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Coercive tactics

Columnists

In the category of oldies but goodies is the long-forgotten non-aggression pact. The most famous was the one agreed to by Germany and the Soviet Union in August 1939. Now it has been revived in a peculiar way in the form of tariff agreements. President Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff on India simply because they purchased Russian oil. Add to that Brazil, which insisted on placing its former president, Jair Bolsonaro, on trial for an attempted coup. Trump, playing the role of a Republican Wilsonian, also hiked tariffs on a country with which the United States enjoys a trade ...

Were data center moves suspicious?

Letters to the Editor

Thank you for the story clarifying that the proposed data center in Tucker County was introduced on the last day to introduce legislation in the chamber, a permit application was submitted hours later, the bill was approved within days with all tax revenue going to the state rather than local governments. Local governments, according to the bill, are prohibited from restricting noise, lighting, or land use on such projects. And local officials, such as the mayor of Davis, were never consulted. The number of combustion turbines wasn’t specified, types of air pollution control ...

Funding

Editorials

It’s August, which means it’s back-to-school season. As the new school year nears (remember to slow down and watch for students getting on those big yellow buses with the stop sign sticking out the side), it’s worthwhile to consider the future of our public schools — particularly as West Virginia’s workforce ages and we continue to struggle to compete against our neighboring states. Consider these enrollment trends from the West Virginia Department of Education: • In the 2017-18 school year, West Virginia enrolled 270,613 public school students. For the 2024-25 school ...

Good News

Editorials

West Virginia employers may be getting a little good news for next year, as the National Council on Compensation Insurance has filed a proposed workers’ compensation loss cost decrease of 13.5%, to begin Jan. 1. The change, pitched by the state’s rating and statistical agent, would mean another possible $20 million kept in the coffers of Mountain State employers. In fact, it would mean 21 years in a row of decreases since the state workers’ comp program was privatized. That’s more than half a billion dollars in savings to employers compared with workers’ comp levels before ...

Meeting with Putin

Columnists

Donald Trump’s upcoming meeting with Vladimir Putin will be crucial in determining a new world order. The Ukrainian imbroglio remains a barrier to understanding between the two nuclear powers. China, Taiwan, and Europe will feel the impact. But the negotiations are fraught with pitfalls and could potentially lead to world conflict. Trump will be under pressure to shield Kyiv even if it frustrates his desire for a comprehensive peace settlement. The neo-conservative wing of his party, led by Lindsey Graham and Tom Cotton, no doubt wants Trump to make no concessions. The Democrats, led ...

Funding

Editorials

The story is becoming too familiar. Lawmakers who support spending cuts, then call for their reversal. Lawmakers who want to eliminate fraud, waste and abuse, just not in the program that is politically beneficial to them. U.S. Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., has joined several Senate colleagues in a letter that seeks the disbursement of already-approved Community Development Financial Institutions funds. To be fair, some of the federal actions seem designed to force elected officials to beg for the help they pledged to their constituents. In this case, $324 million from the fund was ...