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Celebrating our cultural heritage

Area residents can take a trip around the world this weekend, just by visiting Weirton. After a hiatus of a few years, the Festival of Nations is making its return Saturday, providing an afternoon of live entertainment, food, and more, reflective of the melting pot of cultures represented in our region. Organized by the Weirton Area Museum and Cultural Center, the festival will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Millsop Community Center, and there is no charge to enter. The Festival of Nations has a long and storied history tied to the Weirton community. It’s original ...

Enjoy a local spring theater production

Auditoriums in our area’s schools again are being filled, as our high and middle schools offer their annual spring productions. The presentations offer a great opportunity for relatives, friends and area residents to support our school districts while enjoying the talents of area students. A look at this year’s schedules has shown a wide range of titless, including “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” “Newsies,” “Anastasia,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Sister Act,” “Bettlejuice” and “The Crucible.” Each of these productions represents the ...

Lawmakers need to focus on business

“With the Legislature back in session, it’s important that lawmakers focus on policies that will ignite our workforce and strengthen Main Street.” Gil White, National Federation of Independent Business West Virginia state director, was responding to news that small business job creation weakened nationwide in February. “The ongoing worker shortage continues to impact West Virginia small business owners’ ability to serve their customers and grow their businesses,” he said. Data from the NFIB Jobs Report showed 38% (seasonally adjusted) of small business owners reported ...

The legislative clock is ticking

This weekend marks days 32 and 33 of the West Virginia Legislature’s 60-day regular session. After quick movement the past few sessions on issues important to West Virginia’s future, lawmakers have, at least to date, focused primarily on social and cultural matters along with a few election-related items. These are not bills that will help your average West Virginian pay their bills, nor items that will provide opportunities for youth to remain here. That’s important to note. The election-related matters included a ban on ranked-choice voting — something that wasn’t being ...

Keep judicial races nonpartisan

Members of the state Senate sent a clear message to voters Wednesday: We don’t trust you to become informed enough on your own to elect judges; and we think so little of you that we believe you can be swayed solely by looking at the letter after a candidate’s name. Back in 2015, state lawmakers (with a brand new Republican majority) did the right thing by making judicial elections nonpartisan in West Virginia. At the time, House Bill 2010 was understood by so many to be the ethical and responsible step to take that it passed the House of Delegates 90-9 and the Senate 33-1. Today, ...

Congratulations to our young leaders

The youth are the future of our community, and, as such, should be provided with every opportunity to learn and prepare themselves for whatever path they choose in life. We are, therefore, fortunate, that the Weirton Area Chamber of Commerce has offered a program to do just that. For almost 30 years, the Weirton Chamber has organized Youth Leadership Weirton, a seven-month program providing guidance and mentoring through sessions focused on life skills such as teamwork, goal setting, and ethics. Bringing together 30 sophomores from Weir, Madonna, Brooke, and Oak Glen high schools, ...