June 9th, 2018 by WCBC Radio

In a news briefing on revenue collection for May that was short on actual numbers but long on hyperbole about West Virginia’s economic turnaround, Gov. Jim Justice again chastised state news media that he believes emphasizes the negative. Justice barely touched on the actual revenue figures — May’s collection of $328.9 million exceeded projections by $20.2 million, or about 7 percent — but focused on what he called a miraculous turnaround from the time he took office in January 2017, when the state was facing more than $700 million of revenue shortfalls for the coming 18 months. Taking aim at the news media, Justice said, “We do not need to push ourselves down. We need to promote ourselves. This state is rolling — any way you cut it, we’re rolling.” Indeed, revenue numbers began improving in October, and in May, for the first time in the 2017-18 budget year, year-to-date collection of $3.826 billion pushed the state to a $15.5 million surplus.