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 Bedington Data-Center Fight Just Went Public.

Opposition to the proposed $4 billion data center in the Bedington area of northern Berkeley County has moved out of the town-hall meeting room and into the street. Over the weekend, more than a dozen residents rallied at the Bedington Crossroads convenience store near the proposed site, waving signs against the project — a crowd that, by the paper's account, drew people from across the Eastern Panhandle and the political spectrum. The Journal was there.

The backstory: Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced the project in February — a campus of 500-plus acres pitched at 100-plus jobs — and a county town hall soon after drew more than 300 people. Their worries have been consistent: the strain a data center puts on local water, the air and noise that come with the power it needs, and the frustration that local government has little authority to stop it. West Virginia Watch laid out the concerns.

What's changed is the organizing. A public Facebook group, “No Data Centers in the Eastern Panhandle,” has grown past 8,600 members and posts a steady stream daily. And the politics are moving too: state Sen. Joey Garcia — who voted for the 2025 law that stripped West Virginia counties of a say over data centers — now says that vote was a mistake, and has introduced bills to restore local control, Mountain State Spotlight reported.

What to watch: we first covered the Bedington site in April, when Berkeley County sent the state a 10-page letter laying out its concerns. The county's biggest remaining lever on growth questions like this one is its new draft comprehensive plan — which is open for public comment right now (more on that below).

Berkeley County Wants to Hear How You'd Manage the Growth.

With population climbing, housing tight, and roads and services under pressure, Berkeley County has released a draft “Plan for the Future” — a comprehensive plan built around managing growth while keeping the county's character. And it's asking residents to weigh in. Tri-State Alert has the details.

Two come-anytime input events are set for Wednesday, June 24: a pop-up at the Martinsburg Public Library from 10 a.m. to noon, and a drop-in at the County Administration Building from 5 to 7 p.m. Can't make either? There's an online comment form, and the full draft is posted on the county website. This is the document that sits underneath nearly every growth question in this edition — from data centers to housing costs. On that last point: federal housing officials visiting Martinsburg this month heard that local housing costs are rising faster than wages.

What Local Government Is Working On

Berkeley County's comprehensive plan, June 24: the county holds its two public-input events that day (see Development, above), and the draft is posted online with an open comment form for anyone who can't attend. If growth and land use are on your mind, this is the week to weigh in. Draft plan and details.

Martinsburg City Council meets tonight (Thursday, June 11, 6:30 p.m.). On the docket: proclamations for Pride Month, the Martinsburg Farmers Market's 10th anniversary, and the country's 250th; a stack of year-end budget revisions; reappointing the city recorder; and a request to waive the sign fee for a mural on the historic Belle Boyd House. Full agenda via PNN.

A circuit-judge seat is open for applications. Last week we noted Judge Steven Redding's retirement; now the state's Judicial Vacancy Advisory Commission is taking applications to fill the 27th Judicial Circuit seat, which covers Berkeley and Morgan counties. PNN.

Berkeley County set its tax rates for the new budget year. The commission adopted its FY27 levy rates — the property-tax rates that fund county services — effective for the budget year beginning July 1.

A new appeals-court judge thanked the Panhandle. Jim Douglas, newly elected to the West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals, returned for a ceremonial swearing-in and credited Berkeley and Jefferson counties for his win — "the Eastern Panhandle is where political power is in the state now," he said. He officially takes the bench Jan. 1. The Journal.

Market Season Is In Full Swing.

The farm stands are hitting their stride. Orr's Farm Market — in Martinsburg and Shenandoah Junction — is open for the 2026 season and into summer fruit, so if you've been meaning to buy local, the window is wide open. Orr's events calendar.

Also worth a stop: the Hedgesville Local Farmers Market has reopened under new owners with a new home on the James Rumsey Technical Institute lawn and a new schedule — the first Saturday of each month, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., through October. The Journal.

One to keep an eye on: even after the Memorial Day rains, officials say the region isn't out of the drought yet and are still nudging everyone toward conservation. Morgan Messenger.

The Eastern Panhandle's 2026 Golden Horseshoe Knights

West Virginia knighted its 95th class of Golden Horseshoe winners this month — the honor it has given its top eighth-grade history students since 1931 — and the Eastern Panhandle sent 21. Here's the full local roll, west to east, per the WV Department of Education.

Morgan: Dominic Fox and Xynlin Younker (Warm Springs Middle); Aryonna Stotler (Paw Paw).

Berkeley: Emmalyn Chrystal (Martinsburg North); Grayson Detrick, Colton Redmon, Sheyla Sanchez Vargas, Alay'Ja Williams, and Kymora Yates (Martinsburg South); Andraya Lopez and Madelyn Markey (Hedgesville); Brielyn Copenhaver and Kalin Sullivan (Spring Mills); Summer Starliper (Mountain Ridge).

Jefferson: Gabriela Chiang Hernandez, Farrah Davis, Clayton Ortez, and Daphne Steffen (Harpers Ferry); Oliver Merkel-Mason (Shepherdstown); Derek Turner (Charles Town); Syanne James (Eastern Panhandle Preparatory Academy, Kearneysville).

Know one of these students? Forward them this edition — congratulations are in order.

Got a tip? Send it over.

Story, event, business, government, school, neighborhood, weird-and-wonderful — if it's local, we want to hear it. Saw a new sign go up? Heard about a meeting no one's talking about? Know of a shop opening, closing, or expanding? Spotted something on your street that turned out to be interesting? Send us a note at [email protected] — tips of every kind keep the Digest sharper than any source list could. We protect our sources, and we verify before we publish.

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