Charleston Daily Mail

Bill Gives Lawmakers Break On Insurance: ; Pay Raise Measure

DAILY MAIL STAFF Inserted into a controversial bill that would give legislators a 67 percent pay raise is a provision that would grant them a huge break on health insurance worth nearly $8,000 a year.

Opponents May Push for Bigger Tax On Table Games

If table games are legalized, the racetrack casinos offering them will undoubtedly pay a hefty tax. Bills in the House and Senate propose a 24 percent tax on table games revenue, but gambling opponents want to inflate that figure to the point where racetracks would be reluctant to offer those games.

'Like an Earthquake': ; Deadly Gas Station Blast Rocked Turnpike Tollbooth and Homes

GHENT - Randy Meadows lives 20 miles from this Raleigh County community, but he still was jolted by an explosion at the Flat Top Little General Store in Ghent. "I thought it happened right in my yard it was so loud," he said.

Touring Choir, Small Orchestra Enchant Clay Center Audience: ; Review

The St. Olaf College touring choir fit like hand in glove to the acoustic space of the Clay Center. Under the skilled direction of its conductor, Anton Armstrong, the choir, accompanied by a small chamber orchestra of strings and woodwinds, opened its program Tuesday with Mozart's Venite Populi.

Some Pig

Bill Frees Up Funds for Teacher Pay Raise: ; Measure Recalculates School Aid Formula so Counties Can Keep More to Devote to Education

A bipartisan group of legislators introduced legislation that would free up more county funds for teacher pay raises. House Bill 2706 would recalculate the state's school aid formula so counties could keep 28 percent of the property tax revenue normally counted as their share of education funding. The bill would require counties to devote 70 percent of the additional revenue to teacher salaries and the rest for service personnel pay.

Bill Allows Media Leeway in Disclosing Information

CHARLESTON - West Virginia broadcasters have asked the Legislature for a break from the subpoenas they frequently receive for audio and video recordings. House Judiciary Chairwoman Carrie Webster said at least 35 states grant the media the degree of "qualified immunity" proposed in House Bill 2735.

Republicans Focus Agenda On Taxes

The Republican agenda for the current legislative session could be summed up this way: taxes, taxes and more taxes. Or should that be "less taxes"? At a Tuesday news conference, House and Senate Republicans unveiled what they say are the policy goals their caucus is most united behind. Those proposals include eliminating the business franchise tax, changing the automobile privilege tax into a sales tax, and either reducing the corporate net income tax or offering a credit to offset it.

Sheriff's Wife, Deputy Shot Outside Home

MARIANNA, Fla. - The wife of a sheriff whose father was gunned down by a confessed serial killer 27 years ago was killed in a shootout at their home that also left three other people dead. Mellie McDaniel, the wife of Jackson County's sheriff, died Tuesday evening along with a sheriff's deputy and two suspects.

Regional Weather

Hi Lo Otlk Akron 28 16 Cldy

Forecasts

Tonight Overcast with light and variable winds. Low near 25.

National Weather

Hi Lo Otlk Anchorage 34 22 PCldy

Dying to Be Thin?: ; Lawmaker Weighs in On Models

ALBANY, N.Y. - Fearing that young models strutting down the runways in New York City are too skinny, a state lawmaker proposes that weight standards be established for the fashion and entertainment industries. Bronx Assemblyman Jose Rivera wants to create a state advisory board to recommend standards and guidelines to prevent eating disorders.

Video Shows Castro Meeting with Chavez: ; Cuban Leader Says Recovery From Illness Is Far From Being a Lost Battle

HAVANA - A stronger-looking Fidel Castro said his recovery from an intestinal ailment was "far from a lost battle" as state television showed a video of him meeting with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The 10-minute video - aired Tuesday, almost six months to the day after he temporarily gave up power - showed Castro standing and appearing alert. State TV said the clip was shot on Monday, during Chavez's previously unannounced visit to Havana.

The War Over Iraq: ; Millions in Reconstruction Aid Wasted Funds Paid for Items Like Vip Trailers and an Olympic-Sized Swimming Pool, Audit Finds

WASHINGTON - Tens of millions of U.S. dollars have been wasted in Iraq reconstruction aid, some of it on an Olympic-size swimming pool ordered up by Iraqi officials for a police academy that has yet to be used, investigators say. The quarterly audit by Stuart Bowen Jr., the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, is the latest to paint a grim picture of waste, fraud and frustration in an Iraq war and reconstruction effort that has cost taxpayers more than $300 billion and left the ...

Nation & World

Student wants to 'rent' a girlfriend in time for holiday

Teenaged Boy Gets 40 Years for Role in Murder

A second Charleston teenager was sentenced today to 40 years in prison for the murder of a 25-year-old employee of Chili's restaurant. Daniel Botkin, 17, of St. Albans turned and faced the family of Joshua Boggess in the courtroom today before Kanawha Circuit Judge Duke Bloom pronounced his crime "cold and calculating" and one of the worst he's ever seen.

Shaken Community Bands Together: ; Neighbors Offer to Help After Blast Killed Four People, Injured Five

GHENT - Any other Tuesday afternoon, the Ghent Volunteer Fire Department would have been gearing up for an evening of bingo. Not this Tuesday.

Wvu Committee Begins Reviews for President Job

Members of a search committee will begin meeting this week to start reviewing candidates vying to replace outgoing West Virginia University President David C. Hardesty, who plans to retire this year. Stephen Goodwin, who heads both the committee and the university's Board of Governors, said the selection process would be quick, with tentative plans to choose a successor by the board's April meeting.

Rehabilitation Facility May Cut Four Training Programs

A state-operated facility that serves disabled people could have to cut four vocational training programs due to a lack of federal money. Changes at the West Virginia Rehabilitation Center in Institute could happen as soon as this summer, state officials said.