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Having Fun
With Mojo
I check in with law enforcement all the time!
Hey kids! Mojo here! What's the big deal about me calling the sheriff to get a status report on what his deputies were up to on July 13? Shoot, I consider it part of my job! I do it all the time! After all, I am the top law enforcement officer in the state!
In fact, I have a schedule! On Mondays, I call the Morgantown Police Department. On Tuesday, it's the Cabell County Sheriff. On Wednesday, it's the Martinsburg Police Department! On Thursday, it's the Shawnee Park Ranger Station! On Friday, it's the Kanawha County Sheriff! On Saturday, it's the Beckley Crossing Guard! And on Sunday, I get summary reports from everywhere else in the state!
Just doing my job, kids! Typically, here's how the conversation goes:
ME: Hey, sheriff, Mojo here, just checking in as usual! Everything under control tonight?
Sheriff: Well, governor, we're monitoring a residence on the East Side for some suspicious activity -- might be a crack house.
ME: Keep it under surveillance and check in with me every fifteen minutes! I'll let you know when it's OK to move in!
Sheriff: Will do, governor. Thanks!
That's all there is to it, kids! Mojo on the job, as always!
Why did Gov call sheriff over deputy patrol?
Sometime around the middle of
last week, I received a call from a very
reliable source telling me that a car in which Gov. Joe Manchin was a passenger had been stopped at a roadside checkpoint the previous Friday and ticketed for having expired tags.
The governor, I was told, was leaving a wedding reception and the checkpoint was one of those random DUI/seatbelt stops that have become popular with law enforcement agencies.
I thought the story was amusing, if not earth shaking, and planned to follow up at some point. Then, on Saturday, the Charleston Gazette reported that Kanawha County Sheriff Mike Rutherford "said he got a phone call at home about 11 p.m. that evening from Gov. Joe Manchin inquiring about the law enforcement presence near the wedding, which he and first lady Gayle Manchin attended."
A Manchin spokesman, though, said he thought the governor had made the call about four hours earlier in the evening.
Why was the governor asking about sheriff's deputy patrols? Manchin spokesman Matt Turner said, “My understanding is that, on the way to the wedding, the governor called the sheriff because there was a lot of police activity on the route there. He knows the sheriff, and he called to see if there was anything that he needed to be aware of or that he figured there would be a lot of questions at the reception.”
Or, if the sheriff is right and the call was made around 11 p.m. -- and if the rumors about Manchin's car being ticketed are true -- maybe the governor was calling to complain about his car being pulled over on his way home and ticketed by sheriff's deputies at a checkpoint.
The latter possibility would fit better with Sheriff Rutherford's description to the Charleston Gazette of the call from Manchin: "He was very nice to me, and he may have expressed some type of being upset [at the law enforcement being] out there."
Rutherford says the governor was "upset." The Manchin spokesman says the governor wanted to "see if there was anything that he needed to be aware of..." Sheriff vs. public relations spinmeister -- take your pick.
The wedding and reception were held at Berry Hills Country Club, where well-known Charleston attorney Lyne Ranson got married and hosted a reception for hundreds of prominent guests.
Before Chas. Gazette story, rumors were swirling his car had been hit with ticket
Gov. Joe Manchin, pictured surrounded by highway patrol grads, recently took a hands-on approach with the Kanawha sheriff's office
Moran-Cooper says lottery interfered with hotline project
New report to state legislators outlines problems, suggestions
Mia Moran-Cooper, the former director of the state problem gambler hotline, has issued a summary report to state lawmakers elaborating on her claims that lottery officials interfered with the hotline's operation and offering suggestions for making the system better.
In a report dated June 26 and provided to the legislative auditor, as well as mailed to legislators, Moran-Cooper says she demonstrates "occasions where I believe the WV Lottery attempted to control the timing of and content of the help-line advertising, interfere with the program mission or misused program staff to support Lottery initiatives."
She also cites "what I believe to be attempts by the WV Lottery to minimize perception of the harm some of our citizens have experienced with gambling, as well as attempts to discredit and discount these residents as having other mental health issues."
Moran-Cooper also discusses attempts to discredit her after her explosive testimony earlier this year before the Joint Interim Committee on Government and Finance.
Moran-Cooper says pressure from the Lottery to downplay the hotline started almost immediately after her employment in 2000. She says she received the following email from a board member of First Choice, the company for which she directly worked.
The email said, “It sounds as though no matter what is done PR wise someone is gong to be upset. I recommend treading lightly on the publicity and only doing what is specifically approved by the Lottery Commission. I suspect they don’t want anything to happen that would reduce income to the State and I am sure that we don’t want to be the scapegoat. Subtlety may be the best path to follow.”
Moran-Cooper says upcoming election considerations in 2000 played a big role in the Lottery keeping the issue of problem gamblers under wraps.
She says that after meeting with Lottery officials on Oct. 5, 2000, a consultant made a note that read, “Lottery not in favor of putting number on lottery tickets or all machines. ---After election issues calm down, they may be more receptive to more outreach and marketing.”
Moran-Cooper says that after Video Lottery Terminal legislation passed, cases of problem gambling began to explode.
And just as had happened with the VLT issue a few years earlier, the pending legislation on the table games bill also led Lottery officials to try to diminish the hotline program, according to Moran-Cooper.
