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Build economic freedom for every West Virginian

As a business owner, common sense conservative, and lifelong West Virginia Republican, I have witnessed a remarkable transformation as Republicans achieved supermajority control of our state legislature over the past decade. When my father, former Congressman David B. McKinley, served in a Democrat-dominated legislature in the 1980s and early 1990s, Republicans barely had a voice — with as few as one or two senators out of 34 and as few as eight or nine delegates out of 100. Today, Republicans hold supermajority control over both houses of the Legislature and all statewide ...

The importance of business guidance

This past week, around 80 juniors from area high schools gathered at the Holiday Inn Weirton-Steubenville and Undo’s to receive a few lessons in the hope it would better prepare them for their future. Each year, the Weirton Area Chamber of Commerce’s Education Committee organizes the Dr. Barbara A. Matey High School Business Symposium, bringing together students from West Virginia, Ohio, and (sometimes) Pennsylvania for a full-day workshop. During the day, they hear directly from members of the local business community who speak with them about proper ways to prepare for a job ...

Your story isn’t over; turn the page and keep writing

On April 16, we observe World Semicolon Day, a day that symbolizes hope and resilience for those facing mental health challenges. The semicolon, used when an author chooses to continue a sentence rather than end it, represents the decision to persist through hard times and adversity. This symbol has become a powerful emblem in the mental health community, signifying that one’s story is not over. In Ohio, the need for mental health awareness and resources is pressing. Approximately 1,906,000 adults in our state live with a mental health condition—more than four times the population ...

Medicare Advantage helps West Virginia retirees, seniors, and communities

As a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and a public-school teacher, I’m keenly aware of the need to help support our retirees as they transition from their careers to their golden years. In West Virginia, more than 50 percent of eligible Medicare seniors have chosen a Medicare Advantage plan. Most retired state employees, as well as retirees coming from public and higher education, who are Medicare eligible access the high-quality, affordable health coverage that they need to help make that transition a smooth one through Medicare Advantage plans provided by the West ...

Warner expresses frustration over Morrisey’s veto of election transparency regulation

Democracy dies in darkness. Elections are influenced by money. When those two altruisms converge, we’re left with a society that is subject to the desires of the wealthy elite who know how to “play the political influence game.” On April 1st, Governor Patrick Morrisey, my colleague on the Board of Public Works, vetoed a rules-bundle bill containing dozens of agencies’ rules that have been published for public review and comment for at least 8 months. Included in that rules bundle were updates to long-standing, common-sense campaign finance rules that aim to increase ...

If you had three wishes … what would they be?

When we are little, our parents tells us fairy tales as we lie awake in bed, listening to their every word. We are young. We are impressionable. We believe their every syllable. Why? Because they are our parents, our first teachers. They provide the first values that we have. And while we are lying in bed, listening to their voice, they impress upon us thoughts of princesses and magical kingdoms. Happy endings, always. But then we grow up. We ultimately learn that life is not a fairy tale, and many of us are filled with disappointment. We discover that those happy ...