Jun 15, 2013

  CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Q: What is West Virginia’s state flower A: The rhododendron. Correct. Q: What color is it A: Purple. Wrong. The state flower is often shown as a blowsy purple rhododendron, which is incorrect, according to Doug Jolley, a native plant expert who owns Windbeam Way Nursery in Heaters. “West Virginia’s state flower...

Jun 15, 2013

  MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Mike Hurley had a great opportunity: He could multiply sales and staff by converting his metal-stamping business from one that made brackets for the automotive industry into a top-tier supplier of satellite dishes to DirecTV. He also had a problem: Highlands Diversified Services is headquartered in small-town Appalachia, a place...

Jun 14, 2013

  CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Residents and visitors are welcome to celebrate West Virginia’s 150th birthday with an outdoor concert and birthday cake at Kanawha State Forest on Sunday, courtesy of the Kanawha State Forest Foundation and the Kanawha Valley Community Band. The event begins at 3 p.m. on the front lawn of the forest’s swimming pool...

Jun 14, 2013

Fancy yourself an ice cream aficionado and a Washington expert Ben & Jerry’s wants your help. (Kind of.) The Vermont-based ice cream company wants Washingtonians to help create a D.C.-centric treat by weighing in on a field of 16 flavors through online voting and some less traditional means. For example, the company recorded video of people jogging...

Jun 14, 2013

The District’s reputation as “Chocolate City” is still intact, but only barely, according to figures released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. D.C. is continuing along a trend line that is giving the city a younger and whiter population. As of July 2012, 323,746, or 50.05 percent, of the District’s population was “black or...

Jun 11, 2013

Oprah Winfrey in 2013. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images) Oprah Winfrey, the television mogul who makes dreams come true, has donated $12 million to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. “I am so proud of African American history and its contributions to our nation as a whole,” Winfrey said in a statement....

Jun 5, 2013

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia is getting a lasting tribute for its 150th birthday, courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service: a new Forever stamp will debut June 20 as part of West Virginia’s sesquicentennial celebration, officials announced Thursday. The image on the first-class stamp is unmistakably Mountain State. A series of gently sloping,...