to the Capitol building was restricted and an audio feed for a committee meeting malfunctioned.
Higher education officials are making changes to financial aid programs to help more in state high school graduates qualify for the money by the fall semester. The state Higher Education Policy Commission approved changes for the Promise Scholarship and state Higher Education Grant. The ACT and SAT deadline to qualify for the Promise Scholarship is being extended from August 2021 to October 2021.
Senator Shelly Moore Capito was in Clarksburg for a naturalization ceremony at the U.S. Federal Court. She also visited Rogers and Mazza’s Italian Bakery, where she spoke to the owners about the ups and downs of running a small business during the pandemic. Capito says it’s important for her to see how programs, like PPP loans, the Senate put in place are working.
A Texas Roadhouse restaurant is coming to Charleston. The plan is to tear down the old Ryan’s restaurant on RHL Boulevard at Trace Fork and build a new building. The hiring process will begin in November.
Winfield girls and Point Pleasant boys are champions at the class-double-a state track meet. Class-triple-a will be on the track today at University of Charleston Stadium.
The public will be allowed to attend Huntington City Council meeting again starting next week. Council chambers will be limited to 26 people, including council members, staff and members of the public, to accommodate social distancing.
TSA agents at Huntington Tri-State Airport found a loaded handgun in a Scioto county woman’s carry-on bag. Local police confiscated the gun. TSA can issue a civil penalty that can stretch into the thousands of dollars. Last year, TSA officers detected 3,257 firearms at security checkpoints nationwide.
I-79 north of Burnsville is open again. High water closed the roadway yesterday. The Gerald Freeman Campground at Sutton had to be evacuated because of flooding. Heavy rain caused a mudslide and downed trees on Route-5. Firefighters and EMS were on multiple water rescue calls in the Klipstine and Slab Fork areas.
The state Higher Education Policy Commission will host “College Bound Saturday” this Saturday at 13 sites where they’ll be offering free help to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The FAFFSA is required to get financial aid for college.
Governor Justice wants the Joint Interagency Task Force, which was established late last year to coordinate the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, to continue. Justice says the Task Force remains necessary to deal with any whiplash from this pandemic or anything else that could affect the health of West Virginians.