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W.Va. Hallmark Childcare Bill

West Virginians can be proud that our legislature passed family-friendly legislation to increase tax credits for employers providing childcare for children of employees. House Bill 4191 became law last week when Governor Morrissy did not veto it — but did not sign it. At the same time last week President Trump said that the United States should not consider providing childcare when the nation must pay for warfare in Iran. The president’s shortsighted value system does not bode well for our future. This legislation will potentially help to increase the workforce in West Virginia ...

Cabinet dismissals

For Donald Trump, the MAGA revolt is a reminder that his coalition is uneasy. With the dismissal of two cabinet members in a few weeks, Kristi Noem and Pam Bondi, the White House is off balance. The Iran War is also beginning to erode his approval ratings. But his problem is not simply MAGA; it is beginning to trouble traditional Republicans. So far, not enough to erode his slender majority in the House of Representatives, but in the Senate, it is clear that the Republican leadership is troubled. Trump’s antics and pronouncements are tolerated by the Majority Leader, John Thune, but ...

Pack, Justice present volunteer award

WAR — State Treasurer Larry Pack on Wednesday joined U.S. Senator Jim Justice to celebrate the start of National Financial Literacy Month and to present a Get a Life Community Volunteer Award to Sarah Muncy, Communities in Schools Coordinator, during a financial education budget activity for ...

WV’s action of inaction

We can now put a bow on the now-completed 2026 regular session of the West Virginia Legislature now that Gov. Patrick Morrisey has acted on most of the 306 bills passed during the 60-day time period between Jan. 14 and March 14. Morrisey had 15 days, not counting Sundays, following the sine die adjournment of the Legislature at midnight March 14 to decide to sign bills, veto bills or let bills go into law without his signature. And that is exactly what he did with 10 bills, choosing not to sign or veto those bills. The question some have is why? You can make some assumptions about ...

Iran’s other enemies

It’s not just Israel. One of the least convincing arguments of opponents of the Iran war is that it is a conflict initiated by the Jewish state for its own benefit — the U.S. is just along for the ride. This view not only discounts the U.S. interest in defanging Iran, but neglects that there are other countries in the region besides Israel and Iran and that they, too, have a stake in the outcome of this war. If there’s anything that Iran has succeeded in doing over the first month of battle, it is further demonstrating the intolerable threat that it represents to the ...

Erma Bombeck’s legacy isn’t just humor

Last week’s Erma Bombeck Writer’s Workshop in Dayton, Ohio, celebrated 25 years of the conference. The University of Dayton held the first workshop in 2000 as a one-time event to commemorate the Bombeck family’s gift of Erma’s papers to her alma mater. It turns out once just wasn’t enough, and now there’s no hint of stopping it. The conference sells out quickly and is known to have a long waiting list. I’ve wanted to attend the conference ever since I first began publishing essays and columns in the early 2000s. In 2012, I attended for the first time, and now I can’t ...