CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A fourth victim has come forward claiming to have been sexually assaulted by a now dismissed Kanawha County Sheriff’s Deputy inside the Kanawha County Judicial Annex.
Charleston Attorneys Jesse Forbes and Dante DiTrapano represent the four victims who allege they were assaulted while in custody by former Deputy Cass Close. Close was charged after the first victim came forward with her allegations and was fired from his job as a bailiff in the county courthouse. He has not

MOOREFIELD, W.Va. — Wednesday marked the 40th anniversary of the natural disaster which changed much of West Virginia’s landscape and a lot of West Virginia lives forever. The remnants of Hurricane Juan in 1985 collided with a frontal system to produce rain which sat over West Virginia and poured for several days. The National Weather Service recorded 4 to 8 inches of rain on the region in a 48-hour period. The result was a raging torrent coming out of the West Virginia mountains and down into

Nine families who want religious exemptions from mandatory school vaccinations to be recognized by the Berkeley County school system have asked for voluntary dismissal of their court case there because they want to join a class action lawsuit originating in Raleigh County instead.
Michael Lorensen
Berkeley Circuit Judge Michael Lorensen concluded a status hearing today by granting the dismissal. The judge expressed a hope that such cases, which have popped up in courtrooms around the state, are

CHARLESTON, W.Va. –– The state Public Service Commission has announced a deal has been reached in the Hope Gas rate increase case that will affect 131,000 customers in 37 counties.
Kurt Krieger
The original Hope Gas proposal would have increased the base rate by 25% to 35% for customers totaling about $80 million. The settlement slashes the proposed increase nearly in half.
The increase will now be 21% on the customer resulting in $41.2 million in increased revenue. It’s believed the average

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Public Service Commission has stopped short from declaring the Mingo County Public Service District a distressed utility but has ordered improvements.
The Tuesday order requires the Mingo PSD to create and follow through on a 10-point corrective action plan to address customer complaints.
The PSC began a general investigation into the PSD in January after it stopped providing water to customers at the height of a snowstorm. The PSD staff said they were unable to

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito says she won’t agree to end the filibuster in the Senate even though President Donald Trump is strongly urging the Republican majority to do so to end the 36-day federal government shutdown.
Shelley Moore Capito
“I certainly understand his frustration,” Capito said after an appearance Wednesday on MetroNews “Talkline” that followed a breakfast meeting with the President Trump.
The filibuster rule requires 60 votes in the Senate to bring a bill

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The Kanawha County Commission announced Tuesday its formal opposition to Mountaineer Gas Company’s request to the Public Service Commission for a rate increase, questioning why the utility needs it and highlighting the possible strain that would be put upon users.
Kanawha County Commissioner Lance Wheeler is among those vocally pushing back on the request because he says citizens are reaching out and expressing concerns.
Lance Wheeler
“We’re getting a lot of constituents