Should we return to WV & why? (centers, food)

[David Kennedy]

Biggest airport in the state is Benedum in Bridgeport...but Yeager is under construction and will be as big eventually...when that mountain is moved over a mile or two...but in the planning is a huge airport to replace Hart Field in Morgantown...building pressure has made Hart Field worth millions as an industrail/office park and a location is being looked at south of Morgantown...an area that is almost 'Fog Free....Big New Passenger airport will take the pressure off Pittsburgh International and route some of the domestic travel to us...a mini-hub like Charlotte...
Charleston killed its growth when it killed the new airport in Putnam County...have a real problem with regional thinking as it looks into the future and their 'yawhoo's want to line their pockets today...not tomorrow. Yeager is getting some rum-way distance and a face lift but its service will stay the same...that decision made the money people look to Morgantown and the northern region...

[tbailey1138]

Benedum is not the biggest airport in the state. It has the longest runway(by less than 300ft), but it is far from the biggest airport in terms of size and passengers. That belongs to Yeager with 269,728 passengers in 2007 (a 15% decrease from 2006). Huntington/Tri-State came in a distant 2nd with 62,456 passengers (a 67% increase from 2006). Benedum came in 4th with 4,910 passengers in 2007, a 10% decrease from 2006. Huntington/Tri-State as well as Yeager are both in the process of expanding their main runways to over 7,000 feet and they both have a 2nd runway as well. Earlier this year, representatives from Senator Rockefeller's office said that according to passenger statistics, Tri-State Airport was the fastest-growing airport in the country. link And in terms of a proposed, larger North-Central WV airport, just like the regional airport here, I'll believe it when I see it. Especially with few airports and carriers seeing growth and profit.

List of airports in West Virginia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://www.faa.gov/airports_airtraffic/airports/planning_capacity/passenger_allcargo_stats/passenger/media/cy07_prelim_all_enplanements.pdf (broken link)

[vec101]

With the situation of the airline industry nationally and at Yeager the situation with flights being eliminated and airlines pulling out --I just hope we still have air service in WV. The Charleston Gazette - News - Yeager Airport losing two more flights*

OK, I am being facetious but flying sure is depressing anymore.
In the last 6 months:
We drove 4 hours to Pittsburgh to get a much better price on a flight and only 1 stop from there to destination. All would have been great if not for the fact that we rolled out in line for the runway then the pilot discovered the GPS system was not working properly. Three hours later we took off and of course missed our connection, etc. On the bright side, even though most sat on the plane they did allow us to get off.

Had a nightmare flight event at Atlanta (too long of a story), they could MAYBE get us on a flight the next day. Ended up renting a car at 10pm and driving the 8 hours all night to Charleston.

[David Kennedy]

and Benedum is working on the other 5 mile long north-south runway as we speak...when I said biggest, Bailey...I should have said longest...as a passenger depot...its a waste of money...the giant airbusses, 747's plus Globemasters need those long flight lines...part of the Homeland Security work here...C-town and Hunkertown will be ok...don't worry.

[Call me Tres]

My job takes me in direct contact with medium to large WV based companies. I meet with two to three per day. I primarily review payroll and sales information. Most of my customers complain about finding qualified people to staff their positions! The number two complaint is the cost of fuel.

The state needs to put far more money into schools and make the environment more business friendly (ie lower taxes on businesses). Getting more businesses into the state would allow us to further lower the marginal rates while increasing revenues. Better school systems make the state more attractive to individual families and would ensure that the kids graduating from High School would be attractive entry level job candidates.

I know that this isn't popular, but I would like to see union involvement in the state decline.

I'm not sure how I feel about gambling. Well, actually I like gambling! I'm not sure how it would affect our state. Would we have an Atlantic City/Niagara Falls outcome or a Connecticut/Nevada outcome? Hard to tell.

