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Brawling

Since the start of his term, Gov. Patrick Morrisey has promoted an “Economic Backyard Brawl” between West Virginia and its neighboring states. The mission, he said, is to make the Mountain State “the most attractive state to live, work, learn, play and run a business.” He likely didn’t expect one of those neighboring states to take the opening kickoff and run it back 90 yards for a touchdown. President Donald Trump recently visited Pittsburgh to announce more than $90 billion in new investments in energy and artificial intelligence in Pennsylvania. Nearly two dozen ...

Uncertainty

Understanding the strain economic uncertainty can put on both farmers and those vulnerable to food insecurity, U.S. Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., has joined forces with Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., to introduce the Strengthening Local Food Security Act. The effort is meant to tackle a variety of challenges, including reinforcing the food supply chain, improving economic opportunities for farmers and other food producers, and improving access to local food in communities and in schools. It is being pitched as an amendment to tack on to the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946. A permanent grant ...

Boos & Applause

Applause to the recent unveiling of the new Rosie the Riveter Statue that has been placed in the All-Veterans Memorial Park. The 6-foot, 3-inch statue was made possible by the Emma Scott Garden Club, who raised funds for the purchase of the $67,000 piece of history. The statue was covered by a large tarpaulin after its arrival in Elkins from Provo, Utah in June, until the unveiling ceremony on July 15. Applause to the West Virginia Department of Highways for performing culvert update work on Diamond Street in Elkins, which seems to have helped “significantly,” city officials said, ...

Seat Belts

Seat belts. For the vast majority of us, putting on a seat belt when entering the car is second nature. But for some, unfortunately, the act remains optional — and that’s leading to fatal results. In Ohio over the Fourth of July weekend, 10 people died in car crashes, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Of those 10 fatalities, six were not wearing seat belts. The issue goes deeper. According to the Columbus Dispatch, during the Fourth of July weekend troopers issued 2,286 seat belt and child safety seat violations. How is that possible in 2025? The problem is not ...

Ready

When state lawmakers created the YesWV Site Readiness program, the idea was to make sure an employer that wanted to build here would be able to find the perfect spot. Last week, the Wood County Economic Development Authority got the ball rolling on two such properties with the help of grants from the program totaling $150,000. The Athey property in Pettyville and the Polymer Alliance Zone Inc. Industrial Park in Davisville each received a boost in efforts to get engineering and architectural help, site studies and other site readiness projects completed so they are a few steps ...

Economy

One of elected officials’ favorite tricks is to drag out the line “But are you better off than you were (insert politically beneficial timeframe here)?” It gets people thinking: Am I better off? For West Virginians living in a state that hopes to win an economic “Backyard Brawl,” the answer may very well be “no.” But according to WalletHub’s “States with the Most People in Financial Distress,” the Mountain State is ranked 45th In this case, that’s a good thing. West Virginia’s total score was 33.17. For comparison, the least distressed folks were in Hawaii, ...