MetroNews This Morning
MetroNews This Morning 7-4-24
Today on MetroNews This Morning:
--It's the 4th of July and all across West Virginia the celebration of Independence is on
--Senate Finance Committee Chairman Eric Tarr says another income tax cut sought by the Governor is premature
--The West Virginia DNR has introduced a new 10 member diving team to serve the state
--In Sports: the West Virginia Junior Amateur Golf tournament wraps up at Canaan Valley
- Duration:
- 13m
- Broadcast on:
- 04 Jul 2024
- Audio Format:
- mp3
In this Thursday, July 4th, 2024. Good morning. I'm Chris Lawrence, ready to get your day started with the information you're going to need. In West Virginia, we begin with the forecast, calling for the potential to dampen your Independence Day celebration activities today, a chance of showering thunderstorm activity throughout the day and all afternoon across all parts of the state. There's a frontal boundary pressing in and we'll give you the full forecast coming up in just a moment. Right now though, let's get a check in news that the Metro News anchored ask with Carrie. Who to set? Good morning, Carrie. Good morning, Chris, one of the longest 4th of July parades in West Virginia kicks off later this morning in the community of Alderson. Alderson 4th of July celebration committee member, Britton Kirby, says the parade runs for about two hours beginning at 10.30. There'll be all kinds of different antique cars, fire trucks from all across the area. The floats from every local church, every organization, sports teams that have had seasons that they want to celebrate will ride through in this parade. Goodson boys will perform at 7 tonight before fireworks begin at 10 o'clock. The annual 4th of July celebration in Ripley is underway. The nation's largest small town Independence Day celebration will include the big parade today and nearby the Cedar Lakes Conference Center. It's opening day of the 60-second annual Mountain State Art and Craft Fair. Board member Sarah McDowell says they have a lot of hands-on activities for the kids. We've got the kids fishing derby, the pike contest, we've got the quilt show, fan favorites, and some new faces will also be here at the fair this year. The fair runs through Sunday and will be held from 10 to 6 each day. While many other Independence Day events kick off today across the states, Charleston, Sturd Mill Vergotta enters a second day after a successful evening packed with live music by Shaggy and large crowds along the canal boulevard. [Music] Canaw County resident Ashley Clark says she was happy to see the event come to life. It's really cool. My husband grew up here and he talked about it, said with this being like the second one I'd ever been to, it's cool to see it come back because I didn't get a chance to back then. When it turned in 2022, it runs through Sunday. Metro News reporter Kat Skeleton attended Wednesday's opening ceremony. Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau President and CEO Tim Brady anticipates it to be another successful year for the Sturd Mill Vergotta after it kicked off in the capital city Wednesday. He was down at the hub of activity along the canal boulevard Wednesday as it was just starting up. You know, there's been all this build up and now, you know, finally tents are up, food vendors, you can smell them, you've got all the activity on the boulevard. Brady said weather permitting the five day event should be just as successful as it has been the past two years. Last year, there got a broaden over 220,000 people and more than $37 million in economic impact. I'm Kat Skeleton, WV Metro News dot com. States in a finance committee chairman Eric Tarr says he doesn't believe the Senate will go along with Governor Jim Justice's proposal to reduce the personal income tax by another five percent. Tarr says it's time to allow other tax cuts to help build the economy first. The plan we've been sticking to, it's the plan that we have aggressively tried to hold the line on all the way to this point. You know what? For having done that, there's a palpable hope in the Hollers and Mountains and streets of West Virginia. Justice continued to call for the additional cut during a public appearance Wednesday. At the end of the day, we cut our income tax 21 and a quarter percent and now I said, you got all these surpluses, we got all this stuff, absolutely there is no reason in the world. We don't do another five percent. Read more at WV Metro News dot com. The State Division of Natural Resources now has a dedicated diving team to handle water emergencies across the state. The team includes 10 DNR police officers who have been fully trained and certified in diving techniques. They'll handle calls on and under the water in all 55 counties. DNR police Colonel