Local Columns

Politicians Fight Culture Wars, West Virginia Loses Jobs

A recent local news headline read: “Manufacturing plant moving from West Virginia to Ohio, creating new jobs.” This is an unfortunate sign of the times for our state, which has lost the job-creating momentum created after business-friendly Republicans took control back in 2015. Unfortunately, a lot of Republican politicians seem more focused on fighting culture wars and creating new opportunities for lawsuits than growing our economy. Even though a majority of West Virginia voters want their leaders focused on economic growth, many legislators prioritize hot-button social ...

President Donald Trump Really Is Man in the Arena

If you are one of millions of Americans who watch the news, and are angry about current political events, please permit me to explain how our TV news media works. The media is not paid by you, the American citizen, for the morning news. All of those reporters, journalists, and talking head commentators are paid with corporate advertising dollars; the pharmaceuticals, car companies, beverage makers, tech giants, etc. And all of them are multinational corporations, which means their loyalty is to their investors, and not to the United States of America. Like that media, our two-party ...

Strong Public Schools Vital to West Virginia’s Future

Well-educated students who are prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st Century are vital to our success as a state. Today’s students will have unprecedented opportunity to succeed in life if they are properly educated and prepared. Earlier this month, West Virginia Board of Education President Paul Hardesty pointed to important facts regarding the West Virginia school-age population and regulations regarding school funding. Mr. Hardesty correctly points out that in order to improve public education, legislators must remove regulations put in place by their predecessors that ...

Sen. Capito: Keeping the Government Open Shouldn’t be a Partisan Fight

As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, one of my primary responsibilities is ensuring that our government is responsibly funded so it remains open and working for the people we represent, including the hardworking West Virginians. That’s why I’m deeply disappointed ...

Reading Comprehension

Much like a lot of things these days, a speech given last week by West Virginia Board of Education President Paul Hardesty has become a Rorschach test depending on where you stand on the issue of public education versus “school choice.” During the state Board of Education’s regular meeting last week, Hardesty’s message was simple: If you believe in the notion of competition improving the quality of education, then lawmakers need to untie the hands of their local teachers and educators so they can better compete with private schools and home schooling. To demonstrate how ...

Traveling the Road to a Healthier West Virginia

“Take the backroads, not the highway.” — Minnie Pearl On Sept. 4, we cut the ribbon on something I believe will change lives: a new, $37 million, state-of-the-art outpatient clinic in Elkins, West Virginia, a part of a broader, nearly $1 billion initiative that WVU Medicine is taking to expand healthcare access across our state. The WVU Medicine Elkins Corridor Medical Center represents more than bricks, mortar, and medical equipment. It’s a physical expression of our mission to change the trajectory of healthcare in West Virginia by bringing world-class care to places where ...