Breaking News

Local Columns

Talking budgets with California on my mind

As you are reading this, I am vacationing with my wife and mother-in-law in Southern California, staying at a resort just south of Orange County. For my mother-in-law, this is a bucket list trip to dip her toes in the Pacific Ocean for the first time. For my wife, this is an opportunity to visit Disney Land and see Hollywood. For me, it is about reconnecting spiritually with my biological mother’s side of the family. My mother, Ethel Mae Glee Adams, died in 2019 due to complications from lung cancer, being a lifelong smoker. My grandparents on my mother’s side have been dead for ...

It’s officially time to write the next chapter

We often get quarterly financial reports from companies with some ties to our area, even if they don’t necessarily have a physical presence in the Ohio Valley, so I was expecting to see a release from Cleveland-Cliffs appear in my inbox sometime this week. What I wasn’t expecting in the email, which was sent out just after 5 p.m., Wednesday (just in time for a significant percentage of people to have left work for the day) was the one sentence blurb located at the bottom of a list of operational changes being made by the company: “In addition, the Company will no longer be ...

I wish everyone knew what being a mom is like

I once had a friend who used to tell me all the time that she never wanted to have children. She was adamant about it. Years later, she got married to a man who adored her. He soon became my friend, too. They were a happy couple. Never really argued. Always called each other by a pet name. They were always going to baseball, hockey and football games. They visited restaurants all the time. They would go on vacation to places they found interesting and stayed up late watching movies on tv with one another. They had time to do whatever they wanted to do. No one ...

History in the Hills: Remembering V-E Day

This past Thursday, we celebrated the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. V-E stands for Victory in Europe and was officially recognized historically on May 8, 1945. On that day, World War II in Europe ended with the surrender of the German forces. The war itself didn’t end with V-E Day, but rather, after Japan surrendered in August of that year. My wife and I have always been interested in this period of history and have been reading a lot lately on the subject. I finally found time to read Tom Brokaw’s book “The Greatest Generation,” describing the life and times of folks who were ...

Guest Column: The health of our state is the future of our state

West Virginia is a state defined by its strength. We know how to show up for one another. We know how to fight for what matters. And right now, nothing matters more than the health of our people. We are at a crossroads. Chronic disease rates remain among the highest in the nation. Mental health challenges are growing, especially among our youth. Rural communities are losing access to providers, and we are facing a wave of retirements in the very professions we depend on to care for our communities. Behind these statistics are families, neighbors, coworkers and caregivers facing ...

Guest column: West Virginia lawmakers should back Medicare Advantage

I have spent my career in the professions of insurance and law. These days, part of my efforts include helping seniors select their appropriate Medicare coverages. Healthcare access and affordability are critical for West Virginia retirees and seniors, which makes programs like Medicare Advantage indispensable. More than half of West Virginians who are eligible for Medicare choose to enroll in a Medicare Advantage program, mirroring national trends. Keeping this program strong and on steady financial ground is critical to protecting the health and wellbeing of hundreds of thousands of ...