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Communication Needed

Editorials

The federal government last week announced a $33 billion natural gas plant that it said would be the “largest natural gas generation project in the world.” The proposed site would be near Portsmouth, Ohio, a city not too far from Huntington, West Virginia. That, somehow, was news to the mayor of Portsmouth. “I wasn’t privy to these discussions,” Portsmouth Mayor Charlotte Gordon told The Center Square. “I started calling some of the people I thought should know and they didn’t know.” That also, somehow, was news to Gov. Mike DeWine. “We do not have any ...

Make Sure You Have Measles Vaccination

Editorials

The state of West Virginia finds itself in a fortunate spot where its neighbors can’t join them. The Mountain State, as of February 19, is still without a confirmed case of measles, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia and Pennsylvania can’t claim the same fortunes. Kentucky has four, Pennsylvania and Virginia both have five and Virginia has nine. And those totals are nothing compared to the outbreak currently seen in South Carolina. According to the American Hospital Association, the state’s Department of Health reported on Tuesday a ...

The View From the Port

Editorials

A clearer view around downtown Wheeling’s Heritage Port is thankfully in the cards. Work recently began to clear trees, brush and overgrowth from around the port. “The work will continue ­— weather permitting — for several days, possibly a couple of weeks,” Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron said. That’s great to hear, as the aesthetic quality of Heritage Port should be one of the top priorities for the City of Wheeling. That area is home almost every major festival in Wheeling ­— the Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival, Heritage Blues Fest and the City of ...

‘Maz’ Remembered as a Humble Legend

Editorials

It has been said to “never meet your heroes.” Those who met Ohio Valley legend and Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski during his 89 years on this earth will tell you that isn’t true. Wheeling born and Tiltonsville raised, Mazeroski reached the supreme heights of his sport, his walk-off home run in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series forever etching him into baseball lore. Yet he never abandoned his local roots. He anchored himself with them, returning to the valley countless times for fundraisers, charity events and personal visits. If you had something for him to sign, ...

Helping Ohio Students

Editorials

Not every student has the same path to follow after high school graduation. They don’t have the same skill sets, interests or aspirations. So why would we limit the options they have for assessing their readiness to proceed on those paths? In Ohio, there may be other options available, if lawmakers give serious consideration to state House Bill 326, introduced by Reps. Kevin Ritter, R-Marietta, and Johnathan Newman, R-Troy. “Regarding the use of nationally standardized assessments in public and chartered nonpublic schools and state institutions of higher education,” it would ...

Balancing the Books for All in West Virginia

Editorials

Members of the state House Finance Committee are working toward some important changes to safeguard taxpayer dollars, ahead of a planned “universal expansion” of the Hope Scholarship educational voucher program. Without many of the planned changes, the program will remain wide open to waste, fraud and abuse, as too many have taken advantage of the state’s failure to install guardrails earlier. The originating bill, which has not yet been numbered, would cap the annual Hope Scholarship award to eligible families at $5,250, with $250 going to the State Treasurer’s Office for ...