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Wednesday, April 23, 2008 "When news breaks, we fix it" Serving West Virginia since 2005.
BLACK EYE
The panel investigating whether Heather Bresch earned a Master's Degree she has claimed for 10 years has shocked the entire state with its findings that not only did she not earn the degree, but West Virginia University officials acted improperly when they awarded it to her retroactively back in October.The fallout from the blockbuster report from the independent panel will likely last for days, weeks and even months. If the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's report on Tuesday was correct, the findings represent just one short thread of a ball of yarn that logically must be followed to its end.The controversy over the degree did not occur in a vacuum, and several individuals had to have their hands in the decision to quickly grant Bresch the degree back in October, apparently with no evidence at all that she had earned it. Even if the report claims that it found no evidence of political pressure coming to bear in this case, who is expected to accept such a conclusion? Are we to believe that WVU would have handed a degree to anyone who claimed, a decade later, that they had earned it, unless they were of VIP status? In fact, it is difficult to imagine such a decision being made and implemented so immediately without it coming directly from the top -- the only question being, is the "top" the president's office, or the governor's?The findings in the Heather Bresch affair may well be the beginning of the end -- as drawn out as it may be -- of Mike Garrison's tumultuous stint as the leader of the state's most powerful and beloved institution of higher learning, His annointment as WVU's president was one of the most blatantly political appointments in state history. Mostly opposed by faculty and students alike, Garrison's selection came at the end of a sham interview process completely unnecessary and time consuming when the whole state already knew the outcome was a foregone conclusion. Either someone, back in October, made the decision to award Bresch the degree without asking Garrison first, or else Garrison signed off on it. Either case is not excusable.The tight knit political family at the core of this scandal seems to grow more exclusive annually. Mylan is a major financial supporter of Manchin, and of WVU. The chief operating officer of Mylan is the governor's daughter. The president of WVU was a classmate and longtime THE QUESTIONS
* What evidence, if any, did Bresch offer Mylan Industries when she was hired that she had the degrees she claimed?
* Who made the decision last October to award Bresch the degree without any evidence she had indeed earned it?
* Were there any conversations between WVU President Mike Garrison, his chief of staff, and Governor Manchin or his staff back in October regarding the controversy?
* Will the findings cost Garrison his job as president of WVU?
* How extensively were records or transcripts altered or changed -- and by whom, under whose orders -- to retroactively award Bresch the Master's Degree?
* Will Mylan Industries ignore the findings and continue to employ Bresch as its Chief Operating Officer?
Political cronyism might be coming home to roost in the Bresch-WVU affair
friend of the governor's daughter.
And guess who recently became a registered lobbyist for Mylan? None other than Nick Casey, longtime lawyer for Manchin and the governor's hand-picked chairman of the state Democratic Party. All that's missing is Sister Sledge singing "We Are Family."Mylan finds itself in a quandry. Despite its recent assurances that Bresch's job will be secure regardless of the findings, it cannot long hold that position. Its credibility and standing with stockholders and governmental oversight agencies depends on the company consistently providing information that is reliable and honest.How can it continue to employ a chief operating officer who, according to this finding, was not honest -- or at the very least, much mistaken -- about her education?Heather Bresch, when she was talking to the media for a few days, often pointed out that when she attended WVU, her father wasn't governor, and Garrison wasn't president. What she failed to acknowledge was that by the time WVU made her MBA official, those were exactly the circumstances.There are serious and troubling questions to be answered about the whole sad affair. The public and the media must demand a full accounting, as painful as it may be, and the questions must be answered wherever the answers are waiting to be found. The fact that most observers believe an honest investigation has been done only because WVU was forced to bring in an independent panel from outside the university only adds to the shame of this incident.There can be no fall guys, no sacrificial lambs taking the hit for those in high places. Allowing that to happen would be worse than anything that has transpired so far.State's over-reaching campaign restrictions shot down in court
As expected, a federal judge has shot down West Virginia's sloppily-written campaign disclosure requirements invented by trial lawyers to try to curtail Don Blankenship's campaign activities.Judge David Faber agreed with the Center for Individual Freedom that disclosure laws passed in 2005 are too vague, and cannot be applied to mail, email and phone efforts in the coming campaign, when not directly advocating a candidate's election or defeat.As reported here a few weeks ago, disclosure requirements are generally good, but they still must be constitutionally written.Clinton-Obama show rolls on
After Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary, the Clinton-Obama drama will now threaten "Gunsmoke" as the longest running show ever.West Virginia's May 13 primary still appears to be important in deciding who will eventually lose to John McCain in November.Lawyers' choice of Bastress, Ketchum interesting
It is interesting that the recent survey of West Virginia attorneys regarding the state Supreme Court candidates ended up giving Bob Bastress and Menis Ketchum the best overall scores, each tied with 3.0 our of a possible 4.Beth Walker was third with an overall rating of 2.7The problem with the survey is that it allows respondents to rank candidates in several categories with anything from a "1" (poor) to a "4" (outstanding). Many lawyers are known to stack the deck by awarding a "4" to its favorite candidate, but giving no rating at all for other candidates, resulting in a skewed result.