| SCHOOL DAYS, SCHOOL DAYS - Students across West Virginia will end the school year with fewer than the
state-mandated 180 instructional days because of the severe winter weather.
Since December, the state's 55 county school systems have canceled a combined 622 days of classes, most of the lost days
were in February.
Preston County had the most lost days, nineteen, to four days in Kanawha County. The statewide average is eleven.
Lawmakers do not plan to extend the school calendar beyond the current ending date of June 8th, but some are trying to
give counties more flexibility in scheduling. The House of Delegates passed a bill this week that would allow counties to
receive waivers allowing them to extend the school day to make up lost instructional time, but the bill is pending in the
Senate.
FORMER SENATOR WARNER HAS DRUG CHARGES - A former West Virginia state senator has been indicted on
drug charges in Ocracoke, North Carolina.
George "Buffy" Warner Junior was indicted February 17th based on material found during an inspection of his business,
Howard's Pub and Raw Bar Restaurant.
He was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana and
two alcohol beverage control violations.
Warner was a Republican senator from Monongalia County from 1987 to 1991. He's the brother of US Attorney Kasey
Warner and state Republican Party chairman Kris Warner.
SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION - McDowell County parents, community leaders and students are getting a chance to vent this week at a state plan to
consolidate Big Creek and Iaeger High Schools.
Residents of War say closing Big Creek High School would devastate their small town. And many parents don't want their
children to have longer bus rides over steep and crooked mountains.
War Mayor Tom Hatcher said it was unfair that the local Board of Education had no say in the consolidation plan.
The state Board of Education took over the county school system in 2001 and appointed Mark Manchin superintendent.
Manchin proposed the consolidation plan, which the state board approved.
STATE WANTS TO TAX INTERNET SALES - The House passed a bill that will restructure part of the state's tax code
to allow for the collection of internet sales tax.
The Main Street Fairness Act would collect the same six percent sales tax on things bought on-line as people now have to
pay in stores.
"It is a question of fairness," said bill sponsor John Doyle, D-Jefferson. "We have begun to lose sales tax revenue and we
need to recoup this."
The state could bring in an extra $25 million to $70 million a year if it collected Internet sales tax, according to officials.
VOTING PARTICIPATION CHANGES? - Senate Democrats ended a partisan battle over what Republicans called "a
terrible bill" by agreeing to drop a provision that would automatically register independent voters in a political party if they
vote in that party's primary.
Republicans had promised to fight the bill every step of the way but they instead applauded when Sen. John Unger,
D-Berkeley, amended it on the Senate floor Wednesday to change that offending provision.
The bill's main purpose is to allow any registered voter to cast a ballot in a party primary. Currently, Republicans allow
independents to vote in their primaries but Democrats do not.
As amended, the bill now would not automatically register someone who votes in a party's primary as a member of that
primary, but it would have election officials keep a record of which party's ballot that voter chose. Unger said that is meant to
allow anyone to track voting trends and to guard against one party from trying to manipulate the other party's choice of
candidates.
TUITION RATES MAY GO UP AFTER ALL -
Higher education will be getting yet another face-lift.
A bill capping tuition raises at 3 percent, previously passed by the House will likely be scrapped completely when Senate
Education Chairman Robert Plymale pushes a bill allowing 4-year colleges to raise tuition 9.5 percent and two-year colleges
to raise tuition by 4.75 percent.
Another House bill that would close two colleges and give the $20 million in savings to Workers' Compensation also might
see changes.
Both the House and Senate Education chairmen said they would rather see at least some of that $20 million go back to
higher education. Both, however, said they would not address that in new legislation.
MARSHALL FOOTBALL PLAYERS ARESTED -
Marshall football coach Bob Pruett says he will let the legal process work before taking any action against quarterback Stan Hill and offensive lineman Jarrett Baisden.
Hill was charged with public intoxication, while Baisden was charged with underage drinking following a disturbance at a fast food restaurant.
The 21-year-old Hill was arrested for the second time in four months and is awaiting trial on several misdemeanor traffic charges.
Hewas taken to a substance abuse unit at Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital before being arraigned. The 20-year-old Baisden was taken to jail.
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