Local Columns

Informed Electorate More Important Than Ever

I read an opinion piece by Keith Raffel titled “Evidence Points to the Supreme Court as Real Enemy of Democracy” printed in the Jan. 13, 2025 edition of this paper. I’m tired. I’m tired of reading opinion pieces based on some unstated and assumed facts. I’m tired of reading opinion pieces where the author presumes that he, or she, is both smarter than me, and knows better than me what is good for me and for the whole country. I find the premise that the author is smarter than all of us, and knows what is best for all of us, writing about democracy absurd. Still, let me ...

The Moundsville City Council meeting was held this past Tuesday with City Manager Rick Healy updating those in attendance about multiple issues related to the City. This past week, a bid opening was held for the Shelter Project at Riverfront Park. Part of the funding for the project would be through the Land and Water Conservation Grant. Unfortunately, only one eligible bid was received, and that bid was much higher than the estimated project amount. City Manager Healy, Director White, and the architect will be looking at options related to value engineering and revisiting the scope of ...

Executive Privilege

I praised Gov. Patrick Morrisey in a recent column for his candidness regarding future issues with the general revenue budget. I once again have to praise Morrisey for laying more of his cards out on the table. Morrisey held a press conference Thursday providing an update on the general revenue budget for fiscal year 2026 beginning in July. That’s the budget Morrisey will present to lawmakers on Feb. 12. According to Morrisey’s new revenue team, they are projecting a $400 million hole in the FY26 budget as of Morrisey’s first day in office last Monday — around $100 million ...

Terry Jarrett: Are you as safe as Washington this winter season?

By TERRY JARRETT Washington, D.C. got nearly 10 inches of snow recently. That was more than enough to shut down the nation’s capital. Thankfully, all of DC’s lobbyists and politicos stayed safe at home. Their local utility, Pepco—which relies on natural gas and coal for roughly half of its power generation—supplied the electricity needed to keep everyone warm. But what about the rest of the country? Are they as safe as Washington? Not necessarily. The North American Electric Reliability Corp. — which oversees the reliability and security of America’s bulk power system ...

Restart The Clock

Today is the day when Gov. Jim Justice hands over the wheel of the ship of state to the new governor, Patrick Morrisey. It is a true changing of the guard. Justice spent the prior week handing out more checks, traveling on treacherous roadways due to the snow/ice storm, receiving a polite goodbye from lawmakers who seem very ready for the new Morrisey administration to take over, and giving one final closed virtual briefing to reporters. I predict that Justice’s legacy over the last eight years will be mixed. There are many good things to point to, several bad things that took up ...

Reflecting on W.Va.’s Past, Embracing State’s Future

As I spent time reflecting during the holidays, I thought a great deal about how we never know what roads life will lead us down. When I was just a small business owner spending my days driving throughout the Eastern Panhandle, I didn’t realize then that the voices of Hoppy Kercheval, Don Marsh, and Stephen Reed would inspire me. They’d light a fire in me that would lead me to take a different and most rewarding path in my life that would lead me from Berkeley County to our state Capitol and the House of Delegates and finish with four years as the President of the West Virginia ...