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Appalachian Natural Gas Key to Energy Security

While not a Presidential election year, 2024 hopefuls are spending the summer of 2023 promoting policy solutions to win the hearts and minds of Americans across the country. Energy — and our country’s strategic advantage as the world’s largest natural gas and oil producer — remains a focal point on both sides of the political aisle. Why? Because access to energy is directly tied to human progress and economic well-being. Against the Independence Day backdrop, we celebrate the freedoms made possible by our energy abundance in America and our ability to share it with the ...

Higher Education Needs To Adapt

I won’t rehash what I wrote about over the weekend on West Virginia University’s financial issues. Needless to say, fixing WVU’s issues by restoring its state funding to fiscal year 2013 levels doesn’t appear to be the solution. Declining student enrollment for more than a decade, a growing budget, near-annual raises of tuition for in-state and out-of-state students and a severely bloated bureaucracy have all created a perfect storm. State funding is one factor, but I’ve yet to see any evidence-based studies about how restoring state funding to pre-Earl Ray Tomblin levels ...

Broadband Breakthrough Will Connect West Virginia

Reliable broadband connection is something that impacts nearly all aspects of our daily lives. Think about it. We rely on internet connectivity to communicate with our family and friends, to access emergency services, to obtain information, to bank, and to conduct business. Also, as we experienced first-hand during the pandemic, internet is an essential aspect of our participation in the workforce and the education of our children. Connectivity has been a challenge for West Virginia. Being the only state entirely encompassed in Appalachia and recognized across the world for our ...

Marshall Memo: Working ‘9 to 5’ at the Strand; Junior Golf; and Model Schools

The Strand Theatre Preservation Society of Moundsville will be holding a live theater attraction with its musical production of 9 to 5!, set to run July 28 and 29 at 7 p.m. and July 30 at 2 p.m. Tickets are on sale at Frame & Fortunes on Jefferson Avenue in Moundsville and online at www.strandtheatrewv.com/events. Cast members include Jamie Faulkiner (Violet Newstead), Alexa Jasinski (Doralee Rhodes), Mandy McGovern (Judy Bernly), Hayden Heiserman (Franklin Hart, Jr..), Rose Cunningham (Roz Keith), Ethan Casey (Joe), Evan Oslund (Dwayne), Roman Hulver (Josh), Shannan Stout (Missy ...

Early Notes From the Campaign Trail

It seemed like almost every day last week there was some sort of new court filing regarding Gov. Jim Justice and his family businesses, including two filings that came out on West Virginia’s 160th birthday. Much of this feels like deja vu as I feel like I wrote about similar issues about Justice in 2019 and 2020 going into his re-election for governor. And just like then, we have Justice telling the media and the public to not worry about his businesses. I’ve been asked multiple times by people of all walks of life if I think Justice’s business and legal issues will derail his ...

Local EMS Agencies Need West Virginia’s Help

When West Virginians call 911, they know there will be a dispatcher on the other end of the line, who will ask us one simple question. “What’s your emergency?” Dispatchers then communicate the needs of West Virginians to the first responders in our communities, and those paramedics, EMTs and firefighters take the calls that often save our lives. But who responds when it is the first responders who have an emergency? Emergency medical services throughout West Virginia are frantically calling the State Capitol asking the governor and the Legislature to dispatch the votes ...