WV Trending in Right Direction on Covid

West Virginia is making progress in tamping down the Covid-19 virus. Governor Jim Justice pointed to several of the key indicators during his briefing Monday. —The number of active Covid-19 cases has declined for 16 straight days, down from over 29,000 early last month to 20,615 according to yesterday’s numbers from DHHR. —Hospitalizations from Covid

West Virginia Braces for Biden Climate Change Policies

Joe Biden is following through on his promise to be the climate change president.  He has already issued a series of executive orders on the environment and has pledged to achieve a 100 percent clean energy economy with net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. These measures will have a dramatic impact on West Virginia. West Virginia

Biden Called Out For Plethora of Executive Orders

President Joe Biden has been busy during his first days in office signing a flurry of executive orders, everything from health care to climate change to racial equality to immigration. He signed 22 just in the first week, which is almost twice as many as the last eight administrations put together in their first week.

Judge Makes Right Call in Back-to-School Case

Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Carrie Webster this week refused a request by the state’s two teacher unions to block the return-to-school mandate issued by the state Board of Education. Judge Webster clearly agonized over the decision, but she concluded that the unions were not able to show that the order to return reached the

How West Virginia lost $25 Million in Risky Investments

Venture capital investment is risky. Investors put money toward startups and emerging companies with the hope that the businesses will flourish and there will be a return on that investment. When looking for more secure investing options, visit check here a new post about gold trading. The general rule is only put in money you

Positive Pub for West Virginia

Too often when I see a headline in a national publication that mentions West Virginia, I hold my breath.  We have all read many stories over the years that portray the Mountain State in a poor light. But there were two national stories this past weekend where West Virginia shined. The New York Times prominently

A Way-Too-Early Peek at the 2024 Governor’s Race

It is unlikely you are thinking about who might succeed Jim Justice as West Virginia’s Governor when his term expires, however, for potential candidates it is never too early.  With apologies to those of you who would like to put politics behind you for a couple of years, here is my way-to-early list of potential

WV Struggles To Get Covid-19 Doses for Seniors as Federal Rollout Flounders

On his first day in office, President Joe Biden released his National Strategy for the Covid-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness.  One of the seven parts of the plan calls for a “safe, effective, and comprehensive vaccination campaign.” Hopefully, the new administration will do a better job distributing the life-saving vaccines because the rollout on the

Coal, Utilities Hit With Double Whammy

Two important events have happened in the last few days that will have a direct impact on West Virginia’s energy-based economy and our state’s residents: Joe Biden was sworn in as President of the United States and a federal appeals court struck down a Trump administration rule that took a more reasonable approach to the

Biden’s Inaugural Speech Challenge

President-elect Joe Biden delivers his inaugural address later today, and it is an immense challenge. The country is divided, and polls show anywhere from one-half to three-fourths of Republicans who voted for Trump do not believe Biden won the election legitimately. Regardless of what he says today, it will be difficult for Biden to convince

Marshall Hires a Football Coach; Is His Race Part of the Story?

Marshall University has hired Charles Huff as the next head football coach, replacing Doc Holliday who was fired after 11 seasons. Some of the news stories about Huff included the fact that he will be the first African-American head coach in the program’s history.  Others did not reference Huff’s race. And thus, another example of

Republicans Close In On Democrats in WV Party Registration

The West Virginia Republican Party will overtake the Democratic Party in registration within a matter of months.  That will be a milestone in the dramatic shift in the state’s political makeup for nearly a century. Numbers from the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office at the end of December show the state has 467,438 Democrats

Teachers Union Challenges Back-to-School Order

For West Virginia school children to receive the best education available they need to be back in the classroom with a trained, dedicated teacher in front of them. But as our state continues to struggle with containing the virus, there are lingering questions about when and how school should resume. The State Board of Education

So, When is it a Good Time for Impeachment?

We heard plenty of arguments for and against impeachment of President Trump during debate in the House of Representatives Wednesday. The most substantive one focused on whether Trump was responsible for inciting an insurrection at the United States Capitol while Congress was codifying the presidential election results. Rational people can disagree about Trump’s role, and

The Perplexing Problem of Public Education During a Pandemic

West Virginia’s approach to public education during the pandemic has been confusing, to say the least. Last semester, counties followed a weekly map from the state Department of Health and Human Resources to determine whether they could have in-person instruction. The map changed often as the number of Covid-19 cases ebbed and flowed, leaving many

Impeach Trump Now

I caused quite a kerfuffle on MetroNews Talkline Monday when I said that President Donald Trump should be impeached, removed from office and barred from holding office again. Sixty-nine percent of West Virginians who voted in the 2020 election supported Trump, so I knew there would be hell to pay. There was, and there will

Georgia Election Elevates Joe Manchin’s Influence

Joe Manchin was not on the ballot in Georgia’s hotly-contested Senate runoff election last Tuesday, but he emerged a clear winner anyway. The victories by Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff splits the U.S. Senate evenly—50 Democrats and 50 Republicans. The Vice President votes in the case of ties—Kamala Harris for at least the next

Delegate Derrick Evans… You’re out!

“We’re in!  We’re in!  Derrick Evans is in the Capitol.” And with that, West Virginia House of Delegates member Derrick Evans announced to the world via cell phone livestream video on social media that he was part of the mob that broke in to the United States Capitol Wednesday. Two days later, the Justice Department

A Sad Day For America: Trump’s Stain

We lost something in America Wednesday. Did we really see angry hooligans swarm the United States Capitol, inspired by the President of the United States? We did. We are a republic, one that (supposedly) cherishes democracy, the rule of law, the peaceful transfer of power. But that is not what we witnessed Wednesday, not even

Bring on High School Sports

(Today’s commentary is by Joe Brocato, Metronews Sports) No one will dispute the fact that the top priorities of state officials at this time should be protecting vulnerable populations from COVID, distributing vaccines in the most efficient ways possible and creating safe environments for students to return to classrooms for in-person instruction. High school sports