radioNOVO News WV News Roundup for August 11, 2026

 Good morning. Here is the latest statewide news across West Virginia.More than twenty-five thousand West Virginia students will receive their initial Hope Scholarship funds two days early this week. State Treasurer Larry Pack announced that quarterly payments will hit accounts on Thursday, August thirteenth. Following recent legislative expansions, the education savings account program is now available universally to all K-through-twelve students statewide—including public, private, and homeschool families—with total applications approaching twenty-nine thousand for the upcoming school year.In energy and utility news, the state Public Service Commission is reviewing a proposed seven percent rate adjustment for Hope Gas. Company officials say the request stems from rising natural gas commodity prices fueled by growing power demands, including electricity needed for expanding Artificial Intelligence data centers. Hope Gas leadership emphasized that while commodity prices are climbing across the region, all natural gas supplied under the plan is produced directly within West Virginia.Meanwhile, tech giant Google is making its initial community investments in Putnam County following its purchase of seventeen hundred acres in Buffalo for a major data center. Local officials commended Google for publishing site plans early as the company begins distributing funding to area public schools, senior centers, and volunteer fire departments.Turning to economic development, the Hatfield-McCoy Trails Authority has approved a new ten-year strategic plan after completing its original goal of connecting systems across nine West Virginia counties. The new roadmap focuses on linking existing trail networks. Recent Marshall University data shows the trail system draws over ninety-three thousand riders annually, with the vast majority traveling from out of state.And at the State Capitol, lawmakers are pressing the Department of Human Services following a performance audit identifying over sixty-eight million dollars in potential technology savings. Legislative committees are scrutinizing the state’s multi-million-dollar PATH data management system as state leaders look to transition off legacy mainframe software.For more news, download the radioNOVO app. I’m Codi Gaboff, radioNOVO News, a service of Seven Mountains Media.