Editorials

Working Together To Address Affordable Housing

Bipartisan efforts to address housing accessibility and affordability are becoming more common, though many are at the state level. Now federal legislation introduced by U.S. Sens. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., could help increase home ownership in rural regions by expanding eligibility for credit through farm credit institutions. “This bill is a result of Senator Welch and me working across the aisle to get a result for our rural communities because, at the end of the day, they matter more than party lines. When you do that, you can get good things done for the ...

Ohio Breathes Easier

There are still environmental worries to be addressed, and policymakers must not lose momentum on that front. But there was good news this week as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Ohio is no longer on the list of states that do not meet clean air standards. “The air is cleaner. What that means for families in Ohio: Your children are healthier. What it means for businesses in Ohio is that they are more competitive,” said U.S. EPA Region 5 Administrator Anne Vogel. This is not only a success to celebrate, it could also mean a change for Ohio drivers one day. Because ...

Touchstone Helps To Boost West Virginia’s Technology Landscape

For a long time, West Virginia leaders have said that, in order for the state to grow and thrive, it must embrace and continue to advance in the technology field. The next step in that process happened this Friday in Triadelphia. Touchstone Advanced Components, located on Middle Creek Road in Triadelphia, cut the ribbon Friday on a new 12,500-square-foot manufacturing facility. This new facility will allow the company to expand its operations in using C-foam, a coal byproduct created by Touchstone about 20 years ago to create tools, molds and parts needed in the aerospace ...

Safe Haven Baby Boxes Important For Community

There are some things in life that we hope are never used, but we’re much better off as a community that the option is there. Such is the case with the latest Safe Haven Baby Box that was blessed this past week at the headquarters of the Wheeling Fire Department. Safe Haven Baby Boxes allow a struggling mother wishing to surrender a child do so anonymously in a temperature-controlled and alarmed box. That box also will alert first responders, who will come and check that the child isn’t suffering any health issues. This is the second Baby Box at a Wheeling fire station, the ...

Consider Being An Organ Donor

As flags climbed flagpoles at hospitals throughout the Ohio Valley this week, the message was clear — organ donation is one of the most important decisions one can make for others. The “Donate Life” flags are flying in celebration of National Donate Life Awareness Month, a reminder of the need for organ donors across the country. In the Ohio Valley, guest speakers offered examples of how organ donation can change lives for the better. They talked about their family members who have been donor organ recipients and the years those gifts have given them to spend more time with their ...

Solid Energy Plan Needed

State senators have plenty of work to do — for their constituents, they must remember — and among those tasks is understanding Ohio’s energy landscape and the demands we are placing on our power grid. Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chair Jenifer French spoke to the body recently about the benefits of shorter regulatory timelines, noting that last year the commission signed off on 2,000 megawatts of behind-the-meter power (standalone power serving a facility) and 2,755 megawatts of traditional gas-generating facilities. She told the committee, “This is more gas-fired ...