West Virginia Blue
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Normally I write political blogs. Normally I hate writing about sports because, I'm going to be honest, I'm not the biggest sports fan. However, I am a big WVU fan. Much like the rest of this state, My family flew our gold and blue flag pretty high on the night of the final four game.
It was heartbreaking, truly heartbreaking to see Da'Sean Butler go down. He is arguably one of the best players to put on a WVU basketball jersey (with the likes of Jerry West and Hot Rod).
This is probably old news by now, but Bob Huggins showed first class integrity.
Up to this tournament, Bob Huggins media persona wasn't exactly the greatest or ideal. I was an avid bearcats basketball fan back in the day, so I was familiar with Huggins a little bit before his days as WVU's head coach. I was devastated when he was asked to resign from cincy due to a few DUI's, however I was disappointed about the choices he made.
Those mar his reputation, as well as his lackluster graduation rate with his players.
But this tournament, we have seen a new side to him... this year even.
Joe Mazzulla had what most doctors would call a career ending injury. He was as good as done. With a man like Bob Huggins, hell any coach, you would expect him to be dropped and forgotten about...move on to a new guy with good ball-handing. This was obviously not the case. No, Huggins saw his potential, he saw he had a dream and had desire. Huggins gave Mazzulla that chance. That chance was what helped skyrocket WVU to the final four.
And if this wasn't enough, the true character showed during the game as Butler lay heartbroken with a badly torn up knee was enough to bring anyone to a quiet teary eye. The man showed some incredible character, class which I was unaware he possessed. I always viewed Huggins as a stern, fair, down-to-business coach who won games. Who cam in and took care of business and left.
My view is changed.
Congratulations to both the men's and women's basketball teams for making it as far as they did.
When the state "West Virginia" is mentioned on anything besides local news stations, its typically associated with one thing and one network.
Sports, and ESPN. West Virginia, as a state, doesn't get a lot of respect. For example, a recent ESPN article will give you all the evidence you need about a lack of respect. Just check out these "indexes."
But no, this is not an article in regards to sports. I don't really like sports a WHOLE lot, however living in West Virginia my whole life (and being a former sports addict for several years) I have grown to love the WVU athletic teams.
This is about another exposure to our little state, that takes place in Huntington, WV. I was recently surfuing Hulu.com a few evenings ago. I'm currently on spring break (from WVU) and was relaxing at my home in Parkersburg. I ran across a tv show called "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution," and remembered hearing something about it. The show based itself in Huntington, WV (otherwise known by non-residents of the state as the fattest/unhealthiest cities in the country. Supposedly the crux of the show is for Jamie Oliver to invade the city and help spread healthier eating habits.
First of all, I like the idea.. but judging by the one episode I watched (I don't have enough patience to watch more than one hour long episode).
Everyone who lives in West Virginia is familiar with its unfortunate and sometimes vulgar stereotypes. Toothless, redneck, no shoes, incestuous, un-educated... the list goes on.
A new one added to the list is apparently unhealthy. Watching the show, in the morning at an elementary school kids were being served pizza for breakfast. (I can personally vouch for this happening at my elementary school, an unfortunate truth)
The most astonishing part of the show, was when the host went to a classroom of I believe 2nd or 3rd graders, and persisted to show them various vegetables. None of them seemed to get any of them right. Granted, knowing what an eggplant looks like at that age is a longshot. But a tomato, none of them could identify that what Oliver was holding up was a tomato. This to me is sad, and sheds a poor light on our great state.
Let me be clear, this is not an attack (nor is it meant to be) on the wonderful people of Huntington or their children/education system/ etc. This is simply to point out flaws and places that need improvement. Its unfortunate that this is what people associate our state with. The great strides we have made are put on the backburner when shows like this display the kinds of things on this episode.
I take pride in the state of West Virginia, but I also recognize where we need to improve. Clearly judging by this show, although editing out of other parts may have proven a different story, improvements need to be made in our health and well-being.
We need West Virginia to be associated more with positive things, and less with negative things like having the most unhealthy city in America.
"I'm standing here, 56 years old and compared to when I was 26, I didn't understand,'' West Virginia assistant coach Billy Hahn said. "I didn't realize everything you have to go through and overcome in your life and when a moment like this finally comes, there aren't words. There just aren't words.''
And then Hahn covered his mouth and blinked hard to make sure the tears stayed tucked in the corner of his eyes.
For West Virginia, a 60-58 victory over Georgetown delivered the first Big East tournament title in program history -- and the school's first league tourney title of any kind since the 1984 Atlantic 10 crown.
But for the players, the coaches, the school and the state, it delivered so much more.
