A committee of West Virginia University faculty, staff and students met for the first time Thursday to begin reviewing a five-year parking plan and to recommend changes.
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Dan Dakich, newly-hired West Virginia University men’s basketball coach, speaks to reporters at a 3 p.m. press conference at the WVU Coliseum Thursday.

After a tedious search conducted in front of a national audience, West Virginia University filled the head basketball coaching vacancy Thursday, hiring Dan Dakich to replace the retired Gale Catlett. Dakich has been the head coach at Bowling Green University the past five seasons. He is the 20th head coach in Mountaineer basketball history.
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Building a business from the ground up is more than plugging numbers into a computer and balancing them. 
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Thursday night’s Festival of Ideas lecture at West Virginia University focused on a topic dear to many graduating seniors’ hearts: finding a job.
Jeffrey Taylor, CEO of Monster.com, visited the Mountainlair Ballrooms for a presentation about the economy and the job market since Sept. 11. 
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WASHINGTON — In a new push for peace, President Bush on Thursday demanded that Israel pull back its troops from Palestinian cities it occupied in recent days and called on Arab nations to do more to crack down on terrorists. He ordered Secretary of State Colin Powell to the region to carry the message.
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CHARLESTON — In 1952, when the United Mine Workers had more than 100,000 West Virginia members, its backing clinched former miner William Marland’s election as governor.
Fifty years later, state candidates — including those in the hard-fought Democratic primary for the 2nd Congressional District between Jim Humphreys and Margaret Workman — still actively seek the endorsement of labor groups and other organizations.
But political observers say such endorsements carry far less weight than they did even two decades ago. They cite declining union membership, a greater independence among group members and the increased role of television in campaigns.
This week the UMW joined a string of other unions, including the state’s two main teacher unions and the AFL-CIO, by formally announcing its support of Humphreys.
Robert Rupp, a political science and history professor at West Virginia Wesleyan College, said, “Twenty years ago, when a candidate could count on the UMW to turn out automatically tens of thousands of voters, that would have made this election a gimme for Humphreys. That’s no longer true.”
Indeed, two years ago Humphreys lost with similar union support, as well as a 6-1 spending edge, in the general election to Republican Shelley Moore Capito. Capito is running for re-election and is unopposed in the Republican primary.
Still, analysts say union backing should help, especially in a year with no presidential or gubernatorial elections. With fewer likely voters, they say, districtwide get-out-the-vote drives could prove decisive.
“Organizational help at the local level matters,” said Gerald Beller, political science professor at West Virginia State College. “Getting the word about a candidate personally, from someone you know, tends to make people more likely to go to the polls.”