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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 ...

The Calm Before The Tuesday Storm

Local Columns

We're now in the calm before the Tuesday storm, and I've never wanted an election to be over more than this one. Seriously, this primary election cycle has been pure obnoxiousness, but I fear this may be how future GOP primaries are from here on out: A combination of conservative-on-conservative infighting and out-of-state interests dropping Brinks trucks of cash to test messaging on issues conservatives see differently. I am not one of those who cries about the amount of money in politics. As I've said frequently, elections cost money: Mailers, ads, commercials, billboards, signs, ...

Ice Cream, War and Its Cost to Americans

Local Columns

A few years ago, my wife was at the grocery store when a fellow shopper spoke to her in the freezer section. He reached for a half gallon of ice cream, looked at the price, and casually blamed then-President Barack Obama for how much he had to pay. And so it goes for every president. Wendy Edelberg, a senior fellow in Economic Studies at Brookings said, “in a typical presidential term, the president might get credit or blame ... because he has taken credit… and then it seems fair that if you’re going to take credit, we’re also going to blame you.” That criticism is often ...

Time For Real Leadership On State’s Greyhound Issue

Local Columns

The Northern Panhandle loves dogs. They are members of our families and deserve to be protected from individuals and industries that would do them harm. That is why I support ending greyhound racing in West Virginia. Dog racing proponents claim that the effort to end greyhound racing is being pushed by people who don’t live in the Northern Panhandle. But I’ve lived here my entire life. In fact, I was born on the Market Street Bridge between Ohio and West Virginia, in the back seat of a Wellsburg Police car. After retiring from a successful career as an account executive in the ...

Donald Trump — The Destructive Child

Letters to the Editor

Donald Trump has paid $2 billion of our tax money for contractors to stop building wind-power stations off our coasts. While energy prices explode, like bombs in the unplanned, unnecessary Iran war, Trump canceled new, non-polluting energy sources. Destruction with no plan. Now, as the climate crisis reaches irreversible proportions, Trump increases our dependence on oil-based energy. Is he purposely destroying our air and our climate? We won't know for sure because he closed down four major atmosphere observatories that were measuring CO2 pollution. The White House ...

Bishop Mark Brennan Oversaw Diocese’s Restoration

Editorials

Mark E. Brennan’s resignation earlier this month as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston marks the close of a chapter defined not by style, but instead substance. When Brennan arrived as the diocese’s ninth bishop in 2019, he inherited a church in turmoil. The fallout from the tenure of former bishop Michael J. Bransfield had shaken confidence among parishioners and the broader community alike. The assignment before Brennan, then 72, was clear — and daunting: restore trust. He approached that in a way that now seems almost understated, but was exactly ...