West Virginia Blue
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Michael Hendryx, author of the study written up by Ken Ward Jr....
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Coal mining costs Appalachians five times more in early deaths as the industry provides to the region in jobs, taxes and other economic benefits, according to a groundbreaking new study co-authored by a West Virginia University researcher.
In the latest in a series of papers, WVU researcher Michael Hendryx questions the idea that coal is good for West Virginia and other Appalachian communities, and recommends that political leaders consider other alternatives for improving the region's economy and quality of life.
"Coal-mining economies are not strong economies," Hendryx said in an interview last week. "[Coalfield communities] are weaker than the rest of the state, weaker than the rest of the region, and weaker than the rest of the nation."
Writing with co-author Melissa Ahern of Washington State University, Hendryx reports that the coal industry generates a little more than $8 billion a year in economic benefits for the Appalachian region.
But, Hendryx and Ahern put the value of premature deaths attributable to the mining industry across the Appalachian coalfields at -- by one of their most conservative estimates -- $42 billion.
...will be holding a live chat at the Charleston Gazette at 2 p.m. Hopefully questions from the reality based community will get through.
Meanwhile, it's Coal vs. Climate as two heavyweights agree to debate.
Dear Don,
Thanks for your offer to publicly discuss climate change, human-made global warming, and its implications for the coal industry in general and mountaintop removal in particular. That is an excellent suggestion. I would be glad to participate in a format that allows the public to become better acquainted with the science and its implications.
I had planned to return to a meeting in Washington immediately after the activities at your place on Tuesday, but to accommodate a public discussion, I will stay another day. I expect that we will be able to find a school auditorium that would be well-suited for presentations and discussion. I am scouting that out now and will get back to you with specific information.
Usually I spend close to an hour on a climate science discussion for the public, but I can shorten that to about 40 minutes, so that you can have a similar time to present your views, if you would like that much time. You are welcome to speak either before or after me. After we have both spoken, we can open it up for discussion with the public.
If for any reason you are unable to find time for this discussion on Wednesday, I will give my talk anyhow. Hopefully the public will then be able to get back to you with information and questions about how your practices relate to climate, the environment, and the future that will be faced by young people and future generations.
Thanks again for your helpful suggestion. I very much agree on the importance of reaching out to the public and increasing public understanding of scientific matters.
Sincerely,
Jim Hansen
It's not as exciting as CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy for the heavyweight title at the Great American Bash (I refuse to simply refer to it as The Bash), but the issues at stake in this debate are very real.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- If Marco and the Mountaineer can live in harmony, is there hope for fans of the Thundering Herd and the Blue and Gold?
Marshall University's Trey Barker and West Virginia University's Rebecca Durst, each the mascot for their university, grew up together in Point Pleasant and share a long friendship. Both are 20 years old.
First, both attended kindergarten at Roosevelt Elementary School in Mason County, Barker said.
On the first day of school, their friendship blossomed after one little incident.
"I guess she thought I was cute," Barker said. "She kissed me on the cheek and I ran up the hallway and told a teacher."
I'm nearly certain this is one of the signs of the impending apocalypse.
Sitting alone at night in secret study;
I have seen on the brass tripod.
A slight flame comes out of the emptiness and
makes successful that which should not be believed in vain.
Thundering Marco and Thunderous Mountain Dweller
Shall clasp hands in a season of championships
And victorious shall be their endeavors.
Nostradamus can be kind of vague and difficult to interpret.
West Virginia University won a national championship. Via Andy Richardson on Facebook, comes this news:
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - West Virginia University's No. 3 ranked rifle team captured its 14th national championship Saturday afternoon in Fort Worth, Texas, at the TCU Rifle Range and the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. The title is the first for the WVU rifle program since 1998.
The Mountaineers won the team air rifle competition today, shooting a staggering 2353 score to propel them to the championship with an overall aggregate score of 4643, seven points better than second-place Jacksonville State (4636). Navy finished second in air rifle with a 2327 while Jacksonville State tallied a 2324, good for third.
It is the highest finish for the Mountaineers at nationals since a third-place finish in 2001.
snip
"It's amazing really. It's been over 10 years for the program to have won a national title and to do it in this fashion is incredible. I'm happy for our team and our program. The whole thing will sink in in the next week or so and we'll really realize then what we've accomplished."
The 2nd woman ever has been named to serve as the West Virginia University mascot:
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- West Virginia University has named its second female mascot in school history.
Point Pleasant's Rebecca Durst was announced as the Mountaineers' musket-carrying mascot for the 2009-10 school year Saturday night at the men's basketball game with Louisville.
Durst, a sophomore, won a cheer-off over fellow students Brock Burwell of Harrisville, Rebecca Funk of Clear Spring, Md., and current mascot Michael Squires of Clarksburg. The cheer-off was held at Wednesday night's game with DePaul.
Congratulations to Rebecca Durst, who is following in the trailblazing foot steps of our current Secretary of State Natalie Tennant.
