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Electricity’s Shocking Truth

A dear friend of mine is fond of telling the story about the day he learned about electricity. Lots of us are curious, perhaps overly so, of this mysteriously powerful force that flows through wires and then lights and heats and cools our homes, cooks our food, and powers so many things we rely on. My friend thought sneaking up on a smiley-faced outlet in his home and poking a fork into it would be a smashing idea. And so it proved. He was blown — literally — back and I like to imagine his hair curled with little wisps of smoke. All of us here at the Public Service Commission ...

The Republican Party Is Becoming the Party of Labor

President Trump invited the leader of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to speak at the 2024 Republican National Convention. As a party, Republicans should fully support President Trump’s endorsement of organized labor unions. Three years ago, I created the West Virginia Republican Labor Caucus and was rebuked by some fellow members of my party. Now, we are all witnessing a realignment of American politics after events at the 2024 RNC, with an emphasis on organized labor unions. The Republican Party, an organization historically supportive of the corporate elite, is now ...

Manchin Plays Presidential Ping-Pong

The evening of July 21 when national media outlets were reporting that sources close to U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin said he was considering switching back to being a registered Democrat to challenge Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination for president, I knew to wait a day. Earlier that day, Manchin, I-W.Va., had hit the Sunday morning talk shows to urge President Joe Biden to suspend his candidacy for president, calling on Biden to “pass the torch.” By that afternoon, succumbing to weeks of pressure from actual Democratic leaders following a disastrous debate with ...

Marshall Memo: Money Matters, Street Paving and Back to School

Moundsville City Manager Rick Healy attended a meeting of the Moundsville Lions Club this past week in which he discussed “Great Things in the City.’’ He spent time discussing the overall general condition of the city and also some exciting endeavors upcoming. It was pointed out that the city had just completed its fiscal year on June 30, with the City Manager happy to report that the revenues continue to be strong, finishing at $11.17 million, which was over its budgeted amount. “Our Business and Occupation continues to be our largest revenue source, coming in at just over ...

Don’t Squander Opportunity With Opioid Settlement Funds

With Hillbilly Elegy author and Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, being selected as Donald Trump’s running mate, the topic of opioid abuse in Appalachia is once again front and center. So how are we doing as a state in our handling of the opioid epidemic? The good news is that West Virginia has sizable reserves to spend on drug treatment and addiction prevention. As a result of a lawsuit initiated by state attorneys general, the state received more than $1 billion from a legal settlement with the drug wholesalers and manufacturers—some of whom referred to their victims as ...

Made in America Must Include ‘Mined in America’

Mineral supply chains are reshaping how we think about energy security. Supplies of lithium, graphite, copper, and rare earths—among many other essential metals—are already dictating the speed of energy technology deployment and creating new global centers of industrial strength. Conversely, the race to secure access to these minerals has exposed glaring supply chain vulnerabilities—none more acute than those here in the United States. As the world begins the pivot toward fully electrified economies, U.S. oil production has reached an all-time high. But our production of many of ...