Wheeling, W.Va. (WTRF) – The newest member of the West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals was officially sworn in this evening.

Judge Jim Douglas defeated Dan Greear back in the May election for a spot on the Mountain State’s second highest court.

Judge Douglas currently serves as a family court judge in Kanawha County for the 11th Circuit, 5th Division.

He has a great deal of experience in family law, having spent 10 years as a judge, and also nearly 40 years as a divorce lawyer.

“I think kids and families are the most important thing there are, and I’m going to carry that, and I hope to vindicate the faith that the people in the Northern Panhandle put in me. I hope to vindicate their belief that I can do the job. I hope to justify everything positive that they thought about my ability to be a judge on the Intermediate Court of Appeals.”

Jim Douglas – Elected to West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals

Judge Douglas will assume office on January 1st of 2027.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — West Virginia Second District Congressman Riley Moore didn’t deny a recent report that he’s being considered as the next U.S. Secretary of Labor by President Donald Trump in an appearance Thursday on WAJR’s “Talk of the Town.”

Moore said he couldn’t confirm the report in Politico but did offer his opinion on the credibility of the report.

“The reporter cited some pretty credible sources; that’s about all I can say,” Moore said. “If it weren’t a thing, I would be able to tell you it’s not.”

Moore is in his first term in the U.S. House. He’s on the House Appropriations Committee and is a conferee for the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, and Legislative Branch appropriations conference committees.

“I really can’t comment on it much further other than what I would say is it is certainly an honor to be mentioned in the conversation,” Moore said.

The House currently has four vacancies, 218 Republicans, 212 Democrats, and one Independent, creating a margin so tight it’s possible Moore wouldn’t be appointed.

“If we decide to go in that direction, the President, Speaker, and I will discuss the tight margins here,” Moore said.

Moore also said two of his Community Project Funding requests for hospitals were approved by the House Appropriations Committee as part of the Fiscal Year 2027 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. Requests for $1.5 million each for Grant Memorial Hospital and the Grafton City Hospital will now be considered by the full House of Representatives.

“Every little bit helps,” Moore said. “Everybody knows how important it is to have functional hospitals, especially in a very rural state like ours,” Moore said.

Moore said the area is getting spruced up for the 250th birthday party for America. He also noted the “claw” is quite visible while motoring down Pennsylvania Avenue.

“The whole town is getting decorated—there are big flags for America’s 250th,” Moore said. Things are going up all over the place, and we drove by the White House, and they have, I think they call it the “claw,” that they have put in front of the White House.”

MORGANTOWN, W.Va (WDTV) – The Public Service Commission of West Virginia held the third of four public comment hearings Wednesday regarding the proposed MidAtlantic resiliency link, with residents expressing mostly displeasure over the transmission line.

Elected officials and residents expressed opposition to NextEra Energy Transmission constructing a resiliency link from Pennsylvania through West Virginia and Virginia.

Prior Coverage:

• Nextera Energy outlines MARL project plan

“We are a poor state. Pennsylvania is not. Florida is not. Virginia is not. Why in the world would we accept this ‘deal’ being as harmful to us as it’s going to be,” one resident said. “I just ask as we review, as you review, you say to yourself in the most simplest of terms, would I do this deal?”

Tom Bloom, president of the Monongalia County Commission, said the project raises concerns about land use and property taxes.

“When we started investigating we first were told, well you don’t have to worry, it’s only 200 feet from where the line is. Now when investigating it’s up to 600 feet on either side that you can’t have animals, you can’t have farms,” Bloom said. “The second thing we learned was they were sending out messages only to the land owners where the line went through, not the other 600 feet, which was a concern.”

Bloom said property tax revenue would be affected once NextEra Energy Transmission buys the land.

State politicians on both sides of the political aisle expressed disapproval of the project.

“All the people that are here today to speak out against what’s going on believe that other states, other entities, shouldn’t take advantage of West Virginians,” one official said. “The biggest thing I hear every single day, the biggest issue from people is about electricity rates. It’s about how everything is going to keep going up right now. And so this is just another situation where we’re not getting any benefit from the state of West Virginia and they’re trying to take our land to do it.”

The final public hearing will be at the Kingwood Civic Center.