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W.Va. House passes "Chemical Spill" bill
Thu, Mar 6 2014 05:56
| chemical spill, elk river, environment, environmental, legislature, water, water crisis, West Virginia, wv
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This year's legislative session began on Jan. 8th. The next day 10,000 gallons of the chemical MCHM spilled from the storage facility Freedom Industries into the Elk River, just upstream of the West Virginia American Water Company’s water treatment plan. The leak contaminated water for 300,000 residents in nine counties.
Click "read more" for the rest of the story...
On Tuesday, some groups, including the W.Va. Sierra Club and Citizen Action Group had claimed that the House Finance Committee stripped crucial protections from the bill. Before approving the bill late on Wednesday, the House passed an amendment restoring medical monitoring to the bill.
In related news, WCHS Eyewitness News reports that Environmental and legal activist Erin Brockovich expressed concerns Wednesday about remain of MCHM sticking to plumbing and fixtures in water systems affected by the contaminated water.
Below, RT America video, originally published on Jan 10, 2014, on the chemical spill:
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Denver's 'Country Roads' being pushed as official state song (again)
Wed, Mar 5 2014 10:34
| Country Roads, John Denver, state song, West Virginia, wv
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| John Denver (1973) |
This resolution, House Concurrent Resolution No. 40 (HCR 40), can be read in its entirety on West Virginia Legislature's website.
"Take Me Home, Country Roads", also known as simply "Country Roads", was written by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert, and John Denver in 1970, and the song was first recorded by Denver for his 1971 album Poems, Prays, and Promises.
Click "read more" to view a YouTube video of "Country Roads".
Denver's song has become very popular worldwide and in West Virginia it was immediately well received. According to the Wikipedia article about the song, several resolutions have been introduced in the W.Va. House of Delegate and Senate over the years to change the state song to "Country Roads", but such efforts to date have been unsuccessful.
Is this the year that 'Country Roads' becomes an official state song? (Your comments are welcome, below).
West Virginia's Three Official State Songs
As far as the here and now goes, the follow is what the West Virginia Department of Commerce's website has to say about the state official song(s):
Although many people consider John Denver’s “Country Roads” the state’s unofficial anthem, the Legislature adopted the following three official state songs on February 28, 1963: The West Virginia Hills, words and music by Ellen King and H.E. Engle; This is My West Virginia, by Iris Bell; and West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home, by Julian G. Hearne, Jr.
Report: W.Va. the most miserable U.S. state in 2013
Wed, Mar 5 2014 02:07
| emotional health, physical health, quality of life, report, well-being, West Virginia, work environment, wv
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A few days later, a Washington Post blog article noted that West Virginia has received a similar bad ranking on the Index since it was first issued, in 2008.
On a related and equally troubling topic: Time magazine's 2013 report named West Virginia as the nation's "most neurotic state". Click "read more" for more about that, below the page-break.
According to Time, its America's Mood Map was based on "personality test data from over one million people", which was used to identify "three distinct personality regions in the country."
"West Virginia is the most neurotic state, Utah is the most agreeable and the folks of Wisconsin are the country's most extroverted, a new study says."You can click the link above and visit the Time's page, and have a look at how the states are ranked on the page's "Mood Map".
Is West Virginia really that bad? Let us know what you think in the comments section, below.
W.Va. grassroots groups assist during state's water crisis
Wed, Mar 5 2014 12:54
| chemical spill, elk river, environment, environmental, water, water crisis, West Virginia, wv
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| Elk River at Charleson, WV |
Soon, other West Virginia grassroots groups joined the relief effect, including Aurora Lights, Coal River Mountain Watch, Keeping of the Mountains Foundation, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, and RAMPS.
Now, about several weeks after the spill occurred, some residents are complaining that the water still has a strange odor, and some worry about chemical residues and long term effects of exposure to MCHM, according to a WaterOnline.com article.
In a Charleston Gazette article published in January, entitled What is "Crude MCHM"? Few know., the director of West Virginia Poison Center was quoted as saying "There's not much known about this chemical". The article also notes that current Federal and state laws "set limits and mandate samples for only certain chemicals" and MCHM isn't one of them.