Local Columns

Political Odds and Ends in West Virginia

With all of the headlines about Gov. Jim Justice’s many business debts coming due and the near-auction of the historic Greenbrier Resort, you’d think this would affect Justice’s popularity going into the final two months of the general election for U.S. Senate. Yet, as it turns out, no one is paying attention. And even for those paying attention, Justice’s issues are not nearly as important as electing a Republican to the U.S. Senate. According to the results of the WVMetroNews West Virginia Poll last week, only 38% of the 400 likely voters polled said they had heard a lot ...

Parents on Frontlines in Fight Against Online Threats

A new school year is underway for children in West Virginia, many of whom have their own smartphone. By age 11, about half of the kids in America have one of these powerful devices so that they may stay connected with friends and family. However, smartphones also create the opportunity for connections to be made by people who could harm them, and thus parents must be vigilant. According to the F.B.I., more than 500,000 online predators are active daily and many are engaging with youngsters via Instagram, Snapchat, and gaming platforms. Parents are the first line of defense and need to ...

John Marshall High School To Induct 8 Into Hall of Fame

Seven athletes and one coach have been selected by committee members for the John Marshall High School Hall of Fame. This is the fourth year for the HOF and with the current inductees will bring the total number to 38. Cindy Lawther, Coach Cindy retired this past June after 47 years working as a speech language pathologist with Marshall County Schools. After West Virginia began girls’ soccer in 1995 with eight schools, she campaigned hard for Marshall County Schools to add a team at John Marshall High School, which they did starting in 1996. She took over the coaching ...

Brown Right Pick for Ohioans

Editor, News-Register: In our region of the Ohio Valley, like many in Eastern and Southeastern Ohio, communities rely on manufacturers like Cleveland Cliffs and their former Weirton, WV tin mill for good paying union jobs. When the mill was idled back in April, it left hundreds of workers, both from Ohio and West Virginia, without jobs. Sherrod Brown fought to ensure that Ohio companies like Cleveland Cliffs weren’t stopped from creating new jobs because of some critically bad decisions. Thanks to Sherrod’s efforts to stand up to unnecessary bureaucracy, Cleveland Cliffs ...

Dispatches From The Greenbrier Resort

I’m writing this week’s column sitting at a fancy writing desk off of the lobby of the historic Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs. No, I am not staying at the Greenbrier. I’m just a humble newspaper reporter who is staying at a nearby Super 8. But I have been attending the 88th West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting and Business Summit. The Business Summit is probably one of my favorite events to cover. My beat is covering state government, but my beat often intersects with business, whether that means lawmakers crafting bills to draw more businesses here, ...

Inflation Reduction Act’s Drug Price Negotiations Will Save Billions

President Biden says that the ability to afford needed medicines is about dignity, hope, and fairness. Those words embody the Biden-Harris Administration’s work to implement the President’s lower cost prescription drug law, also known as the Inflation Reduction Act. This month marks a historic milestone, as the Biden-Harris Administration announced new, lower prices for 10 drugs selected for the first cycle of Medicare drug price negotiations. As Regional Director at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), part of my job is to spread the word throughout West Virginia ...