Recent editorials from West Virginia newspapers:
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Feb. 19
Charleston Gazette on the tabling of an education bill that prompted teachers to strike:
From the very beginning, Senate Bill 451, the omnibus education bill, was negotiated in bad faith. The tactics finally caught up with West Virginia Senate leadership as the House of Delegates voted, 53-45, to table the bill indefinitely on Tuesday, with striking teachers packed into the House gallery and everywhere else on the Capitol grounds.
The first version of the bill would have established charter schools, education savings accounts and public tax money for home-schooling, weakened school unions and undermined teacher seniority, among many other things.
It also included a promised 5 percent pay raise for public school teachers and school service personnel. The bill was first drafted in a way that either all of it had to pass or none of it did.
Senate President Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson, realized the bill wouldn’t survive the Finance Committee after it got through the Education Committee, chaired by the bill’s other main protagonist, Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson. So Carmichael, with an unorthodox, unwieldy bill, bypassed the Finance Committee and formed the rarely-used “Committee of the Whole” to get the bill through the Senate, 18-16, with two Republicans voting against it.
During the debate, Gov. Jim Justice said he would veto the bill and that the issues should be handled separately, but Carmichael and Rucker plowed ahead anyway.
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Rucker said the hurried nature of proceedings was crucial to get the bill passed before the final day for legislation to clear its house of origin. The argument made no sense, because SB 451 had already done that and, even if it hadn’t, the date Rucker was referring to was still more than a week away. Again, it passed 18-16.
It was this final shady action that prompted teachers to declare a strike for the second straight school year, with thousands coming to the Capitol to make their voices heard.
After much debate, the House finally voted to kill the legislation. Carmichael, in a moment of extreme irony, told reporters he had been assured the votes were there in the House to pass the bill and blasted Republican delegates for not sticking to their word.
So what happened? The teachers and their union leadership, quite rightly, realized they had to apply some pressure and change some minds in the House. Also, importantly, House members realized that Senate leadership was not respecting or listening to what not only the educators, but the delegates themselves wanted.
More members might have been willing to go into a conference committee with the Senate if Senate leadership hadn’t deployed so many underhanded tactics and illustrated such willful deafness during the entire process. Another thing that might have shifted some votes was Justice again saying he would veto the bill if it got to him.
There were good things in the bill, and there were areas of common ground. Now, those issues have to be examined separately and quickly to get through both chambers and to the governor’s desk.
Some have seen this entire exercise as Carmichael’s attempt to exact revenge for suffering political humiliation after opposing last year’s strike. If that’s what he really wants, he could still make it difficult for some of these bills to pass. That would be political suicide, but after observing everything that has happened around this bill, it’s valid to ask if he cares.
Online: https://www.wvgazettemail.com/
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Feb. 19
The Herald-Dispatch of Huntington on a new metallurgical coal mine:
For years, Arch Coal has sat on reserves of high-quality metallurgical coal in Barbour County while it developed its Leer mining complex to the north in Taylor County.
Now the time has come to develop those reserves while the world demand for met coal is growing.
On Feb. 14, Arch Coal announced it will invest $360 million to $390 million to develop its new Leer South mining complex in Barbour County. The new operation could begin production in late 2021 with about 600 miners. With current market conditions, Arch expects to recover its capital investment in about 18 months once it reaches full production.
Coal from Leer South is the type used to make coke, which is used in making steel.
The company plans to sell 3 million tons of Leer South coal per year into the international markets by way of ports on the East Coast. In a conference call last week, Arch executives said the world market for coking coal will need about 76 million tons of new capacity by 2025.
About 82 percent of the coal mined at Leer South would be targeted at markets in Europe and Asia. India alone expects to need about 30 million tons per year of coking coal by 2025 based on the growth of its steel industry, Arch executives said. That country’s coking coal is of poor quality, so Indian steelmakers look to foreign sources. Arch wants to be in that market.
Leer South should match Leer’s ability to produce high-quality coking coal in the low $50s per ton, compared with the U.S. average of about $70, Arch officials said. Leer South could generate profits of about $90 per ton.
Like Leer, Leer South will use the longwall method of mining coal. Arch will move longwall equipment from its Mountain Laurel mine in Logan County to Leer South early next year. Mountain Laurel will then use the room-and-pillar mining method. Output there will decrease by about 20 percent per year.
“Arch expects Mountain Laurel’s per-ton costs to decline modestly and its product quality to improve following the transition. The transition will not result in the layoff of any of Mountain Laurel’s outstanding workforce, as they will be repositioned in the new room-and-pillar mine plan,” Arch said in its announcement.
It has long been obvious that the coal industry is in decline as the market for coal used in power plants drops. Cheap natural gas, the rise of renewable energy sources and regulatory requirements for expensive pollution control equipment at coal-fired power plants is driving the market for thermal coal down.
The same day Arch announced it will add met coal mining capacity, the Tennessee Valley Authority said it will retire two coal-burning power plants in the next few years. One is in Tennessee and one is in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. President Donald Trump had asked TVA to keep the plant open, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he was disappointed in the TVA’s decision.
Yet the demand for met coal is increasing as more steel is produced worldwide. Southern West Virginia has benefited from this new demand. The Leer mine, which opened in late 2011, has been Arch’s flagship mine for met coal production.
Every industry faces changing realities. Here in West Virginia, the future of mines that sell coal into the power market will remain dim unless new technologies, new market demands or new regulations make coal competitive again. The market for met coal appears brighter, and it looks like West Virginia’s mines aimed at that market have a stable future, at least for the short term.
Online: https://www.herald-dispatch.com/
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Feb. 20
Bluefield Daily Telegraph on bill that would impose tougher sentences in child abuse injury cases:
A bill that would impose tougher sentences on child abuse causing injury cases is making its way through the West Virginia House. Given the alarming increase in abuse cases involving children in our region, we see no reason why any lawmaker would oppose this necessary measure.
House Bill 2933 would revise penalties for child abuse with bodily injury and child abuse with serious bodily injuries. The penalty for bodily injuries would increase from one to five years in prison to two to 10 years. For serious bodily injuries, those convicted would face five to 15 years in prison, up from the current two to 10 years.
The legislation is being sponsored by Delegate John Shott, R-Mercer, at the request of Mercer County Prosecuting Attorney George Sitler.
The measure passed out of the House Judiciary Committee last week and was scheduled for a reading Tuesday in the full House. Once it passes the House - as it absolutely should - the bill then heads to the Senate.
Current state statutes dealing with child abuse causing injury cases are insufficient and must be stiffened.
“Some of you have tried caregivers of a shaken baby who survived the abuse,” Silter said in a letter to other prosecutors across the state, asking for their support of HB 2933. “Brain damage, blindness and lifetime disability often result. These cases are heartbreaking.”
We agree. It is imperative for the state to have tougher laws on the books to properly punish those individuals convicted of such heinous acts against children.
For several years, our region has seen far too many headlines reporting convictions of individuals who have perpetrated unspeakable acts against our youngsters. The mere thought of what these teens, children and even babies suffered is too horrendous to even imagine.
Child abuse statutes must be changed to include longer prison terms.
This must be a priority for all lawmakers. When it comes to protecting our children, there is no room for partisan bickering or politics.
Shott’s measure must be passed in the House and Senate.
Online: https://www.bdtonline.com/
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