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Hoppy Kerchavel: Is It Good To Be The King?

The kingdom was preparing to celebrate its birthday. Grand celebrations were planned. However, inside the castle, the king was unsettled. He shifted uneasily on his newly acquired throne. The gold-leafed, jewel-encrusted gift had arrived only days earlier after the king’s family secured lucrative investments in the donor’s kingdom. For the king, it was just another successful deal. But there were grumblings among a growing number of his subjects. They frowned upon his personal enrichment that went beyond any previous kings. They were angry about higher prices for everyday goods, ...

State Treasurer Larry Pack: Universal Education Freedom Arrives In Mountain State

We have now passed the June 15 deadline marking the end of the application period for 100% funding of the Hope Scholarship program for the 2026-2027 school year. This year’s application closure is distinct from the rest because it is the first year of universal eligibility, meaning that every school-aged child is eligible to apply for the program. Access for all students was an intentional final step of the program’s implementation, providing ample time for developing a structure that would best serve nearly 30,000 students. It’s proven to be good foresight by lawmakers who ...

John McCabe: Is Downtown Wheeling Finally Finding Its Rhythm?

For most of this past Saturday, downtown Wheeling just felt different. A trip through the central business district and parts of Center Wheeling Saturday afternoon and evening showed the sidewalks full. Restaurants and bars buzzed with conversation. People wandered from one venue to another, laughing, greeting friends, discovering new businesses and enjoying a day filled with live music. Families celebrating West Virginia Day at West Virginia Independence Hall mixed with others making their way through downtown streets. Most importantly, people stayed throughout the afternoon and ...

Hoppy Kerchavel: Congress Must Act On Social Security

Washington’s policy-making debate is often a tangle of jargon, hyperbole, shape-shifting rhetoric and outright lies. All that makes it difficult, if not impossible, for the average concerned citizen to understand what is going on. And that makes the most recent report on the financial status of Social Security refreshing … and deeply disturbing. The annual report by the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Trust Funds issued earlier this month is a fact-based finding and easy-to-follow explanation that should concern all ...

Gov. Patrick Morrisey: Answering America’s Call for Increased Energy Demand

When America needs power, West Virginia answers the call. Our miners, power plant workers, and engineers have built the strongest economy in the world. We power factories, win wars, keep the lights on, and make modern life possible for generations of Americans. But for too long, our workers were told their industry was outdated. Leftists in Washington said they’d put us “out of business.” We were forced to take a backseat on the future while others took the lead. That ended with the election of President Donald J. Trump. The clean coal comeback started with President Trump, ...

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito: Holding Broadband Providers Accountable

Rural America is a special and unique place, filled by a collection of small towns united by their desire for freedom and determination to take care of one another. No state in our union displays this better than my state of West Virginia, which I am honored to serve and fight for in the U.S. Senate. West Virginia is the only state in America entirely encompassed by Appalachia and is recognized around the world for the kindness of our people, the strength of our communities, the trust we place in one another, and the beauty of our mountains. Our natural landscape and features have even ...