We made it through Election Day, and I have the following observations I’d like to make. After covering the first state Supreme Court elects under the nonpartisan category, it’s my humble opinion that the experiment failed completely. I was for making judicial elections nonpartisan. I ...
I spent the past week winterizing, a seasonal exercise that involves physical and emotional effort. Sometimes very emotional, very painful. After all, I am not a fan of the approach of cold weather, but I do realize that, like it or lump it big time, it happens, so get over it. Our local ...
Psalm 89:15-18 (15) Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, LORD. (16) They rejoice in your name all day long; they celebrate your righteousness. (17) For you are their glory and strength, and by your favor you exalt our horn. (18) Indeed, our ...
Tuesday is the big day. If you haven’t voted early, Tuesday is Election Day. I really need you to vote, because my poor mailbox just can’t handle the load of mailers. In one day, my wife and I received over 12 pieces of campaign mail for most congressional, statewide, legislative and even ...
On Halloween, I stopped at a store on my way home to buy some extra candy, anticipating that there’d be lots of trick-or-treaters out despite what would not be the best of outdoor conditions. What I realized, though, was that Christmas apparently is happening again this year, judging from ...
Our area is slowly rebuilding itself, and more people from outside of the Ohio Valley are taking notice. There aren’t going to be any major industrial operations employing several thousand individuals. Instead, the hope is to have numerous, smaller operations providing new types of jobs. If ...
I have chosen for this sermon an issue about which I feel strongly and one I deem to be very relevant to our current national condition. With the mid-term election just two days away, I am compelled to attempt to adjust our thinking and shed much needed light upon a valuable foundational ...
Last week I observed two separate press conferences by Gov. Jim Justice and came away pleasantly surprised. The statehouse press pool usually goes into these press events expecting to see the same patterns. There is usually a hype video that is usually thick on the Justice praise and thin on ...
It was a week of discoveries, of learning lessons, of finding things I was looking for and things I wasn’t. Today’s space is dedicated to some of them. These included: -- A key to an important thing. Not my house, not my car, but an important building. I had taken this key off my ...
I can honestly say this edition is a first for me. I’ve been managing editor of The Weirton Daily Times for about nine years now, and today is the first time I can remember us ever needing multiple pages for our Letters to the Editor section. As you’ll notice, this week’s letters are ...
"As a Catholic school, Weirton Madonna seeks to prepare its students for a successful future spiritually, intellectually, physically, and socially in the environment of a caring community in the service of the Gospel of Jesus Christ." Madonna seeks to improve upon this mission statement with ...
The nice thing about the hiatus of the impeachment trials of Chief Justice Margaret Workman, former justice Robin Davis and convicted Justice Allen Loughry is that I can finally focus on other issues. For example, the PEIA Task Force formed last March to solve the riddle of preventing health ...
Stay-cations are tough on a spouse. Having just had a week of October off — the one that was wildly warm and wonderful — I noticed this weighing heavily on Better Half. He just didn’t seem quite like himself, which is not to say he’s not a super nice guy and all, but he was ...
Around 2009, when I was starting West Virginia Watchdog, my first foray into the world of statehouse reporting, I made contact with a guy who wrote a book about West Virginia political corruption. I wanted to seek him out and get blanket permission to use the book as a source when doing ...
On Thursday, the Weirton Board of Realtors hosted a candidate forum at the Mary H. Weir Public Library. Several candidates were in attendance, including Kendra Fershee, Democratic candidate for U.S. House; Ryan Ferns, Republican, and Bill Ihlenfeld, Democrat, candidates for state Senate; Pat ...
Summer has officially ended, at least according to the calendar, even though we have been experiencing above normal temperatures lately. As the seasons change, the things we wear also change. Soon we will be wearing things like hats, coats, gloves, scarves, and boots. There are things in the ...
The Madonna circle builds and prides itself off faith in academics and faith in community involvement. The Madonna community always seeks out new ways to grow our family in union with Christ. This week, Madonna staff and seniors volunteered at the Table of Hope, Weirton Christian Center, and ...
In today's polarizing political climate, it may seem like there are few issues Republicans and Democrats can work together on. But on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, we are proving that is not the case. As the Republican chairman and an active Democratic member of this ...
Last week, West Virginia’s Republican Leadership announced a $100 million funding commitment that significantly stabilizes and strengthens Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA), as well as a proposed 5 percent pay raise for teachers and state employees. When passed, this will be the second ...
I’ll be spending the month of October going from trial to trial it seems. Almost every day there is a new motion, response, or lawsuit. Last week I went from covering the impeachment trial of Justice Beth Walker of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, to covering the federal trial of ...