Breaking News

Opinion

Fire Safety

Editorials

When we skip ahead an hour at 2 a.m. Sunday, that spring forward on the clocks will not be the only reminder we are moving toward brighter, warmer (Soon? We hope? Please?) weather. Forestry officials across our region are reminding us we have also entered the spring fire ban season. From March 1 through May 31 in both West Virginia and Ohio, there are prohibitions on outdoor burning. In West Virginia, the restriction is between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. No, not even in a proper burn barrel. There are other rules to follow, even once the ban is lifted each day. In Ohio, fires must be more ...

Opportunity

Editorials

Washington, D.C.-based Penzance Management has unveiled plans that could mark one of the largest private investments in West Virginia history — a proposed $4 billion data center campus spanning 1.9 million square feet on 548 acres in Falling Waters. Gov. Patrick Morrisey rightly described the announcement as historic. A project of this size would represent a significant vote of confidence in the state’s broader economic trajectory. With competition for technology infrastructure fierce, simply being in the conversation speaks to the progress West Virginia has made in strengthening ...

Hope (Scholarship) floats

Columnists

Much as I predicted last week, the Hope Scholarship educational voucher program remains intact for the next fiscal year. Instead of recommending its first originating bill to reform the Hope program, the House Finance Committee recommended a new originating bill that only changed the payment frequency to Hope families from two times per year to four times. Some are saying the committee buckled under pressure from current home school and private school families. That’s a complete misunderstanding of what happened. The reason the first originating bill was drafted was to deal with a ...

Change

Editorials

More than three years after a disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, Congress has continued to sit on its hands rather than upset its friends in the railroad industry by implementing desperately needed rail safety reform. Well, most of Congress, anyway. A few have repeatedly tried to push change. Most recently, a bipartisan group that includes U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, has introduced the Railway Safety Act of 2026. “Three years ago, many Ohioans understandably lost faith in the safety and reliability of our nation’s railways after the accident in East Palestine, ...

EMS Fund

Editorials

There is good reason House Bill 5168 passed out of the House of Delegates without a single vote against on Monday. It is one of the very few, genuine no-brainers to come before lawmakers in recent years. HB 5168 would establish a permanent funding stream for EMS workers across the state — $12 million annually from lottery net profits. According to House Finance Committee Chairman Vernon Criss, R-Wood, it brings EMS funding in line with a formula used to support fire departments. The bill mandates the first $1 million of the $6 million Salary Enhancement, Crisis Response, and Mental ...

Media vs. America?

Columnists

Alysa Liu is an American figure skater whose family fled China and faced harassment and persecution by Chinese authorities. She won gold. You might have missed it. The American press corps chose, instead, to praise Eileen Gu, an American skier with family ties to the Chinese communist party. Gu skied for and was paid by China. The press elevated her over American athletes until shifting to hating our hockey team. “Eileen Gu won three medals — one gold and two silver — in Milan and now has six total medals over the span of two quadrennials. She also made herself one of the most ...