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Courts should resist Trump’s attempt to disrupt voting by mail

President Donald Trump has been working day and night to make sure Americans can’t freely and fairly exercise their right to vote this fall, and he will continue to use any and all of the institutions he controls to make sure that happens. But he doesn’t control the people, at least not those in Washington state. Over the past 30 days Trump has overtaxed federal courts and the United States Postal Service to make sure his scheme will work this November and beyond. And now, in an emergency request, the administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the Postal Service to ...

A new narrative begins this Saturday

Fans judge their favorite team’s season on myriad events—wins and losses, overall and individual performances, the level of competition, game-changing plays, untimely penalties, the cost of attending a game, and on and on. But every season also develops its own narrative—a simple ...

Extra assessment for seniors common sense

More than a year ago, U.S. Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., introduced Senate Bill 2612 — the Stopping Addiction and Falls for the Elderly Act. It’s a bipartisan effort incorporates risk assessments and prevention services for falls into annual wellness visits and initial preventive physical exams under Medicare, as well as associated services provided by physical therapists and occupational therapists. And it’s been stuck in the Senate Finance Committee since July 31, 2025. It’s hard not to wonder if its momentum hasn’t been hijacked by that other bill with the very similar ...

Technology delivers for Hope Scholarships

Technology can be a wonderful thing — when it is working properly and we understand it. Though it doesn’t always deliver on its promises, it seems one improvement in the technology in the Hope Scholarship Program IS delivering what taxpayers demand. State Treasurer Larry Pack, also chairman of the Hope Scholarship Board, said last week that TheoPay Fulfillment has increased productivity for processing orders by 42% as families start using 2026-27 school year funding. There is an AI component to that success (it reviews eligible orders under $75), but the TheoPay Self-Serve ...

Mon county makes strides in bridging digital media literacy gap

MORGANTOWN – Gretchan Utzman began her job as the The Morgantown Public Library’s “digital navigator” last week as a guide for aging populations to better understand technology as society evolves. The pilot program was announced in April by the Morgantown County Commission, in which $50,000 would be allocated to the library for digital education resources. The initiative is part of Mon County’s $8 million allocation of the American Rescue Plan Act, COVID-19 relief funding, to improve broadband access. James Spears, assistant director, said the program has launched ...

A billion-dollar bet on maybe, built next to two coal plants that already work

FirstEnergy wants West Virginia ratepayers to underwrite a 1,200-megawatt, $2.47 billion natural gas plant next door to the Fort Martin Power Station in Monongalia County — inside the same generation corridor as the Harrison Power Station. Before regulators sign off, someone needs to ask the obvious question: what happens to the two coal plants already standing on that ground? Nobody is arguing against new generation. West Virginia needs it. The question in front of the Public Service Commission is narrower and harder: should regulators hand over billions of dollars in cost ...