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Reporter’s Notebook: Reading comprehension a necessity

Much like a lot of things these days, a speech given last week by West Virginia Board of Education President Paul Hardesty has become a Rorschach test depending on where you stand on the issue of public education versus “school choice.” During the state Board of Education’s regular meeting last week, Hardesty’s message was simple: if you believe in the notion of competition improving the quality of education, then lawmakers need to untie the hands of their local teachers and educators so they can better compete with private schools and home schooling. To demonstrate how ...

Making government more accessible

In my mind probably the only thing worse than having to attend/cover/participate in a meeting at 8 a.m. on a Saturday would be having to do so for a meeting at 7:30 a.m. on a Monday. Some of you may remember my frustration in January 2024 when Weirton Council decided to hold a work session early on a Saturday morning to discuss planning for the year. It was cold, and I was in no mood to be social anyway, let alone to listen and report on an essentially lame duck council throw out a series of ideas (many of which were never accomplished). We’ll see how I handle things this coming ...

Guest Opinion: The original AI: Newspapers run on accurate information

Artificial intelligence is going to transform everything we watch, hear and read. You can already see it happening. Asking and AI search engine a question about an obscure fact can yield quick and surprisingly detailed responses. Type in a cellphone model number and you’re suddenly a highly informed consumer. And when it comes to transforming legendary television show casts into babies, AI is world-class. But news? AI-fueled news poses problems. The first is that news is about reality. AI provides tools to bend reality. We’re seeing a wave of AI-abetted falsehoods and deepfakes ...

Guest Opinion: Local newspapers keep communities strong

Strong communities don’t just happen. They rely on connection — residents knowing what’s going on, businesses reaching the customers who keep them open and citizens having the facts to make good decisions. Local newspapers provide that connection in ways no other source can. In today’s fractured media environment, trust is the rarest commodity. Confidence in “the media” is low. Only 18 percent of Americans say they trust news on social platforms, and fewer than one in four trust cable networks. But nearly two-thirds say they trust their local newspaper — more than double ...

Guest Opinion: Energy growth through 2026

Projections for increased electric usage this year and next remain strong. The U.S. Energy Information Administration says American electric consumption this year and in 2026 will exceed the record for usage reached last year. Until 2024, the electric market essentially had been flat for most of this decade and at a very low point in 2020. The demand for electricity during the first two decades existed. But consumption levels were offset by efficiency improvements and other structural changes in the economy. Those changes included a shift away from traditional manufacturing in the ...

Guest Opinion: Reforms to West Virginia’s education laws are necessary

Well-educated students who are prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st Century are vital to our success as a state. Today’s students will have unprecedented opportunity to succeed in life if they are properly educated and prepared. This week, West Virginia Board of Education President Paul Hardesty pointed to important facts regarding the West Virginia school-age population and regulations regarding school funding. Mr. Hardesty correctly points out that in order to improve public education, legislators must remove regulations put in place by their predecessors that hamper student ...