Bobby Kael says this is important work. This team will perform underwater search and recovery missions involving victims, evidence and other property, they'll investigate underwater crimes and also things associated with crime scenes. They'll investigate drownings, they'll investigate diving accidents as well as boating accidents. Kael's joined Governor Jim Justice during an event in Hinton Wednesday. The White House has announced another federal disaster declaration in West Virginia, flooding in parts of Kannaw County from April 11th are now part of that declaration. Those who suffered damage can sign up for individual assistance. Kannaw County Emergency Management Director C.W. Sigmund says there was significant damage in several areas. Most of the flooding was in the western part of the county and in Charleston. There was pockets in other areas, but the hardest hit areas were some of the streams in Charleston and in the St. Alband Dury and close to St. Charleston, Davis Creek, places like that. Residents who suffered damage can apply with FEMA online or go to the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center in Dunbar, beginning tomorrow. There's a new member of the State House of Delegates, Ryan Browning of Canova was sworn in Wednesday to serve the 28th District, which makes up parts of Wayne County. Browning will complete the unexpired term of former delegate Mark Ross. Browning was declared the winner of the May primary election for the seat and has no general election opponent. And Governor Jim Justice, once again, in the giving mood, he's made tomorrow an official state holiday, giving state workers a four day holiday weekend. Thank you, Kerry. Coming up in our background, we'll hear more from Senate Finance Committee Chairman Eric Tar, who does not believe at least the Senate is going to go along with that proposed additional tax cut the governor has proposed for the personal income taxes. And then Cal Wigs is in with sports youth golf. That's the lead story this morning for the Fourth of July. We'll hear from Kyle and with all the day sports coming up. The high school football season is fast approaching, and you can get ready with video previews of your favorite teams. Now on the new Metro News TV app, Joe Percato will visit all 55 counties this summer to get the latest on the upcoming season. Check out the free season hype and get all your favorite Metro News shows like Talkline with Hoppy Kerchival, Sportsline with Tony Karidi, and three guys before the game free by downloading the new Metro News TV app on your smart TV or streaming device. You can now watch the voice of West Virginia on the new Metro News TV app downloaded today. Hi, this is Hoppy Kerchival, inviting you to join me weekdays from 10-06 to noon for Metro News Talkline. Each day, I try to provide the very latest news and information about our state and our nation. I interview newsmakers and thought leaders who help us better understand these stories. Yes, I mix in my observations, but mostly I just want us to be better informed. So I'm inviting you to be my radio and streaming companion as we sort out and work through the news and information of each day. That's Talkline weekdays, 10-06 to noon on this Metro News radio station. West Virginia Outdoors is the Mountain State's only hook and bullet radio show dedicated to the more than quarter million hunters and anglers across the state. Award-winning host Chris Lawrence has been tracking down hunting and fishing stories for more than 25 years. I shot him, he ran over to the edge of the field, he made it about five ten yards out of the edge of the field and fell over there. Whether it's hunting and fishing news or just compelling stories about the enjoyment of the great outdoors. He stuck his head through the blind into where you were. Yeah, well, he had jumped, he leaped over the blind. Oh gosh. Yeah. So he had his whole body, he was in the air for a couple of seconds, and the only thing that landed in the blind was, you know, of course, his head and his front leg. West Virginia Outdoors covers it all Saturday mornings at 7-06 a.m. for your daily fix outdoors today brings you two and a half minutes of news and notes from the woods and water every weekday morning on Metro News, the voice of West Virginia. And a moment cow wigs with a check on sports. Right now in our background, our state Senate Finance Committee Chairman Eric Tar are predicting the state Senate will not go along with Governor Jim Justice's proposal for another 5% cut in the state's personal income tax. The governor dropped the bomb on us there on stage because we didn't get heads up, which just tends to be a demo to go in and discuss them. But here is reasoning is that another 5% another, at least another $100 million. And that's