Notes from A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier

—President Trump is scheduled to make a brief appearance at the Greenbrier this evening. His remarks will be at the Salute to Service Dinner, which is part of the PGA Tour event this week at the resort. Trump and Governor Jim Justice, who owns the Greenbrier, have built a relationship in recent months, one that

Manchin’s middle ground on Supreme Court pick

West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin is not only in the midst of a difficult re-election campaign, he’s also a key player in the high-stakes battle over who will replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Republicans hold a narrow 51-49 advantage in the Senate and the President could lose one or two moderate Republicans

How the State of West Virginia wasted $1 million of your money

West Virginia state government is an easy target for the criticism of “waste, fraud and abuse.”  Often when individuals—especially politicians—make those claims, they cannot back them up with documented instances of how government is frittering away our money. However, occasionally we do get examples of just how wasteful our government can be. Consider the report

House Judiciary faces weighty challenge with impeachment

The state Legislature’s first impeachment inquiry in 29 years is underway. The charge to the House Judiciary Committee is to determine whether there is enough evidence to bring articles of impeachment against members of the West Virginia Supreme Court. The public interest will be served best if the committee and the full House (and ultimately

A brief history of impeachment in West Virginia

The West Virginia House of Delegates has voted unanimously to begin impeachment proceedings against indicted state Supreme Court Justice Allen Loughry. House Resolution 201 is clearly aimed at Loughry, since he is facing a 22-count federal indictment charging him with padding his expense account, using a state car for private purposes, lying to investigators and

WV wastes $1 million on unused property rental

The West Virginia Auditor’s Office has found that the state kept paying to rent office space at the Middletown Mall in Fairmont for almost three years even though the state had canceled the lease and had moved out. The snafu cost taxpayers nearly $1 million. Auditor J.B. McCuskey’s office determined that the state canceled a

Court decision means a fairer way to collect sales tax

Main street West Virginia received some long-awaited good news last week when the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair that will allow states to apply their sales tax to internet purchases. For years online sellers have been able to avoid collecting state sales taxes if they had no physical presence

The Telecommuting Governor

Governor Jim Justice lives in Greenbrier County, but the state Capitol is 110 miles away in Charleston, and that’s a problem. Article 7, Section 1 of the West Virginia Constitution speaks to where the state’s Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, Commissioner of Agriculture and Attorney General must live while they are in office. “They

How the Loughry charges rise to a federal case

The indictment of West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Allen Loughry brings to mind the legal truism that the cover-up is often worse than the crime. A federal grand jury has returned a 22-count indictment against the justice with ominous sounding charges like mail fraud and wire fraud. However, a closer look at the indictment shows

Remembering John F. Kennedy and West Virginia’s birthday

West Virginia is indelibly linked with John F. Kennedy.  It was Kennedy’s victory in the 1960 Primary Election here that propelled him to the presidency.  Kennedy spent a month campaigning here to prove that a Catholic could win in a state that was predominantly Protestant. As the JFK Library said of Kennedy’s campaign in West

Justice protects pay raises from being eroded by PEIA

Last February, Governor Jim Justice issued a freeze on Public Employee Insurance Agency premiums and out-of-pocket costs. The freeze was in response to pressure from school teachers, service workers and public employees who faced higher healthcare costs in the new fiscal year. Justice said the state would hold the line on health insurance costs through

What I did on my summer vacation

My son, Ben, lives in Austin, Texas, which is great because Austin is one of those amazing cities that you love to have an excuse to visit. It bills itself as the “live music capital of the world,” but also boasts great restaurants and bars, outdoor recreation, the University of Texas and the State Capitol,

“I wish Hoppy would…”

So, I’m on vacation and will be out all week. The able T.J. Meadows is filling for me.  But I had a thought: Please complete the following sentence:  “I listen to Hoppy and read his commentaries.  I wish just one time he would…”

Morgantown City Council’s costly green agenda

Morgantown City Council is moving rapidly toward a questionable and controversial purchase of 40 acres of woods adjacent to the city.  Council voted 6-1 Tuesday night to move ahead with a plan to pay $5.2 million for the property, most of which is outside the city limits. Supporters on council say the forest can serve

Allen Loughry and “The Sordid and Continuing History of Political Corruption in WV.”

One of the books in my office that I reference often is by Allen Loughry.  “Don’t Buy Another Vote.  I Won’t Pay for a Landslide. The Sordid and Continuing History of Political Corruption in West Virginia.” The 532-page tome has served as an excellent reference on public officials who have broken the law, failed the

Supreme Court passes on wedding cake, but ensures government neutrality on religion

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday in the case of Masterpiece Cake Shop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. In the 7-2 decision, the Court found in favor of Colorado baker Jack Phillips, who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple because it violated his religious beliefs. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote a narrow

Justice blames Commerce for RISE failures; Gen. Hoyer now in charge

After months of confusion and delays in the RISE WV long-term flood recovery efforts, Governor Jim Justice has vowed to get the program moving “at lightning speed.”   “Give us a month and watch what happens,” Justice proclaimed at the end of a lengthy news conference Monday to try to sort out the RISE mess. This

Justice administration floundering on long-term flood relief

RISE WV, the long-term recovery effort following the devastating flood two years ago this month, should be providing a badly needed hand up for West Virginians who lost their homes and for communities that were heavily damaged.  But instead it has degenerated into an example of how something so well-intentioned can too easily slip off

End of the week short takes

–Figures out from the Tax Foundation show that West Virginia collects $1,048 per capita in state income taxes.*   That ranks West Virginia 26th among the states.  Taxpayers in every surrounding state pay more per capita, with Maryland the highest at $2,200.  Our state government will collect an estimated $1.86 billion through personal income taxes this

Local flood relief agencies exasperated over delays; Gov kick-starts RISE

The stories continue to surface about problems with RISE WV, West Virginia’s long-term flood recovery program.  Jack Lipphardt, director of West Virginia United Methodist Disaster Recovery, told our Brad McElhinny, “We’ve been frustrated with them for quite some time.” Lipphardt said his organization was told one year ago that RISE WV would have hundreds of