By Steven Allen Adams For The Inter-Mountain Charleston — Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced Friday that Google has purchased property in Putnam County to begin the process of locating a data center in West Virginia. In a press release Friday morning, Morrisey said Google has taken its first step toward a multi-million-dollar data center project that will be powered on the Appalachian Power grid instead of its own microgrid. “Google’s decision to come (to) West Virginia is a strong signal that...

By Ashton Pack and Haven Steele For The Parthenon Amidst the ongoing opioid epidemic, harm reduction strategies have been essential for reducing the number of deaths by overdose. One of the most important harm reduction strategies is the deployment of Narcan, also referred to as naloxone, an overdose reversal medicine. Susan Margaret Murphy, president of the West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute, said naloxone is the most effective harm reduction tool available. “It is a primary harm reduction strategy, because it’s...

By Steven Allen Adams For The Parkersburg News and Sentinel Charleston – Months after West Virginia’s highest court stayed a ruling by a Raleigh County circuit judge allowing for religious exemptions to the state’s compulsory vaccination law for school-age children, parties in the case are making their case for the lower court ruling to be overturned. Attorneys representing the West Virginia Board of Education, State Superintendent of Schools Michele Blatt, Raleigh County Schools Superintendent Serena Starcher and the Raleigh County...

By Mike Tony For HDMedia Google applied to West Virginia to have the state certify a planned Putnam County project as a “High-Impact” data center exempt from a broad range of local regulations Tuesday, according to Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s office. Just 72 hours later, Morrisey already had announced that Google had not only purchased land in Putnam County but received the state’s approval for what he said would be a multibillion-dollar project. That quick turnaround is what Morrisey has called...

By Steven Allen Adams For The Parkersburg News and Sentinel Charleston — Gov. Patrick Morrisey wants West Virginia to be the battery of the East Coast, and his Office of Energy is working on the state’s long-term energy plan that must find a balance between the state’s major fossil fuels, while critics say there is too much focus on base-load over renewables. House Bill 5381 creates the Comprehensive Energy Policy and Development Plan Act of 2026, which tasks the Office...

By Steven Allen Adams For The Parkersburg News and Sentinel Charleston – With the federal funding shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security entering day 41 Thursday, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said she and her colleagues are determined to come to a deal prior to Congress’ traditional break. “It’s a beautiful day here in Washington, but it’s a frustrating one for me,” said Capito, R-W.Va., during a Thursday morning conference call with West Virginia reporters. “Today’s day number 41...

By Matthew Young For HDMedia Since taking office on Jan. 13, 2025, Gov. Patrick Morrisey has repeatedly stated his goal to “shrink the size and scope” of state government. The governor’s pursuit of that goal continued with the recently concluded legislative session. “When you make tough, fiscally responsible decisions, and you stay focused on what actually matters, good things happen for the Mountain State,” Morrisey said during a March 16 news conference in Charleston. “The decisions we made, they weren’t...

By Laura Bilson For HDMedia Looks like March is going out like a lamb, as spring weather — hopefully — is sticking around for a while in Charleston. Jaylen Bryan, 10, of St. Albans, practiced her roller skating in a Coonskin Park parking lot Tuesday afternoon. Donning pink skates, she glided in laps around the lot near the park’s pond. She said she has been skating since December and has steadily improved since then. “My not-favorite thing is to fall,”...

By Steven Allen Adams For The Intelligencer Charleston – West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner said his elections team and the state’s 55 county clerks are ready for this year’s primary and general elections, but provisions in the proposed federal SAVE America Act could create complications if it passes the U.S. Senate in its current form. “We’ve got to carry out the law no matter when it passes,” Warner said by phone Wednesday. “How it’s implemented and timing is...

By Derek Redd For The Intelligencer A Major Investment The upcoming WVU Cancer Institute St. Joseph Regional Cancer Complex represents one of the biggest single investments in downtown Wheeling in the city’s history. Among the highlights: — The complex will cost $122 million to construct. — The facility will include four stories and 127,000 square feet to consolidate cancer services in the region and include infusion therapy, radiation oncology, imaging, labs, specialty clinics, and more. — It also will include...