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John McCabe: Public Trust Begins With One Thing: The Truth

Local Columns

Election night 2008 will always remain as one of the more interesting days in my career. Outside of the actual presidential election taking place that evening, I had received an invitation earlier that day to meet privately with the then-members of the Ohio County Commission — David Sims, Tim McCormick and Randy Wharton — to discuss an important matter concerning The Highlands. The timing of the meeting was less than two months after the U.S. housing market crashed in September 2008, and as I learned over an hour with the commissioners, the county was not spared. There had ...

Wheeling Park High School An Example Of Vision And Initiative

Editorials

Fifty years ago, Ohio County high school students stepped into the next era of education when they first walked through the halls of the new Wheeling Park High School — and the school, its staff and its students have kept marching forward ever since. When the school opened in 1976, it was a marvel. Three levels of classrooms across nearly 273,000 square feet of space brought Warwood, Triadelphia and Wheeling high schools together to offer new facilities, new classes and new opportunities for thousands of students. It would have been easy for the school district to dust off its ...

Schools Need Our Help With Attendance

Editorials

The assembly at Wheeling Park High School on Wednesday wasn’t just a celebration of the “Keep the Ball Rolling” initiative, which gives every public school in West Virginia $1,500 to provide students with essential items like food, clothing, shoes, coats and hygiene products to help improve school attendance. Now, that was a reason to celebrate. Auto dealership owner Shawn Ball, Marshall University President Brad Smith and his Wing 2 Wing Foundation, and West Virginia Treasurer Larry Pack and the Pack Family Foundation are stepping up to help students throughout the Mountain State ...

Mitch Carmichael: FLCA Is The 120-Day Clock That Can Rewrite Your Job

Local Columns

Imagine negotiating a contract that governs your pay, schedule and benefits, only to have someone outside your workplace decide its final terms. That could happen under the Faster Labor Contracts Act (FLCA), a proposal before Congress affecting first contracts between newly certified unions and employers. We all support good-faith bargaining and understand why workers and employers want a timely first contract. But a deadline that ends in a contract imposed by a government arbitration panel is the wrong way to achieve that goal. Negotiating contracts is and should remain the ...

John McCabe: Being Heard Doesn't Mean You Always Get Your Way

Local Columns

I’ve been a keen observer of Wheeling city government for nearly 30 years. Over that time, I’ve seen plenty of political disagreements over the city and its future. Zoning disputes. Council members arguing over public policy. A split vote and heated debate on whether to retain the city manager. And more. But the current moment, in many ways, may top the list. An effort to recall a sitting mayor? That’s a new one. City business owner Johnny Haught’s petition drive to recall Mayor Dennis Magruder strikes me as unprecedented in Wheeling, at least over the past half-century. I ...

Brian Abraham: Data Centers Are An Economic Opportunity For West Virginia

Local Columns

Affordable energy matters to every household and business in West Virginia. Electricity is essential to our homes, health systems, small businesses and manufacturers that support jobs across the state. That is why affordability must remain at the center of every conversation about West Virginia’s energy future. At Appalachian Power, we understand that rising electric rates are felt by families and businesses, and we take our responsibility to keep costs as low as possible seriously. If we are committed to lowering costs for customers, we need to look for opportunities to spread ...