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Drawing fire

Columnists

Admittedly, Democrats have problems, but take a gander at MAGA. With the Epstein affair heating up, President Donald Trump has become increasingly testy. So irritated, he has become nasty to some of his earliest and best supporters. One backer that has drawn his fire is Marjorie Taylor Greene. Her crime in Trump‘s eyes was that she signed the discharge petition, which forced a vote on the release of the Epstein files. Now, despite her old status as a heroine of the MAGA movement, Greene is now denounced by Trump as “wacky” and, to put a finer point on his view, “a traitor”. ...

Failure

Editorials

West Virginians knew our state’s child welfare system was a mess — and regularly failing children and families — toward the end of the Justice administration, but a report by the U.S. Department of Human Services Office of Inspector General shows us the situation may have been even worse than we thought. In a 100-case sample, the report showed the state’s Bureau of Social Services failed to comply with child abuse and neglect requirements 91% of the time: 74 reports did not include a required written notification letter; initial assessments were not completed within 30 days of ...

Education

Editorials

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 19, the 323rd day of 2025. There are 42 days left in the year. Today in history: On Nov. 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered the famous Gettysburg Address at the dedication of a national cemetery at the site of the Civil War battlefield of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. Also on this date: In 1959, Ford Motor Co. announced it was halting production of the unpopular Edsel. In 1969, Apollo 12 astronauts Charles Conrad and Alan Bean made the second crewed landing on the moon. In 1975, the dramatic film “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” was ...

Charities

Editorials

Charities here and elsewhere across the United States might have experienced a mild “mood boost” in June when the Associated Press reported that, after an adjustment for inflation, charitable giving in 2024 was found to have been up by 3.3% over 2023. But just as the busy “make-or-break” 2025 holiday shopping season is about to kick into high gear, perhaps that less-than-robust mood boost of five months ago might have to be replaced by a sense of caution more significant than any existing a year earlier. Much volatility has impacted the business-industrial climate this year ...

Affordability

Editorials

Though a well-trained, well-educated and skilled workforce is more important than ever, students seeking a higher education to prepare them for their careers are having a harder time being able to afford it. Sure, many people still believe having a college degree will translate to higher earnings, but students are increasingly challenged to decide whether the expense of that education (or the long-term debt they may incur) is worth the risk. According to WalletHub, the cost of attending a four-year public college has risen by an average of 30% over the past 20 years. And that cost ...

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 ...