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Focus on continuous improvement

Things have changed so much! Hard to believe it is the same place.  When we see a community, or a place of work, or even a person often, changes in them appear to take place gradually. Things seem to move slowly or not at all. When we’re away for a while and then see the person or place again, changes may feel dramatic. After my book Building a Vibrant Community: How Citizen-Powered Change Is Reshaping America was published, I was invited to Elkins, West Virginia, to present at the 2020 Elkins-Randolph County Chamber of Commerce event. My visit included a workshop based on the ...

Musk’s rude lesson in politics

Elon Musk received a rude lesson in American politics when his candidate for Wisconsin’s Supreme Court, Brad Shimel, lost to Susan Crawford by ten points, despite Musk contributing twenty-one million dollars. Not only that, Musk treated the Wisconsin electorate to a show, wearing a cheesehead and giving out money to voters. For all his rectitude concerning governmental finances, he appeared more like an old political boss than a reformer. It is interesting that President Donald Trump avoided the race and allowed his latest partner to expose his ignorance to the voters. Musk did not ...

1904 Society

“Cultures grow on the vine of tradition,” penned syndicated columnist Jonah Goldberg. A favorite tradition for me at Davis & Elkins College is the 1904 Society Gala which occurred on March 21. Inherent in this tradition is the celebration of a vibrant culture of philanthropy prevalent at D&E. This yearly gala, a thank you to donors investing at least $1,000 annually in support of our students, places those students front and center. The speakers, the entertainment, and the table hosts make evident the high caliber young men and women that are the heart of D&E. Senior Sam Rolle, ...

Crossover Day nears

We’re on the countdown to Crossover Day Wednesday, when state Senate bills must cross over to the House of Delegates and vice versa in order to ensure these bills have a chance of making it to passage by midnight on Saturday, April 12, when the 2025 legislative session ends. That means we have slightly less than two weeks until the 60-day regular session ends. For some, that day could not come soon enough. For others, such as Gov. Patrick Morrisey, he is already clamoring for a special session “The more work the Legislature gets done now, the less time it will spend in Charleston ...

Liberal luminaries defend their partners

Down in the basement of the Capitol on March 26, I witnessed in person an episode of government accountability that upset liberal journalists. That’s because it was conservatives holding leftist “public” media networks accountable. The House DOGE subcommittee questioned PBS CEO Paula Kerger and NPR CEO Katherine Maher about their daily deluge of leftist bias. Here’s how the New York Times article on the hearing was summarized online: “Dark pronouncements by Republicans about a ‘communist agenda’ espoused by public media were intercut with lighter references to ‘Sesame ...

‘Everything bagel’

“Imagine boarding a train in the center of a city,” former President Barack Obama rhapsodized in April 2009. “No racing to an airport and across a terminal, no delays, no sitting on the tarmac, no lost luggage, no taking off your shoes. Imagine whisking through towns at speeds over 100 miles an hour, walking only a few steps to public transportation, and ending up just blocks from your destination.” It’s a curious statement to find one-third of the way into a book titled “Abundance.” Not 10% of Americans live or work in the middle of a city within walking distance of a ...