[Buzz123]

Originally Posted by Call me Tres

My job takes me in direct contact with medium to large WV based companies. I meet with two to three per day. I primarily review payroll and sales information. Most of my customers complain about finding qualified people to staff their positions! The number two complaint is the cost of fuel.

The state needs to put far more money into schools and make the environment more business friendly (ie lower taxes on businesses). Getting more businesses into the state would allow us to further lower the marginal rates while increasing revenues. Better school systems make the state more attractive to individual families and would ensure that the kids graduating from High School would be attractive entry level job candidates.

I know that this isn't popular, but I would like to see union involvement in the state decline.

I'm not sure how I feel about gambling. Well, actually I like gambling! I'm not sure how it would affect our state. Would we have an Atlantic City/Niagara Falls outcome or a Connecticut/Nevada outcome? Hard to tell.

You hit the nail on the head. The state runs business away with taxes. The politicians in Charleston are afraid to let go of a tax once they get their hands on it. I can remember even paying a head tax, of all things, and a dog tax in Clarksburg. West Virginians are taxed to death and made to believe it has to be that way, but it doesn't. Nevada is 1000 times more prosperous without a state income tax and no corporate tax, and for sure no head tax or dog tax. Businesses flock here for that reason. And they would flock to West Virginia for the same reason if the state would just lighten up.

I don't know if I find any problem with education in WV, as nearly every little town has a college. That's something we can't say about Nevada.

I don't know if WV should have casino gambling, but I do know it would dramatically change the economy. I hate to keep mentioning Nevada, but I'm familiar with both states and can compare their differences and similarities. Anyway, Nevada is 7th largest in size, but it would be 50th in population without gaming. Las Vegas has more hotel rooms than any other city in this country, and is the most visited location in the world because of gaming. I really don't know if West Virginians are ready for the kind of changes gaming would bring. You might see a state full of resorts like White Sulphur Springs, but does anyone want that? And I'm not talking about the social implications of gambling. There is enough illegal gambling going on in West Virginia, and actually in every state that doesn't have legalized gambling, that if made legal and taxed would solve a lot of problems. Even Nevada has the problem of not collecting enough tax from gambling. Our casinos have had an almost free ride for decades, but they are responsible for providing hundreds of thousands of jobs.

[tbailey1138]

Originally Posted by David Kennedy

C-town and Hunkertown will be ok...don't worry.

Not worried at all. You know I'm just a fact junkie and like to make sure the facts are out there.

[Threerun]

Originally Posted by tbailey1138

Benedum is not the biggest airport in the state. It has the longest runway(by less than 300ft)

Actually I believe Martinsburg has the longest runway. The 167th ANG is now home to the C5 Galaxy and the requirements called for a runway about half as long as the county.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by Sharedspirit

It's humid here today! I know there is a lot of concern about people flooding WV if there is a disaster on the East coast. I don't think many people would get that far. Especially in the winter.

And the irony is that both Charleston and Huntington are no colder on average in winter vs. any city on the I 95 corridor from Wash DC on north. Too; it is much colder in Pittsburgh, etc.

[David Kennedy]

Bailey...I'll write you in for Vice-pres...you can say you got a vote or two in the 2008 election...and I will be satisfied that I voted for two credible individuals...sounds like a plan...

commenting on what Tres just said. A small business must keep expanding the financial debt ballon until it explodes into bankruptcy...that's the way businesses run in WV...I believe its a Mafia concept...designed to 'get the money...run away...and destroy the paper trail...
A type of laundry operation and when some agency gets close (FBI or Justice) on their heels..they disapear into another neighboring state or foreign country.

I just brought a business out of mothballs...to get it online and operational, it cost nearly $5,400 in state fees and licensing requirements...and that is going exempt from workers comp and not having any employees...It's wishfull thinking about having a business in Wv, unless it is a part time cottage industry. With the attitude driven by the national media...I'm looking for a lay-off slip in the mail any day, and I work for myself..
crazy!