Charleston Daily Mail

State Nonprofits Get the Eye: ; Senate Resolution Seeks Scrutiny of How Taxes Used

What started out as public outrage over the $302,000 salary of a Wyoming County senior director has turned into statewide scrutiny of the nonprofit industry. Sen. Ed Bowman, the Hancock County Democrat who helped jumpstart a controversy over one senior director's high pay, passed through his Senate Government Organization Committee this week a resolution calling for a formal study of the increasing number of nonprofit corporations in the state, their funding mechanisms and the structure of th...

Jones Says Profiling Bill Will Change Police Focus: ; Legislature 2004

DAILY MAIL CAPITOL REPORTER Charleston Mayor Danny Jones said the city police force would have to change its focus from combating crime to being racially neutral, if a bill that would require cities to collect racial data from traffic stops passes the Legislature.

Star Struck: ; Girls Enjoy Getting to Meet Their Local Idols

AS a ball girl, 9-year-old Logan Walker has the best seat in the house at the state girls basketball tournament. Seated right at courtside, Walker has an eye for talent. "I like Alexis," Logan said. "She's really good."

Natalie Cole Tops New Clay Center Lineup: ; Fewer Events Set for Second Year,; President Says

DAILY MAIL STAFF Pop diva Natalie Cole, a 1970s soul jam, a well-known comedy troupe and a family series will highlight the 2004-2005 season of the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences.

Water Hike Sought: ; Company Wants to Increase Rates by 19.94 Percent

DAILY MAIL BUSINESS EDITOR With last year's rate hike request bogged down in the state Supreme Court, West Virginia-American Water today filed a new request to boost rates by 19.94 percent.

Exploding Land Mine Kills Afghan Soldier, Wounds 5

KABUL, Afghanistan - A jeep carrying Afghan soldiers ran over a land mine that exploded in eastern Afghanistan, killing one soldier and wounding five others, a senior military official said today. The explosion occurred Thursday in the district of Yaqubi in Khost province, 90 miles south of the capital, Kabul, said Gen. Khayal Baz, a senior military commander in Khost.

Police Searching for Man Who Robbed a Go-Mart

Police were looking today for a man who robbed a Cedar Grove convenience store. The suspect walked into the Go-Mart on U.S. 60 about 7:30 a.m., passed the clerk a note demanding money and then screamed "hurry up," said Cedar Grove Mayor Kenneth Barton.

Jessica Lynch Postpones Wedding

Former prisoner of war Jessica Lynch has postponed her June wedding with Army Sgt. Ruben Contreras, her lawyer has confirmed. "They are certainly still engaged," Stephen Goodwin said on Thursday. "They just decided that June wasn't the appropriate time. They will deal with it as they move forward."

Panel Reaches Compromise On School Audits: ; Education Chairman Opposes Random Checks On Schools

DAILY MAIL STAFF House Education committee members said today they believe they have reached a compromise that would remove a provision in a Senate bill that would allow random audits of schools.

W.Va. Man Killed in Bike Week Accident

U.S. Schools Going On Rat Patrol: ; Rodent Problem Led to Chicago School Closures

CHICAGO - Anthony Williams spends his days combing over city schools property looking for cracked walls, cluttered closets and leaky pop machines - anything that could provide access, cover or food for mice and rats. Williams is one of about 30 rodent inspectors a day who scour every classroom, boiler room, kitchen and closet in the nation's third-largest school district after a spate of school closures prompted Chicago schools chief Arne Duncan to publicly call workers on the carpet in January.

Regional Weather

Hi Lo Otlk Akron 45 19 PCldy

National Weather

Hi Lo Otlk Anchorage 36 28 Cldy

Ncaa Weighs Tougher Recruiting Standards

WASHINGTON - Reports of sex and drunken parties to entice high school superstars show that colleges have not done enough to police themselves, and the NCAA is ready to act, a representative of the sports-sanctioning group told Congress. "Up to this point institutions have said to us, 'We can handle that,'" said S. David Berst, chairman of an NCAA task force reviewing recruiting rules. "I think the recent revelations that have come about ... require attention to the cultural issues and I belie...

Two Soldiers Die in Roadside Attack: ; U.S. Officials Fear Iraqi Police Involved in Civilian Deaths

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two American soldiers were killed when their Humvee struck a roadside bomb, the military said today. U.S. officials also worried that Iraqi police - not impostors in their uniforms - may have been behind the shooting deaths of two coalition staffers and their translator. The two soldiers died Thursday when the Humvee they were riding in hit a homemade bomb northeast of Habbiniyah in the Sunni Triangle, the heartland of the anti-U.S. insurgency.

Clues Point to Islamic Terrorists: ; Opinions Vary On Group Taking Credit for Spanish Blasts

U.S. officials have cited circumstantial evidence that Islamist terrorists may have been behind the bombings in Madrid, but cautioned it was too early to tell whether al-Qaida or one of its affiliates was responsible. The Thursday attacks, in which 10 bombs exploded in trains and stations along a commuter line in Spain's capital city, bore several hallmarks of Osama bin Laden's network or its allies, including the synchronized nature of the explosions and the clear targeting of civilians, cou...

News Briefs

Mother charged in death of baby

Sissonville Resident Wins Chick-Fil-a Scholarship

Tommy Bartlett of Sissonville has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship by Chick-fil-A Inc. He was nominated by the operator of the restaurant at Charleston Town Center.

Point Pleasant Floodwall Threatened

POINT PLEASANT - About 800 feet of riverbank has slipped because of prolonged high water spawned by flooding, endangering the city's floodwall, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokeswoman said. "The worst-case scenario, if the bank slipped way ... it could risk the foundation of the floodwall," said Peggy Noel, spokeswoman for the corps' Huntington District.

Senate Passes Bill Requiring School Uniforms: ; Sales Tax Holiday Proposal Added to Another Bill; Legislature; 2004; School Uniforms

Uniforms would be mandatory for West Virginia public school students under a bill passed by the Senate. Senators also managed to add Gov. Bob Wise's popular sales-tax holiday proposal to another bill, keeping alive the chance that back- to-school shoppers could get a tax break in August.