In Around West Virginia: the rise of the Libertarian party, longer than average wait times for disability hearings, the closure of a low-income clinic, and more.
n Voter registration data from 2000 to 2016 shows an increase in third-party voters in West Virginia, according to The State Journal. According to the West Virginia Secretary of State's Office, the number of Libertarians increased from 964 in 2000 to 3,241 in 2016.
n Two of the Social Security offices in the country with longer than average wait times for people denied disability benefits who have filed appeals are located in West Virginia. Morgantown's office has an average wait time of 586 days while Huntington's average wait time is 575 days, according to a story in The Register-Herald. A Social Security Administration official said this week that the situation is a crisis. The average wait time across the country is 525 days. The judges rule in about half the cases that the applicants are too disabled to work, but some people have died while waiting for their hearing.
n A low-income clinic in Ranson will close due to state and local budget cuts, The Journal reports. Michele Goldman, director of the Eastern Panhandle Care Clinic, said there had been mis-assumptions that medical clinics for the low-income would be able to survive thanks to Medicaid expansion, but that many providers don't accept Medicaid. The clinic will close at the end of July.
n Cabell County sheriff's deputies seized 1,083 grams of crystal meth - about $250,000 worth - as it was transported through the mail to a home in Huntington, The Herald-Dispatch reports. Jamel Proctor, 30, and Tiffany Hensley, 25, of Huntington, were charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance. Proctor was also charged with illegally possessing a firearm. Police executed a search warrant in the 500 block of Flora Court in Huntington on Friday.
Reach Erin Beck at erin.beck@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5163, Facebook.com/erinbeckwv, or follow @erinbeckwv on Twitter.