Good morning, Morgantown.

Mountain Line Transit Authority in Morgantown said rising gas + diesel prices have pushed its spending near a $600,000 fuel budget for fiscal 2025-26 while CEO Maria Smith said the authority is using propane for five buses and plans to convert more gas-powered buses in the future.

Morgantown native and WVU junior Colin Street was awarded a Udall Scholarship on May 15 for his work in environmental policy and public service; he is the seventh recipient of the $7,500 grant.

The award supports his triple major studies and effort to improve local life (awarded yesterday).

Facilities Management will shut off steam at the downtown campus from 6 a.m. Monday (May 18) until 6 a.m. Friday (May 29) for scheduled enhancements and repairs, affecting heating, domestic hot water and lab steam at several buildings while Field Hall remains unaffected.

WVU President Michael Benson concluded his Welcome Home Tour on Friday with a lighting ceremony for the updated water tower, marking the start of graduation weekend as students from six colleges gathered in Morgantown.

Dr. April Shapiro retired as Keyser Campus Chair on May 15 after decades of teaching nursing and pioneering the LPN to BSN program at the WVU School of Nursing; her successor, Dr. Matthew Hottle, will carry on the campus’s academic legacy & inspire future nurses.

Graduation ceremonies continue at WVU Hope Coliseum today with events by the College of Creative Arts and Media at 9 a.m., Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at 12:30 p.m., and John Chambers College of Business and Economics at 4 p.m. (Friday’s events honored law, dentistry and health sciences graduates).

Morgantown High School softball advanced to its first state tournament with a 3-1 win over Jefferson on Thursday at ISS Field at Mylan Park.

The team will compete at Little Creek Park in South Charleston from June 2-4.

The University High softball team shut out Washington 7-0 on Thursday night at Lynch Field at Mylan Park (the win earned a spot in the state tournament scheduled for June 2-4 at Little Creek Park in South Charleston).

TCU’s Lance Davis pitched a three-hit shutout in a 4-0 win over WVU at Kendrick Family Ballpark, ending the Mountaineers’ eight-game win streak.

WVU will play its final regular season game today at noon.