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Reporter’s Notebook: The 2026 Senate seat chase has begun

Attention is already turning to the midterm elections next year, which will determine whether Republicans can continue to hold the majorities in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. In West Virginia, that means that U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., is up for re-election to a possible third six-year term after winning election to the seat held by former senator Jay Rockefeller in 2014. I say “possible,” because she is beginning to get challengers to her right and no elections are sure things. The latest person to throw their hat in the ring is freshman ...

Guest Column: State senators worked hard for personal injury lawyer money

CHARLESTON – For more than 80 years, liberals controlled the West Virginia Legislature. Wealthy personal injury lawyers called the shots for most of the second half of this one-party reign, which drove West Virginia to last in nearly every economic category compared to other American states. During this era, these trial lawyers built lucrative empires off of a legal system rigged in their favor, pushing policies that scared off small businesses and increased costs for all West Virginians. A decade ago, conservatives took control of the West Virginia statehouse and worked to pass ...

Sundays are no longer what they used to be

Remember watching “The Andy Griffith” show? There would be certain episodes centered around days just spent sitting around on the front porch. And during these episodes, some weeks we would encounter moments where Andy was playing his guitar. Then once in a while, there was talk of ...

History in the Hills: The Start of Summer

I can’t believe this weekend is Memorial Day. It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating Easter and the first days of spring. Although the weather forecast is pretty cool this weekend to be sure, Memorial Day for a lot of us signifies the first days of summer. In my family, we usually spend the weekend at the pool; and on Monday, we would spend time at my grandmother’s home enjoying a picnic. In our area, summer is a busy time, and it’s a season I look forward to because there is so much to do. We spend a lot of time at the pool, working in the yard and spending time ...

Good news in plans for future bridge

Pretty much every major politician who has made their way through our area in the last year has found a way to emphasize the importance of infrastructure investment, with particular nods to the status of the Market Street Bridge. I tend to take anything a politician says with a grain of salt, preferring a wait and see approach to the campaign promises made while they are seeking election. This time, at least, it looks as if some of them were serious. Last summer, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito announced she had negotiated $87.5 million through the federal Bridge Investment Program to ...

Guest Column: The Supreme Court is deciding whether justice has a zip code

In my law office, I’ve met with families this year who came in not knowing if their children would remain U.S. citizens. Not knowing if a court ruling in one part of the country would protect them in another. Not knowing if the law still worked for them at all. That’s the real-world cost of a case currently before the United States Supreme Court, Trump v. CASA, Inc. 24A884, which asks whether federal judges should continue to have the authority to issue nationwide injunctions. Strip that away, and justice becomes a patchwork where the protection of the Constitution depends on where ...