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We can’t afford any more losses

For well more than a decade, West Virginia has suffered under the weight of a substance abuse epidemic that is crippling individuals, families and whole communities. Politicians have made a great show of fighting it, yet the reality is we are as much in the grip of the monster as ever. “The bottom-line thing is we have not made enough progress on this crisis,” said Jeremiah Samples, a senior adviser to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance and a former deputy secretary for the former Department of Health and Human Resources. “We are nowhere near where we need to be, ...

Making real progress in serving residents

West Virginia might fall to the bottom of the list in plenty of categories, but increasingly we are leading the way in others. Among those is the improvement of residents’ interactions with the government through modern technology. To that end, the state Division of Motor Vehicles partnered with Champ Titles and Tyler Technologies to develop the country’s first digital vehicle title program. Among the reasons for developing the digital titles (and making them fully transactable) was to help car dealers and operators of large fleets stay organized and up-to-date. But the system ...

Hear directly from your candidates

We’re a little more than two months away from the general election, but candidates for offices in all levels of government are making their way into our communities. Whether it’s to place their signs, meet with constituents or take part in rallies, we will be seeing campaigns in full swing in the coming weeks. We encourage our residents, no matter their political leaning, to take advantage of these opportunities whenever they have a chance. Please don’t go with an intention of causing disturbances. Instead, attend with an open mind and take time to listen and learn. We have ...

Coming together over Sunday Dinner

It is always nice to see someone make an effort to make our communities more welcoming. The first installment of Sunday Dinner took place at All Saints Greek Orthodox Church in Weirton this week, and we hope this is a program which will grow and last for years to come. It’s a new ministry, started by the Rev. Matthew Moore, with a single goal in mind – to bring people together while sharing a meal. It’s not an effort to raise money or to spread a particular message. It’s just to provide a meal, and if you would like to eat – no matter your background – you can stop by and ...

State must better serve our youth

King Bureaucracy likes to play by its own rules. We all know that in West Virginia. But a recently filed lawsuit suggests it might also be ignoring a nearly decade-old law — to the detriment of Mountain State youth. Back in 2015, Senate Bill 393 was introduced on behalf of Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, and UNANIMOUSLY passed by the House and Senate. It required the Division of Juvenile Services, the former Department of Health and Human Resources and the Department of Education to track and record outcomes of truancy diversion programs operated and funded by the West Virginia Supreme Court, ...

Improvements still needed in schools

Now that a new school year is upon us in West Virginia, it is worth taking a look at how well we’ve been doing for our students. According to WalletHub’s “States with the Best and Worst School Systems (2024),” the answer is … not so great. Overall performance put West Virginia at 46th on the list. For those who were bracing for our usual dead last, that number might be a relief, but the scant improvement is not enough. Two bright spots in WalletHub’s report are that the Mountain State ranks first for the lowest dropout rate; and we are 20th for school safety. Other data ...