MetroNews This Morning
MetroNews This Morning 7-1-24
Today on MetroNews This Morning:
--July 1st brings an end to the pop tax in West Virginia
--Campus Carry is also now legal in West Virginia
--Charleston is moving ahead with a plan to reimagine the city's riverfront area
--In Sports: Another with WVU ties is headed to the Olympics in Paris
- Duration:
- 15m
- Broadcast on:
- 01 Jul 2024
- Audio Format:
- mp3
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Group, void rep prohibited by law, 18 plus, terms of condition supply. This is Metro News this morning, bringing you this morning's biggest news headlines from across the state. It is Monday, July 1st, 2024. Good morning. I'm Chris Lawrence, and it's time to get the day started with all the information you're going to need in West Virginia. Your forecast this morning looking almost autumn-like with temperatures in the 70s for a high today in some parts of West Virginia and virtually no humidity. Now, warning, don't get too used to that. It's not going to last, but enjoy today. We'll have that forecast coming up in just a moment. Right now, let's get up to date on the news of the day in West Virginia. Filling in this morning for Kerry Houdesack at the Metro News anchor desk is Jeff Jenkins. Good morning, Jeff. Good morning, Chris, and thank you, and yeah, it is July 1st, the beginning of the new fiscal year in West Virginia has no one-cent pop tax for the first time since 1952. The 1951 legislature approved the tax to finance the construction of the WVU Med School, the 2022 legislature voted to remove it, and that kicks in today. West Virginia Beverage Association general counsel, Will Swan, says his organization has long been in favor of the elimination of the tax. Repealing the beverage tax is a win for West Virginia's working families, small businesses, and the state economy. This tax unfairly raised prices on hundreds of everyday beverages for 71 years. Now, the WVU Health Sciences is still getting the $14 million from the state, but it's coming from an existing insurance tax. State revenue secretary Larry Pack. The medical schools are made whole, but from a taxpayer standpoint, it's just another tax that we've been able to eliminate, and as we march forward, to try to reduce the tax burden on our citizens. The Marshall Medical School and the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine are also receiving dedicated revenue now from the insurance premium tax. The Justice Administration says Governor Jim Justice plans what's described as a historic revenue announcement today at noon at the State Culture Center. Justice said last week he expected the state to end the fiscal year, right around $800 million in surplus for revenue collections, a bill that became law in 2023 takes effect today. The campus carry law allows for concealed carry on college campuses. The state's college's universities have been working to implement the law for the past year, plus we'll hear from a few of those campuses throughout the morning news. Beckley is officially today under a city manager, former government, former Mayor Rob Rapholt's term, in office, ended Sunday. You might have a strong marriage that's popular, who he or she really has no idea what's going on, so the city manager, former government, which I promised to address head on during my first or second term as mayor, eases that concern. Frankly, we'll still have a mayor, but the position will be more ceremonial in nature, Rapholt appointed an interim city manager last week, as the search continues for a permanent one. There's a new mayor in Wheeling for the first time in eight years. Wheeling Mayor elect Denny Magruder says he's ready to help add to the progress the city has already seen when he gets sworn in to a four year term today. With a number of new projects, Magruder says the downtown area is poised for rebirth. The feeling of strategically is in a very good location to be attracted for conferences, for concerts, for other things, just for entertainment and recreation at large. And yeah, we're going to try to play that card with you. Magruder joins two other newly elected members of Wheeling City Council and four reelected members in a swearing in ceremony. I'm Kat Skelden, WV Metro News.com. Glen Elliott has been the mayor of Wheeling for two terms. He's now the Democratic Party's nominee for U.S. Senate. Huntington Police say a man was shot in the leg early this morning in Markham Terrace. No arrests have been made. A mate won man's in the western regional jail this morning without bail, charged with a Friday night shooting death in Huntington. Police say 25-year-old Deontay Joplin turned himself into police on Saturday. Police say a 40-year-old man died of gunshot wounds. They say the shooting occurred during an argument near an apartment on Buffington Avenue. State police troopers say a Boone County man's weekend death was an accidental drowning. 64-year-old Timmy Hager, a Patona, fell into the Big Hole River while he was fishing Saturday near Patona. A spokesman for the West Virginia Home Educators Association says additional state laws are not needed for homeschool parents to follow the issue of homeschooling and required assessments to come up during the discussion following the April death of Boone County teenager Kennedy Miller. Roy Raimi says neglect is the cause of Kennedy Miller's death. Policies have not been followed, and despite that, if the policies were followed, I want to make very clear to everyone out there that it would not have changed this one bit. The turning in the assessment, or even if the school had followed up on the assessment not being turned in, none of that would have been related directly to the child neglect as what rightfully caused this death. You can read more in a story from Metro News statewide correspondent Brad Michael Haney at wvmetronews.com. Construction continues on the new Forum Energy Plan in Weirton and U.S. Senator Shelly Marcapito. Scheduled to get a look at that work today, she has an afternoon visit scheduled. Forum Energy is building a $760 million industrial battery plant on a portion of the old Weirton steel site. The month of June will go down is the warmest in West Virginia since 2010. There were 13 days of temperatures topping 90 degrees. All of last summer, there were only 14 days. Thank you, Jeff. Coming up in our background, Jeffrey joins us talking about the capital connector in Charleston, where they're working on development of the riverfront in the city. We'll talk about that. And then cow eggs with an update on sports. I'll still ahead. 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, Jill 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. 