that payment I'm talking about goes in perpetual. And if we, here's the two scenarios that put you in when you look at the forecasting on it, relative to tax cuts, we've gone either you're going to have to go in and reduce spending that is so bloody that so you can afford that and bloody by I mean that you're going to it is going to be politically challenging and it will be citizen up or on some of those services because we've been catching infrastructure up. We've been getting sewer and water done. We've been getting roads done. We've been getting broadband down. You want to stop all that, then go ahead and throw another $100 million in expenses that are good for an hour of our activity before we get the ability to have the revenue growth from the things we've done. And then in addition to that is that when we go in and accelerate that tax cut, we have to look at an offset if we're not going to reduce spending. So if you don't go in and make those aggressive cuts, which I'm all about reducing size of government cuts, I have been pushing that, pushing that, pushing that how that's what flat budgets have done. They have reduced the expense of government. But if we go in and we don't reduce the spending aggressively to that bloody level, then you got to go find a tax somewhere else, you got to increase. And there's there's really no reason right now for the way we've got things to go in and say, hey, we're going to increase your taxes somewhere else and I don't think anybody wants to do that. Of course, you know, the governor's on his way out, he'll be in DC, you know, it's not his circus anymore at that point. Governor Justice says he'll push for the cut in a special session in August or September. And now to go to the sports desk, Cal Wigs is working on the 4th of July and Kala. Let's talk about the West Virginia Junior amateur. Did I get that right? Yes. All right. West Virginia Junior amateur golf championships taking place at Canadian Valley on the 3rd of July, the final round. Argyle Downs, Charles down won the boys junior amateur championship for the second time. Downs used a five hole stretch beginning on number nine to turn a two shot deficit into a three shot lead. He made consecutive birdies on 13 and 14, took the lead for good and he was celebrating his second West Virginia junior amateur title. You know, I think it's really nice. I mean, this is my last WVGA junior tournament going off to college in the fall. I've been playing those tournaments since I was eight, nine years old. So it's, you know, it's kind of nice to go out with the bang you could say. So it's been really fun. Downs has signed with Rutgers University. Still competes for the Scarlet Knights in golf starting in the fall. McCartney Hinkle of Bluefield, Virginia, finished in second place, Parkersburg South Page grade Cameron Fallon finished in third place on the boys side on the girls side. Hurricane Savannah Hawkins and Oceania's Carrie Ann Cook. They have dominated this event the last few years. Both are recent high school graduates and it was Savannah Hawkins of hurricane winning the junior amateur title. I think it's my last one. It's my last major as a junior. So it was really special one to be able to pull through Hawkins used to run up three consecutive birdies six, seven and eight to go on and win the junior amateur for the third time in her career and she will head to Marshall to play golf. Major League Baseball Pirates beat St. Louis five to four in ten innings. Also the Reds wanted Yankee Stadium three to two in Baltimore, one at Seattle four to one. Kyle, although it is the fourth of July, the guys are going to be on hotline this afternoon with the live show three to six on Metro News radio and they'll stream that live at wvmetronews.com. Plus it's posted as a podcast that you can enjoy whenever once they are done this evening. Now your West Virginia weather forecast on this Independence Day, your picnic might get a little soggy today. Sharon and thunderstorms will develop enhanced by the arrival of upper level disturbances. Some storms could produce damaging winds and possibly localized flash flooding. Let's hope not. Another cold front will stall near the area tomorrow. That's going to keep the chances of showers and thunderstorms in play, but they are going to return northward as a warm front yet another cold front pushing through tomorrow night. High pressure will then build in on Saturday with any remaining precipitation tapering off. Temperatures look to remain above average into next week. And now you're up to date and have a great day for Kyle Wigs and Kerry Hootesack. I'm Chris Lawrence on Metro News, the voice of West Virginia. Metro News this morning is an exclusive production of the Metro News Radio Network, All Rights reserved. (upbeat music)