radioNOVO News WV News Roundup for July 17, 2026

Good morning.Thick Canadian wildfire smoke is expected to grow even worse across the Mountain State today. Environmental officials warn that northern West Virginia will be hit hardest by the hazy, unhealthy conditions before a chance of rain heading into the weekend begins to clear the air. Residents, especially those with respiratory issues, are urged to limit their time outdoors.In labor and energy news, members of the United Mine Workers have packed a high-stakes public hearing to fiercely oppose a proposed two-point-forty-eight billion dollar natural gas plant in Monongalia County. Miners told the West Virginia Public Service Commission that FirstEnergy's planned twelve-hundred megawatt facility would decimate local coal-fired plants, put hundreds of miners out of work, and cost the state an estimated one-billion dollars in tax revenues. FirstEnergy argues the plant is vital to prevent major energy shortfalls by 2029.Meanwhile, West Virginia independent contractors have a new layer of job security. Governor Patrick Morrisey has ceremonially signed the "Portable Benefit Account Act" into law. The landmark legislation creates a first-of-its-kind portable benefits system, allowing the state’s ninety-thousand gig workers and independent contractors to access critical protections like health, life, and disability insurance while maintaining their independent work status.In health news, state officials are sounding the alarm over a massive surge in a parasitic illness. Health department records show West Virginia has now confirmed forty-seven active cases of the outbreak—primarily clustered along the state's western border. To put that in perspective, West Virginia typically averages only nine cases of the illness in an entire year.And in Wood County, local leaders are scrambling to find a permanent solution to save their failing emergency services. Wood County officials warn that Camden Clark Medical Center ambulances are struggling to operate under critically low reimbursement rates, following the closure of another local ambulance service last year that would cost taxpayers one-point-six million dollars to replace.For more news, download the radioNOVO app. I’m Codi Gaboff, radioNOVO News, a service of Seven Mountains Media.