The Mountaineers basketball team is littered with players and coaches who have sped down the path of success only to run full throttle into hurdles and obstacles. There have been arrests and suspensions, injuries and illness, even seemingly career-killing firings.
Yet the fans have never abandoned their players or coaches.
Maybe it's because the citizens of West Virginia get it. They've spent their whole lives ridiculed as rednecks and unrefined lumberjacks, mainly by people who have never even visited the state. Their flagship university? It has earned more distinction nationally as a party school than as a pillar of academic excellence or athletic success.
So when Da'Sean Butler scored yet another buzzer-beater to guarantee a lifetime of free drinks in the state, the sing-along to John Denver's anthem, "Take Me Home, Country Roads," was as much a thumbing of the nose to the rest of the world as it was a statewide celebratory exhale.
Make sure you read the whole column. When you look at WVU's record vs. Top 25 opponents, it's better than Duke's.
You know, I'm not surprised when I see misleading information in constituent emails from Rep. Shelley Moore Capito. Take this section from last week's letter (the first sentence alone gets two things wrong: one minor, one major):
WVU Report on Cap-and-Trade
Also on the topic of energy - this week, professors at West Virginia University released a report on the full-impact of cap-and-trade. In highlighting the prospect of severe job loss and population decline, their view is a bit different than the President's.
Of particular note, Dr. Randall A. Childs and the university's Bureau of Business and Economic Research suggest that the state could lose more than 20,000 jobs over the next few decades and see a $1.8 billion decline in state domestic product. These are troubling numbers and we must remember them as the conversation continues.
So, I went, looked, and found where a report authored by Dr. Childs was released (it is available for download; warning, large PDF). This report is such a hit, at Gov. Manchin's request the West Virginia legislature has even written some of its findings into law:
Whereas, The Act calls for the establishment of a national cap and trade program that, if effected, would reduce West Virginia's gross domestic product by an estimated $750 million by 2020 and by an estimated $1.75 billion by 2030; and
Whereas, West Virginia would lose up to 10,000 jobs by 2020 and up to 22,000 jobs by 2030 if the proposed cap and trade program is enacted;
Amazingly, Rep. Capito's newsletter is more accurate than the legislature's resolution! (There's a sentence I never thought I'd write.) Rep. Capito at least says "could" whereas the resolution says "would".
I share Rep. Capito's view that these numbers are troubling--but not for the same reasons.
Talking about Change
Now, before I go into details about the report itself, I want to remind you about a diary I posted a few days ago on talking about change. Here's a key chart:
What about that WVU BBER study?
Okay, fine... what's that got to do with the WVU Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) study? Well, as it turns out, Childs' study focuses exclusively on just half of the decision making picture.
It says West Virginia has some good stuff right now--mainly, coal mining jobs and revenue along with electricity rates below the national average. Then it calculates how much less of the "usual" good stuff we would have if the House bill become law without any further changes and if we assume we were going to have all the same good stuff in 2030 as we have now.
In other words, it only looks at the stuff in the Resistance to Change column. No wonder the folks who like the status quo--the most resistance to change--have fully embraced this study.
What the report doesn't include
The WVU BBER report does not note that global climate change is a problem that needs to be addressed. (In fact, in the first footnote of the study, it gives credence to debunked claims of climate change denialists).
The WVU BBER report does not say what the costs of doing nothing are (it ignores the bad stuff now and in the future)--the significant costs to West Virginia of climate change. (To be fair, neither do the national government studies it relies on for much of it data.)
The WVU BBER report assumes that West Virginia's current relative electricity costs advantages will remain constant in the absence of climate change legislation. This is a difficult assumption to justify.
We're already seeing West Virginia utilities ask for large rate increases due to the drop in state industrial demand and a drop in out-of-state demand for coal-generated electricity. Multiple forecasts show a drop in Appalachian coal production in the next 20 years. Nearby states are making aggressive investments in alternative energy. Projecting the "usual" good stuff forever is an unrealistically optimistic comparison case.
Also, the WVU BBER report does not include any of the different good stuff that will result from addressing climate change. Quoting from the study itself:
The provisions excluded from EIA's analysis include: Clean Energy Deployment Program; Strategic Allowance Reserve; regulations covering HFC emissions; GHG standards for activities not covered by cap and trade; allowances to coal merchant plants; efficiency standards for transportation equipment; and, investment in energy research and development. The omitted programs and regulations, while albeit important, are not likely to significantly change the underlying results of this study.
Investments in conservation, efficiency, and alternative energy all provide benefits to the West Virginia economy. These benefits are not included in the study.
