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Finding Ways To Make West Virginia Fitter

As a few attempts to address West Virginia’s woeful health indicators and perpetually bottom-of-the-barrel quality of life rankings have made their way into public policy over the past year, lawmakers have continued to look for new ways to address the matter. As it seems these days everything must have a call back to some other well-known political slogan, the Make West Virginia Healthy Act of 2026 is meant to get ahead of some of our state’s worst health challenges. “We all know the numbers … West Virginia leads the nation in chronic disease, disability, preventable ...

Inclusion on Ice Keeps Growing

The smiles from hundreds of people who congregated at the Wheeling Park Ice Rink this past Sunday was evidence enough that Inclusion on Ice was another rousing success —and one that more and more people have enjoyed each year. The event, presented by Augusta Levy Learning Center, Easterseals Rehabilitation Center and the Wheeling Nailers and in its fifth year, allowed skaters of all ability levels to have fun in a safe, inclusive environment. This year was the events largest, with more than 600 people taking part in skating, bounce houses, face painting, food and more good times. ...

Fixing Ohio Food Deserts

Food insecurity may seem to many of us like a problem for someone else, somewhere else. For others, it is an urgent and very personal worry. A map produced by the Institute for Local Self Reliance shows there are food deserts in every state. In Ohio, they are growing. According to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal, the institute defines an urban food desert as a low-income census tract with at least 500 people or 33% of the population living a mile or more from the nearest supermarket, large grocery or supercenter; rural food deserts have the same parameters with the exception of ...

Punishment Must Always Fit Crime

Public corruption should always trigger outrage, regardless of the offender. When people entrusted with public dollars abuse that trust, the damage goes far beyond the financial hit. It erodes confidence in institutions that rely on credibility to function. That is why the stark contrast between two recent public corruption cases in our region is impossible to ignore — and deeply concerning. In one case, a former Marshall County assessor, an elected official, was sentenced to two to 15 years in state prison for embezzlement. That sentence properly reflects the seriousness of the ...

Time To Recharge West Virginia’s Workforce

Governments have only a limited number of ways to support private businesses — large or small. Whether we like it or not, spending taxpayer money is one of them. The question becomes whether the return is larger than the investment — whether that money is being spent prudently. So, one can understand one of the objections to state House Bill 4004, to create the Recharge West Virginia program, from a few who wondered whether it was a good use of taxpayer dollars to support private businesses by incentivizing them to upskill existing employees. (It is harder to understand those who ...

WVDOH Whiffed on Wheeling Suspension Bridge Update

The historic Wheeling Suspension Bridge has carried far more than vehicles across the Ohio River for 176 years. It has carried the city and even the state’s identity, our civic pride and even our nation’s history — all of which deserved more respect than they were shown this week. The West Virginia Department of Transportation announced Wednesday through an end-of-day email that, after more than six years of being closed for repairs and renovations, the bridge would be permanently closed to all vehicular traffic. That notice came after state officials held a closed-door ...