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Remove the challenges for our young families

Data is a tricky thing. Sometimes it can present a complicated picture. That is the case with two WalletHub studies, one on “2024’s Best and Worst States to Have a Baby,” the other on “2024’s States with the Best and Worst Early Education Systems.” For the latter, West Virginia is sixth-best in the country. Wonderful. For the former, we are a wretched 45th. For the study on babies, WalletHub looked at 31 measures of cost, health care accessibility and baby-friendliness. West Virginia was 21st for cost, 38th for health care, 30th for baby-friendliness and 48th for family ...

Rallying to get back to school

It’s just a matter of days until area schools open for the academic year. That can be a stressful time, and that’s why area school districts, churches, nonprofits and businesses work to find ways to improve the overall experience for everyone involved. A big help is the back-to-school rally. They’ve now become a rite of late summer, with just about all districts in the region holding one. The formula is simple — each event is filed with activities for students and their families, ranging from food trucks and other vendors to face-painting and the chance to dunk a teacher or ...

Being better prepared for our children

Regardless of headline-grabbing tragedies, lawsuits and bureaucratic identity crises, no one would argue West Virginians don’t care about ALL our children and want the best for them. So, while there is a great deal of work to do, it is encouraging to hear from the state Department of Human Services that implementation of WV PATH has been completed. West Virginia People’s Access to Help is the first in the country to offer a comprehensive child welfare information system. In this case, child welfare refers to the various supports available for children and families through ...

Don’t leave money on the table

In the past few weeks, many West Virginia residents received two of their favorite annual reminders — a postcard-sized bill that shows the amount of tax owed on your home or any land you own, and also a separate bill showing what is owed on your personal property — cars, trucks, car trailers, etc. It is important to understand how and when to pay that personal property tax bill on your vehicles so that you qualify for a full credit on your 2025 state income taxes, as provided through tax relief approved by lawmakers in 2023. The tax relief provides a credit, starting in the 2024 ...

Making police work more difficult

Video of former Monongah, W.Va., Police Chief Nathan Lanham arresting Beth Delloma last week is stunning. It shows a woman confused and afraid as Lanham curses at her, points a gun at her, appears agitated, grabs a sledgehammer to smash her windows while she is sitting in the car, and finally chases her down, slams her to the concrete and very roughly attempts to handcuff her. The offense for which she was being pulled over was an expired registration sticker. But Delloma knew — as most women have been taught — that there is a risk of carjackers impersonating police. So, when ...

Justice financial issues a concern

Gov. Jim Justice has remained popular in West Virginia even with a long list of business issues dogging him in recent years. On one hand, the Democrat-turned-Republican Justice has overseen a span in which significant economic growth has taken place and new ventures have been announced. The state budget — which was anything but stable in 2016 — has been stabilized. Revenues have been so strong that Justice and the Legislature have been able to make significant tax cuts for both individuals and businesses. And the personal property tax we pay on our vehicles is now available to be ...