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Be your own best advocate

Editorials

It’s hard to know where to start when it comes to tackling the many challenges that are holding back West Virginians. There’s a new metric, a new study nearly every day that shows us how very far we have to go. But it’s important to use that information to help us change things — to show us where “the way things have always been” has gotten us. Among the more recent studies was WalletHub’s “States Where People Spend the Most and Least on Health Care.” Mountain State residents who already know we are among the most unhealthy in the country can guess where we wind up ...

Guest column: Ending the electric vehicle mandate

Local Columns

Oftentimes in Washington, promises made go unkept, and priorities fall to the wayside as politics take over. I’m proud to have worked in tandem with my colleagues and President Trump to make good on a promise I made. On May 22, Congress struck down a key aspect of the Biden Administration’s nationwide EV mandate under the Congressional Review Act (CRA). This is a win for American consumers and protects Congress’s constitutional and statutory oversight authority over federal agencies and unelected bureaucratic overreach. How did we get here? More than 50 years ago, Congress ...

When will rail safety be a priority?

Editorials

Norfolk Southern says it still expects site restoration in East Palestine to be “substantially complete by early/mid June.” This despite additional monitoring wells being installed as recently as the end of March, and sediment and surface water monitoring that continues to show evidence of the catastrophic derailment that occurred there more than two years ago. Charts made available by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency show there is still visible sheen on affected waterways — in fact, instances of heavy sheen being observed as late as April in part of Sulphur ...

Banketas deserving of honor

Editorials

Chances are, if you have spent any amount of time in Weirton over the years, you have seen a building, community landmark, or project that has been touched by Tom Banketas. From serving on the Weirton Sanitary Board, to designing local business developments, to establishing community gardens, to financing and overseeing much of the construction of the current Weirton Christian Center, and contributing to an uncountable number of charitable organizations and efforts, Banketas’ generosity and work has touched many in the community. What sets him apart, even more, is that, despite all ...

Improve dental health in W.Va.

Editorials

We’ve all heard the jokes about West Virginians’ dental health that plenty of us rushed to call unfair and untrue. They’ve been around for generations. The problem is, there is some truth to the idea that we’ve got a problem here. WalletHub’s “States with the Best and Worst Dental Health (2025)” notes the Mountain State is not quite dead last, but close. We are 49th, ahead of only Mississippi and Arkansas. We are 38th for dental habits and care, and dead last (51st) for oral health. West Virginia is 50th for the percentage of adults who visited a dentist in the past ...

The summer concert season is upon us

Editorials

No matter what style you like to listen to or your preference for performance, there will be plenty of opportunities to enjoy live music in beautiful outdoor settings across the Tri-State Area during the next several months. The Brooke County Area Chamber of Commerce helped to kick things off on Memorial Day with the launch of this year’s Monthly Monday Music Madness and a performance by Twice As Nice at Follansbee Park. Shows will continue June 16, June 30, July 14, July 28, Aug. 11, and Aug. 25, alternating between Follansbee Park and a spot near the log cabin in Wellsburg. The ...