Breaking News

Editorials

Stability?

A measure of economic stability oftentimes ­­— but not always — is continuity. But many companies are slamming shut the door regarding continuity, and how that will play out is a big wait-and-see question that will take a few years for an answer to be delivered, or at least a trend to be indicated. One bottom line, though, is that employees of an increasing number of companies are feeling uneasy about what might come next and whether it will be good or bad for them. “Faster CEO turnover at U.S. public companies has put the biggest class of incoming chief executives in years ...

Changes Needed

Members of the state House Finance Committee are working toward some important changes to safeguard taxpayer dollars, ahead of a planned “universal expansion” of the Hope Scholarship educational voucher program. Without many of the planned changes, the program will remain wide open to waste, fraud and abuse, as too many have taken advantage of the state’s failure to install guardrails earlier. The originating bill, which has not yet been numbered, would cap the annual Hope Scholarship award to eligible families at $5,250, with $250 going to the State Treasurer’s Office for ...

Jobs First

Though the usual suspects have tried again this year to get a few bizarre socio-cultural bills in front of lawmakers, the majority have displayed an impressive dedication to the goal set at the beginning of the session: put Jobs First — Opportunity Everywhere. In fact Senate Bill 1, the Small Business Growth Act, made its way to the governor’s desk unusually quickly. In a nutshell, the act establishes the West Virginia First Small Business Growth Program, with specialized growth funds collecting capital from investors to provide financing to eligible small businesses that ...

High Stakes

If you’re beginning to feel as though the stakes in this year’s elections are unusually high, you are not alone. Even a cursory glance at newspaper opinion pages or social media feeds will tell you there are strong feelings on many important issues — and plenty of people believe they must weigh in on the candidates who might address those issues. Here’s the problem. When it really counts — Election Day — those opinion pieces or social media posts will not move the needle. Your vote will; and primary elections are closer than you might think. According to the West Virginia ...

Task Force

A local task force, which is now in its fifth year of working to find solutions to thorny community issues, recently hosted its annual public forum in Elkins. The Regional Task Force on Addiction, Homelessness and Mental Health offered its forum last week at the Phil Gainer Community Center, with more than 25 community members turning out for the event. Two guest speakers addressed the crowd: Joshua Barker, the director of Substance Abuse Prevention and Recovery under the Office of the West Virginia Attorney General, and Dr. Stephen Loyd, the director of the Office of Drug Control ...

Assessment

Sian Leah Beilock, president of Dartmouth College, a private Ivy League research university located in Hanover, N.H., presented a bold assessment of higher education in this country in an opinion article she wrote for the Jan. 26 edition of the Wall Street Journal. No doubt the bold assessment presented by Beilock was not received kindly by many educators across America. Therefore, Beilock’s views should be a starting point for in-depth discussion and debate even in places like the six-county Southern Alleghenies region (Blair, Cambria, Somerset, Bedford, Huntingdon and Fulton ...