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Friday, December 8, 2023

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Some South Dakota farmers are unhappy with industrial ag getting conservation funds; Texas judge allows abortion in Cox case; Native tribes express concern over Nevada's clean energy projects.

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The Colorado Supreme Court weighs barring Trump from office, Georgia Republicans may be defying a federal judge with a Congressional map splitting a Black majority district and fake electors in Wisconsin finally agree Biden won there in 2020.

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Texas welcomes more visitors near Big Bend but locals worry the water won't last, those dependent on Colorado's Dolores River fear the same but have found common ground solutions, and a new film highlights historical healthcare challenges in rural Appalachia.

West Virginia

According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, more than 400,000 people nationwide received methadone as part of their addiction treatment in 2019. (Adobe Stock)

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Methadone prescription bill could ease restrictions for West Virginians

Senate lawmakers are soon expected to vote on the Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act, legislation introduced this year by Republican Sen…

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According to the group West Virginians for Affordable Healthcare, around 30% of  West Virginia residents have medical debt in collections. (Adobe Stock)<br />
WV could lose hundreds of millions in Medicaid funding

Since West Virginia's Medicaid eligibility review began this spring, around 100,000 residents have been kicked off the rolls. Experts have said many …

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In the second quarter of 2022, nationwide residential solar set its fifth consecutive quarterly growth record, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. (Adobe Stock)<br />
WV utilities propose slashing energy credit in half for customers with solar panels

Major utilities in West Virginia, Mon Power and Potomac Edison, want to reduce the credit their solar customers get for producing power the utilities …

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Exposure to videos and photos on social media can lead to eating disorders among teen and adolescent girls, as well as serious mental health issues, including suicidal behavior, according to researchers at Havard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (Adobe Stock)
Federal legislation aims to protect kids from social media harms

Pressure is mounting on lawmakers to hold social media companies accountable for algorithms and other practices linked to eating disorders, …

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As of March 2023, 65,748,297 people are enrolled in Medicare nationwide, according to the Center for Medicare Advocacy. (Adobe Stock)<br />
WV residents can get help navigating Medicare open enrollment

With just a few weeks left until the end of Medicare open enrollment, experts in West Virginia say now is the time to compare current coverage to …

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Streams play a critical role in carrying sediments, nutrients and other materials into rivers and lakes and on to the ocean, according to the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. (Adobe Stock) <br />
EPA cites hundreds of WV streams as impaired

The federal Environmental Protection Agency says West Virginia isn't accurately keeping track of how many of the state's streams are polluted…

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West Virginia has an incarceration rate of 731 per 100,000 people, higher than the national average of 664 per 100,000 people. (Adobe Stock)<br /><br />
Report: Minorities a majority in WV prison population

A new study of incarceration trends shows Black people are jailed at a rate three times higher than their white peers in West Virginia, even though …

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Virginia and West Virginia residents say they're worried about the safety of a natural-gas pipeline that, once built, will run for more than 300 miles through their communities. (Facebook/Appalachians Against Pipelines)
Communities concerned about MVP pipeline water pollution, explosion risk

After a federal appeals court this week denied a request from a group of Virginia landowners to stop construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline on t…

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Private insurance companies deny more than 248 million claims or pre-authorization requests from their policyholders annually. (Adobe Stock)<br />
Concern mounts over denied claims by health insurers, impact on West Virginians

Congressional Democrats are investigating Medicaid prior authorization practices and denied claims by private health insurers. According to a …

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Declining college enrollment, increased burnout, an aging workforce with fewer people entering health care fields overall, and the pandemic have all contributed to serious hospital staffing shortages nationwide. (Adobe Stock)<br />
Rural regions bear brunt of nation’s nurse workforce crisis

In rural communities, severe staffing shortages have increased hospital wait times and worsened quality of care. According to the latest report by …

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Water Quality standards mandated by the federal Clean Water Act are designed to cap the amount of pollution entering West Virginia waters from industrial facilities, wastewater treatment plants, storm sewers, and other sources. (Adobe Stock)<br />
Volunteer water monitors: citizen scientists

Volunteer water monitoring is gaining popularity in West Virginia, and could help assess the impact on regional water quality of projects like the …

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A decade ago, the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation began to privatize prison food, signing a three-year, $145 million contract with Aramark with the reported goal of reducing prison operating costs. (Adobe Stock)
WV prison food: Rotten or poor quality, lawsuits, lack of oversight

West Virginia's contracts with Aramark Correctional Services have come under scrutiny after a lawsuit brought by incarcerated residents, alleging …

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