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No sense of excitement

Columnists

I’ve said it before, but energy is going to be a huge issue heading into the 2026 legislative session in January. But walking around the Governor’s Energy Summit last Thursday, I didn’t get a sense of excitement. That was very clear during Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s remarks last Thursday morning. It had already started off on a somber note with the announcement of the death of miner Steve Lipscomb after rescuers found him in a Nicholas County mine. Morrisey pivoted to his energy economic development announcements that have come to fruition since October, but many of the applause ...

Taking a good thing too far

Columnists

Success breeds failure. Policies and practices well suited to society at one juncture in history are often poorly suited to the world they have beneficially transformed. If you carry a good thing too far, it can turn out not to be a good thing anymore. Case in point, one of the most successful public policies in U.S. history, the World War II G.I. Bill, which financed college educations for military veterans. Signed by former President Franklin Roosevelt, it embodied New Deal generosity even as its chief backers included the racist Democratic Mississippi Rep. John Rankin and the ...

Writers hit Trump for ‘sportswashing’ at game

Columnists

Even the sports pages can be a platform for anti-Trump editorializing. After the Washington Commanders were drubbed by the Detroit Lions, the front page of The Washington Post sports section carried a piece by columnist Barry Svrluga trashing Trump’s appearance at the game, and in the Fox broadcast booth. He called it “sportswashing.” “What played out Sunday was a microcosm of Trump’s presidency and his relationship with American sport. It’s sportswashing, using these games to distract from the important matters of our times,” he wrote. There was “something rich about ...

EPA, EPW Collaboration

Columnists

When you reflect on the history of the Mountain State, the words “West Virginia” and “energy” are inextricably linked. Coal was first discovered in West Virginia in 1742, natural gas was first struck in 1815, and the state’s first oil-producing well was completed in 1860. Each of these discoveries happened before West Virginia was recognized as the nation’s 35th state. In fact, West Virginians were enjoying public electric streetlamps a full three years before electric lights were installed in the White House in 1891. When it comes to energy, West Virginia has always led the ...

Fear of socialism locally, nationally

Letters to the Editor

There has been a great deal of fear surrounding the election of Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City. The city of Elkins has already had a Democratic socialist mayor and that was me from 2009 to 2013. By bringing together a very diverse coalition of citizens —liberals, conservatives, Democrats, Republicans, various racial, civic, and religious groups of the city and working objectively together — we were able to accomplish a lot for our citizens. We got financing for the new water plant, which is the biggest local public works project in the history ...

Then and now

Columnists

Given the political tensions in the United States, perhaps it might be useful to revisit the dilemmas of the 1850s. During that period, “moderates” labored mightily to avoid slavery. Usually, “compromise” meant acceding to anything favored by the South. One of the casualties of such maneuverings was the party system. The Whigs particularly come to mind with their leaders, most notably Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, trying to forge faux unity. Webster, more than Clay, attempted to avoid the “impending crisis”. His support of the fugitive slave law, part of the Compromise ...