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Opinion

Electric power demand, coal and natural gas should rise in 2026

Local Columns

The Public Service Commission of West Virginia hopes, on behalf of its staff, that you have a healthy and prosperous new year in 2026. We here are hopeful for a robust economy in the new year, with an influx of business developments and population to help expand the Mountain State economy. Some of our chief concerns, of course, include energy development and ensuring that electric power is available at prices we can afford in this new year. So far, the outlook looks robust, particularly for the production and usage of coal and natural gas. The U.S. Energy Information ...

Give the gift of blood in the new year

Editorials

If your New Year’s resolutions included finding small ways to do good more frequently, the American Red Cross has some ideas for you. You — yes, you — are needed, right now. A glance at the organization’s website reveals an alert that there is an “EMERGENCY NEED for type O blood” because winter weather has caused a decline in donations. There’s even a pitch that if you donate by Jan. 4, you will receive a Red Cross long-sleeved t-shirt; and if you give blood before Jan. 31, you can earn points to be used toward rewards. Local opportunities to give blood, according to ...

It’s time for West Virginia’s second quarter

Local Columns

As December 2025 draws to a close, we find ourselves at a historic milestone. One fourth of the 21st Century is now behind us. For many, the last 25 years have flown by, as it inevitably does, but with a speed that’s hard to fathom. Even so, the years in West Virginia have been marked by progress. At the dawn of this millennium, West Virginia faced what many called “insurmountable” financial hurdles. Our state had massive unfunded liabilities in retirement plans maintained for schoolteachers and other state retirees. We were, quite literally, mortgaging our future to pay for our ...

Looking forward into the new year

Local Columns

As we kick off the new year, I took a look back at my first column of 2025 in which I attempted to set a few goals – both personally and professionally – to carry me through the last 365 days. The bad news...I still have the same headshot photo this column has featured for probably the last 15 years. There were discussions to get something updated, but various schedule conflicts and other things came about and it quickly was forgotten. More people have commented on the continued use of the old photograph, especially since I’ve had my increasingly graying beard to accompany the ...

Local Columns

Well, we blinked. And just like that, another year has slipped through our fingers, joining the long line of years that came before it. But I’ll be honest with you ... this time around, I didn’t even bother keeping an eye on the clock. I didn’t hold my breath for the countdown, nor did I wait for that glittering ball to descend over a crowded Times Square. I’ve performed that dance more times than I can count. I’ve finally learned a hard-won truth: The simple turning of a page on a calendar has never actually mended a heart or fixed a problem. Not for me, ...

Putting the fight against opioids first

Editorials

If money is what it will take to resolve the damage done by the substance abuse epidemic in the Mountain State, we are sitting on an enormous opportunity through funds distributed by the West Virginia First Foundation. Just this month nearly $18 million in Momentum Initiative Grants was awarded to tackle the problem. In this round, there are 76 projects — some statewide, some regional — that will focus on foster care and non-parental caregiver initiatives, youth prevention, recovery housing, behavioral health and workforce development, and reentry and diversion programs. The ...