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A letter to my grandson, please remember ...

Local Columns

Dear Layne: There is something I would like for you to know, something no one else may ever say that I believe you should hear at least once in your life. As your grandma, I feel it is my responsibility to let you in on a secret. And no, I am not trying to persuade you into changing who you are or who you will one day become. That wouldn’t be fair. Just please know this … in case no one else ever tells you. You are growing up in a completely different society than the one I grew up in, different than the ones your grandparents and great-grandparents lived through, ...

A tribute to Slugs Smarrella

Letters to the Editor

To the Editor, The recent passing of Joseph Smarrella is a great loss to the people he served as treasurer of United Steelworkers Local 1190 in the tri-cities of Steubenville, Weirton and Pittsburgh. He was known as “Slugs” to the community of Steelworkers where he worked for 40 years. What people might not have known was that he was a regional coordinator of a national, nonpartisan coalition of unions in 30 states. The coalition represented unions that fabricated products made from the steel mills in the Tri-State Area. The coalition included defense and aerospace workers, ...

Artificial intelligence is upending the job market, but this industry is hiring

Local Columns

Today’s college graduates face a startling reality. Many of the jobs they were hoping for are rapidly disappearing because of AI (artificial intelligence). As Mike Rowe of “Dirty Jobs” fame recently observed, “We’ve been telling kids for 15 years to learn to code. Well, AI is coming for the coders.” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg agrees. He predicts that most Meta code will be written by AI in the next 12-18 months. The great disruption is here. Many entry-level office jobs—from coders and analysts to researchers and writers—are being eaten by AI. The unemployment rate ...

Already falling behind in the brawl?

Editorials

Since the start of his term, Gov. Patrick Morrisey has promoted an “Economic Backyard Brawl” between West Virginia and its neighboring states. The mission, he said, is to make the Mountain State “the most attractive state to live, work, learn, play and run a business.” He likely didn’t expect one of those neighboring states to take the opening kickoff and run it back 90 yards for a touchdown. President Donald Trump recently visited Pittsburgh to announce more than $90 billion in new investments in energy and artificial intelligence in Pennsylvania. Nearly two dozen ...

Building a future for West Virginia

Local Columns

Hello, West Virginia, If we haven’t met, I would like to introduce myself. I am Michael T. Benson — you can call me “Mike” — president of West Virginia University. I officially started July 15 and I am amazed at how three decades of work in higher education across the United States have brought me, step by step, to the place I belong — the beautiful state of West Virginia in a position to lead its flagship, land-grant institution into a new era. My wife, Debi, is especially looking forward to experiencing the four seasons the Mountain State offers after our time under the ...

Stay informed of your government’s actions

Local Columns

All too often, people take an interest in the dealings of their local governments only when they feel it affects them directly. A handful of residents have been consistently attending Weirton Council meetings this year, speaking about the water issue. In the last month, between 20 and 25 residents took part in meetings held by the Weirton Zoning Board of Appeals over a proposed timbering project located on the hillside between Marland Heights and Freedom Way. The Hancock County Commission meetings were packed a few months back when it was announced there would be budgetary cuts to ...