It seems that news has been full of interactions between police and civilians that have gone disastrously wrong. That is why our area police forces’ Shop With a Cop events are such a breath of fresh air. It is a relief to see police interaction in a positive light. For the most part, our ...
Of course Congress should safeguard a federal program to help victims of black lung disease. But no amount of money from Washington can do more than ease the suffering of those afflicted by the malady and their families. So lawmakers also ought to be looking into why black lung, known ...
State Senate Majority Whip Ryan Weld is right in his desire to establish — or, rather, resume — a special type of court in West Virginia. His fellow legislators and the state Supreme Court should embrace his initiative. Weld, R-Brooke, plans to introduce legislation to establish a ...
Early last spring, thousands of West Virginia public school teachers stayed out of classrooms and took to the picket lines. They wanted and got higher pay. They also demanded someone “Fix PEIA.” Whether that will happen remains a question. PEIA stands for Public Employees Insurance ...
One should take those national ranking stories with more than one grain of salt. Too often they are based on quick looks at statistics, not in-depth examinations needed to tell a story accurately. Still, a new report from the WalletHub organization is interesting. It looks at how well states ...
State Board of Education members are considering changes in West Virginia’s public school funding formula. Needless to say, that has some educators in the 55 counties concerned. Board members have a variety of initiatives on which they would like to spend more money. They range from paying ...
Here in the Mountain State, parents are accustomed to having to make other child-care arrangements when public schools are closed at short notice. It is impossible to do much advance planning for snowstorms. So Gov. Jim Justice’s action Tuesday, in declaring that schools would be closed ...
For 16 years, the annual Christmas in the Park event held in Follansbee has offered residents of the Tri-State Area the chance to get an early start on the holiday season. Held in October, the festival provides a fun time for area families and celebrates the holiday season’s spirit of ...
The words President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered to a joint session of Congress on Dec. 8, 1941, remain as powerful and meaningful today as they were when they were first spoken some 77 years ago. Americans were stunned and still reeling from the news that Japanese forces had attacked ...
Gov. Jim Justice had it right Monday in announcing a new campaign against drug abuse in West Virginia. During a visit to Huntington, which seems to have had some success in battling substance abuse, Justice announced a new executive director of the state Office of Drug Control Policy. He is ...
When former President George H.W. Bush died on Friday, he left a legacy with much to recommend it. It is of a kinder, gentler nation fully capable of using an iron fist. Bush, our 41st president, was 94 when he joined his beloved wife, Barbara, who died earlier this year. Supreme Court ...
Thursday’s release of a list of predator priests who served in West Virginia is only a beginning for the Roman Catholic Church, in many ways. One of them is that the shocking, disturbing revelations in the list may — and should — make the list longer. Church officials say that was one ...
Nobody really looks forward to it. Thanksgiving rolls around and you grab the aluminum extension ladder out of the garage, climb into the attic and haul down boxes of lights and decorations and then freeze outside trying to figure out why one strand of lights won’t work. But, once it is ...
At this time of year when we’re bombarded with reminders of what the biggest and the brightest gifts for the holidays are, it’s easy to get gift-wrapped ourselves. We become so busy with the bustle of the season that we put blinders on, and we don’t see that while some of us struggle to ...
We’ve been reminded during the past week about the concerns that pop up when snow begins sticking on the road. And, while we’ve enjoyed a couple of milder days, drivers have to get a grasp on basic winter driving skills. Law enforcement reports driving too fast for conditions accounts ...
Government ought to be a reliable, friendly partner to businesses, especially those just getting off the ground. For too long in both state and national capitals, that has not been a guiding philosophy. Fortunately, the climate is changing in West Virginia. State legislators are much more ...
After a canvass of votes in the Nov. 6 election, incumbent Hancock County Commissioner Jeff Davis was named the winner over challenger Tommy Ogden, by a count of 5,064 votes to 5,054. But the 10-vote margin was close enough that Ogden thought it was worth a try to request a recount. Most ...
People experiencing severe, chronic pain have been victimized in two ways by opioid drugs. Good for West Virginia University researchers for concentrating on giving them some relief. Widespread use of opioids for pain relief during a period of several years resulted in some people ...
For loyal Democrats, it must be painful to realize that so much of the criticism of your party turns out to be true. No better Democrat ever drew a breath than the late congressman from Arizona and presidential candidate Mo Udall, who candidly observed, “When Democrats organize a firing ...
The hustle and bustle of the Christmas shopping season can wear thin on some people, and they might become tired of having to battle the crowds of all those other people who are searching for that perfect gift. Many of those people have given up — and decided it is better to purchase gifts ...