Finally, the WVU BBER report makes no attempt to include less bad stuff. A more thorough study would include the positive impacts of reduced coal usage (something that the MACED and Dr. Hendryx studies both provide a reasonable starting point to estimate).
In other words, when Rep. Capito says this is a "a report on the full-impact of cap-and-trade," that's just not true. It's a report on some of the impacts of cap-and-trade with an almost exclusive focus on the most negative impacts.
Resistance to Change
If you set out to create the most pessimistic view possible of addressing West Virginia climate change you might well end up with a study quite similar to this one. I have no reason to believe Dr. Childs' started his report with that idea in mind, but the end result is the same.
It's no wonder that Rep. Capito and Gov. Manchin are trumpeting these figures to justify their resistance to change. This is a disservice to all West Virginians.
Head in the sand on climate change. The WVU BBER report assumes the West Virginia economy will feel no effects from global climate change if it goes unaddressed. This is a reckless view to perpetuate.
All pain, no gain. The WVU BBER report assumes that West Virginia will get no benefits from the House climate bill. No new clean energy jobs. No new coal carbon-capture and storage R&D jobs (with associated increased coal demand). No retraining, tax credits, or other directed benefits to aid Appalachia in moving beyond coal.
"Good" stuff forever. The WVU BBER report assumes the status quo of coal today will be here forever. That's at odds with what the coal industry itself is saying. A real public service would be to create a more realistic baseline scenario based on all known information about coal supply.
Bad stuff never. The WVU BBER report completely ignores the documented negative externalities of the coal economy. Reductions in coal mining, processing, and burning will also have positive effects on West Virginia GDP and population numbers (along with numerous quality of life indicators).
In summary, the WVU BBER paints an unrealistic set of scary figures.
A silver lining?
As incomplete as this study is, there may be one small silver lining. While I think the WVU BBER study is misleading and inaccurate, it does demonstrate the necessity for West Virginians to constructively engage in the legislative process regarding energy and environmental policy.
It is important that climate change legislation aids West Virginians and other Appalachians who face disproportionate impacts in moving to a post-carbon economy. West Virginia political leadership--our Congresspeople and those in the state house--ought to quit demagoguing these issues and start offering real solutions.
Mining and burning the small amount of coal remaining in West Virginia even faster is not a solution to climate change in West Virginia and it doesn't address the long-term challenges our state faces to replace our dwindling coal-based wealth.
Good afternoon, WvaBlue readers. This is your afternoon open thread to discuss all things Hill-related. Use this thread to praise or bash Congresscritters, share a juicy tip, ask questions, offer critiques and suggestions, or post manifestos.
As always, this is a crosspost from Congress Matters and I will refrain from my routine claim that this is the most important news of the day. That would be the what is happening in your own house this time of the year.
Sen. Byrd did not miss the vote today either, even thought it was finally just a majority wins event. His thoughts went to his friend Edward M. Kennedy.
Former West Virginia Mountaineer Coach Rich Rodriguez - I feel I have to explain who he is since his departure from WVU has resulted in him becoming a Loser coach who would have drifted into obscurity except for the numerous scandals - is in yet another scandal at the University of Michigan:
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez says he won't let a lawsuit over a failed Virginia condo project affect preparations for Saturday's season opener.
The suit was filed in August in U.S. District Court in South Carolina against Rodriguez. It says he owes a bank $3.9 million for defaulting on a loan to build condos near Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium.
The University of Michigan football team consistently has violated NCAA rules governing off-season workouts, in-season demands on players and mandatory summer activities under coach Rich Rodriguez, numerous players told the Free Press.
Players on the 2008 and 2009 teams described training and practice sessions that far exceeded limits set by the NCAA, which governs college athletics. The restrictions are designed to protect players' well-being, ensure adequate study time and prevent schools from gaining an unfair competitive advantage.
The players, who did not want to be identified because they feared repercussions from coaches, said the violations occurred routinely at the direction of Rodriguez's staff.
"It's one of those things where you can't say something," one current Wolverine said. "If you say something, they're going to say you're a lazy person and don't want to work hard."
Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez appeared to tear up as he talked about his program during his weekly news conference in Ann Arbor.
He opened his weekly news conference - scheduled for each Monday during the season - by saying he would talk about the Free Press report in which numerous current and former players said U-M consistently far exceeded NCAA limits on practice time and other football-related activities. Rodriguez talked for 15 minutes on topic, stopping several times when he appeared to choke up.
When he finished, he said, "That was longer than I wanted to take." Then he asked for questions about Saturday's opener against Western Michigan.
Michigan announced Sunday that it had launched an investigation into the allegations. The Big Ten and the NCAA have been alerted.