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. And sure enough, you know, he's standing there, he's looking at me. Well, I can't keep the crossbow, you know, it was just shaking. I finally took some deep breath and thought, okay, calm down then. He crossed the creek, can you come right up? Picture perfect, 22 yards right in front of me. That was it. Whether it's hunting and fishing news or just compelling stories about the enjoyment of the great outdoors. A lot of it depends on what the fish are feeding on. If they're targeting crawfish real heavy, then you're going to be bouncing stuff along the bottom. If they're up chasing the minnows, then you're going to try to match that with swimbaits or crankbaits, spinnerbaits. West Virginia Outdoors covers it all Saturday mornings at 7.06 a.m. And 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. News in a mountain state happens quick. And for decades you have depended on Metro News for accurate news delivered fast. Now here's your chance to help keep your fellow West Virginians informed. If you see news happening, become a Metro News Hawk by texting news to 35651. If you take a picture or video of what you see, submit that as well. Text the word news to 35651 to submit your tip or story. Standard texting rates apply. Please don't text and drive. Coming up, colleagues have an update on sports. But right now in our background, there are changes ahead for one of the most recognizable arteries in the capital city. Jeff Jenkins tells us more in our background. You know, a boulevard would likely look very different two years from now than it does today. The four lane boulevard was a main way to get around Charleston when it was enhanced in the 1960s. But there are other ways now and traffic is down to about 8,500 vehicles a day on that street. The capital connector project, which the city began planning efforts for almost two years ago, now has a $25 million federal grant to make the changes happen. But it's still on the work, so in what those final plans will be. Mary, make sure the good one visualizes a mixed use. It's not just for biking and walking and running, which is predominantly the main use now. Well, guess what it's going to be used for in the future? Art and playgrounds and workout facilities. Now we're talking. Now we're talking about true development. U.S. Senator Shelley Mark Capito says the work will mainly be focused between Head Dead Riverfront Park and Greenbrier Street. With the possibility, maybe even the likelihood of one lane being removed to allow for bike pass and green space and safety enhancements, including crosswalks. Capito says the days of the boulevard, being the main traffic link in town, are over. She says it's time to make the area something different. We don't actually stop to enjoy what is a beautiful part of our city. And when visitors come, they even forget that it's a river city. So this will give us a chance to maximize this, to tie Magic Island in, to enjoy those special things like regatta, but also just a regular day, a regular walk. Good one says there are many options as the planning continues. What does it look like to have a great experience? I don't want to be sweating the whole time I'm running. I don't know about you. What tree line and what flora do we need to have that outlines that riverfront? Oh, by the way, most important. What delineates the road from biking and walking? The next public input meeting on the project scheduled for the evening of August 15th at the Kanawak County Public Library in downtown Charleston. I'm Jeff Jenkins for the morning news. Time now to go to the sports desk. Getting update cow wigs is in cow. The Olympics are fast approaching and another WVU product is going to be there. Yes, you've got some representation from WVU in the summer Paris Olympics. We learned late last week the WVU senior Kaylee McCabe qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in the women's 3000 meter steeple chicks. That was at the Canadian Athletics Bell track and field championships in Montpréal. McCabe, who earlier had set the Canadian national record in the steeple chase with a time of nine minutes, 20.58 seconds in the Olympic qualifier. She ran or she won with a time of nine minutes, 32.97 seconds. So Kaylee McCabe of the WVU track and field program qualifies for the Paris Summer Olympics. She will compete for her native Canada. And we know when her first race will be. She'll compete in round one of the women's 3000 meter steeple chase coming up on August 4th. And that's very early in the morning. 4.05 a.m. Eastern time from the Olympics. State Championship winning coach Marty Veerheller has stepped down as head coach of the Parkersburg Catholic Girls basketball team. He announced his retirement from coaching over the weekend. Veerheller has coached at Parkersburg Catholic for 30 seasons. The last 18 has head coach Shanny Led Parkersburg Catholic to the class. Double A state championship back in 2022. You may remember that team went 24 and 0 on the season. Pirates beat Atlanta four to two pirates getting all of their runs in the fifth to run home runs from O'Neill Cruz and rowdy to Les. Pirates beat Atlanta four to two. St. Louis blank to Reds by final of two to nothing. And in the Sunday night game, the Rangers beat Baltimore 11 to two. Joey Logano won the NASCAR race Sunday night as he held off a late charge from Tyler Redick to win. Thank you, Kyle. Remember, all of our Metro News programs are available as podcasts after they are live. Each of the shows talk line sports line hotline and West Virginia outdoors are all posted to the to the podcast page of WV Metro News dot com or anywhere that you get your podcasts immediately after they've aired live. Check them out on your time. Now the day is West Virginia by the forecast building high pressure going to bring drier cooler and less humid weather to start off this work week and the dry weather will last through midweek more active weather taking hold later on Wednesday going into the 4th of July holiday weekend along with those storms are going to be the return of heat and humidity. And now you are up to date. Have yourself a great day for Kyle Wigs and Jeff Jenkins. I'm Chris Lawrence and you're listening to Metro News the voice of West Virginia. Metro News this morning is an exclusive production of the Metro News radio network. All rights reserved. Thank you. Hello it is Ryan and I was on a flight the other day playing one of my favorite social spin slot games on Chumba Casino dot com. I looked over the person sitting next to me and you know what they were doing. They're also playing Chumba Casino. Everybody's loving having fun with it. 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