Welcome back to EP Digest. Every Thursday morning, the best local news, events, and happenings from Morgan, Berkeley, and Jefferson counties — tailored to what you actually care about. No doom-scrolling, no algorithm. Just the stuff that matters in the Eastern Panhandle. Let's get into it.

The Locality-Pay Bill Didn't Pass. Four EP Lawmakers Just Explained Why.

Four members of the Eastern Panhandle delegation — Sen. Jason Barrett (R-Berkeley) and Delegates Wayne Clark (R-99), Joe Funkhouser (R-98), and Chuck Horst (R-94) — sat down with the Martinsburg-Berkeley County and Jefferson County Chambers of Commerce in Charles Town last week for a joint legislative wrap-up. Hans Fogle moderated. The Journal covered it.

The wins traveled fast in the room. Barrett, who chairs Senate Finance, walked through the budget and the 5% state income-tax reduction — about $125 million back to taxpayers. He also talked up the Sales Tax Increment Financing district just signed into law for the south Berkeley County sports complex project. Clark talked school choice (HOPE Scholarship, charter schools), horse-racing reform, and tourism. Funkhouser pointed to public safety and universal licensing — the rule change that lets workers carry their professional credentials into West Virginia without re-credentialing. Horst's framing: "There are a lot of big projects that will be coming that will be game changers for the state."

Then the harder topic. Locality pay — the long-running push to give Eastern Panhandle teachers and state employees additional compensation to match the higher cost of living near the D.C. metro — didn't pass. Barrett didn't soften it. "It was my top priority and we didn't get it done," he said. Horst named the problem out loud: "Rural areas play against us." Many of his colleagues in the rest of the state, he said, see the EP as a region that's already doing fine economically and doesn't need the extra pay. Both said they think the relationships built this session move the bill forward next time.

The data-center fight came up too. House Bill 2014 — the bill that shifted data-center regulatory authority from counties to a statewide framework — has been the live wire in the EP all spring, especially around the Bedington and Mingo County projects already in the pipeline. Clark defended the legislation: "West Virginia is later than most coming to data centers. We have paid attention and drafted legislation to address concerns already." The point, he said, is "one set of rules for the state, not 55 different sets for each county." Barrett pushed back on the transparency criticism: "I am not sure I agree with a lack of transparency. Things are subject to FOIA." Neither expects a major HB 2014 rewrite next session.

The picture right now: the EP's session scorecard is mixed — a real win on the sports-complex tax district, a real loss on locality pay, and a permanent loss of local zoning leverage over data centers. The relationships Barrett and Horst flagged are the through-line; whether they actually move locality pay next session is what to watch.

What Local Government Is Working On

Jefferson County Schools, May 26: the public hearing on the proposed 2026–27 JCS budget — the open-mic meeting before the board adopts the spending plan. ObserverWV.

HEPMPO — two open public-input windows: the Winchester Avenue Corridor Study (with a May 27 Teams public meeting) and the recently briefed WV 9 Bike Path Connectivity Plan — a study of extending the existing roughly 10-mile WV 9 bike path through Ranson and along Flowing Springs Road to Washington Street in Charles Town.

Morgan County — the future Wellness Center: Morgan County has posted purchase documents for the future "Wellness Center" (The Well) and is running a Community Sport and Play Interest Survey to gauge what residents actually want at the facility. The underlying ordinance is posted on the county site.

And a heads-up for commuters: WVDOH pothole-patching crews are working across Eastern Panhandle routes this week. Expect rolling lane closures on the routes they're hitting. Panhandle News Network.

Birds Along the Cacapon, Orchards in Full Bloom

Morgan Messenger's seasonal piece on birding along the Cacapon River is a reminder that one of the EP's quietest natural assets is also one of its loudest in May. The river corridor sits along a migratory flyway, and late spring is when the species count peaks. Morgan Messenger.

On a brighter note: Orr's Farm Market has been posting orchard-in-bloom photos for the past two weeks; their Barnyard is open Saturdays 9 a.m.–5 p.m., and the Shenandoah Junction satellite store is open for the 2026 season. Orr's events.

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