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Requiem for Doug Skaff

I really wasn’t expecting to have to write, in essence, an obituary for former lawmaker and politician Doug Skaff last Tuesday. The accident that killed him remains under investigation, but by all reports it was a freak accident on I-79 near Weston. Skaff’s SUV went into the back of a semi-truck and despite trying to brake in time, it was too late. Skaff was only five years older than me at 48. I had known him since his first stint in the House of Delegates in what was once the largest of the multi-member districts covering Kanawha County. He was a rising star in Democratic ...

Let’s Strive To Be Fathers Our Children Always Look Up To

The evidence suggests that the role of a father in the United States is changing and that the male parent can contribute much more to the child’s development during the first months of life. At a Rotary meeting that I attended, a well-respected pediatrician stated that scientist have concluded that what happens in an infant’s first 100 days of life affects how the child’s brain is developed. After the child’s brain has been formed it is almost never reversed and becomes part of the child’s DNA, which is then passed on to the next generation. Of course, this is the most ...

Science Funding Cuts Affect Our Present and Future

Zebrafish are cool. They’re just one of a handful of animals that can regenerate their brain, spine, and even heart after injury. Unsurprisingly, a lot can be learned from studying how these injured organs manage to grow back properly. We also know many genes involved in regeneration are also present in a variety of cancers. So, on top of figuring out just how these animals know how to grow back what was lost, we might also gain insights into how to better tame tumor growth. My own research focuses on understanding how zebrafish fins, despite large differences in size and shape, ...

Marshall Memo: Knights of the Golden Horseshoe; Chamber Events; and Speakers

Four Marshall County students from Sherrard Middle School— James Lopez, Brady Barnhart, Kabe Blake, and Drew Marling—were knighted into the West Virginia Golden Horseshoe Society last Tuesday in Charleston during Golden Horseshoe Day. While in the capital, they enjoyed a special outing to a home game of Charleston’s minor league baseball team, The Dirty Birds. There, the students met West Virginia author and Rocket Boy, Homer Hickam, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Best known for his memoir “Rocket Boys,” which inspired the film October Sky, Mr. Hickam posed for ...

By Appointment Only

Continuing on from last week’s column on the certificate of need repeal drum beats, Gov. Patrick Morrisey added new appointees to a board that makes decisions regarding certificate of need applications submitted by current and potential health care providers for new services. Last Tuesday, Morrisey appointed former lawmaker Heather Glasko-Tully, former West Virginia Republican Party chairman Doug McKinney, and former Attorney General staffer Robert Cheren to the state Health Care Authority. According to State Code, the Health Care Authority — created by the Legislature in 1983 ...

W.Va. Lawmakers Should Back Medicare Advantage

I have spent my career in the professions of insurance and law. These days, part of my efforts include helping seniors select their appropriate Medicare coverages. Healthcare access and affordability are critical for West Virginia retirees and seniors, which makes programs like Medicare Advantage indispensable. More than half of West Virginians who are eligible for Medicare choose to enroll in a Medicare Advantage program, mirroring national trends. Keeping this program strong and on steady financial ground is critical to protecting the health and well-being of hundreds of thousands of ...