Breaking News

Local Columns

West Virginia’s Cities Can’t Waste This Unique Opportunity

When one thinks of West Virginia, many things are likely to come to mind: natural beauty, John Denver, coal, whitewater rafting, rock climbing, poverty, opioids, state pride, and so on. What isn’t likely to make a top 10 list is cities, or perhaps more accurately, towns. West Virginia is the third most rural state in the country, with over half of its population residing in rural areas (just behind Vermont and Maine). West Virginia’s largest city, Charleston, is the second smallest such city in the United States. It is only larger than Vermont’s largest city, Burlington, by less ...

Poll Explores a Possible Mooney-Justice Primary

The U.S. Senate campaign of 2nd District Congressman Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., released some internal polling last week setting the table for a possible challenge from Gov. Jim Justice.Before I get into their results, always remember to take internal polling released by campaigns with copious amounts of salt. Campaigns very rarely share the full poll results, the toplines, the questions asked, etc.It’s why I don’t really like to use internal polls for stories, but for a weekly political column my rules are a little more lax. Also, it should be noted that in hindsight, Mooney’s internal ...

We Must Be Willing To Listen — and To Learn

George Bernard Shaw once said, “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” And yet we live in an era where it seems everyone’s mind is made up about everything. If our politics seems broken, it is not because we have stopped speaking; rather, that we have stopped listening. New ideas have always faced skepticism, but the resistance they meet today can be unyielding. It is not the story of America we have told ourselves. Both of us are old enough to remember a time when smoking was practically encouraged ...

Marshall Memo: Pride & Progress; Lifeguards; Animal Shelter; and Bus Drivers

The Marshall County Schools Pride & Progress committee concluded its meetings for the current school year on Tuesday. Fourteen members of the committee were in attendance at which Superintendent Dr. Shelby Haines outlined a number undertakings some of which have recently completed, while others remain in progress. Among these being: -Construction updates. - Awards and Recognitions which included Athletics, Music, Robotics and Teacher Counselor State Level winners. - Summer Programing. - Upcoming Calendar of Events. - The 2023-24 Calendar. --- The Marshall County Board ...

Understanding How W.Va. Chamber Scores Lawmakers

On April 3, the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce rolled out its annual legislative scorecard. This annual project shows how members of the West Virginia Legislature — regardless of party — vote on issues that will affect job creation, workforce participation, education outcomes and many other issues vital to our state. In our state, the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce is the clear and undisputed voice of business. The Chamber’s members can be found in all 55 counties and collectively employ over half of West Virginia’s workforce. Our members are the businesses that drive ...

Cannonball Right Into The Deep End

If the West Virginia governor’s race is a swimming pool, Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s entrance into the race was akin to that one kid yelling “cannonball” before jumping into the deep end. Between a three-day announcement tour last week and two independent groups pledging millions of dollars on Morrisey’s behalf, he certainly did make a big splash, becoming the latest entrant into the governor’s race. With the conservative Club for Growth and Black Bear PAC (a pro-Morrisey political action committee whose leader is an older Morrisey political operative) ...