This just came in my email. A little late, in my opinion, since this has been a breaking story for weeks. But nonetheless, here it is.

STATEMENT FROM THE GOVERNOR
REGARDING CONTINUING DISCUSSION
OF WVU E-MBA DEGREE REPORT

Contact: Lara Ramsburg, 304-558-2000

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Gov. Joe Manchin today released the following statement about the continuing discussions regarding the report from the independent panel examining the E-MBA program and his daughter's degree at West Virginia University.

"As a father, I must admit that I was hoping that the controversy surrounding my daughter's E-MBA coursework at WVU would eventually resolve itself and subside.  However, as a Governor, I recognize that is not realistic.

"In both roles, it has been extremely difficult for me to watch this controversy unfold.  As governor, my natural instinct in a crisis is to do my very best to dive in and help bring all sides together to find a resolution. However, because of my family's involvement in this particular situation, I feel that this is one time in which I am not in a position to follow that instinct, because it is likely that one side or the other would be inclined to question my ability to remain objective.

"WVU holds a special place in the hearts of both Gayle and I not only because we are proud graduates of WVU, but because it is also the place where we met, fell in love and started our family. From our perspective, this controversy all started because our daughter sincerely believed that she had her degree, because of a meeting that everyone admits took place with the program's director in 1998, and when she contacted the university last year, she was simply asking them to find the records that she believed would confirm that.

"Had they told her that after looking through their records they didn't have the proper documentation on file, we honestly believe that while she may not have liked that answer, she would have accepted it and moved on with her life.

"At no time would she have asked anyone to either 'guess' as to her records or to fabricate grades on those records. As a result, Gayle and I are both angry, in particular, at the fabrication of grades that took place, because it unfairly damages our daughter's reputation as much as it does the University's. It was absolutely wrong and, in my mind, completely unacceptable.

"Although I remain confident in President Garrison's ability to follow the recommendations of the independent panel's report, I am also fully aware of the concerns that have been raised by the faculty, staff, students and alumni of WVU and recognize that they must be addressed in some meaningful manner. WVU needs to find a way to begin to heal the wounds that have been created over these last few weeks, and it will take all parties working together to achieve that goal.

"To that end, I have seen it stated many times by individuals and the press that because I appointed certain members of the Board of Governors, they must be following my orders as to what to think and say regarding President Garrison and the independent panel's report. This simply is not true.

"The Board of Governors is made up of extremely bright and accomplished people who were not given this responsibility lightly and who I trust to do the job assigned to them to the best of their abilities. While many members are appointed by a governor, they do not serve at the will and pleasure of a governor. They may act as they wish during their four-year terms as long as it is within legal and ethical reason.

"Therefore, the WVU Board of Governors members are not under my control and remain free, as they always have been, to make their own individual and collective decisions on this or any other situation. As I said previously, I am not in a position to make a recommendation to them in this instance even if I wanted to because, regardless of what it might be, it would not be viewed as being made objectively - and I absolutely understand and accept that.

"As a result, I consider this matter one that should be decided by the members of the Board of Governors based upon their own insights and beliefs and information, and as governor, I will continue to support whatever direction they believe is in the best interests of WVU both now and in the future."        

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So, you're working on a story that would go great with a map. You want to use Google Maps, but have never tried to do a mashup before. It's not very hard.

There's a nice little story in this morning's Daily Athenaeum about my pothole map. I guess some people don't think it'll matter at all.

Morgantown City Engineer Terry Hough said she had not heard of the project and she did not believe it would be effective in capturing the attention of officials currently responsible for road maintenance.

The current system is a list of priority areas identified by city engineering crews, with the remainder of projects put on a list compiled using complaints from residents.

Eh, she's probably right. Morgantown is too small to get the level of participation  necessary to make this viable, but you never know.

When I move this summer, I'll have lived in Morgantown for more than three years -- longer than I've lived in one place for a long time. In those three years, I've never seen the potholes so bad. I'm told this year is pretty normal, but I don't know. The intersection of University and Patterson (which is currently patched) destroyed one of my tires a few months ago. That's never happened before.

Is this, A) a mailer from the U.S. government with important registration information about the recent economic stimulus program recently passed by Congress, or B) an deceptive attempt by a West Virginia car dealership to get me to buy a car?

I love this photo, because it isn't exactly as it seems. Yeah, those fire fighters are watching a car burn -- but they were supposed to. This was an class exercise for one of WVU's forensics classes a few years ago.

After the fire burned down, the students combed over every inch for evidence. Maybe the journalism school should get a little more hands-on in its training? Stage a few mock disasters for student journalists to cover?