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Hey kids! Governor Manchin here! Today I was going to give a lesson on the importance of family, but something very exciting happened on Friday that I want to talk about instead. I met the King and Queen of England! That's right! Their names are Philip and Elizabeth. I was a little surprised that everyone made a bigger deal over Elizabeth than they did Philip. A couple of people even tried to tell me that Philip was just a Prince, and not a King. But how could he be married to a Queen and not be a King? That's ridiculous! Anyway, it was very exciting, and I even gave the King one of my hugs and said, "Hey, buddy, how ya' doin'?" I wanted him to feel right at home. Elizabeth was nice, too. We both have Roman numerals after our names! She's Queen Elizabeth II (King Philip must have been married to someone else named Elizabeth), and I'm Joe Manchin III. She didn't seem too impressed when I mentioned it to her. Actually, they talked to Gayle more than me. But I'm starting to get used to that. 
The news that Brickstreet Mutual has allegedly misspent about $3.5 million in state funds is just more evidence that the quick-fix "privatization" of the workers comp system was nothing but an exercise in smoke and mirrors.The Charleston Gazette's Paul Nyden reported Sunday:The state Insurance Commission estimates that BrickStreet improperly charged $3.3 million to state credit cards, while a new report by the Legislature’s auditors revealed about $200,000 in additional questionable expenses...According to the legislative auditor’s report, BrickStreet executives ran up “excessive hospitality expenditures” from three different agency funds, primarily between February 2005 and June 2006. Hospitality expenses totaling $158,103 included meals charged at pricey restaurants such as Wellington’s of Scarlet Oaks and the now-closed Tarragon Room.When Brickstreet was formed -- by the wave of a magic wand that simply put a new label on the state workers' comp system -- it was given $35 million to draw on for "expenses," which Brickstreet executives apparently took to mean, "Party on."What has happened here is that Brickstreet executives have abused state money to sponsor high-priced dinners at the Taragon room while residential contractors are being forced from business by rising workers' comp rates.Gov. Joe Manchin's administration foisted Brickstreet upon the state in quick fashion just after Manchin took office in 2005. He wanted workers' comp off his desk, and in doing so created a "private" agency shrouded in secrecy and accountable to no one but a governor-appointed, rubber stamping board of directors, all of whom are paid at least $20,000 a year for doing nothing but saying, "Thank you for letting us be on this board, and what can we do for you next?"Given the secrecy surrounding Brickstreet, this latest flap is likely just the tip of a very large iceberg. The company claimed more than $70 million in profits last year. With that kind of dough on hand and no oversight to be found, $3.5 million in improper spending will likely pale compared to what's to come.Delegate Craig Blair has been elected the Blair succeeds Bob Grove in the position.Blair is consistently one of the most active and innovative Republicans in the state. With Berkeley County quickly becoming one of the fastest growing Republican counties, Blair's leadership and drive will be put to good use.
A reporter for The (Martinsburg) Journal is quitting her job to go to work for Sen. John Unger, The Journal's editor confirmed in a column on Sunday.Maria Lorensen, editor of The Journal, wrote a column urging Unger not to run for Congress against Shelley Moore Capito, and wrote, "I’m pretty sure that Unger has made up his mind to run for Congress already, for a number of reasons — one of which is that one of The Journal’s reporters is going to work for him. She tells me that she’s headed to Washington for training just as soon as she gets started."Lorensen did not name the reporter in question, but the fact she referred to her as "she" raises the question of whether it is a reporter who has written the bulk of the paper's stories on Unger, which would lend credence to claims of favoritism toward the Senator.It must be said here that while Journal reporters and editorial page editor John McVey have long behaved as though they were already on Unger's payroll, Lorensen herself often demonstrates a more independent streak.Her Sunday column correctly noted of Unger, "He’s thin-skinned. He continues to bristle at months-old, even years-old, editorials and columns questioning his decisions... "The Charleston Gazette's Phil Kabler also weighed in on Unger on Sunday, writing, "...does anybody really believe that Sen. John Unger, D-Berkeley, could beat Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito in 2008, other than maybe Unger himself? I suspect the only reason this rumor has legs is that Unger is a tireless self-promoter — Unger probably pitches more stories to reporters than half the public relations flacks in Charleston combined." Kabler has a few more gems regarding Unger, and you can read them by clicking here.