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Weirton budget showing a shift in priorities?

Weirton Council recently wrapped up a set of workshop sessions to discuss plans for the city’s 2025-2026 fiscal budget. While plans are not quite set in stone – council still must provide a formal approval this month before sending the budget to the state – for the most part, it appears as if almost every department will receive what they requested. The two major standouts of the approximately three hours of talks was that the Weirton Board of Parks and Recreation is set to receive the full $1.5 million it requested in support of operations for the city’s recreation ...

PAZ growth to benefit region

West Virginia’s Polymer Alliance Zone is growing, and that’s good news for counties along the Ohio River in desperate need of greater economic development support. With the addition of Ohio, Marshall and Wetzel counties, the PAZ now covers ten counties along the river — from Ohio to Wayne. No economic development zone in the state is bigger. “The addition of the three (Regional Economic Development partnership) counties is consistent with our goal to advance the core mission of PAZ, to attract new investments and foster the creation of new jobs for our citizens who live and ...

CON decision the right call

Members of the state House Health and Human Resources Committee did the right thing this week by voting down House Bill 2007, which would have repealed the certificate of need program that helps make quality healthcare accessible to all West Virginians. But on this matter, Gov. Patrick Morrisey is determined. “The fight to repeal Certificate of Need is not over,” Morrisey said in a post on social media Monday evening. “West Virginia currently pays more for hospital services than all but one state – while experiencing the worst healthcare outcomes. We must reduce the ...

Local food highlighted with Restaurant Week

Area residents should take the opportunity to pick up a meal or two next week from a local restaurant. Weirton Restaurant Week officially begins Sunday, with more than 20 local restaurants set to take part with offers of special, limited-time menu items and discounts for all to enjoy. The event was organized by the Top of West Virginia Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Weirton Area Chamber of Commerce as a way to highlight some of the many locally owned restaurants and eateries we have available in the Weirton area, and also to encourage residents and visitors to go out and ...

Crafting a vision for West Virginia energy

During the winter meeting of the National Governors Association, Gov. Patrick Morrisey showed his continued willingness to stand up for a “future for coal.” He spoke to Fox News Digital, saying he is “very hopeful” on coal partly because of what he believes is an impending information technology arms race with China. “And we have to catch up to what they’re doing in terms of the Chinese use of coal and many, many different types of fuel sources, because we can’t let them get ahead of us as they’re building capacity in AI, superintelligence, robotics and advanced ...

Lift the veil of secrecy at WVU

It was somewhat of a shock on Friday (Feb. 21) when Coastal Carolina University — in Conway, S.C. — announced that West Virginia University’s next president would be Michael Benson. This happened a day after WVU’s Board of Governors, in a self-imposed cone of silence as it sought a new leader to replace departing president E. Gordon Gee, announced it had chosen its finalist — but failed to disclose the candidate. Benson, who was Coastal Carolina’s president officially until this weekend, has accepted the job. He appears to be an excellent fit for both WVU and Morgantown, ...