Charleston Daily Mail

Brickstreet Reports Profits Down $11.5 Million

BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co.'s profits are shrinking. The company posted a $38.2 million profit for the first nine months of this year. That's down from $49.7 million earned during the same period a year ago and it is nearly 42 percent lower than the $65.4 million posted during the same period in 2006.

Charleston Regatta: ; Regatta May Have Run Its Course; Mayor Says There Is Not Enough Money to Keep It Going

D dailymail.com Visit our Web site for a gallery of Regatta photos. Mayor Danny Jones thinks the end of the Charleston Regatta is near.

State to Lose Jobs in 2009, Then Rebound: ; Economic Downturn Nationwide Will Be Worse Than in West Virginia

Inside Breakdown of gains and losses by industry in West Virginia /11A West Virginia's economy is expected to lose 4,800 jobs next year as the national slowdown pushes the Mountain State toward a recession, said George Hammond, associate director of West Virginia University's Bureau of Business and Economic Research.

Rockefeller Set to Lead Commerce Committee: ; Senator Will Fill the Seat Left by Hawaiian Leader Replacing Byrd

U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller is set to take on a new leadership role as chairman of the powerful Senate Commerce Committee, according to Washington insiders and publications. The announcement is expected to come no later than Wednesday as Senate Democrats meet to determine leadership positions.

Ex-Official to Fight His Firing From Court Post: ; Morris Says He Was Blamed for Release of Maynard Vacation Photos

A former state Supreme Court official says he was fired for being suspected of leaking the photos that cost Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard reelection this year and for accusing court Administrator Steve Canterbury of using racially charged language around the office. Pancho G. Morris, who is black, oversaw the state's 55 magistrate courts for the last four years. He is a former Kanawha County assistant prosecutor. Canterbury fired Morris Friday.

State Volunteers Prepare for Read to Me Day

Volunteers around West Virginia will read to thousands of children on Nov. 20, the state's Read to Me Day. Companies like AEP and Appalachian Power are involved. The company expects 175 of its employees to read to 13,000 students.

Nitro Officials, Residents Plant Spring Bulbs

Thousands of daffodils will be blooming along First Avenue in Nitro this spring. City officials and residents have been planting more than 6,000 bulbs donated by Nitro attorney Harvey Peyton.

City Gets Dressed for the Holidays

Dunbar Officials to Hire Firm to Audit Finances

Dunbar officials will hire an accounting firm to audit the city's finances. City Councilwoman Connie Boardman, Finance Committee chairwoman, told council an anticipated state audit has been delayed and may not occur until February.

St. Albans Water Upgrade Closer: ; Ordinance Issuing $3 Million in Bonds Still Must Pass Third Reading

The city of St. Albans is one step closer to issuing a bond to upgrade its water system, and for some residents the renovations can't come soon enough. "I hope these improvements help our water," said resident Betty Keiffer, who addressed city council members at a meeting Monday. "It tastes horrible."

Regional Weather

Hi Lo Otlk Akron 34 21 Cldy

National Weather

Hi Lo Otlk Anchorage 18 9 Clr

Pirates Who Seized Tanker Anchor Off Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Pirates who seized a Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million in crude oil anchored the ship within sight of impoverished Somali fishing villages today, while the U.S. and other naval forces decided - for now - against intervention. Saudi Arabia said today that it will join the international fight against piracy, and Somali officials vowed to try to rescue the hijacked Saudi oil supertanker by force if necessary.

Residents Return to Homes After Fires: ; Three Blazes Destroy Almost 1,000 Homes,; Burn 42,000 Acres

LOS ANGELES - Michael Hernandez pulled a charred photo album from the wreckage of his home, the plastic pages melted and flaking after a wildfire tore through the mobile home park where he lived with his grandparents and 7-year old daughter. It was one of a handful of keepsakes Hernandez was able to rescue Monday during a police-escorted tour for some residents of Oakridge Mobile Home Park, a tight-knit community of manufactured homes that became a flattened field of blackened trees and twist...

Marine Recruit Loses 140 Pounds

LEWISTON, Maine - Army and Navy recruiters took one look at 330- pound Ulysses Milana and told him to forget about joining. "'You've got to lose weight,' " Milana remembers them saying. But Marine recruiters were willing to work with him as he began his weight-loss journey in December 2007.

Bailout Focus of Hearing

WASHINGTON - The two top salesmen for a $700 billion financial bailout are in for a grilling by Capitol Hill lawmakers just one week after the administration officially ditched the original strategy behind the rescue. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson are expected to provide greater insights into the shift when they testify today before the House Financial Services Committee.

Nation & World

Store finds owner of missing $7,500

Wvu Selects Firm That Will Find New President

MORGANTOWN - A Florida search firm has been hired to help West Virginia University find its next president. Gene Budig, chairman of WVU's search committee, announced Monday's selection of Greenwood/Asher & Associates Inc. of Miramar Beach, Fla.

Global Entrepreneurship Week

Police and Courts

Woman charged in death of her infant