The Mountaineers continue to garner lots of good press before this season:
Off in the corner on that July day at the table sporting the 2008 West Virginia media guides, there were waves of laughter from those being entertained by the first-year Mountaineers coach.
But pinning down Bill Stewart to talk football, well, that wouldn't be quite so easy.
In a college football world where coaches who earn millions have become rock stars, Stewart is a bit of Buck Owens in a world of Motley Crue.
But he also is simply fun to listen to; asked a question about his Heisman hopeful quarterback Pat White and somehow Stewart ends up in the Bronx.
"Boys, if I could hit the curveball, I wouldn't be sitting here today," Stewart said. "I love baseball. I was there, last Wednesday, in the house that Ruth built, in the 27th to last game played at Yankee Stadium.
People love the new coach. The old coach, Richie Rich, not so much.
Stewart was named interim coach after Rich Rodriguez bolted for Michigan weeks before West Virginia played Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl last season. Few would have predicted that Stewart, a coach with a long resume as an assistant but one short on head coaching experience, would be the choice to replace Rodriguez, a coach who made the program a perennial national contender.
But hours after leading West Virginia to a 48-28 victory over Oklahoma at the Fiesta Bowl last January, West Virginia athletic director Ed Pastilong offered Stewart, a New Martinsville, W. Va., native, the position.
A dream scenario in the eyes of Stewart, who in his West Virginia bio says: "I was born a West Virginian, I was bred a West Virginian and hopefully when they lay me down I'll be a West Virginian, be it on the banks of the Ohio River or in the hills of Monongahela County."
Ask him about his returning core of players that makes West Virginia a consensus choice to win the Big East and Stewart, 55, ends up spinning yarns of growing up bleeding Mountaineer blue and gold.
Since this is a political blog I'll point out that Vic Sprouse wrote favorably of Richie Rich's decision to unlawfully break his contract with WVU.
* This really deserves it own post... this kind of gender essentialism is really offensive. Ineffective Bush-Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, speaking at the opening of girl's state, says:
Capito told the girls that there were some advantages women in Congress do have over the men.
"We can wear red," she said. "We can talk about issues with a compassion that men can't. There is also always so much in front of us that we need to do. We know how to multi-task better than men do."
I'd like to see Reps. Mollohan and Rahall wear red jackets on the floor next week to show what an idiotic statement that is. As if the color of your clothes has anything to do with being an effective Rep.? Plus, let's put up a side-by-side comparison of Sen. Byrd and Rep. Capito's speeches about the Iraq war and see who talks about the issues with compassion.
I firmly believe that America would be better served with a Congress that looks demographically like America does. Providing essentialist arguments for diversity minimizes the importance of representing the issues that woman disproportionately face. I guess claiming she's a better multi-tasker is a lot easier than talking about her lack of fighting for reproductive freedoms.
Pleeeeazee. What did the residents of the second district ever do to deserve such poor representation?
Update from Carnacki: I don't know who this Ridenour guy is, but he doesn't speak for Senator Byrd. I've been informed that the major reason Byrd voted against moving to debate was because the bill cut short the funding for clean coal research. Perhaps next time someone from a so-called conservative research institute decides to put words in the mouth of Senator Byrd, he'll do actual research first.
* On a lighter note... did you know that West Virginia has a semi-pro sports team? Catch the Charleston Chaos Professional Development League soccer matches before the season ends on July 19.
I will keep this diary relatively short but provide enough info. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that the WVU panel investigating whether or not Heather Bresch, daughter of Governor Joe Manchin and Mylan COO, properly earned her MBA. According to the Post-Gazette, the panel has unanimously concluded that Bresch should have never been awarded the degree and that WVU erred in retroactively awarding the degree.
A five-member panel has concluded unanimously that Mylan Inc. executive Heather Bresch, daughter of West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, did not earn a master's of business administration degree from West Virginia University and that administrators erred in granting her the degree retroactively in October, according to a person familiar with the report.
The Charleston Gazette just picked up on the story. This could have serious consequences for the Manchin Administration should it be determined that he was involved.
-- Ever heard of Ice Mountain? The Nature Conservancy's Ice Mountain Preserve in Hampshire County looks like a beautiful place to visit.
-- Just as well we all got too busy to challenge an Ohio blog this past week. Still, WVU did itself proud this season, even if couldn't put Xavier away in OT. Now, if you only count points scored by Xavier players not named BJ Raymond, than WVU takes it in overtime.
-- Celebrate Earth Hour. Turn off all your lights from 8-9PM local time tonight. Heck, go ahead and turn off your computer, too... it could use a break.
