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It’s Time for a New Direction in Wheeling

A $2 weekly user fee. Water and sewer rates increasing. Power rates that have increased about 50%, on average, over the past two decades. The cost of living in Wheeling, while still much lower than many other parts of West Virginia and across the nation, is now on the rise. And if the city, Ohio County and the surrounding region can’t find a way to attract new residents here — and soon — that burden only will increase and lead to additional issues for residents. A shrinking population, quite simply, leads to fewer residents shouldering more of the burden for essential government ...

Outlining County’s Future

One of the more interesting points to come out of this past week’s Economic Outlook Conference in Wheeling was this: Ohio County has the highest per-capita income in West Virginia. This information, shared by businessman David H. McKinley and based on economic data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, is a strong indicator of the county’s overall economic health. It is a good reminder that our region has many of the pieces necessary for growth and just needs that spark to unlock its true potential. “And the reality is 2025-26 looks even better than 2024-25,” McKinley ...

WVU Must Ensure It Is a Good Investment

West Virginia University President Michael Benson had a lot of big ideas in his first State of the University address this week. They come as he is in the middle of an effort to visit every county in the state — an important attempt to truly understand his new home and the state his university serves. Sure, it’s nice to learn the holiday lighting party will return to Woodburn Hall this year, but it is also encouraging to hear Benson has a realistic understanding of the challenges faced by the university, and the need to tackle them — with help from those who responded to the ...

MEC A Wonderful Wheeling Partner

As the Mountain East Conference held its preseason men’s and women’s basketball press conference at WesBanco Arena — the home of the MEC Basketball Tournament since 2019 ­— Commissioner Reid Amos discussed why the conference decided to extend its deal with the city of Wheeling for another three years. “(T)he outstanding support we’ve received from The Health Plan and CEO Jeff Knight and Dave Flatley who coordinates an organizing committee, the support we’ve received from the City of Wheeling and we’ve worked with the current mayor, Denny Magruder, when he ran WesBanco ...

Make Sure To Move Over

There are plenty of designated days, weeks and months meant to raise awareness and perhaps steer conversations toward finding solutions to some of our biggest challenges. For example, the third Saturday in October is National Move Over Day, according to a representative of AAA, who spoke with WCHS earlier this week. Lori Weaver Hawkins told the news station “That gives us an added way to really educate the public and bring awareness to this issue.” Ignoring the rules continues to prove deadly in West Virginia and everywhere, as Beau Evans with the Governor’s Highway Safety ...

Student Loan Issues Not Good for W.Va.

Among the concerns for some of those worried about their finances amid a federal government shutdown, continued increasing inflation, high interest rates and an unsteady jobs market, is the burden of student loan repayment. In West Virginia, that burden is especially heavy. According to personal finance company WalletHub, West Virginia carries the eighth most student debt in the country. The Mountain State is 25th for average student debt, but third for the proportion of students with debt and fourth for student debt as a percentage of income. Meanwhile, the state is 15th for the ...