Breaking News

Opinion

Celebrating the legacy of E. Gordon Gee

Editorials

Monday marked the conclusion of an extraordinary chapter in American higher education as E. Gordon Gee stepped down from his presidency at West Virginia University. Spanning more than four decades and multiple institutions, Gee’s career has been characterized by visionary leadership, an unwavering commitment to student engagement, keen insight into the future of education and a profound impact on the nation’s academic landscape. Gee’s journey began where it ends — WVU. He first served as the university’s president from 1981-85. His leadership trajectory then took him to ...

Move over and slow down

Editorials

West Virginia drivers have known for years that when they see an emergency or other vehicle at the side of the road with flashing lights, they are to move over and slow down. Now, that law is even clearer about what is expected in such situations. Road maintenance workers are now also part of the law, which requires drivers approaching first responders or other vehicles stopped on the side of the road with lights flashing to move over one lane if possible, and to reduce their speed if not. “While AAA has been instrumental in getting Move Over laws passed in all 50 states, we have ...

Reminded how I omitted something last week

Local Columns

Last week, my column was written a little differently than those you have read these past two years. It wasn’t written how I usually express myself in this little corner of the paper. Yet, it was still something personal about my life. And it was still being able to share some of those little moments which I believe we all have in common. Either way, it was different. Maybe that was a good decision, or maybe it was an awful one. I can never be quite certain. I was explaining to a friend of mine who doesn’t read the paper what my column was about. I told him how the radio ...

Take precautions from sun dangers

Editorials

The summer season means many of us are spending more time in the sun. Before you head out, though, we ask that you take a few moments to pause and think about the toll all of those ultraviolet rays can do to your skin and your health. It’s especially important this time of year. The Skin Cancer Foundation reminds us that skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. More than 9,500 people are diagnosed with skin cancer each day — and more than two people will die of the disease each hour. Around 20 percent of Americans will develop skin cancer by the time ...

Musk’s American Party could be interesting

Local Columns

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is about to form a new third party after announcing his plan on the social media platform X, which he owns. It is registered with the Federal Election Commission and is expected to focus on two or three U.S. Senate races and about eight or 10 House seats in the 2026 election cycle. Heading up DOGE and wielding a chainsaw as he slashed one government program after another, Musk, before his fallout with President Trump, was dubbed the first buddy after pouring millions into Trump’s campaign war chest. In the previous elections, he had supported ...

Hope Scholarship participation set to double in size

Local Columns

With the Hope Scholarship application period underway, we at the Treasurer’s Office expect the number of participating students to increase this fall. Currently, we have about 10,500 students enrolled within the program and expect that number to nearly double for the 2025-2026 school year. That means about 7% of school-aged children in West Virginia will be participating in the program. Nearly 15,000 applied for full funding of the scholarship for the 2025-2026 school year. For those who support options in education, this is huge news. But numbers alone can’t tell the whole story. It ...