Sunday, June 26, 2011
EKB Capsule News...West Virginia...6-27-'11
- Deputies with the Randolph County Sheriff's Department are hoping an autopsy will tell them more about how 67 year old Raymond E. Canfield of Elkins died. Police are continuing to investigate the disappearance of Elkins although they say a person of interest was found dead in a local motel last Thursday. The body of Canfield was found Friday night near Norton. Investigators with the Elkins Police Department, Randolph County Sheriff's Department and State Police spent days conducting interviews and following up on leads to try to locate Canfield who had not been seen since June 20th. His vehicle was found near the Days Inn in Elkins.
- For the first time in modern history, a hearing from the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will convene in Charleston for a hearing Monday morning. U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller, Commerce Committee Chairman, says the hearing, titled "Making It In America: Innovate Locally, Export Globally," will highlight American manufacturing, job creation and exporting. The hearing begins at 10:30 A.M. at the Robert C. Byrd U.S. Courthouse in downtown Charleston.
- Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin says he doesn't want employer premiums to the Public Employees Insurance Agency to increase. PEIA officials say employer premiums need to increase by 9.5 percent and employee premiums by 12.5 percent to avoid cuts in health benefits. Tombin has planned to raise premiums by about 4 percent. Because of the relationship between employer and employee premiums, a 4 percent increase in employer premiums means employee premiums would also not be able to reach the 12.5 percent that PEIA officals want. PEIA board members cite rising health care and prescription drugs costs as the reasons for the increases. Tomblin, who wants to keep the state government in the black, says he needs to examine the specifics of the health plan before any decision is made.
In 2009, 115 people were killed in drunk-driving related accidents in West Virginia. In an effort to curb drunk driving, Representative Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., has introduced a bill to research new technologies aimed at how to eliminate drunk driving and save lives. The Research of Alcohol Detection Systems for Stopping Alcohol-related Fatalities Everywhere, or ROADS SAFE Act, authorizes $12 million annually over five years of currently unused funds for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety Program. These funds would be used to research an optional safety feature on new cars that could detect if a driver’s blood alcohol level is above the legal limit. Senators Tom Udall, D-N.M., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn., introduced the bill to the Senate in March. Capito said she hopes the bipartisan effort represents a “straightforward, reasonable approach to exploring technologies to keep drunk drivers off the road.” Capito’s effort is receiving support from several industries and nonprofit organizations, including General Motors, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 9:58 PM 
