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Today we celebrate national ‘Let it Go Day’

I read online that today is national “Let it Go Day.” I can take that as meaning one of two things. First, I can let things go and not worry about them. Like the dishes or the laundry. Or running the vacuum or cutting the grass. Just let it go and not have to worry about it for those 24 hours. And yet, whenever I actually do put things off and instead, focus on myself and do things which make me happy for a little while, I feel as if I haven’t done anything productive with my day. It is as if I have thrown away the time God gifted me. Believe me, I would ...

The state is only making matters worse

Just when I think that the West Virginia Department of Human Services and the Governor’s Office can’t handle this situation surrounding the death of 14-year-old Boone County girl Kyneddi Miller any worse, something happens each week that makes me shake my head. I’m no lawyer, but to paraphrase the great comedian Lewis Black, I know how to read. While not being a lawyer, I am a former state government communications professional (four years for the Senate, one and a half years for the Secretary of State’s Office). I say that above in order to say this: DoHS could have kept these ...

Bidding farewell to a community friend

Following weeks of certificates, plaques, awards and other recognitions in honor of his contributions, the Weirton area is saying its goodbyes, this weekend, to Capt. Gene Hunt. For those who ever had the opportunity to meet Hunt during his five years heading up the local Salvation Army corps, they knew immediately he was not original to our region, as, despite moving around through his career, he has maintained his native North Carolina drawl. Despite that, he found a way to integrate himself into our communities in a way many of those who are born here never do. Not content just ...

Some can only remember on this Father’s Day

Today is Father’s Day. For many of us, it is an extremely difficult 24 hours to get through. When I think of my dad and grandfather who have been gone from this world for too long, I am filled with regrets of things I didn’t say and sadness for some of the things I did. For whatever reasons, my father and I didn’t share that closeness that some fathers and daughters share. Coming from divorced parents, there were times growing up when he was too busy to see my brother and me. Then, as an adult, I became too busy. Busy with work. Busy with my children. Busy with my own life. ...

Grateful for another year in journalism

We are now in June, which means I’m beginning my seventh year as your state government reporter in Charleston. And it continues to be a fun, wild ride. I remain thankful to Ogden Newspapers and its many daily and weekly newspapers here in West Virginia and bordering states that run my news stories and this weekly column. I’m also thankful for other newspapers in the state that run my articles, including the Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram/The State Journal and the Beckley Register-Herald. The newspaper industry has encountered many challenges over the last 25 years. The internet has ...

Government budgets are getting smaller, too

As the state and various other governmental entities approach the end of their 2023-24 fiscal year on June 30, there has been much attention paid toward their budgets. As our statewide reporter, Steven Allen Adams, noted in a recent article, West Virginia is on track to have a “surplus” of approximately $800 million (a sizable decrease from previous years) to start the next fiscal year on July 1. I put surplus in quotation marks because, as anyone who has paid attention to our reporting in the last few years would know, the Legislature has made a habit of setting aside a series of ...