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CLAY PROSECUTOR IN HOT WATER - Clay County prosecutor Daniel Grindo is
reportedly in hot water with Judge Richard Facemire over his poor performance.
Judge Facemire was apparently upset over his lack of case preparedness during a
court session at Clay. Four court cases were not heard yesterday.
Facemire reportedly said he had been there three times to get trials under way and
each time nothing happened, due to Grindo not being on the job or on his toes. The
judge indicated such delays were costing the county $3000 daily.
Reports in the Clay Communicator indicate two cases have already been tossed
because Grindo forgot to call in the witnesses, and another is ready to be tossed
this Thursday.
TEACHER'S UNION FILES SUIT - West Virginia's largest teachers union and its
national affiliate will challenge sweeping reforms required under the federal No
Child Left Behind Act. The suit is to free states from having to meet new mandates
unless the federal government proves it has paid for them.
The move would be an aggressive challenge yet to the 1,200-page law that serves
as the centerpiece of President Bush's domestic agenda.
CITIES AND COUNTIES FILE SUIT OVER DEVELOPMENT CASH - Officials from some
of the state's largest cities and counties have asked the state Supreme Court
Monday to force the sale of $225 million in bonds to finance economic development
projects. Charleston, Huntington and Kanawha and Ohio counties want the court to
intervene saying delays in selling the bonds could kill several projects. The grant
handouts have been delayed for about a year because of a high court ruling that
declared the grant committee's makeup violated the constitutional separation of
powers. The development projects are facing a new round of appeals.
SENATOR ARRESTED DUI - State Senator Herb Snyder, D-Jefferson, was arrested
for driving under the influence and had a blood-alcohol content more than twice the
legal limit. The Senator was leaving the Jefferson County Fair. Two breath tests
revealed Snyder's blood alcohol content to be 0.260 and 0.267. The legal limit is
0.10 in West Virginia. Snyder is entering a rehab program.
WV STUDENTS POOR ON ACT - The West Virginia high school class of 2003 scored
poorly in math compared to their counterparts in the country. West Virginia's
average composite score on the ACT college entrance exam released earlier this
week held steady at 20.3, slightly below the national average of 21.
However, the most frequent score in math was 16, well below the national average
of 21 and the cut-off score of 19 that colleges in West Virginia use in placing students
in remedial classes.
"We need to look at this very carefully both in terms of what we define as the
minimum of courses required and what the performance levels are,'' said J. Michael
Mullen, chancellor of the Higher Education Policy Commission.
OXYCONTIN FAVORITE IN APPALACHIA - In 1998 parts of southwestern Virginia,
eastern Kentucky and West Virginia received more of OxyContin's competing
painkillers per capita than anywhere else in the nation, federal data show.
The maker of OxyContin used a sales campaign that focused on doctors to turn the
narcotic into a top seller. The strategy made Appalachia fertile territory for the
drug's salesmen.
Purdue Pharma invested more than $500 million deploying a small army of sales
representatives around the country to pitch OxyContin, the Lexington
Herald-Leader reported Sunday, citing previously confidential corporate
records.
Purdue's strategy worked. In 2000, national OxyContin sales exceeded $1 billion.
The company claims there was a need for a better pain killer, and they could not be
held responsible for addictive users.
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