Initial Ethics Commission filings of lobbyists' financial disclosures for January-April seem to suggest that lobbyists scaled back spending during the 2009 regular session of the Legislature.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Initial Ethics Commission filings of lobbyists' financial disclosures for January-April seem to suggest that lobbyists scaled back spending during the 2009 regular session of the Legislature.
The most expensive reception reported to date was hosted by the West Virginia AFL-CIO on March 4, at a cost of $17,066 for 400 attendees, including 74 public officials, according to secretary-treasurer Larry Matheney's disclosure.
The AFL-CIO also hosted a total of 12 lunches at the Capitol for legislators during the session, at a total cost of about $7,124.
The only other large reception among the early filers was hosted by the West Virginia Banker's Association. The Feb. 17 reception cost $13,189 for 206 attendees, including 114 public officials.
Meanwhile, 20 corporate sponsors, including Arch Coal, Bayer Health Care, Brickstreet, Chesapeake Energy, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Patriot Coal, Verizon, the West Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association, and the West Virginia Insurance Federation, divided up the costs of hosting dinners for members of the House and Senate Judiciary committees.
The Senate Judiciary dinner on Feb. 25 cost $3,234, or $64.68 per person, while the Feb. 18 House Judiciary dinner was only $2,701, or $54.02 per person.
At the other extreme, West Virginia Citizens for Clean Elections spent only $350, or $6.37 per person, for its Jan. 7 reception.
It drew only six public officials: Delegates Carrie Webster, Danny Wells, Doug Skaff and Nancy Guthrie, Sen. Dan Foster, and Secretary of State Natalie Tennant.
Among the more unusual expenditures, John Canfield of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce reported spending $1,214 for 150 thermal coffee mugs (with the chamber logo) filled with candy, which were provided to all legislators, and to staffers in the House and Senate clerks' offices.
On a similar note, Perry Bryant's only expense as lobbyist for West Virginians for Affordable Health Care was $108 to provide Holl's chocolates for staffers in the Journal room and on the House and Senate Health and Human Resources committees.
nn
How's this for irony: The same legislators who mocked, then voted down a bill to require posting of nutritional information at fast-food and chain restaurants soon might have that same information provided to them when they lunch at the Capitol.
That's because the only bidder to take over operations of the Capitol food court, Warren, Ohio-based AVI Food Systems, voluntarily provides that information to its patrons through its nutriSOURCE program.
According to AVI's bid prospectus: "In today's nutrition-conscious world, diners not only want delicious, healthful, well-balanced meals, they also demand nutrition data at their fingertips."
utriSOURCE "offers all the nutritional information a diner wants to know" through printed materials and graphic displays on-site, and through a Web site that provides nutritional data for each menu item.
Presuming the General Services Division does not reject AVI's bid outright, it will replace Fairfax, Va.-based Guest Services Inc. as operator of the 18-month-old facility.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Initial Ethics Commission filings of lobbyists' financial disclosures for January-April seem to suggest that lobbyists scaled back spending during the 2009 regular session of the Legislature.
The most expensive reception reported to date was hosted by the West Virginia AFL-CIO on March 4, at a cost of $17,066 for 400 attendees, including 74 public officials, according to secretary-treasurer Larry Matheney's disclosure.
The AFL-CIO also hosted a total of 12 lunches at the Capitol for legislators during the session, at a total cost of about $7,124.
The only other large reception among the early filers was hosted by the West Virginia Banker's Association. The Feb. 17 reception cost $13,189 for 206 attendees, including 114 public officials.
Meanwhile, 20 corporate sponsors, including Arch Coal, Bayer Health Care, Brickstreet, Chesapeake Energy, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Patriot Coal, Verizon, the West Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association, and the West Virginia Insurance Federation, divided up the costs of hosting dinners for members of the House and Senate Judiciary committees.
The Senate Judiciary dinner on Feb. 25 cost $3,234, or $64.68 per person, while the Feb. 18 House Judiciary dinner was only $2,701, or $54.02 per person.
At the other extreme, West Virginia Citizens for Clean Elections spent only $350, or $6.37 per person, for its Jan. 7 reception.
It drew only six public officials: Delegates Carrie Webster, Danny Wells, Doug Skaff and Nancy Guthrie, Sen. Dan Foster, and Secretary of State Natalie Tennant.
Among the more unusual expenditures, John Canfield of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce reported spending $1,214 for 150 thermal coffee mugs (with the chamber logo) filled with candy, which were provided to all legislators, and to staffers in the House and Senate clerks' offices.
On a similar note, Perry Bryant's only expense as lobbyist for West Virginians for Affordable Health Care was $108 to provide Holl's chocolates for staffers in the Journal room and on the House and Senate Health and Human Resources committees.
nn
How's this for irony: The same legislators who mocked, then voted down a bill to require posting of nutritional information at fast-food and chain restaurants soon might have that same information provided to them when they lunch at the Capitol.
That's because the only bidder to take over operations of the Capitol food court, Warren, Ohio-based AVI Food Systems, voluntarily provides that information to its patrons through its nutriSOURCE program.
According to AVI's bid prospectus: "In today's nutrition-conscious world, diners not only want delicious, healthful, well-balanced meals, they also demand nutrition data at their fingertips."
utriSOURCE "offers all the nutritional information a diner wants to know" through printed materials and graphic displays on-site, and through a Web site that provides nutritional data for each menu item.
Presuming the General Services Division does not reject AVI's bid outright, it will replace Fairfax, Va.-based Guest Services Inc. as operator of the 18-month-old facility.
Guest Services asked to be released from its contract in March, saying its lack of any other food-service operations in the immediate vicinity made it difficult to operate the food court efficiently.
That shouldn't be an issue for AVI, which has a number of food-service operations in the Kanawha Valley, including the University of Charleston, West Virginia State University, Columbia Gas, Verizon, and Charleston Area Medical Center.
nn
A reader wanted to know why Jennifer McCarty, director of information services for the state Office of Technology, was still on the payroll even though she had moved to Michigan late last year.
Chief Technology Officer Kyle Shaffer said McCarty had several projects underway when her husband was transferred to Michigan, and said the decision was made to keep her on the payroll as a 90-day temporary to complete those projects.
Since the projects were computer-driven, he said the work technically could have been completed from anywhere in the world.
"I don't want to give anyone the impression we have full-time employees working out-of-state," Shaffer said.
He said McCarty was paid a little less than $3,200 for the three months it took to complete her projects.
As information services director, her salary had been $66,497.
nn
Finally, regarding my suggestion that, given the dire straits of the state of Ohio's economy, Gov. Joe Manchin should consider blowing the bridges over the Ohio to prevent a flood of economic refugees, former Manchin press secretary Tom Hunter sent an e-mail saying he would encourage his old boss not to follow through on my suggestion.
For good reason: Hunter currently is communications director for the Ohio Department of Public Safety in Columbus.
"Needless to say, it has been a challenging time for us here in Ohio," Hunter wrote -- and that was before the Ohio tax commissioner reported that the state's income tax collections had come in $322 million, or 22 percent, below projections.
Reach Phil Kabler at ph...@wvgazette.com or call 304-348-1220.
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