Local Columns

Vivek Ramaswamy Right Leader To Be Ohio’s Next Governor

In 2012, I was invited to a conference held by the Milton Friedman Institute in Indianapolis. The Institute invited 20 or so legislators from around the country to discuss school choice issues and how much progress had been made to that point. Like most conferences we heard from a variety of speakers, one of whom was Tony Bennett (not the singer and not the basketball coach), the superintendent of Education from the state of Indiana. Bennett oversaw the institution of educational reforms including expanding School Choice options for then Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. Bennett made a ...

Reporter’s Notebook: Politics Ain’t Beanbag

There is an old saying that “politics ain’t beanbag,” meaning that the political arena can be a rough and tumble place. On one hand, I can understand West Virginia Democratic leaders jumping on the ill-timed nomination of former GOP candidate for governor and former lawmaker Moore Capito as the next U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia. On the other hand, I don’t believe it is deserved. To make a long story short, President Donald Trump released a list of nominees Tuesday for various offices – including Capito for U.S. Attorney for the Southern District ...

Marshall Memo: Mobile Food Pantry; Safe Sitter Classes; and a Special Birthday Wish

The Marshall County Family Resource Network is proud to once again partner with the Mountaineer Food Bank for a Mobile Food Pantry serving Marshall County residents. The Mobile Food Pantry will be held on Thursday, July 17, at the Valley Fork Boys Baseball Complex, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Please enter from 12th Street. Families are invited to drive up and receive a food box that will be placed into their vehicle. One food box will be given per family while supplies last. --- The Marshall County Chamber Summer Concert Services will be held from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, July 9, ...

The Power of Possessives May Be the Path Forward

When I was a young junior officer in the Navy, I was once admonished (that’s a polite word for “chewed out”) for referring to San Clemente Island as “my island” in front of a group of visiting senior civil servants. As the Island Operations Officer, I took enormous pride in the work my team and I were doing to revitalize a weathered old outpost that had been battered by use since the 1940s. Calling it my island just felt right. My boss didn’t agree. He reminded me that the island was under the jurisdiction of the Commanding Officer of Naval Air Station North Island. ...

A Business Case for Quality of Life in the Mountain State

There’s something about West Virginia that draws you in — a sense of belonging that makes you feel at home, even if you’re not originally from here. I’ll be the first to admit that when I arrived from Upstate New York, I didn’t know what to expect. What I found, though, was a state brimming with opportunity, community and willing to welcome newcomers like me with open arms — and a healthy dose of Appalachian hospitality. My journey in West Virginia brought me to earning a bachelor’s degree, something that I hadn’t dreamed of at the time. It’s where I met my ...

‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Delivers for West Virginia

West Virginians demanded generational change in November after years of mass migration, inflation, and progressive insanity. They demanded a secure border, lower costs, and a return to commonsense. Today, on our nation’s 249th Independence Day, President Trump is set to deliver on that ...