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The water bill will come due, eventually

Not long ago, Weirton’s water system – and the people it serves - went through one of the worst winters in its history, with hundreds of line breaks and numerous water outages over a period of several weeks. People weren’t happy, and, eventually, the complaints found their way to the West Virginia Public Service Commission which held a public hearing in Weirton and launched its own studies of the system. Among its findings, the PSC ruled Weirton’s storage tank capacity is not sufficient enough to meet requirements of the city, that approximately 40 percent of the water lines ...

Keep up fight against opioid scourge

As West Virginians have waded through the battle against the substance abuse epidemic over the past several years, it has become clear there is fault to find at many levels — from “legal” drug dealers masquerading as doctors to pharmaceutical industry giants. That is, of course, in addition to the illegal drug operations that realized what was happening and seized the moment. As state attorney general, Gov. Patrick Morrisey did an excellent job battling companies such as Johnson and Johnson, CVS and Kroger — to name a few — in an effort that has yielded hundreds upon hundreds ...

Prioritize what we really need

While some are able to find numbers that show positive things happening for the economy, here in West Virginia, the reality is a little less pleasant. Some key indicators are downright disturbing. Workforce participation is steadily dropping. Unemployment is increasing. “These numbers are troubling,” said West Virginia Chamber of Commerce President Steve Roberts. “We’re seeing consistent signs of economic softening across several core industries. When the workforce is shrinking and job losses are sustained over time, we must treat it as a warning sign, and we must respond with ...

If you feel different, you drive different

“If you feel different, you drive different. Drive high, get a DUI.” That’s the theme of an effort by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to help local law enforcement be highly visible from now through Labor Day as they crack down on those taking the risk to drive impaired. Even in states such as Ohio where (despite lawmakers’ best efforts to subvert the voters’ will) adult-use cannabis is legal for recreational use, it is still illegal to drive under the influence. It doesn’t matter what substance is to blame. But, ...

Getting ready for football season

Our annual football edition will be included with your Wednesday newspaper, marking the return of local high school sports for 2025. The high school football season, which officially opens this week in Ohio and next week in West Virginia, will be the topic of many conversations and will occupy the hearts and minds of fans from all parts of the region for at least the next 10 weeks — and, hopefully, beyond. With all of that in mind, members of our local sports staff, led by Sports Editor Andrew Grimm, have spent much of the past several weeks conducting interviews, taking ...

Security measures being increased

It seems safety is on the minds of residents everywhere nowadays, whether you’re driving through your neighborhood or going on a lengthy journey. For many years, security measures have been established pretty much everywhere we go – many in response to major incidents and disasters – from airports, to hospitals, to even grocery stores. One of the more visible examples is when we visit our governmental offices, whether we’re greeted by a security guard watching a bank of monitors or made to walk through a scanning system. The City of Weirton is taking some new measures in an ...