WQBE News

About sixty-percent of WVU’s classes will be offered online for the fall semester. All other classes will be in-person, or in hybrid mode, that includes a mix of in-person and online elements. Students can change courses based on their preference now that some classes have been transferred to online only. The fall semester begins August 26th in Morgantown.

Charleston police are investigating after a man was shot and killed during an argument with two other men on Park Drive. So far, no arrests have been made.

West Virginia will receive more than 14-million-dollars from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to modernize drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in six rural counties. The money will go toward projects in Sand Fork, Grant County, Ripley, the Little Creek Public Service District and the Bluewell Public Service District.

If you own a small business and haven’t applied for the Paycheck Protection Program, there still money left over, but the deadline to apply is this Saturday. The U.S. Small Business Administration is trying to get out word that sole proprietors, independent contractors and entrepreneurs are eligible for the program, and there is more than 125-billion-dollars in funding available.

Walmart will host a free, nationwide, drive-in movie series that will include four stops in the Mountain State. The tour includes stops in Beckley, Hurricane, Huntington, and Morgantown, and will feature movies like, “The Wizard of Oz,” “Space Jam,” “Black Panther” and more. The movies are free, but you’ll have to request a ticket online.

Governor Justice is concerned about President Trump’s decision to reduce the federal government’s support of the National Guard across the country. Trump signed an extension allowing states to use the National Guard for COVID-19 response, but reduced funding to 75-percent for coronavirus-related expenditures. Justice disagrees with the president’s decision, and says the country needs to support the work of National Guard units.

There are over one-hundred new cases of COVID-19 in West Virginia, but the number of active cases dropped by almost fifty. There are over 18-hundred active cases and the positive test rate is over two-and-a-half percent. One-hundred-fifteen people are hospitalized with the virus, and just under half of those are in ICU.

Health officials want to clear up some misconceptions about kids and COVID-19. A couple of misconceptions are that kids can’t get sick from coronavirus or that kids can’t transmit the virus. Doctors at WVU say based on a recent study done in South Korea, children under ten seem to be spreading the virus less than older kids. Data shows that children are at a low risk of being extremely sick from the virus, but it can be easily spread within families.

A keystone to the governor’s virtual learning plan is the “Kids Connect Initiative” which will create one-thousand wireless access points across the state for students from kindergarten to college. The six-million-dollar project will create a broadband network in all K-12 schools, over thirty higher-ed schools, 255 libraries, and more than thirty state parks.

Governor Justice is rolling out a color coded plan for returning to school this fall. The red, yellow, and green guidelines will dictate if school districts can reopen, or if kids need to stay home based on COVID-19 numbers in each county. The governor’s guidelines put counties in control of their own fate. Coaches will follow the color-coded system, too. If a school system is in the red, the teams can’t take the field. The governor’s plan is still in development and will be finalized within two weeks.