Local Columns

Trump’s Right — Time to Return Education to States

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, a wave of education innovation has been sweeping across the United States. Parents, student, educators and education advocates alike realized the current one-size-fits-all system was not working and started to seek alternative education pathways that best fits each child’s unique needs. West Virginia led the way on this effort with the first universal education sayings program, the Hope Scholarship, with over a dozen states following suit. With President Donald’s Trump’s executive order to downsize the duties and authority of the federal Department of ...

Morrisey’s Summer School Threat Unlikely To Be Effective

We’re on the countdown to Crossover Day Wednesday, when state Senate bills must cross over to the House of Delegates and vice versa in order to ensure these bills have a chance of making it to passage by midnight on Saturday, April 12, when the 2025 legislative session ends. That means we have slightly less than two weeks until the 60-day regular session ends. For some, that day could not come soon enough. For others, such as Gov. Patrick Morrisey, he is already clamoring for a special session. “The more work the Legislature gets done now, the less time it will spend in ...

In West Virginia, Mountaineers Are Always Free. Right?

Since our unusual wartime creation in 1863, West Virginia has always had an independent streak. Mountaineers were meant to be free, after all. And many a West Virginia politician has made a career by railing against mandates from Washington. Our current governor, no less, built his brand by suing the federal government repeatedly as attorney general. And you need not listen long to hear this same anti-Washington sentiment echoed in the halls of the West Virginia Legislature where Republicans now control 123 of 134 legislative seats. “We know best what’s best for us,” is the ...

Act on Growth, Education and Child Care in West Virginia

In the wake of the recent flooding that did much damage to several communities in our state, we have seen firsthand the resilience and solidarity of West Virginia’s people. These floods reminded us of the need to better prepare and support our communities for the challenges ahead. From infrastructure to workforce readiness, we saw gaps in parts of our state. But beyond the visible damage, there’s an underlying truth: this crisis has underscored the pressing need to address some of the foundational issues facing our state. From economic development to education and childcare — ...

Some Odds and Ends From Under the Dome

Today is the deadline for bills to be introduced in the West Virginia Senate. As of Sunday, we are now two-thirds of the way through the 60-day legislative session with less than three full weeks left. We’re also just over a week until Crossover Day, when bills must be passed by the body they started in and be sent to the opposite body in order to have any chance of completing the legislative process before the clock strikes midnight on Saturday, April 12, when the Legislature adjourns sine die. While things have been slow up to this point, expect things to start speeding up. The ...

Kandrach: America Is Facing Looming Port and Trade Catastrophe

During the pandemic, Americans learned how painful supply chain disruptions can be. Now, a newly proposed action from the Trump Administration could unintentionally make the pandemic’s supply chain disruptions seem tame. President Trump is looking to rapidly rebuild American shipbuilding. That’s an important goal since the erosion of U.S. shipbuilding — and China’s growing dominance in global shipbuilding—must be confronted. But the administration’s proposed plan could send costs soaring for U.S. consumers, grind U.S. exports to a halt, wreak havoc at U.S. ports, and ...