Breaking News

Local Columns

Annual W.Va. Chamber Meeting To Feature Wheeling Leaders

When the 87th Annual Meeting and Business Summit of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce convenes next week, business, education, healthcare, finance, political and community leaders from throughout our state will gather to discuss our recent successes and seek solutions for pressing West Virginia needs. The roots of this annual gathering are deep and strong. Each year since 1936, state leaders have come together with the Chamber to learn, connect and seek solutions to improve the economy and well-being for West Virginia’s wonderful people. Focusing on this year’s theme of ...

Scam Call Was an Eye-Opener

I think I’m a pretty smart guy and I’ve been around the block or two, but a phone call I received last week made me aware that I can even be susceptible to fraud. While doing some work in my garage on Aug. 10 I received a phone call from an unknown I.D. In my line of work, I can ill afford to ignore phone calls unless my phone tags it as a spam call. There are some politicians who I get calls from who pop up as unknown I.D. The person identified themselves as a law enforcement officer. The name he used and his bearing on the phone made me take him seriously. I’ve talked to many ...

Marshall Memo: Health Department Breaks Ground in Moundsville

When you put things away and then years later decide to review them, you might be surprised what you find. That happened to me just a few weeks ago. In my case it was some newspaper clippings pertaining to the Moundview Health Care Center. The clippings consisted of four pages along with the front page of “The Call.” There were photographs of the three owners of the new center and three additional pages describing the facility. This was Aug.14, 1978. The actual opening of the city’s first health care center had recently taken place. The cost of the center in 1978 was $2 ...

Biden Has Ignored East Palestine’s Pleas for Help

We all remember the harrowing image of a mushroom cloud over East Palestine. An explosive train derailment destroyed a small Ohio town and captured the nation’s attention. It is difficult to fathom how a singular event could upend the daily lives of thousands of our fellow Americans. Hundreds of tons of toxic chemicals polluted the ground they walked, the water they drank, and the air they breathed. The disaster created new uncertainties for everyone nearby. Do I have to find a new home? Is my small businesses going to survive? Will I suffer long-term health effects? Residents ...

Our Veterans Are Struggling. West Virginians Can Help

The 988 suicide crisis hotline marked a one year anniversary recently. Reporting shows it received 5 million contacts in its first year, further evidence of America’s complicated mental health challenge that the U.S. Surgeon General recently identified as a crisis. A driving force is often disconnection from friends and family, and that isolation is commonly felt by military veterans, which have a storied history and major presence in the Mountain State. Data shows that two-thirds of veterans who die by suicide have had no contact with support services such as the Department of ...

Wacky Weekend at the Capitol

Well, last week’s special session might be the most unusual special session I’ve seen in 13 years of being beneath the golden dome of the State Capitol Building. I’ve never seen a special session proclamation released giving lawmakers a mere 30 minutes to gavel in. Sure, lawmakers were already in Charleston for August legislative interim meetings, but certainly not all of them. There were only four interim committee meetings scheduled Sunday, so many lawmakers were going to wait to come to Charleston Sunday evening or first thing Monday morning. I’ve even heard tell of ...