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Hope floats in the West Virginia Legislature

Local Columns

Much as I predicted last week, the Hope Scholarship educational voucher program remains intact for the next fiscal year. Instead of recommending its first originating bill to reform the Hope program, the House Finance Committee recommended a new originating bill that only changed the payment frequency to Hope families from two times per year to four times. Some are saying the committee buckled under pressure from current home school and private school families. That’s a complete misunderstanding of what happened. The reason the first originating bill was drafted was to deal with ...

In need of a real plan for West Virginia

Editorials

It’s a story common for regions of West Virginia that border Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky. A recent college graduate of West Virginia University lands their first job in Pennsylvania. When it comes to deciding which state is more appealing on the tax front, the choice is clear: Pennsylvania. The same goes for Ohio and Kentucky. How many high-income professionals work in Wheeling, Parkersburg or Huntington, yet live in Ohio or Kentucky because of a lower personal income tax burden? And now, instead of proposing a meaningful plan to make West Virginia more competitive with its ...

Guest Column: Experience the experience of the PSC

Local Columns

The Public Service Commission has solved one of the age-old dilemmas facing newcomers in applying for jobs. You have a degree, but how do you get a job without experience? I’m glad you asked. The Public Service Commission wants you, and we are happy to provide you with the opportunity to gain the experience. Are you a newly graduated lawyer jittery about entering the courtroom? We want you. Are you a newly graduated accountant who is afraid of being shunted aside to count beans? We want you too, and you won’t be counting beans. Are you a new engineer without field ...

Guest Column: Tri-share model not going to solve child care

Local Columns

With $5 million in West Virginia’s proposed budget earmarked for expansion of the Tri-Share child care program, it’s time for an honest conversation about whether this is truly the best path forward for our state. West Virginia is in the midst of a child care crisis. Families are struggling to find affordable, high-quality care. Providers are fighting to keep their doors open amid rising costs and workforce shortages. Employers are feeling the strain as workers leave jobs because they can’t secure reliable care. The need for action is urgent. But urgency does not justify ...

There are a lot of difficult changes ahead

Local Columns

Change can sometimes be one of the most difficult, and also most rewarding, experiences of our lives. Our area has experienced much change over the year. The loss of the steel industry is one such change which has affected us all in one way or another. What once was the lifeblood of the Upper Ohio Valley and much of the surrounding region has almost completely disappeared, resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs and an exodus of people from our communities. The effects are still being felt, even as there are those who continue to look for ways to build toward a new, and hopefully ...

Local food highlighted with Restaurant Week

Editorials

Area residents should take the opportunity to pick up a meal or two next week from a local restaurant. Weirton Restaurant Week officially begins Sunday, with more than 20 local restaurants set to take part with offers of special, limited-time menu items and discounts for all to enjoy. For the second year, the observance has been organized by the Top of West Virginia Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Weirton Area Chamber of Commerce as a way to highlight some of the many locally owned restaurants and eateries we have available in the Weirton area, and also to encourage residents ...