Public Education

We hear it every legislative session: More money for teachers salaries and more spending on education for our students.

Should our teachers in West Virginia receive higher salaries, of course. Should we increase classroom spending - well, lets look into that for a second.

You can see here how much each state spends per student. As you can tell, WV weighs in around $7,700 per student and ranked 19th nationally. Sidebar: That's about twice as much as what parents pay to private schools here in the state on top of the taxes they pay that goes to public education. But, that's an argument for another day.

Meanwhile, District of Columbia ranks #1 and spends about #13,000 per student.So, if spending per student is direct proportionate of how students will do in school, then DC's scores should be WAY above ours.

West Virginia's average ACT test score in 2007 was 20.6 while DC's average score was 18.7.

I have no problems giving teachers in West Virginia higher pay. We rank near the bottom and it makes recruitment tough for our public school system. But pumping more money into the system on the basis of an argument that it will increase our scores is just not plausible. Just ask the parents who send their kids to school in DC.

Our school system should be finding better ways to spend the money they already receive and making our school system more efficient and finding ways to keep kids attention.

Magnitude 2.3 Earthquake- WEST VIRGINIA

Periodically I look at the USGS Earthquake website. Being from the east coast where earthquakes are rare, it holds a certain fascination. I know from my school days that the Appalachians were formed my two continental plates colliding eons ago, and violent earthquakes forced them up.

The Appalachians still rumble to life once and awhile and Union, WV was hit with a 2.3 Quake.

Earthquake Details

Magnitude	2.3
Date-Time	Tuesday, January 29, 2008 at 01:04:20 UTC Monday, January 28, 2008 at 08:04:20 PM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location	37.605°N, 80.488°W
Depth	2.8 km (1.7 miles) (poorly constrained)
Region	WEST VIRGINIA
Distances	5 km (3 miles) ENE (73°) from Union, WV 16 km (10 miles) S (186°) from Ronceverte, WV 19 km (12 miles) SE (135°) from Alderson, WV 42 km (26 miles) N (352°) from Blacksburg, VA 168 km (104 miles) N (353°) from Winston-Salem, NC 318 km (198 miles) S (188°) from Pittsburgh, PA
Location Uncertainty	horizontal +/- 2.3 km (1.4 miles); depth +/- 4.5 km (2.8 miles)
Parameters	Nst= 4, Nph= 8, Dmin=27.6 km, Rmss=0.08 sec, Gp=248°, M-type="Nuttli" surface wave magnitude (MLg), Version=A
Source	Southeast U.S. Seismic Network
Event ID	semc0129b

• This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.

Former senator kicks off race for governor at State Capitol Thursday

Former State Sen. Russ Weeks today announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor, pledging to restore integrity to state government and return its focus to the people rather than the powerful.

“I fully understand the daunting task before me, and the tremendous amount of time and effort required to run,” said Weeks in his remarks at the State Capitol. “But I am launching this campaign because I feel very strongly that for the future of our state, the voters must hear the truth about state government.”

Weeks, who recently authored a book, “No Strings Attached,” about his four years in the State Senate, added, “Throughout my life and career, nothing has been more important to me than my integrity. And nothing is more important than restoring the confidence of our

citizens in the integrity of our government.”

Weeks is a retired Navy veteran who defeated Senate Judiciary Chairman Bill Wooton in the biggest upset of the 2002 election.

He resides in Beckley, with his wife, Helen. They are the parents of two grown children, and have three granddaughters.

WVRC concludes candidate recruitment drive

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Lisa Peana

January 28, 2008 304-730-4599

WVRC concludes candidate recruitment drive
Club vows gains in all three branches of state government

Charleston, WV – With the filing period to run for public office concluded, Republican activists are working to make gains in all three branches of West Virginia’s government in the November General Election.

“The West Virginia Republican Club is happy that more than ninety-five Republican candidates have filed for legislative and statewide offices, thanks to the efforts of various Republicans around the state." announced Lisa Peana, President of the West Virginia Republican Club.

Over eighty Republicans filed for legislative offices. The West Virginia Republican Club also assisted state party leaders in the recruitment of candidates for high-profile state-wide races.

“Russ Weeks' entry into the gubernatorial race was a pleasant surprise for us all. Russ is a terrific candidate that brings experience, passion and understanding of the issues most important to West Virginians.

“There are many other races that we are keeping a close eye on, such as the Attorney General’s primary, where we feel that whoever wins in May will defeat Darrell McGraw in the general election, whether it is Dan Greear or Hiram Lewis.”

The club hailed Charleston attorney Beth Walker as a candidate that can win a seat on the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals in November.

