Mountain State Spotlight

06/05/2026

Mountain State Spotlight welcomes reporters Jasmine Milbourne and Eva Altizer

Mountain State Spotlight is pleased to welcome Jasmine Milbourne and Eva Altizer to the reporting team this summer.  Milbourne is a recent graduate of the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She previously worked at the Northeast Georgian as a research intern, the Ogleth...

06/04/2026

A massive lawsuit filed on behalf of West Virginia foster kids will continue, after an appeals court rejected the argument that the courts couldn’t address the problems in the system.

The nearly 7-year-old case alleges that the state’s response to longstanding problems in the foster care system has been slow and inadequate — leaving kids warehoused, shuffled between placements and at risk of further harm.

U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin ruled that the remedy to the system’s issues was for voters to elect different representatives if they’re unhappy with the state government’s response.

But in the opinion released Thursday, the appeals court disagreed with Goodwin’s take. It found that not only were these issues redressable by the federal court, but that the case sufficiently demonstrates ongoing injury to the kids in West Virginia’s foster care system.

“Because federal courts not only have the authority, but also a duty, to remedy systemic constitutional rights violations, we reverse,” Senior Circuit Judge Henry F. Floyd wrote in the opinion.

https://buff.ly/zfMf43Q

A federal appeals court revived a lawsuit alleging West Virginia foster kids are harmed by state system failures.

06/03/2026

Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., asked for $50 million to help with Southern West Virginia’s water crisis. Despite seeing the bottles and jugs of brown water in their committee room, lawmakers said no.

“They recognize a region of people that doesn't have water, and that it's the worst water in America, and they still chose to do nothing,” said the Rev. Catlin Ware, who has worked to organize around water.

Moore asked the House Appropriations Committee for $50 million to help get his constituents in Southern West Virginia clean water. The House voted down his request.

06/03/2026

Mountain State Spotlight names Tyler Dedrick deputy managing editor

https://mountainstatespotlight.org/2026/06/03/tyler-dedrick-deputy-managing-editor/

06/03/2026

A federal appeals court has overturned a ruling that the Chemours Chemical Company must cease violating its water pollution permit at the company’s Washington Works plant along the Ohio River.

The decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifts a court order issued 10 months ago in a case brought by the West Virginia Rivers Coalition.

A three-judge 4th Circuit panel concluded that the lower court ruling was based on a faulty analysis of how to define "irreparable harm” from potential drinking water contamination from the plant’s discharge into the Ohio.

https://buff.ly/MWt9TO9

A federal appeals court vacated an order requiring Chemours to stop violating discharge limits at its Washington Works plant.

05/30/2026

The federal agency investigating last month’s deadly chemical leak in Kanawha County could soon be eliminated under President Trump’s proposed budget. The Chemical Safety Board investigates major chemical incidents across the country and recommends ways to prevent future disasters.

Worker advocates and former board members warn that dismantling the agency could leave states like West Virginia more vulnerable to future chemical disasters.

Trump’s proposed budget eliminates funding for the Chemical Safety Board, the agency investigating a deadly chemical leak in Kanawha County.

05/26/2026

Clay County is about to lose its only licensed childcare center, Taylor Tots Daycare, at the end of June, leaving no provider for parents in House Speaker Roger Hanshaw’s home district.

This closure comes as more than 28,000 West Virginia children already lack access to childcare and over 200 centers have shut down in the last two years.

At the same time, Gov. Patrick Morrisey is reviewing cuts to a key assistance program that helps fund childcare subsidies for low-income families.

https://buff.ly/RxUxQuH

Clay County’s only infant and toddler childcare center will close as West Virginia reviews childcare funding.

05/24/2026

Rep. Riley Moore and Rep. Carol Miller jointly submitted a request for $250 million in federal funds for drinking water projects for southern West Virginia, at the urging of more than 40 organizations and state officials.

President Donald Trump would gut the very program the money would likely come from if his budget were accepted.

Riley Moore and Carol Miller are seeking federal water funding from a program Trump wants to cut.

05/22/2026

West Virginia’s childcare system is nearing a breaking point. Parents are spending thousands of dollars a year, workers are earning less than a living wage and more than 28,000 children can’t access care.

Here’s a glimpse into the problem in 3 charts.

Childcare workers earn less than a living wage, families spend a large chunk of their income on care and many counties lack enough providers.

05/17/2026

Two workers died last month in a violent chemical reaction at a Kanawha County plan that hadn’t been inspected since 2018. In West Virginia, just six OSHA inspectors oversee 60,000 workplaces, meaning many dangerous job sites may go years without a visit unless a worker complains or someone is seriously hurt. Here’s why.

West Virginia only has six OSHA inspectors for 60,000 workplaces in the state, meaning many dangerous job sites go years without oversight. Here’s why.