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Challenging

Editorials

West Virginia’s Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation continues to face a challenge experienced by many private employers: staffing shortages and pay rates that haven’t been able to keep up with inflation. David Kelly, commissioner of the DCR, reported to lawmakers this week that as of July there were still 410 vacancies of uniformed and non-uniformed personnel, with 223 vacancies of correctional officers across all facilities. “Salaries remain a big detriment to (recruitment),” Kelly said. “The pay is critical. If they get a raise, it would certainly help. … ...

Afraid of voters

Columnists

Playing with representative democracy is a delicate game, one that can evoke strong emotions and foster resentments. Democrats have lost two elections in 2000 and 2016 where they won the popular vote and lost the presidency. Both results have had profound consequences from the Supreme Court, which was constructed by the ruthless Mitch McConnell, to the notorious Project 2025. A great deal was done by states that ignore Baker vs Carr, which mandated “one man, one vote.” Texas is a good example of trying to seize five seats by changing the rules mid-census. It is a legal method ...

Data from First Friday with Distefano

Columnists

When Seth Distefano presented Kids Count data and geographic facts about Randolph County at Kump Center for the September First Friday Focus on Education, our school problems became clearer. Seth is proud to be a graduate of Tygart Valley High School, but he understands that his home county has all the economic disadvantages of most remote, rural counties in West Virginia. The fact that our Randolph County School system ranks 55th among 55 counties in this state is a matter of money — both buildings and buses cost money. The local average cost of public education is impossibly ...

Confusion

Editorials

Changes in guidance out of Washington, D.C., have left many confused about the accessibility of COVID booster shots this fall. There are questions about eligibility, insurance, and even where a patient can get the vaccine. Axios tried to unravel the mystery and found states falling into three categories (they used one pharmacy chain, CVS, as the test): unavailable, available without a prescription and prescription required for specific age groups. West Virginia falls into the latter category — prescription required. But in Ohio, the shots are available without a prescription. ...

War or defense?

Columnists

Donald Trump‘s decision to ditch the name of the Department of Defense and call it the War Department is not as strange as it is made out to be. It is simply reverting to its old name, which dates back to August 7, 1789. It was changed by the National Security Act of 1947, which assigned it to the Defense Department. It also created the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency. Established as a means of unifying all branches of security, the measure was sold as an efficiency move. However, over time, it became more corporate in its approach and mission. It ...

Claims Rise

Editorials

Employment rates continue to struggle all over the country. The approximately 7.2 million people in the U.S. unemployed during the last week of August pushed the nationwide average up 3.5% week-over-week heading into the Labor Day weekend. That added to the trend of a small overall increase in unemployment nationwide, over the past year, according to WalletHub. So, the personal finance company dug deeper and took a look at weekly claims on the state level. West Virginia was among those where unemployment claims were higher than they’d been in the previous week. Change in ...