Breaking News

Local Columns

Bad Bunny could provide a good show

Those complaining about the selection of Bad Bunny for the Super Bowl halftime show in 2026 should probably take some time to look up the history of the feature. From Super Bowl I in 1967 to XXVI in 1992, these performances were primarily provided by college and high school marching bands, with the occasional guest performer or two. Many had special themes, such as the 1992 salute to the Winter Olympics with appearances by the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, or the 1990 Salute to Peanuts, or the 1987 salute to 100 years of Hollywood. In 1981, there was a Mardi Gra theme. That changed ...

Guest Opinion: Politicians fight culture wars, W.Va. loses jobs

A recent local news headline read: “Manufacturing plant moving from West Virginia to Ohio, creating new jobs.” This is an unfortunate sign of the times for our state, which has lost the job-creating momentum created after business-friendly Republicans took control back in 2015. Unfortunately, a lot of Republican politicians seem more focused on fighting culture wars and creating new opportunities for lawsuits than growing our economy. Even though a majority of West Virginia voters want their leaders focused on economic growth, many legislators prioritize hot-button social ...

Guest Opinion: In West Virginia, we check on each other

This past week was Mental Illness Awareness Week, and World Mental Health Day was Wednesday. It’s a helpful reminder, but the truth is West Virginians don’t wait for a calendar to do the right thing. We check on our neighbors. We bring a casserole and we bring a phone number. We don’t look away when someone’s struggling. We lean in. That’s who we are and how we live. Over the past year, the work of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in West Virginia has expanded with that same spirit. We’ve grown education and peer support so families have somewhere to turn. We’ve ...

It’s “perfect”ly fine to just be good enough …

We all strive to make every situation perfect, don’t we? We try so hard to make our life the best that it can be. But we have to realize that nothing is perfect, and “good enough” is good enough. When we are born, our parents immediately begin to instill in us all types of values. We are taught to be honest. We are told to be kind. We are instructed to sit up straight. We are reminded to always use the terms “please” and “thank you.” That one is something my grandson, Layne, has been doing since he first started to try saying words. We learn how we should ...

History in the Hills: Looking at our stuff

This past week was fall clean-up in Weirton, and my family certainly took advantage of that opportunity. I really hate to get rid of good things that still could be used. We tried our best to donate as much as possible, but sometimes, things just wear out, break and outlive their useful life. I am a collector and a saver, so I usually strip something down to its bare bones and save anything useful from something before trashing it. As a result of all this saving, I have amassed a collection of screws, nuts, bolts, washers, boards, trim, wires and scraps of various origins, just in case ...

Keeping the government open shouldn’t be a partisan fight

As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, one of my primary responsibilities is ensuring that our government is responsibly funded so it remains open and working for the people we represent, including the hardworking West Virginians. That’s why I’m deeply disappointed to see Washington once again stumble into a completely avoidable government shutdown — this time because Senate Democrats have refused to join Republicans in supporting a commonsense, short-term measure that would keep the government open. Let’s be clear about what this measure — known as a ...