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Legislative Intervention Needed on Email Issue

One of my favorite movies is Martin Scorsese’s “Casino,” with Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein running a major Las Vegas casino. The whole movie is great, but my favorite scene in “Casino” is a scene where a local county commissioner comes to visit Ace to get a relative of his reinstated as an employee at the casino. This employee was fired by Ace after the employee was negligent, allowing three gambling machines to be hit three times in a row. De Niro gives a line that continues to rattle around in my head. “Either he was in on it, or — forgive me for ...

Bringing Environmental Balance to Oglebay Park

Over the past several weeks there have been many news stories, editorials and social media posts regarding our limited purpose bow hunt. Many of these have been very impassioned by those both for, and/or against, the hunt. The limited responses from the Wheeling Park Commission management team has been primarily due to the respect we provided the court system as they determined the merits of the injunction that was filed. We appreciate the court’s prompt response as well as the fair outcome. After much research and review, we have decided to continue with the Limited ...

Marshall Memo: Pumpkin Drop; Fostoria Glass; and a Look 89 Years Back

Authors Gary Rider and Roseanna Dakan Keller have announced the release of their new book, “Memories of Fostoria Glass.” The authors will be at the Moundsville-Marshall County Public Library on Thursday, Nov. 9 from 3-5:30 p.m. to sign copies. “Memories of Fostoria” is the biggest volume produced by the authors to date as the book contains 373 pages of information from the company coming to Moundsville until Lancaster Colony closed the plant. The book contains more than 200 picture of the workers, leaders, the facility and the Fostoria Glass Museum, which preserves the history ...

When Will Enough Be Enough for the People of West Virginia?

Despite the challenges in many of the governor’s agencies, West Virginia is poised for positive with replacing Gov. Jim Justice. While recent indictments have shed light on areas that require a governor’s leadership presence within our state agencies, I am confident that an attentive leader in the executive who prioritizes West Virginia over his appointed buddies/lenders can address these issues head-on and move forward. This indictment of his director of the Center for Threat Preparedness was not the first sign of gross mismanagement of COVID dollars. As Senate Finance chairman, I ...

Scrutiny of Justice Is of His Own Making

One of the things I like to do with my weekly Reporter’s Notebook is take you behind-the-scenes of how I decide what stories I write. Two weeks ago, I wrote two stories involving major announcements and how properties owned by Gov. Jim Justice are in the mix. The first was an infrastructure project to connect the Morgantown Industrial Park to Interstate 79 via a direct interchange and a new bridge to connect the park to U.S. 119 and to I-68. It’s a much-needed project in a growing part of the state that already suffers from poor road conditions. But it turns out that Justice ...

Criminalizing Menthol Cigarettes the Wrong Move To Make

As a person with a vested stake in the upliftment and empowerment of the Black community and a history of working closely with youth, I feel an obligation to address the proposed FDA menthol ban and its potential negative impacts on our community. While public health concerns regarding menthol cigarettes are valid, the ban’s unintended consequences cannot be overlooked, especially concerning its disproportionate effects on Black Americans. Menthol cigarettes have a long, complicated and deliberate history within the Black community. It’s essential to recognize that their ...