“Beth Walker is an excellent candidate to fill the vacancy left by Larry Starcher who has been an embarrassment to the high court,” said Peana.

Peana said that she was also aware of candidacy papers making their way through the postal system for two more statewide candidates, and at least five more House of Delegates candidates.

Peana believes that the West Virginia Republican Club will be able to meet its goals of winning the Attorney General and Supreme Court races, and making substantial gains in the West Virginia Legislature.

“We look forward to mobilizing our volunteer army to assist Republican candidates across the state in both local and statewide races,” added Peana.

-30-

Rumors fly that Jay Rockefeller could drop out of US Senate Race

In an unusual move two Democratic Candidates filed to run against Rockefeller in the primary election.

Office/District	Party	Candidate	Filing Date	Res. County	Mailing Address
U.S. Senate -- U	D	Sheirl L. Fletcher	1/26/2008	Monongalia	P.O. Box 384 Dellslow, WV 26531
U.S. Senate -- U	D	Billy Hendricks Jr.	1/23/2008	Boone	Box 46 Whitesville, WV 25209
U.S. Senate -- U	D	Jay Rockefeller	1/18/2008	Kanawha	P. O. Box 1909 Charleston, WV 25327
U.S. Senate -- U	R	Philip E. Cline	1/26/2008	Cabell	PO Box 119 Huntington, WV 25706-0119
U.S. Senate -- U	R	Jay Wolfe	1/26/2008	Harrison	Rt. 4 Box 840 Salem, WV 26426

Sheirl Fletcher who originally filed pre-candidacy paper to run for the WV 14th out of Preston County was informed she could not run from Preston since Preston has a sitting senator from the 14th. She then proceeded to change her voter registration to Monongalia County clearing the way for her to run for the 14th district but suddenly filed for the US Senate against Rockefeller a position that did not require a change of address.

Billy Hendricks is virtually unknown out side of southern West Virginia. Neither candidate would have a real shot against Jay Rockefeller and his millions of personal dollars for his campaign. Historically Rockefeller has had uncontested primaries, and easily retained his senate seat against Republican Challengers.

2002 West Virginia United States Senatorial Election

Jay Rockefeller (D) (inc.) 63%

Jay Wolfe (R) 37%

1996 West Virginia United States Senatorial Election

Jay Rockefeller (D) (inc.) 77%

Betty Burkes (R) 23%

1990 West Virginia United States Senatorial Election

Jay Rockefeller (D) (inc.) 68.5%

John C. Yoder (R) 31.5%

1984 West Virginia United States Senatorial Elections

Jay Rockefeller (D) 51.8%

John Raese (R) 47.7%

Democratic Candidates will have a tough time picking up open seats in West Virginia, which is a conservative leaning state. An open US Senate seat would attract much national Republican money for a strong candidate.

Speculation is that Rockefeller who has reported back problems and a wife that is battling cancer was wanting to retire for the Senate. By filling to run for US Senate, but giving the internal party word he would drop out later opened the door for other Democrats in the state to file, while still keeping the door closed to Republicans.

The speculation and rumors explain the unusual filling of multiple Democratic primary opponents against Rockefeller. So the rumors are flying around the state that Jay Rockefeller is going to drop out of the US Senate race. Only time will tell if the rumors and speculations are correct.

PHC Blogger Matthew S Eggar proud poppa!

Matt's wife gave birth to a 9 pound 7 ounce boy on Sunday. No word on a name. We hope all are doing well.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch

According to the West Virginia Blue, a partisan Democratic blog site at http://www.wvablue.com/tag.do?tag=John+Unger

State Senator John Unger has decided not to file as a candidate to run against Shelley Moore Capito, despite having raised about a quarter of a million dollars for a campaign for that congressional seat. According to bloggers, Unger decided not to run because there were other announced Democratic candidates and he did not want to spend considerable time in the primary election campaign which would distract him from his work for constituents during the legislative session at a time when an economic downturn requires his full attention on their behalf. However, other bloggers intimate that Unger was chagrined to receive little or no support from the Governor and the state party leadership, and speculate on reasons why this might be so. Richie Robb, one-time mayor of Charleston is in the running, and some think that he wouldn't be there without the Governor's blessing. The conspiracy theorists suppose that the Democrats consider '08 to be a good year for them, with prospects of sweeping the presidential and congressional elections and all the state offices. If Unger were to run, it is theorized, he would have a good shot at winning, which would put the "Charleston seat" in the House of Representatives in the hands of a politician from the Eastern Panhandle-- an idea which is anethema on the lower end of the district. Hence, Unger gets taken to Coventry and a Charleston worthy gets the nod.