She says, "I received an e-mail from my boss on February 6, 2007 which said, 'I think John Musgrave will be accepting Tom’s suggestion to wait until after the legislative session to issue the RFP.' The same e-mail from my boss went on to say, 'I’m certain the industry and Lottery Commission are antsy over the table games bill. What is the timing of any advertising we are planning to do?'
"In a subsequent e-mail May 1, 2007, I was directed by my boss via an e-mail from our administrative assistant, 'no more advertising done for the rest of the year.' A review of our budget at the time revealed we had ample funds left for advertising the help-line through the end of June."
Moran-Cooper says allowing the Lottery greater control over the gambling hotline is a case of the fox guarding the henhouse.
She writes, "I see a primary mission of the WV Lottery as being the regulator and promoter of gambling products in order to raise revenue for West Virginia’s governmental operations. I strongly believe that this goal is a direct conflict of interest with establishing a powerful and effective outreach program for those citizens whose lives are negatively impacted by the very same gambling products. It appears to me that there is a strong desire to increase revenue and protect the WV Lottery 'brand' from any information that could possibly be perceived as negative publicity."
Moran-Cooper offers five specific recommendations based on her experience over the past seven years.
1. The single state agency to oversee the administration of West Virginia’s Compulsive Gambler’s Treatment Program should be the Department of Health and Human Resources Bureau of Behavioral Health and Health Facilities (formerly Office of Behavioral Health Services.) This is the location in our government where experience with addictions and health problems exists, not the WV Lottery.
2. The WV Lottery’s involvement with the program should be limited to only the prompt annual transfer of Lottery proceeds to DHHR in an amount equal to the maximum provided for in the governing legislation.
3. The WV Lottery should develop clear policy where it does not attempt to engage problem gamblers in any conversation nor counseling nor respond to written communication about their gambling problem or treatment but rather immediately re-directs players to the help-line program or addictions professionals at WV-DHHR.
4. The WV Lottery should have no input whatsoever related to the clinical practices, outreach efforts, staffing, or access to any client or staff records. They should act as the funding source only. WV-DHHR should then have the complete and unobstructed ability to apply those funds for all services related to problem gambling and audit their outcomes.
5. If there is a desire to provide additional oversight of this small but vital program’s administration, beyond the exiting systems that monitor WV-DHHR, then that oversight should be provided by the WV Legislature in the form of an independent third party not related to DHHR or Lottery operations. Results of any actions or activities by this third party should be open and available in the public record.
A tale of two versions of the state's jobless rates
On Friday, Gov. Joe Manchin issued a commentary praising the status of the jobless rate in West Virginia.
The governor said, "Earlier this week, I received the Workforce West Virginia report for West Virginia’s June unemployment rate, which was 4.5 percent. I was extremely pleased that we had the lowest June rate on record and that total unemployment is down 5,500 for the first six months of 2007.
"West Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 4.3 percent, which is lower than the national average of 4.5 percent. What’s even more encouraging is that the record-low unemployment for the month of June is not unique. For each month so far this year, the state’s unemployment rate has been the lowest on record, which puts us on track to have the lowest-ever overall unemployment rate for an entire year. We’re working hard to reach that goal."
But the next day, the Huntington Herald-Dispatch reported, "Unemployment inched up in Cabell County and 30 other West Virginia counties in June, as the statewide jobless rate rose one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.5 percent.
"Cabell County was just under the statewide average at
4.3 percent, up from 4 percent in May, but down from 4.9 percent in June 2006. Wayne County also was up slightly at 4.6 percent, and Putnam County's rate rose a tenth of a percent to
3.7 percent.
"Eleven counties reported lower unemployment rates, while the jobless rates in 13 counties were unchanged from May, according to data released Friday by Workforce West Virginia."
The governor is a glass-half-full kinda guy, and there's nothing wrong with that. But to listen strictly to his spin would be to avoid the obvious realities reported in the Herald-Dispatch story.
Snuffer rules out another run vs. Rahall in 2008 campaign
Rick Snuffer, the 2004 WV-03 Republican Congressional nominee, has announced he will forgo another run for the US House in 2008.
Snuffer says he had been looking into forming an exploratory committee for another run for the US House of Representatives, but decided the timing is not right for next year.
"Make no mistake," Snuffer said in a statement, "I would very much like to run. There is a huge need in Southern West Virginia for a Representative who has our best interests at heart. Sitting back and watching Mr. Rahall run all over Syria and the Middle East with Nancy Pelosi, refusing to condemn the terrorists who kidnap and murder innocent Israelis and watching the continued deterioration all over the third Congressional District in almost every aspect of our society make this decision very difficult for me to accept... but it is the right one for this period of transition in our country, state and my family."
Marty Gearheart, who has previously sought the GOP nomination for the right to take on Rahall, is an announced candidate for the 2008 election.
As Manchin gobbles up the cash, state Democrats resort to monthly donation program
The West Virginia Democratic Party, with less than $500 cash on hand, has begun collecting contributions of $83.33 a month, a program designed to create a collection of donors whose small monthly contributions add up to $1,000 per year.
While the program is typical for many state parties, it's a drastic step for a state party that in the past has seldom had to worry about resorting to such mundance fundraising programs.
The program -- which on the latest FEC report had about 20 participants at the $83.33 contribution rate -- underscores the degree to which Gov. Joe Manchin has corralled and controls the campaign money in West Virginia. Manchin reportedly has about $2 million on hand, while the latest state Democrat Party report with the FEC shows it has less than $500 cash on hand, and nearly $16,000 in debts.
