A new federal program will help West Virginia families who need help paying for internet service and buy a computer or tablet. The Emergency Broadband Benefit Program provides eligible families with fifty-dollars-a-month off their monthly internet bill and a one-time discount of up to one-hundred-dollars to buy a computer or tablet.
The City of South Charleston is annexing around five-miles of land along Corridor-G approaching the Lincoln County line. The expansion will include Alum Creek Elementary School and surrounding neighborhoods. The city is building a new fire station and community center.
President Biden is approving federal assistance for West Virginia to help with recovery efforts from February’s severe winter storms. The federal funding is available for state and local government, and private non-profits, for emergency work in Cabell, Lincoln, Mason, Putnam and Wayne counties.
The president of Par Mar stores, a chain of convenience stores and gas stations are the Tri-State, is crediting tanker drivers for working long hours to keep gas flowing. The Colonial Pipeline is back online, but it’s expected to take a few days to recover from gas shortages. Over five-percent of West Virginia stations are out of gas.
Police have identified the two people found dead at a Guyandotte home earlier this week. Thirty-five-year-old Andrea Burnett of Huntington, and 48-year-old Terence Holmes of Cincinnati died from apparent gunshot wounds. No arrests have been made.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is encouraging people to get vaccinated with a weekly drawing to win one-million-dollars, or if you’re under eighteen, a full-ride to a university or college in Ohio.
First Lady Jill Biden says, “Getting vaccinated is the most powerful thing anyone of us can do.” The first lady joined Senator Joe Manchin, and actress and Charleston native Jennifer Garner at a vaccination clinic at Capital High School yesterday.
Anybody with children age 12 to 15 who are interested in the vaccine will have several opportunities over the next week. The first school clinic was held Thursday afternoon at Capital High School. Today from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., a drive-thru vaccine clinic for those 12 and older will be at Bible Center Church in Charleston. A parent or guardian has to be present. The Pfizer vaccine will also be available from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at Elkview Baptist Church. On Saturday, a large-scale clinic will be held at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. Walk-ins will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There are more clinics planned for next week.
Food Truck Friday was postponed last week due to the weather but it returns today to Kanawha Boulevard in Charleston. The city of Charleston said the trucks will be on Kanawha Boulevard from Capitol to Court streets. Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Trucks that will be there include Mr. Choo Choo’s Hot Dogs, Shape Shop Café, Baskin Robbins, Joey’s Rockin’ Dogs and Tacos, Skeeber Flob’s Kettle Corn, and Chick-fil-A.
The mayor of Charleston is requesting local officials seek further assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the county’s fight against an HIV outbreak. In a letter on Wednesday, Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin “strongly urged” Dr. Sherri Young, executive director and health officer for the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, and its board of directors to make a formal request to the State Bureau of Public Health asking the CDC for Epi-Aid, or Epidemiologic Assistance. The focus of an Epi-Aid investigation is to assist partners in making rapid, practical decisions to prevent and control the public health problem.
The county recently announced it had beefed up its support with the addition of two state specialists dedicated to HIV that are now working at the health department. Additionally, the mayor is seeking local health care providers in the community to provide feedback on a recently-passed ordinance by the Charleston City Council, as well as a law passed by the West Virginia Legislature.