June 5
Parkersburg (W.Va.) News and Sentinel on the shrinking coal industry:

Coal is the most economical fuel available to produce electricity, by far. The United States has been referred to as the "Saudi Arabia of coal," with much of the nation's reserves right here in West Virginia.
Yet coal production in our state is expected to decline precipitously. Why?

Government policies play a major role — and they may become even more detrimental — believes the head of a major coal company that is poised to grow in West Virginia.

We hope you’ve ordered your new Friends of Coal license plates.  Many are beginning to be seen as you travel the State since sales have been brisk.  The Division of Motor Vehicles has placed its second bulk order of the first-time-ever-for-West Virginia digitized plate that has a black background and does not have raised letters/numbers.  The DMV is also working on a motorcycle plate to be sure it has the same appearance as the larger car plate.  They expect it will take a couple of months to finalize the design before production can begin.

 

It’s easy to order your new plate.  All you have to do is click here for a copy of the application or download a copy by clicking here to go to the Friends of Coal webpage.  Then complete the form for each vehicle and submit it with a $70 check payable to the West Virginia Coal Foundation; P.O. Box 3923; Charleston, WV 25339.  Each vehicle needs a separate application but one check can be submitted for several applications.  If you have questions or need more information call Sandi at the Association office, 304-342-4153 or email her at sdavison@wvcoal.com.

On Wednesday, June 1^st, Alpha Natural Resources completed the acquisition of Massey Energy and the “Day One” celebration of the combination featured Governor Tomblin and Alpha CEO Kevin Crutchfield unveiling the new Alpha Natural Resources sign at the Julian, WV office.  The name of the road leading to the office was also renamed “Running Right Way” in recognition of Alpha’s comprehensive performance and safety program.  “Today’s transaction is transformational for Alpha Natural Resources, the Central Appalachian region and the U.S. coal industry,” Kevin Crutchfield, Alpha’s chief executive, said in a statement. “We are now twice the people, with twice the energy, powering the world.”

We are proud to announce and welcome the following new members to the Association:

Trinity Resources, LLC, H. Jack Henry, CEO

Fifth Third Bank, Blair DeVan

Lightfoot Capital Partners, Vince Cubbage and Michael Hart

People’s Capital and Leasing Corp., Kenneth P. Andreozzi

The state could end the fiscal year with a tax collection surplus of more than $270 million.  State Deputy Revenue Secretary Mark Muchow tells MetroNews that through May tax collections exceeded estimates by $273 million. He says that's a good sign for the end of the fiscal year coming up June 30.

"We knew we were going to be at least $200 million above estimate (for the fiscal year), I believe we will hold on to the $273 million and may go above that by the end of the year," Muchow said.

The driving forces behind the collection numbers have been income taxes and severance taxes. Muchow says those two areas make up 86 percent of the surplus in collections.

"Corporate taxes being up over 37 percent and severance taxes being up over a double-digit margin through the end of May indicate some positive growth," Muchow said.

Businesses in West Virginia, like in other states, were impacted by the recession, but Muchow says recovery has been better than expected.

"Certainly those numbers have surprised us on the high side," he said.

Severance tax collections hit a record amount in May at more than $65 million. The high demand and corresponding high price for coal pushed the collections nearly $40 million more than last year at this time.

Muchow says the state Road Fund is also benefiting in the current atmosphere with fuel tax collections and the taxes paid on new automobile purchases. Muchow predicts the Road Fund will finish at about $650 million for the fiscal year, which would be roughly $20 million more than the current budget year.