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Expansion of access off to strong start

“It will reach every address, every single address or you don’t get any of it,” said West Virginia Economic Development Secretary Mitch Carmichael. “This is a monumental leap forward to get every single address. And we’re doing it post-haste. As fast as you can move it.” Carmichael was talking about broadband internet access in West Virginia, now that the state is able to draw down $1.2 billion in federal dollars to tackle the problem. According to a report by WV MetroNews, federal officials were baffled at first by the approach taken by the state Office of ...

Put more focus on your mental health

Declaring an awareness month is easy. Using the extra attention given during that month to actually make a difference is another story. But state Department of Human Services Bureau for Behavioral Health officials are certainly trying during this Mental Health Awareness Month. West Virginia joins the national effort to focus on the theme “Where to Start: Mental Health in a Changing World,” which focuses on everyone’s right to feel supported and empowered as they seek help facing life’s overwhelming pressures. Resources are everywhere, but those who are struggling do not ...

Continue support for Brooke school levy

Voters in Brooke County are being asked to approve the renewal of a levy in support of Brooke County Schools as part of next week’s primary election, and we would encourage them to do so. The levy, as described, would generate just over $12 million per year over a five-year period. Please note, this is a renewal of a long-standing levy in the county, and not any new taxation on residents. These funds would account for more than one-third of the county’s annual budget, providing funding for the salaries and benefits of 17 professional positions and around 39 service personnel ...

More help needed for working moms

Across the country, mothers who work outside the home still have a pretty rough time of it, according to a recent report by WalletHub. Its Best and Worst States for Working Moms (2024) shows that while women make up nearly half of the U.S. workforce, and 74 percent of moms with children under 18 are also working outside the home, a woman’s average hourly wage is still only 82 percent that of a man’s. In addition, only 10.4 percent of the chief executives at S&P 500 companies are women. In West Virginia, mothers who also work outside the home face an even steeper uphill battle. In ...

Sending more kids to college

Fewer than 48% of 2023 public high school graduates in the Mountain State went on to attend college this year, according to a report by the state Higher Education Policy Commission. Believe it or not, that’s an improvement, albeit a slight one. According to a report by WV MetroNews, HEPC Director of Research and Analysis Zornista Georgieva said this year’s 47.4% is almost 1 percentage point higher compared to the 2022 graduating class. In fact, she said the data shows 36 of our state’s 55 counties showed increases in their college-going rates in 2023. Meanwhile, despite their ...

Still hoops in the FAFSA process

Delays and glitches in dealing with the federal government are nothing new for West Virginians. But we tend to get more fired up when those glitches are causing a problem for our kids. Parents who are trying to help their kids transition from high school to higher education may have run into the mess that’s been made of the rollout for a new submission process for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. FAFSA determines what kinds of need-based federal student aid to provide for college and university attendees and how much. That data is, in turn, used by states to figure out ...