Aside from the Eastern Panhandle, Joe Hatfield says foreclosures have not increased in West Virginia like other parts of the country, which have been hit hard by falling housing prices. [snip]
Hatfield says West Virginia is doing better because it has fewer complex mortgages than other parts of the country.
House prices are definitely down in the Eastern Panhandle and time to market is way, way up. How is the real estate market in your neck of the woods?
West Virginia University law professor Bob Bastress doesn't think the state Supreme Court is "as accessible or as good" as it was 10 years ago.
He said he is seeking a seat on the court this year to bring back the luster and respect he feels the court has lost.
"Part of my decision to run is based on my concerns about the current board," Bastress said. "It's not as accessible or as good as it was in the past.
"Its reputation has taken a hit in recent years, and I believe the people with ability should step forward."
He pointed out that the court has taken fewer cases up for review in recent months. "And not the ones they should have," Bastress said.
"The number of their signed opinions is way down," he noted. "The court lacks the luster is had 10 to 12 years ago. It had better judgment when (former justices) Tom Miller and Frank Cleckley were on the board."
U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and David Leach, farm manager at the Kearneysville Tree Fruit Research and Education Center, point Monday to where the new four-lane W.Va. 9 will come through part of the center's property. (Dave McMillion/Bureau Reporter)
Quick aside... why isn't the third person in the photo named? Oh... because they're another local reporter. They're supposed to report the news, not make it... remember?
Point #1: The power of incumbency to manage the press
Whatever newspaper editor approved this powder puff story deserves to be mocked for professional incompetence.
Is there any news being made? No. Not even a pretense of news. No money being doled out. No federal official visiting to tout a failed administrative policy. Not even a flimsy excuse for news.
Is there some compelling human interest angle? No. No interesting background story. Capito visits a fruit research station. That's the beginning and end of the story.
Is there some vital public interest served? None. There's no tie-in to a "remind readers to wash their fruit" initiative or anything else that might serve the public interest. Just: Capito visits fruit research station.
Does the institution in question--Kearneysville Tree Fruit Research and Education Center--deserve press coverage? Absolutely. So write a story about the research station and don't dilute the impact with a Congresswoman in the way.
Point #2: Republican Rep. Capito is out of touch with her district
Capito, R-W.Va., said she wanted to tour the facility after passing it regularly along W.Va. 9 and being curious about its operations.
Conservative Republican Capito (WV-02), 8 years after starting to travel in the Eastern Panhandle regularly, decides to find out more about this facility. If they were a corporation or catered to the wealthy, do you think it would have taken this long?
Instead...
The facility helps growers understand practices such as how to use pesticides to control pests in the most "highly technological way," officials at the center said.
But an increasing number of growers also are interested in how to grow fruit organically, said Alan Biggs, professor of plant pathology at the facility.
Members of the West Virginia State Horticultural Society approached center officials about organic growing concepts, Biggs said. The Horticultural Society represents about 60 growers, most of whom are in the Eastern Panhandle region, Biggs said.
Research center officials are working on the effort and hope the center can eliminate pitfalls growers might face with organic operations. This will allow center officials to "take the technology right to the grower," Biggs said.
Although the number of orchards has dropped significantly in the Eastern Panhandle over the years, it seems to have stabilized, Biggs said.
Biggs said the decline of orchards has stabilized as growers turn to niche operations like organic products and other fruit crops.
And there are new growers buying land in areas like Hampshire County and specializing in fresh food sales, Biggs said.
The fruit research station, which is affiliated with West Virginia University, has been in operation since 1930 and has an annual budget of roughly $350,000 to $450,000, Biggs said.
Wow. Right here in our district, a research station that helps keep jobs in our district. Sounds like something our Representative in Congress should be very interested in. Too bad she's eight years too late.
Of course, the press who covered the event didn't find the time to ask her why she didn't visit the research station long ago... maybe then we have a real story.
As an insomniac, it is always nice to scroll the local papers, sports sites, news sites, and political blogs to get a head start on my day. I ran across this interesting article at ESPN.com regarding the Rich Rodriquez fallout.
I think in this whole mess, William Stewart turns out to be the class act and selfless individual. He reminds me of a guy that just does his job and does it superbly in the face of controversy. I wish him well in the coming seasons.
The downside is that as I surf the web and was going to prepare this post I saw that (yes I admit I look at the red blogs) Sick Vic had tuned into it! Ugh! Anyway, Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com is a great writer of college hoops and football.
Again, hats off to Stewart and the young men who pulled together and beat the odds. Hats off to the House for their recognition of such a great feat. And finally, hats of to Clem for putting his neck and blog on the line on a WV victory!
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