Forty-nine years ago the celebration of Earth Day began, bringing the environment to an awareness level never before seen. Before Earth Day was recognized, cities and towns across America, many of which were in our Tri-State Area, were covered with smokestacks, with sludge and smog polluting ...

Some 2,000 years ago, an itinerant preacher in the Middle East was crucified for, as his executioners put it, claiming to be a king. There was no immediate worldwide news coverage of the event. There were no live images beamed to televisions, tablets and cell phones around the world, no ...

There were plenty of happy faces to be seen earlier this month when Eastern Gateway Community College held its annual Give Kids a Smile event. Thanks to the program, more than 70 area children who have no access to dental insurance were able to receive free oral health screenings, X-rays, ...

Hancock County commissioners — and residents of the county — should want to know more about a reported vacancy on the Parks and Recreation Board. Commissioners were notified of the vacancy last week, through a memorandum from board President Jeffery Wargo. It contained the information ...

West Virginia Ethics Commission personnel conduct training sessions for public officials periodically. Special sessions on ethics laws in general and on the Open Meetings Act were are being held this month. One reaction to such educational programs may be that common sense would tell most ...

Any opportunity to give our youth an edge when it comes to preparing for their future is well worth the effort. With that thought, we are grateful for the continuing work of the Weirton Area Chamber of Commerce in organizing programs for our local high school students. The chamber’s Youth ...

Tax Day 2019 has arrived, and you’ll have to be sending in those returns with payments or seeking an extension today. It’s also the day after Tax Freedom Day in Ohio, five days after Tax Freedom Day in West Virginia and one day before Tax Freedom Day in Pennsylvania, which falls right in ...

We’re fortunate to have several chambers of commerce working to improve the business climate throughout the region and helping to promote our local communities. Two of those organizations — the Weirton Area Chamber of Commerce and the Wellsburg Chamber of Commerce — showed their ...

Project Bootstraps was started in 2010 as an effort to offer the insight local entrepreneurs need to become small business owners. Those who attended the previous presentations were able to hear from successful owners of area businesses. They talked about the sacrifices and commitment that ...

No thoughtful judge or appeals court justice wants to become involved in a confrontation with a governor. It is understandable, then, that Kanawha County Circuit Judge Charles King is not delighted about a lawsuit he must handle. Filed by House of Delegates member Isaac Sponaugle, ...

While some local-level officials in West Virginia seem to be all too eager to spend disaster relief money illegally, the state cannot seem to use it quickly enough. Last week, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin complained that the federal government is dragging its feet in releasing more than $106 million ...

Former West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Allen Loughry has begun seeing the other side of the criminal justice system. Last Friday, he reported to a federal prison in South Carolina, where he began serving a two-year sentence for misdeeds committed while in office. Loughry was sentenced ...

It was ironic that just days after Gov. Jim Justice proclaimed this to be “Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Awareness Month,” West Virginians were given evidence of why that matters to us. Last Thursday, federal, local and state officials revealed some work being done by a special task ...

Do you know someone who has received a liver, a heart or, maybe, a cornea implant? Chances are you do, as organ donations in the United States are continuing to grow, and more than 35,000 were performed during the past year. However, thousands and thousands more await transplants — more ...

West Virginia University’s role in improving lives and our state as a whole through education is obvious. WVU has made an enormous difference in that regard. Less recognized by most Mountain State residents, however, are the contributions of WVU researchers. They have not gone unnoticed in ...

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month nationwide and a good time to put down that cell phone Cell phones aren’t the only things that can distract a driver. The list includes water bottles, the radio, foods just purchased at a drive-through or the family dog sitting on the driver’s ...

Most public officials learn quickly that they cannot please everyone. There simply is not enough taxpayers’ money to go around. Brooke County commissioners came under fire this week because of their decision not to provide funding to the county Economic Development Authority during the ...

No one was really sure what to expect when the idea of First Fridays on Fourth was proposed last year. The monthly festival along Fourth Street in Steubenville quickly caught on, however, and since its beginning in May, has become a must-attend event for residents from across the Tri-State ...

Everyone has items in his or her home which might be too big or difficult to toss out during the regular weekly garbage collection. From small pieces of furniture to appliances and other household items, there might not always be good options to get rid of them, forcing the pile of discarded ...

Giving a tax break to big marijuana businesses that allegedly have a financial advantage over small ones makes absolutely no sense. Yet a bill passed by the West Virginia Legislature would have done just that. Gov. Jim Justice was right to veto the measure. Any attempt to resurrect it ought ...