West Virginia’s economic news—the good and the bad

The recent economic news for West Virginia can be broken into four categories—excellent, good, caution advised, and bad. Let’s start with “excellent.” Local and state officials joined with representatives of Nucor Steel to break ground Friday on a $3.1 billion plant in Mason County.  Nucor is a Fortune 500 company (#102) and North America’s largest

The tyranny of political self-interest

These are particularly perilous times in the country. That’s unusual since we are not at war—technically. Yes, the Middle East is at a boil and Ukraine is fighting for its life, but we do not have American men and women on the front lines of those wars. The economy is chugging along. Naturally, one’s view

Substance abuse fuels foster care surge. Think tank searches for solutions.

West Virginia’s drug overdose mortality rate is the highest in the nation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that nearly 1,500 West Virginians will have died from a drug overdose from May 2022 to May of this year. In addition, thousands more West Virginians have drug problems. A survey by WalletHub found that

Hydrogen Hub Hopes

The announcement by the Biden administration of a $7 billion investment in the development and distribution of hydrogen as a major alternative energy source in this country has the potential to be a significant economic boon for our region. The federal government chose the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) in West Virginia, Ohio and

Why is Child Protective Services hiding?

Earlier this month, Kanawha County Sheriff’s Deputies were called to a home in Sissonville to investigate a report of suspected child abuse. When they arrived, Deputies made a shocking discovery—two young teenagers locked in a small shed. Another child, a three-year-old, was alone in the house. The children locked in the building had been deprived

Unforgettable Mountaineer Memories (the bad ones)

Long-time Mountaineer fans, me included, accumulate a body of memories. None of us can remember all the details of every game we have watched or listened to, but some are always with us. They occupy a secure space, ready to be recalled at a moment’s notice. One of those indelible memories was made last Thursday

Jefferson County Commission succumbs to Washington-style politics

The lede in a recent edition of the Spirit of Jefferson newspaper in Charles Town read as follows: “Is contentious, dysfunctional Washington, D.C.-style politics coming to Jefferson County?” The short answer is, yes. The commission is embroiled in a very public dispute over the appointment of a replacement to fill a vacancy on the five-member

Hamas attack provides moral clarity

One of the consequences of an evil act is moral clarity. Equivocations, uncertainty and justifications disappear as our view of life comes into focus. We can see things as they are rather than how we want them to be. For Americans, 9/11 provided that kind of lucidity. America and innocent civilians were targets of terror

Poll shows Justice with huge lead over Mooney

West Virginia’s Primary Election is still seven months away, but a new poll shows Governor Jim Justice with a near insurmountable lead over Representative Alex Mooney in the race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. The poll* of likely Republican and Independent West Virginia voters by the firm Fabrizio, Lee and Associates for the

Israel’s failure is a lesson for America

The brutal attack on Israel by Hamas is a violent and deadly reminder about the forces of evil in the world. The original Hamas Covenant issued in 1988 specifically called for Islam to “obliterate” Israel. When Hamas updated its charter in 2017 it softened the language somewhat, but the goal remained the same—destroy Israel. The

Joe Manchin’s difficult options

Joe Manchin is unfailingly optimistic. The veteran West Virginia politician relies on the power of his personality to win over friends and detractors and alike. He always believes, perhaps naively, that he can get individuals with competing interests together to work out a compromise. He always believes he can win an election, and he has

Justice dodges shutdown/CR questions

Members of Congress took a controversial vote last Saturday. They could either approve a 45-day continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded or vote against the measure, which would lead to a government shutdown at midnight. The vote was important, not only because of what was at stake, but also because it was a

Congress consistently fails on the budget

The stunning rebuke of Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker is yet another indication of the dysfunction of Congress. In this case, the House Republican majority was overruled by eight far-right renegades who claim they are trying to control spending. Of course, Republican concerns about the debt only occur when a Democrat is in the White

West Virginia’s food conundrum

When it comes to what and how we eat in West Virginia, there is a conundrum. West Virginia is above the national average in food insecurity, which is defined by the USDA as “a household economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food.” But West Virginia ranks above every other state

Teflon Trump

When people ask why politicians run negative ads, the answer is simple: Because they work. That is the conventional wisdom that has been proven time and again in countless races. Those ads typically present information about a political opponent that is designed to turn voters away from them. “You can’t trust candidate X because (insert

Shepherd University is ‘rightsizing’

West Virginia University is not the only higher education institution in the state going through a challenging “rightsizing.” Shepherd University in Shepherdstown is also trying to figure out how to deal with a pending budget deficit, while simultaneously meeting the needs of its students and increasing enrollment. Shepherd has long been a popular regional campus

Parkersburg wrestles with homelessness

Parkersburg City Council this week approved an ordinance designed to prevent the homeless from camping on public property.  Specifically, the ordinance prohibits sleeping, storing personal property or cooking for habitation purposes in city parks, parking lots, streets, sidewalks or under bridges. The council approved the measure 7-1 with Mayor Tom Joyce as a strong supporter.

Who is serious about reducing spending?

The infamous criminal Willie Sutton supposedly said he robbed banks “Because that’s where the money is.”  True or not, the answer got to the heart of the motivation for bank robbery. The United State Congress, primarily the U.S. House of Representatives, is engaged in a bitter budget dispute. If no agreement is reached by the

Bloomberg’s unattainable and damaging climate goals

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is donating $500 million dollars to a new Beyond Carbon campaign. Bloomberg wants to shut down every remaining coal-fired power plant in the country, slash natural gas plant capacity in half and block any new gas plants, all by 2030. Bloomberg’s millions will bypass Congress, which determines energy

West Virginia’s two Republican parties

It was not that many years ago that the Republican Party in West Virginia was an afterthought. Democrats held supermajorities in both the House and Senate. Republicans could fuss and fume, but Democrats had the numbers to do whatever they wanted. That paradigm has shifted completely in the last two decades. Republicans now hold 89