My Radio Jamz | radioNOVO News WV News Roundup for June 11, 2026

Good morning.A severe financial crisis is building across West Virginia as local counties struggle to keep up with skyrocketing regional jail bills. Kanawha County Commissioner Lance Wheeler is issuing an urgent plea for immediate state-level intervention to prevent widespread local government bankruptcies. Wheeler reveals that Kanawha County’s regional jail costs have surged by a staggering fifty-two percent compared to this time last year. He warns that at least four West Virginia counties are now more than ninety days delinquent on their payments to the state, threatening to trigger immediate, catastrophic budget cuts to essential emergency medical services if the legislature fails to step in.Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of electric customers across the state are bracing for higher utility bills following a major regulatory decision in Charleston. The West Virginia Public Service Commission has officially approved a controversial settlement allowing Appalachian Power to implement a two-point-eight percent rate hike starting July first. While consumer advocacy groups have heavily slammed the deal as a dangerous precedent that allows massive utility corporations to exploit rapid rate increases, the agreement successfully blocks Appalachian Power from filing for any additional rate adjustments until July of twenty-twenty-seven.In regional legal news, a high-profile quadruple-homicide case is officially heading back to the courtroom in Kanawha County. Circuit Judge Kenneth Ballard has confirmed that a retrial will begin on June twenty-second for twenty-two-year-old Gavin Smith, who was convicted of the December twenty-twenty shooting deaths of his mother, stepfather, and two younger brothers in Elkview. The West Virginia Supreme Court vacated the original convictions last year due to a fatal jury instruction error regarding juvenile parole eligibility. Attorneys from both sides confirm they are prepared to proceed, and a specialized pool of seventy-five potential jurors will be called for selection.On a brighter note, academic history was celebrated in the capital city as two-hundred and twenty-five eighth graders from across the state were officially inducted as Knights of the Order of the Golden Horseshoe. Governor Patrick Morrisey presented the historic pins during a prestigious ceremony at the state Culture Center in Charleston, honoring the top one percent of students for their mastery of West Virginia civic and cultural heritage.And in sports, the West Virginia University baseball team is headed to Omaha, Nebraska, as the historic Men’s College World Series officially gets underway this Friday afternoon. The Mountaineers are slated to face off against Troy in a highly anticipated game-one matchup to kick off the double-elimination national championship tournament.For more news, download the radioNOVO app. I’m Codi Gaboff, radioNOVO News, a service of Seven Mountains Media.