Opinion

W.Va.’s Outlook Must Get Better

Editorials

As West Virginia lawmakers kick off this year’s legislative session with talk of kitchen table issues and “Jobs First — Opportunity Everywhere,” a recent report by WalletHub suggests they will have to do a lot of work to turn that focus into success. If the aim is to turn the Mountain State into the kind of place where people want to stay to raise their families, they’ll be working from (as usual) nearly the back of the pack. In WalletHub’s “Best and Worst States to Raise a Family 2026,” West Virginia ranked nearly last. Only New Mexico prevented it from being the ...

Don’t Ignore the Flu

Editorials

It is the season during which many of us simply accept that we will get the common cold or come down with the flu, but failure to do all we can to prevent such viruses can be dangerous. In some cases, it can be deadly. Recently, Ohio reported its first pediatric flu death of the season — a teenager under 18 in Greene County, according to state health officials. In fact, each year there are between one and seven pediatric flu deaths in the state. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nationwide 6,300 to 52,000 people died from the flu annually between 2010 ...

Local Cities Helping Keep Renters Safe

Editorials

The cities of Wheeling and Moundsville recently took it upon themselves to ensure the health and safety of renters within their limits when roach problems reared their ugly heads in both places. Windsor Manor Apartments saw a condemnation notice on its front door Friday morning, after an inspection by Wheeling Building and Code Enforcement the day before unearthed what it called a “major roach infestation.” No one has been forced from the apartments, Wheeling Building and Planning Director Brenda J. Delbert said, but the property owners have until Feb. 9 to correct the problem. ...

Protect Yourself This Tax Season

Editorials

As “political season” ramps up, election filings begin, tax preparation is underway, and any number of 2026 tasks come to mind at the start of the year, state officials are warning residents to beware of phishing campaigns and other cyber crimes in which deceptive website addresses and other techniques lead people to believe they are dealing with a state agency when they are not. Generally, the goal is to gain login credentials or other personal information — maybe even money. Criminals do so by creating web addresses that LOOK as though they came from state agencies, or send ...

Upward Mobility Act Sound

Editorials

Working families who are supported by federal benefits can sometimes find themselves in a difficult spot when a potential promotion or raise at work is not cause for celebration, but sparks worries about falling off the benefits cliff. Those receiving federal public assistance can see a complete loss of federal resources after even a small increase in income. But the Upward Mobility Act, introduced by U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, is meant to change that. Better still, it would help streamline some of the bureaucracy that feeds off such programs. It would create a five-year pilot ...

Lions and Lambs of the Senate

Local Columns

The West Virginia Senate is losing two giants with the resignation of Senate President Pro Tempore Donna Boley, R-Pleasants, and the retirement at the end of 2026 of Senate Minority Leader Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell. Boley, 90, has been a state senator since her appointment by the then-Gov. Arch Moore in 1985 and has remained there for 41 years and through 11 elections. She has been a force in West Virginia Republican politics and played a large role in slowly turning West Virginia into a red state. She’s the longest serving state senator in West Virginia history and at one point was ...