Jack Walker

1 week ago | wvpublic.org | Jack Walker

Paintbrush in hand, Antonia Capriotti is busy at work at a kitchen table in Ranson. Today is Wednesday morning, which is when Capriotti joins Gary Bergel — an artist himself, and a professor at Blue Ridge Community and Technical College — for one-on-one art instruction. Capriotti pulls out a storybook and flips to a page depicting the panels of a roof. She begins painting over it in green, as if using art to retell the story from her own point of view.

1 week ago | wvpublic.org | Jack Walker

A new hybrid operating room in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle seeks to expand local options for cardiovascular care. WVU Medicine has opened a new hybrid operating room at Berkeley Medical Center, its hospital based in Martinsburg. Surgeons from the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute have already begun performing procedures in the facility, WVU Medicine shared in an April 10 press release.

1 week ago | wvpublic.org | Jack Walker

With minutes left in this year’s legislative session, the West Virginia Senate fell into chaos over a late-night technical error. Senate Bill 474 — ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives statewide — has been one of the most hotly contested pieces of legislation set forth this year, shepherded by Gov. Patrick Morrisey. But procedural confusion threw the state’s upper legislative chamber into a scramble Saturday night, casting doubt over the bill’s fate.

1 week ago | wvpublic.org | Jack Walker

Find more legislative updates on our 2025 Final Hours Live Blog. This is a developing story and will be updated. The West Virginia House of Delegates is now reviewing Senate Bill 474, which would eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across the state government — plus entities it funds, like public universities. Abolishing DEI is a central administrative priority for Gov. Patrick Morrisey, and an objective he shares with President Donald Trump and the Republican Party at large.

1 week ago | wvpublic.org | Jack Walker

State lawmakers have paved the way for a new center at West Virginia University for civics education, which would focus on “classical western history and culture.”On Saturday, members of the West Virginia House of Delegates convened for the final day of this year’s legislative session. They voted to approve changes set forth by the West Virginia Senate to House Bill 3297, which would require the state’s flagship university to open the Washington Center for Civics, Culture and Statesmanship.