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Editorial

Registering to vote is not enough

Early voting began Wednesday in West Virginia, as we race toward the Nov. 3 general election. If data from the Secretary of State’s Office is any indicator, it looks as though an increasing number of Mountain State residents are eager to participate in the decision-making that will shape the next couple of years. In fact, 17,872 more people are registered to vote now than were registered ahead of the May primary. That means there are 1,210,297 West Virginians who can weigh in. But they have to decide to — simply registering is not enough. World Population Review’s most recent ...

Less energy consumed equals less money spent

West Virginians take a lot of pride in having for generations “powered the nation,” with coal and natural gas. And perhaps it is because we are surrounded by energy sources in those forms in addition to solar, wind and hydroelectric options that, according to a recent report, we don’t do a very good job of being responsible with our energy use. According to WalletHub’s “Most and Least Energy-Efficient States,” released this week, only two states in the continental U.S. (Alabama and South Carolina) do a worse job of responsibly using energy. Given that we are also among ...

Diesel prices affect even drivers of gas-powered vehicles

Most West Virginians — in fact most Americans — typically don’t think much about the price of diesel fuel. That is because our primary contact with fuel prices is at the gas station. In West Virginia, just over 4% of all light-duty vehicles are diesel-powered. So, for the average West ...

Democrats should accept compromise on energy bill

Senate negotiators last week unveiled a compromise bill that, if passed, would constitute the most important reform to the American energy sector in generations. Unfortunately, the same forces that defeated previous permitting reform packages — primarily left-wing interest groups — are threatening to smother this legislation. Democrats would be wise to ignore the naysayers and take the win. The package is enormous in scope and full of good ideas to boost every variety of energy development. That’s crucial, given the soaring demand for new electricity to power the artificial ...

Trump’s ‘assault on the rule of law’ is intensifying

On Friday, Donald Trump drove home his belief that might is right and the rule of law is an obstacle rather than an essential foundation stone of international order. First came the escalated assault on the international criminal court (ICC), sanctioning the body itself. Then he announced a deal with Russia to buy diesel. The US has long chafed at the notion of being bound by the rule of law that it espoused publicly. That hypocrisy now appears as a lesser vice. The president has declared that “my own morality” is all that constrains him. His brazen flouting of the law, embrace of ...

State races will hinge on Independent voters

There are now more registered Republican voters than Democrats in Logan County. The latest figures from the Secretary of State’s office show there are 7,707 Republicans, 7,699 Democrats and 3,808 Independents. Logan joins Boone County as the latest of the once deep blue southern West ...