First of all, the time table: the finalists are announced yesterday, and the vote is on Friday? The entire thing has been conducted in secrecy until today, and four days from now, it's going to be over. WVU says that one of the candidates might not be available if a decision isn't reached by Friday. Fair enough. But four days is not enough time for serious scrutiny of the candidates. This is not transparency. The WVU community deserves better.
That said, it is a profound relief that for the first time in almost almost 15 years, WVU will have a full-time president who is a career academic leader rather than a politically connected Charleston lawyer or lobbyist. That in itself is a meaningful step toward restoring national legitimacy.
But it seems pretty clear that the Garrison fiasco and the unsettled situation at WVU took a toll. The ideal candidate for a job like this almost always fits one of two descriptions: provost at a superior school who is looking for his or her first presidency, or president at a school a rung below WVU on the career ladder.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- West Virginia University says ex-football coach Rich Rodriguez has agreed to pay a $4 million buyout clause after breaking his contract.
That would settle WVU's lawsuit that had been set for trial this fall. WVU attorney Tom Flaherty says the tentative agreement was reached late Tuesday night.
Rightwing Republican blogger Vic Sprouse made a big deal out of how Rodriguez was right to screw WVU, with his comments angering even his fellow Republicans on a football message board. Looks like Sprouse has to dine on crow. I'm sure it's a dish he's quite accustomed to eating.
Update by Clem G. Here's the link to the sports message board Carnacki mentioned. There's a few choice comments there.
Justin Anderson at the Daily Mail has the detail:'
West Virginia University President Mike Garrison could receive severance of up to $255,000 if the university's governing board winds up firing him over the turmoil generated by a master's degree improperly granted to Gov. Joe Manchin's daughter.
Under his contract with the university, Garrison is entitled to a sizable severance payment should the university's board of governors fire him without cause. Just how much money he would get depends on when the board fires him.
Click here for a PDF of Garrison's contract
If the board votes to fire Garrison before June 30 - around the time of his annual review -- without cause, he'll be entitled to a severance payment of $255,000, according to his contract. That's equal to a full year's salary.
If the board fires Garrison after June 30, but before his contract expires on June 30, 2010, he'll be entitled to a severance payment equal to half what his salary is at the time he's fired.
Garrison is scheduled to give a full report to the board on June 6 on how he plans to implement controls to prevent the scandal over the degree granted to Heather Bresch from ever happening again.
OK, it's not politics. WVU Mountaineers landed a big one and I almost missed it.
High School superstar, and YouTube favorite, Devin Ebanks will be bringing his game to Morgantown this winter. Ebanks has the skills that NBA scouts salivate over. At 6'8'', he passes the rock like a point guard, and his jump shot splashes the net constantly. This makes him one of the rare big men who can play guard (e.g.: Magic Johnson and Tracy McGrady).
Professor Larry Hornak suggests the vote could mean that faculty will refuse to participate in things like the search for a provost.
Some professors are already refusing to work with the administration.
The Faculty Senate's Executive Committee is set to discuss the matter Monday afternoon.
Garrison has refused to resign over his administration's handling of a master's degree scandal involving the governor's daughter.
UPDATE:
Statement from Gov. Joe Manchin:
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Gov. Joe Manchin today released the following statement about the continuing discussions regarding the report from the independent panel examining the E-MBA program and his daughter's degree at West Virginia University.
"As a father, I must admit that I was hoping that the controversy surrounding my daughter's E-MBA coursework at WVU would eventually resolve itself and subside. However, as a Governor, I recognize that is not realistic.
"In both roles, it has been extremely difficult for me to watch this controversy unfold. As governor, my natural instinct in a crisis is to do my very best to dive in and help bring all sides together to find a resolution. However, because of my family's involvement in this particular situation, I feel that this is one time in which I am not in a position to follow that instinct, because it is likely that one side or the other would be inclined to question my ability to remain objective.
"WVU holds a special place in the hearts of both Gayle and I not only because we are proud graduates of WVU, but because it is also the place where we met, fell in love and started our family. From our perspective, this controversy all started because our daughter sincerely believed that she had her degree, because of a meeting that everyone admits took place with the program's director in 1998, and when she contacted the university last year, she was simply asking them to find the records that she believed would confirm that.
"Had they told her that after looking through their records they didn't have the proper documentation on file, we honestly believe that while she may not have liked that answer, she would have accepted it and moved on with her life.
"At no time would she have asked anyone to either 'guess' as to her records or to fabricate grades on those records. As a result, Gayle and
I are both angry, in particular, at the fabrication of grades that took place, because it unfairly damages our daughter's reputation as much as it does the University's. It was absolutely wrong and, in my mind, completely unacceptable.
"Although I remain confident in President Garrison's ability to follow the recommendations of the independent panel's report, I am also fully aware of the concerns that have been raised by the faculty, staff, students and alumni of WVU and recognize that they must be addressed in some meaningful manner. WVU needs to find a way to begin to heal the wounds that have been created over these last few weeks, and it will take all parties working together to achieve that goal.
"To that end, I have seen it stated many times by individuals and the press that because I appointed certain members of the Board of Governors, they must be following my orders as to what to think and say regarding President Garrison and the independent panel's report. This simply is not true.
