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Making gains on higher education

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 ...

Clinging to fossil fuels won’t save West Virginia

A few West Virginians will cheer West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore’s latest announcement that his office has added even more financial institutions to his list of those ineligible for state banking contracts. But there is more to consider than just a little backward-looking political theater. Citigroup, TD Bank, the Northern Trust Company and HSBC Holdings now join BlackRock, Goldman Sachs Group, JPMorgan Chase and Co., Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo and Co. on the list of those that have, as Moore’s office puts it, boycotted fossil fuels companies. So, Moore thinks the ...

Honor Weirton’s dedicated residents

When you look at the names of those who have been enshrined in the Weirton Hall of Fame, you get a sense of the history behind the community. From E.T. Weir — the city’s namesake — to Vanessa Beaver, Kathleen Granato, the late Dr. Myer Bogarad, Karen Gould, Janice Torrance, Nick Tranto and Mayor Harold “Bubba” Miller — last year’s honorees —the list includes those who have made a lasting impact on the city. Organizers said the hall was created in 2008 as a way to honor those who have dedicated themselves to the service of others in Weirton. Their names are displayed ...

Don’t be distracted while behind the wheel

April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, providing a good reminder for everyone of the dangers of not giving full attention to the road. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 3,308 people died in distracted driving crashes in the United States in 2022. An additional 289,310 people were injured in traffic crashes involving distracted drivers. And those statistics get worse: NHTSA reports that 5 percent of all drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2022 were reported as being distracted at the time of the crashes. While a common perception is that the ...

A healthier future — if done right

Up and down the Ohio River Valley, communities have gotten used to seeing what comes out of the many industrial facilities that help support our economy. (And, to be clear, some of that is just water vapor.) We have also gotten used to the increased number of medical conditions some experts say are caused by those emissions. There are entire swaths of West Virginia where the residents refer to themselves as living in “Cancer Alley.” Poor, rural and minority communities have for centuries shouldered a heavier burden when it comes to the consequences of living near the economic ...

Put a focus on health education

Those who are organizing local activities that are part of Minority Health Month say the focus will be on health education and lifetime preventative screenings. Those are important things to pay attention to not just in April, but all year long. According to the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, the month is designed to build awareness of the disproportionate burden of premature death and illness in people from racial and ethnic minority groups, and to encourage action through education, early detection and control of disease complications. Maintaining a ...