John McCabe: A Quick Look at Spending in Marshall County Schools

July 18, 2026

It was interesting to read Wednesday that Marshall County Schools already is planning to get its five-year excess operating levy, which does not expire for nearly two years, on the ballot for renewal this fall during the midterm general election. School districts typically choose to run levy renewals, when possible, during primary election cycles, when fewer voters turn out to cast ballots. Certainly, if the levy would fail (I would not expect that to happen), this does give time for the board to get it back before voters again in the 2028 primary election. In the meantime, our ...

Sen. Laura Wakim Chapman: Data Centers: To Regulate, Or Not To Regulate. Is That Even A Question?

July 11, 2026

I was, like you, blindsided by an “announcement” of a 100-megawatt data center going into the Centre Foundry in Warwood. As your Senator, I attended the recent Warwood community and Wheeling Council meetings because I wanted to hear residents’ questions and concerns directly. My job is to find the facts, share them with you, and most importantly, listen to what you have to say. I will only support what is best for you, my fellow citizens in Warwood, and the Northern Panhandle. There was much discussion about the Power Generation and Consumption Act (HB 2014), which passed with ...

Sen. Patricia Rucker: Another History Milestone For School Choice In W.Va.

July 11, 2026

This year, June 15 marked an historic moment for education in the Mountain State as the application period for families to enroll in the Hope Scholarship for the 2026-27 school year ended. For the first time, every school-aged child in the state is eligible to enroll in the program providing necessary flexibility in education for every child. This universal eligibility is a huge part of what makes Hope the nation’s gold standard for educational freedom. Unlike other states, West Virginia intentionally chose to not pick winners and losers in school choice by ensuring every student could ...

Reporter’s Notebook: A Government Of The People …

July 6, 2026

Happy belated Independence Day. I hope your celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence was meaningful and memorable. Communities all across West Virginia celebrated in different ways, but much of the focus – and in some cases vitriol – was focused on the Capitol City Celebration that took place Thursday through Sunday at the same time as the Charleston Sternwheel Regatta was going on. As I have reported since May, Gov. Patrick Morrisey budgeted $2 million for the Capitol City Celebration, coming from the Governor’s Civil Contingency ...

John McCabe: Wheeling’s Place in Our Nation’s Story

July 3, 2026

I was perusing some files the other day (codeword for I was cleaning out my desk) when I came across the Wheeling 250th anniversary section we produced in 2019. I recalled the time and effort we put into that work, and the pride from our entire staff with the finished product. Those thoughts quickly shifted to pondering Wheeling’s impact — yes, Wheeling, which explorer Meriwether Lewis, during his visit here on Sept. 7, 1803, termed “a pretty considerable village” — on America as this great nation of ours this weekend celebrates its own semiquincentennial. Here in Wheeling, ...

Hoppy Kerchavel: Is It Good To Be The King?

July 3, 2026

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, ...