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Craig Howell: Time, patience, cooperation lead to project success

Local Columns

The City of Follansbee is able to move forward with some long-needed water infrastructure projects, with the official announcement made Monday during a press conference featuring Gov. Patrick Morrisey and local legislators. To make sure everyone understands the details, Follansbee previously had received approximately $1.3 million through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for improvements to the Hooverson Heights treatment plant. After going through multiple rounds of bidding, the city found it was still $500,000 short. Officials reached out through the avenues available to them, and ...

Do we need another option for a new bridge?

Local Columns

While transportation officials, state legislators and members of Congress have been deep into the process of planning a replacement for the Market Street Bridge, with a focus connecting an area in downtown Steubenville with an area of West Virginia Route 2 between Weirton and Follansbee, the Hancock County Commission decided to throw their own thoughts into the mix. As part of Thursday's meeting, Hancock commissioners approved sending a proposal which would use Brown's Island as a corridor for the bridge replacement. I wasn't really surprised when I saw the item on the agenda. As a ...

Craig Howell: Following a path to community leadership

Local Columns

As long-time readers know, I've been active with the Weirton Area Chamber of Commerce for many years and one of my favorite parts of that involvement is putting together its leadership programs. Each year, the Chamber organizes two such programs. Youth Leadership Weirton is open to incoming sophomores from Weir, Madonna, Oak Glen, and Brooke high schools. Applications are provided to the schools during the spring, with the program launching each September. For our business community, there is Leadership Ohio Valley. This program begins in early November, with sessions taking place ...

Craig Howell: Spirits of community, volunteerism were on display for holiday

Local Columns

Independence Day is a time to remember the nation's history. It's also about community. Our Ohio Valley communities show this each year with a variety of special celebrations, from grand fireworks displays to live musical performances, to street fairs, contests, and more. Typically, I find myself focusing solely on activities in Weirton, but some adjustments made in recent months resulted in my bouncing around a few of our local cities the weekend of July 4. That started in Weirton July 3, with the annual performance by the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra. Usually, I enjoy this ...

Gary Franks: Lightning will not strike twice in Maine as Platner steps down

Editorials

Thank God lightning will not strike twice the same spot - in reference to the character issue. Maine's Graham Platner was a seriously flawed Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate despite first being the choice of many Democratic leaders in the state and in Washington. It took repeated charges of sexual abuse to get Platner to step down as the party's candidate. Yet there was a part of me that "did" want him to be the Democratic nominee. It would show once again that the obvious was, well... obvious (like former President Joe Biden's declining cognitive abilities while in office). My ...

Michael Barone: Dropping candidates is not a sign of strength

Editorials

It's beginning to be a habit. It, in this case, is the messy business of center-left political jettisoning one leader suddenly deemed unelectable and, without resort to the usual rules or democratic procedure, designating a replacement. It's the process that came fairly close to giving Americans President Kamala Harris in 2024. It's happening not just here but all over the Anglosphere. While the American political firmament post-July 4 was preoccupied with demands for the ouster of Maine's Democratic nominee for the Senate, Graham Platner, our cousins in Britain were witnessing the ...