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Hoppy’s Commentary Archives


WednesdayJanuary 3, 2024

A positive sign in the state’s demographics

West Virginia continues to lose population, but the state is also gaining population. Yes, that sounds contradictory, but let me explain the results of the latest U.S. Census figures for our state. First, the state’s overall population remains on a steady decline.  The Census data show that West Virginia’s population as of July 2023 was

TuesdayJanuary 2, 2024

I’m still here… again

So, I didn’t retire… again. I reread my commentary from a year ago where I talked about retirement and ultimately decided not to. I wrote then that I had “regained a deep appreciation for my job.” This year, I did not have to “regain” that appreciation; it was already there. But I do think more

MondayDecember 25, 2023

The commentary takes a holiday

Folks, the daily commentary will be on holiday through Monday, January 1, 2024.  I hope all of you daily and occasional readers and commenters have a blessed Christmas and a brave New Year! Hop

FridayDecember 22, 2023

The Christmas when the fighting stopped

Has there ever been a Christmas when there was no war, no fighting in any corner of our planet?   It’s difficult to imagine since the world’s history has been a series of conquests and defenses. But there was once a Christmas when the fighting did stop, when enemies shook hands and laughed and even

ThursdayDecember 21, 2023

My Christmas wish book

(Editor’s note: This is a reprint of a commentary I wrote a few years ago.) This time of year always makes me think of the Christmas catalog. I’m not talking about the season-specific sale circulars you still get in the mail, but rather the all-encompassing catalogs that used to come from Sears, Montgomery Ward and

WednesdayDecember 20, 2023

Trump’s ‘poisoning our blood’ comment appeals to our worst instincts

Former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Durham, New Hampshire Saturday said this about people flooding into our country illegally: “They’re poisoning the blood of our country. That’s what they’ve done.” (The full quote is below.)* I try to never use comparisons to the Nazis and Adolph Hitler when trying to make a

TuesdayDecember 19, 2023

Grid warnings continue, but who is paying attention?

You cannot read or watch the news regularly without seeing stories about climate change. Those stories inevitably include quotes from officials and interest groups stating the urgency of replacing fossil fuels with renewables for power generation. Earlier this month, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Dubai that “There

MondayDecember 18, 2023

Border state abortions are on the rise

Data show that in recent years between 1,000 and 1,200 abortions were performed annually in West Virginia. But that was before the Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe vs. Wade and sent the abortion question back to the states. West Virginia’s legislature responded in September 2022 by passing a law that prohibited abortions except in very

MondayDecember 11, 2023

What is under Hoppy’s Christmas tree?

I’m off this week, so no commentaries and Dave Wilson will be filling in on Talkline. But, if you like, have some fun with this question: “What should Hoppy find under the tree on Christmas morning?” I look forward to reading your comments! Sincerely, Hop  

ThursdayDecember 7, 2023

Remember Pearl Harbor… and Lt. Jim Downing

Five years ago, Ray Chavez, the oldest U.S. military survivor of the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, passed away at age 106. His death reminded me of Jim Downing, who at 104 was the second oldest Pearl Harbor survivor. I interviewed the retired Navy Lt. when he came to Morgantown in November, 2017

WednesdayDecember 6, 2023

Words of advice on words

Merriam-Webster Dictionary has released its list of the words that defined 2023. At the top of the list was “authentic.” The dictionary’s website said “authentic” saw a substantial increase in 2023, driven by stories and conversations about AI, celebrity culture, identity and social media. I don’t know if we have a word of the year

TuesdayDecember 5, 2023

The political left’s uphill battle in West Virginia

Joe Manchin’s decision not to run for re-election to the United States Senate has cleared the way for other Democrats to get in the race. One of the entries is Zach Shrewsbury,* a Marine Corps veteran who leans to the far left of the political spectrum. When I asked him on Talkline Monday if he

MondayDecember 4, 2023

Two Jefferson County Commissioners show up for work… but only after a judge’s order

The Jefferson County Commission met last Thursday afternoon. Normally, the mere fact of having a meeting would not be newsworthy. However, it was in this instance because just having a quorum finally ended a stubborn and ill-conceived protest by Republican Commissioners Tricia Jackson and Jennifer Krouse. It is not as though Jackson and Krouse wanted

FridayDecember 1, 2023

Former Southern Regional Jail officers charged in inmates death

On February 28, 2022, 37-year-old Quantez Burks was brought to the Southern Regional Jail near Beckley on a charge of wanton endangerment. The following day, he was dead. A private autopsy determined Burks died of a heart attack after sustaining a severe beating. The story from correctional officers at the jail was that the injuries

ThursdayNovember 30, 2023

PAC attacks Jim Justice

The Club for Growth political action committee has kicked off its effort to try to help Representative Alex Mooney catch up to Governor Jim Justice in the race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. The conservative, pro-business PAC is spending $1.2 million to air an advertisement on TV and digital media called “Proof.”  The

WednesdayNovember 29, 2023

The ‘dirty’ job to green job myth

The number of coal mining jobs continues to decline. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, nationally there were about 90,000 coal miners in 2012, but that number has fallen to below 50,000 over the last decade. The number of miners in West Virginia has fallen from 23,000 to fewer than 12,000 during the same period.

TuesdayNovember 28, 2023

New weight loss drugs are promising, and expensive

West Virginia has a weight problem. Forty-one percent of state residents are clinically obese, which is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of greater than 30.  (18.5 to 24.9 is considered normal.) And West Virginians are not alone. The national obesity rate has increased 37 percent since 2004, while the youth obesity rate

MondayNovember 27, 2023

Neal Brown earns his keep

The biggest question going into the WVU football season was whether head coach Neal Brown would be able to keep his job. His record through four years was below .500 (22-25) and three of his four seasons ended with losing records. Yet there was this consistent desire by the University’s Director of Athletics to find

WednesdayNovember 22, 2023

JFK: May 29, 1917-November 22, 1963

  For West Virginians old enough to remember, today is a tragic anniversary. It was on this day, November 22, 1963, that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. Kennedy is more closely associated with West Virginia than any other President because of his famous 1960 campaign here. The young Senator from Massachusetts with

TuesdayNovember 21, 2023

We are losing an important voice in our communities

The pace at which community newspapers are going out of business is increasing. Axios reports, “The decline of local newspapers accelerated so rapidly in 2023 that analysts now believe the U.S. will have lost one-third of the newspapers it had as of 2005 by the end of next year—rather than 2025 as originally predicted.” Axios