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Area businesses will benefit from ‘bootcamp’

Local Columns

The “Business Bootcamp” series kicked off this past week with a session which would have been good for anyone looking to start their own business. Organized by the Weirton Area Chamber of Commerce, with support from the City of Weirton, Business Development Corp. of the Northern Panhandle, and First Microloan of West Virginia, the Bootcamp series was designed with the business community in mind – those who are looking to start their own business, as well as those who have been established for some time. (Here’s the part where I note my involvement in the Chamber as a matter ...

Guest Opinion: Protecting West Virginia’s youngest eyes

Local Columns

As an optometrist, I’ve had the privilege of seeing firsthand how clear vision opens doors to learning, discovery, and confidence. But I’ve also seen the heartbreak that comes when vision problems go undetected until it’s too late. That’s why I want to bring greater awareness to an often-overlooked issue: the eye health of our infants. The first year of life is the most critical stage for vision development. During this time, a baby’s eyes and brain work together to learn how to interpret the world. If vision problems are missed, the effects can last a lifetime—sometimes ...

Vaccine battle sets us on wrong path

Editorials

Two of the state’s top political leaders — Sen. Jim Justice and Gov. Patrick Morrisey — are now taking jabs at one another over the efficacy of vaccinations, with Justice, the state’s former governor, standing firmly behind the science. It is getting hard to understand Morrisey’s position on this matter — particularly at a time when he is working to make the state more attractive to business and more competitive with its neighbors. Morrisey’s executive order expanding religious exemptions for school vaccination requirements represents a worrisome departure from ...

Guest Opinion: West Virginia must act now and implement IDD rate increases

Local Columns

West Virginians with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) deserve the opportunity to live, learn, work, and thrive in their communities. The services that make this possible — provided by dedicated professionals across our state — are at risk. Unless the state implements rate increases for IDD services on October 1, 2025, more providers will be forced to close their doors, and families will lose the critical support they depend on every day. This is not a new issue. A 2023 rate study recommended a 31% increase to IDD home and community-based service rates. Providers ...

Be wary of tick-borne illnesses

Editorials

If you consider yourself to be a carnivore, the West Virginia Department of Health has given you yet another reason to be vigilant about avoiding ticks. Earlier this month, the agency reported multiple cases of the tick-borne Alpha-gal Syndrome, which can cause a variety of symptoms as a result of allergies to meat and meat products caused by the disease. This one is carried by lone star ticks — larger than deer ticks and with white spots on their backs. Worry over the disease is severe enough that the state health department issued an advisory Sept. 11, making AGS a reportable ...

Focus on needs, and do it fast

Editorials

“The program tackles the root causes of rural health care failure. It gives states the tools to design solutions that last, not Band-Aids that fail.” That was Dr. Mehmet Oz, on the speedily unrolled Rural Health Transformation Program that will make available $50 billion — a possible $10 billion per year to states — each fiscal year from 2026 through 2030. Four years of potential federal funding, half of which is to be distributed evenly to all 50 states IF they apply for it; and half to be distributed based on health care metrics. Federal officials have given states until ...