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Celebrating Dr. King Transcends Boundaries

Local Columns

On July 18, 1957 Evangelist Billy Graham, a white minister from North Carolina, a native southerner was holding services at Madison Square Garden. He noticed over the first two months that the audiences were not mixed. In his efforts to have more of an integrated audience, his team invited a 28-year-old, Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. to lead the prayer at the crusade. Dr. King had just led the Montgomery Bus Boycott, from December 5, 1955 to December 20, 1956. The two shared the pulpit that night, when he gave the opening prayer. He prayed for a “warless world’” and a “brotherhood ...

From Rock Bottom to Remarkable for Wheeling Hospital

Local Columns

When WVU Medicine assumed leadership of Wheeling Hospital in 2019, the headlines weren’t flattering. The state’s oldest hospital — a 170-year pillar of the Northern Panhandle — was under federal investigation, financially unstable, and struggling to retain its workforce. Quality scores had slipped, critical investments had stalled, and morale across the campus reflected the uncertainty of its future. At the same time, the Northern Panhandle, and Ohio Valley at large, was reeling from the uncertainty left in the wake of both Ohio Valley Medical Center and East Ohio Regional ...

Helping Spur Job Growth

Editorials

West Virginians know our state is full of pieces of land that would make fantastic locations for new employers to build … except you can’t get there from here. Infrastructure isn’t our strong suit, and site readiness efforts are often about not just utilities and maybe even having a pad poured, but building roads for potential industrial sites. Lawmakers this week demonstrated they understand that, and are serious about working toward jobs first and improving opportunity everywhere, with a committee substitute for House Bill 4007. The bill, which proposes updates to the ...

Get Your House Ready for Cold

Editorials

While there still might be some uncertainty as to how much snow the Ohio Valley might get from the incoming storm this weekend, one thing is for sure — it’s going to get cold. Very, very cold. Forecasts have low temperatures in the valley falling to 0 degrees Friday, in the teens over the weekend and negative numbers on Monday. Local residents can stay indoors, bundle up and turn on a heater to keep from freezing. Their water pipes can’t. A burst water pipe in weather like what is coming this weekend can be a nightmare, and forecasts are predicting conditions that create a ...

Protect Child Care Services

Editorials

Groundwork Ohio is among the organizations that has signed on to a letter from child care groups across the country, asking the federal Administration for Children and Families to continue funding the Child Care Development Block Grant and other resources. Though a federal judge has temporarily blocked a funding freeze to Minnesota, California, Colorado, Illinois and New York, there are still worries other states will have to defend their own child care systems and oversight. According to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal, the letter says fraud “at any level is unacceptable and ...

Keep Ball Rolling On W.Va. Business

Editorials

Frontieras North America’s announcement that it has closed on 183 acres in Mason County with a plan to build an $850 million coal reformation facility appears to be wonderful news for those communities. It’s a big project that, if all goes as planned, could result in 2,000 construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs. Gov. Patrick Morrisey says many of those jobs are expected to be more than $100,000 per year. Company officials say the construction could begin later this year and the plant could be up and running by the middle of 2028. Those same officials also claim the project will ...