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Some Odds and Ends From Under the Dome

Today is the deadline for bills to be introduced in the West Virginia Senate. As of Sunday, we are now two-thirds of the way through the 60-day legislative session with less than three full weeks left. We’re also just over a week until Crossover Day, when bills must be passed by the body they started in and be sent to the opposite body in order to have any chance of completing the legislative process before the clock strikes midnight on Saturday, April 12, when the Legislature adjourns sine die. While things have been slow up to this point, expect things to start speeding up. The ...

Kandrach: America Is Facing Looming Port and Trade Catastrophe

During the pandemic, Americans learned how painful supply chain disruptions can be. Now, a newly proposed action from the Trump Administration could unintentionally make the pandemic’s supply chain disruptions seem tame. President Trump is looking to rapidly rebuild American shipbuilding. That’s an important goal since the erosion of U.S. shipbuilding — and China’s growing dominance in global shipbuilding—must be confronted. But the administration’s proposed plan could send costs soaring for U.S. consumers, grind U.S. exports to a halt, wreak havoc at U.S. ports, and ...

It’s Time for Wheeling to Stand Behind New Mayor

A recent opinion piece in The Intelligencer about Wheeling Mayor Denny Magruder left me scratching my head, so much so that I felt compelled to respond. It took an unusually aggressive tone and read as the grievance of someone still disgruntled over the outcome of Wheeling’s recent mayoral election. At the risk of drawing attention to something that lacked depth and insight, I’d like to offer a different perspective on the issues raised. The piece began by stating that it was not a personal attack on the mayor, but it proceeded to do just that. The writer raised concerns ...

Marshall Memo: Upcoming Trip to Dallas; Festival of Steel; and Charlie Brown

The “George Drinks Water” robotics team from John Marshall High School—Sophie Cunningham, Lilly Bergen, and Knox Wilson—took home the Design Award at the West Virginia High School Robotics State Championship this past Monday at Fairmont State University. That win punched their ticket to the VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas, Texas. Coach Cole Simms said, “I’m so proud of everything these students have accomplished this season. The dedication and drive to spend long hours studying, building, coding, and testing their robot is amazing.” The trio will head to the ...

What World Needs Is Forgiveness — and Love

On July 5, 2016, officers responded to a convenience store about 12:35 a.m. after an anonymous caller indicated a man selling music CDs and wearing a red shirt threatened him with a gun, Baton Rouge police have said. Two officers responded and had some type of altercation with the Black man in the parking lot, and one officer fatally shot the suspect. This resulted in the death of Alton Sterling, age 37. The U.S. Justice Department said the FBI’s New Orleans Division, the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana have opened a civil ...

Coverage of Riley Gaines Act Wasn’t Just ‘Clickbait’

Last week, we had the first of Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s bills be signed into law. Senate Bill 456, the Riley Gaines Act that defines “male” and “female” in State Code, is now the law of the land. We in the media are sometimes criticized by lawmakers for focusing on the social conservative bills over the other work that lawmakers are doing during the legislative session. And no doubt, some in the media do focus on bills with no chance of being taken up that are easy clickbait for people who wish to be outraged. But it is very hard to say that the press are unfairly shining a ...