"The Board of Governors is made up of extremely bright and accomplished people who were not given this responsibility lightly and who I trust to do the job assigned to them to the best of their abilities. While many members are appointed by a governor, they do not serve at the will and pleasure of a governor. They may act as they wish during their four-year terms as long as it is within legal and ethical reason.
"Therefore, the WVU Board of Governors members are not under my control and remain free, as they always have been, to make their own individual and collective decisions on this or any other situation. As I said previously, I am not in a position to make a recommendation to them in this instance even if I wanted to because, regardless of what it might be, it would not be viewed as being made objectively - and I absolutely understand and accept that.
"As a result, I consider this matter one that should be decided by the members of the Board of Governors based upon their own insights and beliefs and information, and as governor, I will continue to support whatever direction they believe is in the best interests of WVU both now and in the future."
On the heels of the faculty's condemnation of West Virginia University President Mike Garrison comes this:
Several students and faculty refused to shake hands with West Virginia University President Mike Garrison during commencement ceremonies this weekend as a silent protest over the Heather Bresch scandal.
Garrison is facing calls to resign from faculty members, students and some donors. He was scheduled to speak at commencement this weekend, but changed his mind because of the controversy.
snip
Lauren Dembeck, an honors student from Wallace, had the words "I earned this degree: Garrison must resign" on her mortarboard as she approached Garrison.
"I told him, 'I can't shake your hand,'" Dembeck said after the ceremony. "He congratulated me anyway."
snip
Faculty have assembled twice in the last two weeks to call for Garrison to resign over the scandal involving Bresch, who is an executive at Mylan Pharmaceuticals and the daughter of Gov. Joe Manchin.
Garrison has repeatedly stated that he plans to stay on the job.
Last month, an independent panel said Garrison's aides and business school leaders were wrong to award Bresch a master's degree in business retroactively that she did not earn.
The panel said she did not register or pay for some of her classes, and WVU officials added grades to her transcript that were "simply pulled from thin air."
Most WVU fans are already over "it" and have been for some time.
"It", of course, being Rich Rodriguez's departure from West Virginia. Despite protestations to the contrary by many UM fans, few here in West Virginia are obsessing.
Granted, people here don't like Rodriguez very much. When one says, "I plan on coaching at West Virginia for as long as they'll have me", it is supposed to mean that, and if one later backpedals, people tend to feel betrayed.
snip
And WVU fans aren't just going to forget about a $4 million contract that he signed and now claims holds him "hostage". Not on your life. That's money for our football program, which is an investment in something we love and are passionate about.
WVU fans fully expect him to honor his contract, because he signed it. There's nothing personal or hateful about it; it's "just business".
UM fans seem to miss the concept that Rodriguez himself isn't doing much to move on, either. He's made the whole departure it into a drawn-out, very public dispute, instead of just honoring the terms of the contract that he himself signed. Even considering that, however expecting a contract to be honored is not an "obsession," no matter what UM fans think.
If you disagree, you can get a second opinion. Call your bank and tell them that they are "obsessing" about your mortgage payments or your car loan and that they just need to let it go. Feed them the line about the psycho ex-girlfriend, too. Then, please come back here and let us know how that worked out for you.
While it's wrong to label an entire region in a derogatory manner, when it comes to sports: Michigan sucks.
MORGANTOWN -- West Virginia University's faculty demanded Wednesday embattled President Mike Garrison quit over a master's degree scandal involving the governor's daughter, the second call for his resignation in 10 days.
The nonbinding resolution, approved 563-35, came during a rare special meeting open to all faculty.
Last week, the 114-member Faculty Senate voted overwhelmingly to demand Garrison resign. Garrison has refused, and Gov. Joe Manchin and the WVU Board of Governors that Manchin largely appointed have continued to support him.
While the latest vote is a louder cry of doubt about his leadership, organizers lacked numbers to put teeth to their recommendation. Organizers said the special meeting, known as the University Assembly, required 909 faculty members, or 51 percent of the total, for a quorum, said senator Judith Sedgeman.
"WVU cannot recover from this crisis under the leadership that created it. President Garrison must go,'' professor Boyd Edwards said during debate at the special assembly, which hasn't convened since 1977. "Effective leadership requires widespread credibility and respect. He enjoys neither.''
Don't hold back, professor. Tell us how you really feel.
Last month, an independent panel concluded WVU administrators gave Mylan Inc. executive Heather Bresch, Manchin's daughter, an executive master's of business administration degree she didn't earn.
The panel found that administrators added courses and grades to her incomplete transcript, retroactively awarding her the 1998 degree she'd been claiming on her resume.
Bresch is a longtime friend of Garrison, and Mylan chairman Milan "Mike'' Puskar, who has given tens of millions to WVU. While the panel found no evidence that Garrison directly interfered, it said the presence of his key staff at the decision-making meeting created "palpable'' pressure.
There was a time when people mentioned Manchin as a potential candidate for higher office, but I suspect this issue is going to dog him for a while.
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