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Reporter's Notebook: Keeping Score And Learning Lessons

Local Columns

When it comes to elections, there are winners and there are losers. But I can't help feeling like no one really won after last Tuesday's Republican primary elections. Sure, individual candidates won and lost. But otherwise, the two factions within the West Virginia Republican Party — the dark red caucus led by Gov. Patrick Morrisey and like-minded affiliates, and the light red faction led by many of the GOP lawmakers who helped secure the Republican legislative majorities back in 2015, such as state Sen. Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha — remain at loggerheads. More than $5 million was ...

SMART529 Helps West Virginia Students

Editorials

With all the talk about the huge sums of money that were invested into political campaigns in West Virginia in an attempt to affect the primary and now the general election here, it was easy to miss another announcement. According to the state treasurer’s office, West Virginia-based account holders have surpassed $1 billion in total assets in the SMART529 program, in an attempt to greatly improve our children’s futures. “This achievement means West Virginians realize the benefit and value of investing in our state’s SMART529 plan to save for their child’s education,” said ...

Vacationing Locally

Editorials

State officials celebrated Tourism Day at the Ohio Statehouse earlier this week. As they did so, they highlighted many of the destinations and experiences that make the Buckeye State the heart of it all. Surely, there are Ohio destinations that are known all over the country — maybe even around the world — such as the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland or Cedar Point in Sandusky. But our lesser known gems are what really makes Ohio worth the trip. “Summer in Ohio means county fairs, lake trips, family road trips, baseball games, ...

Low Voter Turnout A Worrying Sign For Northern Panhandle

Editorials

The turnout numbers from Tuesday’s primary election here in West Virginia should concern anyone who truly cares about our representative government. Across the six counties in our region — Ohio, Marshall, Wetzel, Tyler, Brooke and Hancock — average turnout in this year’s primary was just 24.4%. That means fewer than one in four registered voters took part in choosing the candidates that will shape our communities, our schools, our courts and our future. That figure is part of a troubling trend. The average turnout for comparable off-presidential year primaries over the past ...

It's Time For A New Approach For West Virginia

Editorials

Gov. Patrick Morrisey invested into getting some of his candidates nominated in last week’s primary election. Let us hope the governor takes that same passion into a much more meaningful project for our state’s future — turning around decades of population decline. On Thursday, the U.S. Census Bureau released its latest population figures for cities and towns, based on July 1, 2025 estimates. As expected, only a few cities in West Virginia have seen population increases since the official 2020 Census (Morgantown and Martinsburg are the only two among the cities with 10,000 ...

West Virginia Not the Guinea Pig for Power-Hungry Governor

Local Columns

There is a question worth asking before the May 12 Republican Primary, and it cuts straight to the bone: does Patrick Morrisey think West Virginians are stupid? Because the playbook he is running this primary season only works if we are. The governor of our state is publicly endorsing primary challengers to sitting Republicans who had the nerve to vote their conscience instead of his orders. Now, his First Lady has personally cut $2,800 maximum-dollar checks to the people running against incumbents like House Finance Chairman Vernon Criss and Sen. Deeds. That alone would be a break ...