Will legislators follow Jim Justice or Patrick Morrisey on tax cuts?

A special session of the West Virginia Legislature begins today in Charleston with a fair amount of uncertainty. Governor Jim Justice desperately wants to tack on another five percentage point reduction in the state income tax rates. That would be a crowning achievement for the popular governor, who is favored to win election in November

Legislators, Governor Justice are still searching for agreement on tax cuts

We are just a few days away from the planned start of a special legislative session called by Governor Jim Justice and there is still no consensus among the Justice administration and legislators for cutting taxes. Larry Pack, the state Revenue Secretary and a senior advisor to Justice on the tax issue, said on Talkline

Weight loss drugs remain out of reach for most West Virginians

We West Virginians need to lose some weight. That is not polite to say, and not something most of us want to hear, but the numbers bear this out. The recently released Adult Obesity Prevalence Maps for 2023 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the obesity rate for West Virginia is

The strengths and weaknesses of West Virginia’s economy

The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce has released its 2024 Campaign for Jobs Digest that includes key indicators of the state’s business climate and economic health. The report has a side-by-side comparison of how West Virginia fares against other states on 57 economic indicators. The data-driven report quantifies both strengths and weaknesses of the state’s

Political leaders ignore the approaching debt crisis

For the last several weeks, the national dialog in the presidential campaign has been filled with stories about whether or not Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio are eating residents’ pets. They are not. But there is hardly an utterance about how the national debt is eating our lunch. The federal government and its enabling politicians

Two West Virginians accused of storming the Capitol on Jan. 6 in their own words

Former President Donald Trump and his supporters continue to defend the actions of the January 6th insurrectionists. Trump has called the individuals charged with storming the United States Capitol to stop the transfer of power “hostages” and “patriots.”  He has said he will pardon the rioters “the first day we get into office.” As long

Democrat Steve Williams makes marijuana legalization an issue in the governor’s race

Democrat Steve Williams trails Republican state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey in the race for governor in West Virginia. A MetroNews Poll released last month had Morrisey leading Williams 49 percent to 35 percent with 16 percent undecided. However, Williams continues to try to shake up the race by taking definitive positions on controversial issues. First,

Two more West Virginia counties go red

Every month or so I check the county-by-county voter registration figures at the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office to see if the shift toward more Republicans and fewer Democrats is continuing. And it is. The August registration totals show that two more counties—Clay and Summers—have now flipped, although it remains close.  Clay has 1,896

West Virginia receives more than it gives

When it comes to federal money, West Virginia receives more than it gives… a lot more. The Rockefeller Institute of Government’s annual report looked at four major categories of federal spending: direct payments for individuals under programs such as Social Security and Medicare, federal grants to state and local governments, federal contracts and wages paid

Too many WV students are missing school and falling behind

New data from the West Virginia Department of Education quantifies what every teacher already knew: Students who attend school regularly perform significantly better than students who miss a lot of school. (Read more from Brad McElhinny here) Students with regular attendance consistently outperform students who are chronically absent, defined as missing at least ten percent

Backyard Brawl should be an annual game

The West Virginia University football program had humble beginnings.  WVU Senior Director of Athletics Content John Antonik writes in his book The History of the Mountaineers that a team was loosely organized in 1891. “In order to raise funds necessary to pay off the team’s debt from the first game, the team used proceeds from

Trump was unprepared for the debate

I am not a Donald Trump supporter, but if I were I would be profoundly disappointed in his debate performance Tuesday night.  Kamala Harris, who Trump has said is as “dumb as a rock,” repeatedly backed Trump into rhetorical corners over the course of the 90-minute debate. Time after time, Harris baited Trump, and the

West Virginia’s drug crisis extends to the unborn

The West Virginia First Foundation has begun accepting applications for grants intended to deal with the effects of the drug epidemic in the state, and not a moment too soon. The state’s drug overdose death rate per capita is the highest in the nation. Statistically on average, four West Virginians will die today from a

West Virginia voters are divided on abortion, but the legislature is not

A MetroNews West Virginia Poll suggests that the state’s voters view the abortion issue differently than their elected representatives. Shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade and sent the abortion issue back to the states in 2022, the West Virginia Legislature voted overwhelmingly to ban abortion except in rare circumstances. The

West Virginia middle and high school football players should have Guardian Caps

Last month’s tragic death of Madison Middle School student Cohen Craddock following a collision during football practice has focused attention on contact sport safety. Republican State Senator Mike Stuart, whose district includes Boone County, said he will introduce legislation requiring middle and high school football players to wear Guardian Caps during practice. The Guardian Caps

Slow down on those tax cuts

The West Virginia Legislature and Governor Jim Justice have been effective tax cutters. In 2023, the Legislature passed a bill reducing the state’s five marginal tax rates by 21.25 percent. That law also put in place a formula whereby if certain financial benchmarks were met, the rates would continue to decline. The state hit the

Justice sits in the driver’s seat in Senate race

A recently released MetroNews West Virginia poll shows that Jim Justice is a prohibitive favorite to win the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Joe Manchin. The poll shows the Republican Governor leads Democrat Glenn Elliott 62 percent to 28 percent.  Only ten percent either favor another candidate or are not sure. The support for

Less is more

Political candidates are fond of more—more votes, more campaign contributions, more media coverage, more time to talk and more words. Rarely does a politician subscribe to the advice of Spartan politician and philosopher Chilon who is credited with the proverb, “less is more” or “brevity is the soul of wit.” That is hard for many,

Morgantown on course to ban homeless encampments

Morgantown is about to become the next West Virginia city to adopt a broad camping ban in an attempt to clean up homeless encampments. The city council advanced the ordinance through first reading last week on a narrow 4-3 vote. The vote came after a contentious debate over several hours. Supporters believe the prohibition is

Our response to Gov. Justice

There is a natural tension that exists between the press and politicians. Reporters are often trying to gather information in the public interest that politicians either do not want to share or suspect will reflect poorly on them. Preferably there is a healthy respect, but sometimes relationships sour, and that is what has happened between