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Marble King's Beri Fox: Natural Gas Essential To W.Va. Manufacturing

Local Columns

West Virginia’s economy has always been built on making the most of what we have. Our natural resources have powered industries, built up local economies, and sustained communities for generations. That is still true today and cannot be taken for granted. Manufacturing in America is under pressure. Companies are facing rising costs, supply chain uncertainty, and increasing competition from overseas. Founded in 1949, Marble King has proudly been producing glass marbles in West Virginia for generations. Today, we are the last remaining marble manufacturer in the United States. Rooted ...

Hoppy Kerchavel: Preposterous Meets Reality With Trump Taxes

Local Columns

In the 1998 action movie Armageddon, the Bruce Willis character tells the federal government what his team members want in return for taking on a dangerous mission to destroy an asteroid before it strikes earth. “None of them want to pay taxes again… ever.” It’s a funny bit because it borders on the absurd. Fast forward to today and the preposterous meets reality. President Trump has cut a deal with the Justice Department in his lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service whereby the IRS is “forever barred and precluded from prosecuting or pursuing” tax claims against ...

Stay Safe This Boating Season

Editorials

Most Ohio Valley residents can feel it in the air. Boating season is upon us. But before it reaches its summer peak, the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources is using this National Safe Boating Week to remind boaters (and their passengers) of safe boating practices — in particular, the importance of wearing life jackets. Maybe you haven’t gotten the boat out of storage yet. Maybe you’re just now putting it through its annual safety inspection and getting it all clean and tuned up. Whatever stage you’re in, now is a good time to stock up on the most up-to-date, U.S. ...

Temporary Assistance For Needy Families Problem In West Virginia Must Be Solved

Editorials

On the same day in which Gov. Patrick Morrisey celebrated an audit finding $168 million in savings across executive branch services, he also threw a scare into vulnerable West Virginians when he said the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program is facing a structural deficit. He described the discovery as “problematic,” even as he said the seeds of this problem were planted in the previous administration. “We saw there were changes that were made going back pre-COVID that kept coming and coming, and then the monies that were going in have led to a situation, a structural ...

Helping High Schoolers

Editorials

“We treated you like a kid until you walk across the stage and we’re like, ‘see ya.’ That doesn’t work,” said Canton City Schools Superintendent Jeff Talbert during a roundtable discussion on transforming Ohio high school education. He’s right, but what do we do about it? How do we prepare young people to move into a job market that looks nothing like it did ten years ago, let alone the structure of a public high school education was solidified generations ago. According to a report by WCMH, XQ Institute and Battelle Education gathered education experts and state ...

West Virginia Must Balance Savings And Service

Editorials

Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced this week that more than $168 million in savings had been found after audits of executive branch services. And, on the surface, he was right to be impressed with what BDO USA found. Potential savings will bring up plenty of questions for the Office of Technology to answer, as recommendations included saving $865,000 by shutting down an unnecessary data center, saving $456,000 per year by canceling third-party data storage contracts (one has to wonder who will be in charge of making sure the state does not lose access to any vital data), and saving ...