Register to vote because ‘every voice matters’

September 30, 2026

There are a disturbing number of intelligent, well-informed people who have taken a look at the state of our government and decided to wash their hands of it by removing themselves from the voting process. How often have you heard, “It’s all a mess. Neither side cares about anything but winning. No one represents me. I’m just not going to vote"? And so, elections are increasingly decided not by those who feel as though they are caught in the middle, but by those who are happy to fall toward one of the extremes. It is an understatement to call that less than ideal. “In West ...

Tariffs, trade wars have made farming in the U.S. harder

September 29, 2026

JD Vance was in Iowa last week, trying to shore up GOP support in the heartland. “We want farming to be easier in the United States of America, not harder,” the Vice President told the crowd in Council Bluffs. Farming is always hard, but what could be making it even harder these days? Hmmm. Could it be President Trump’s tariffs and trade wars that have raised farmers’ costs and lost them markets abroad due to retaliation? Asking for a friend in the Midwest. While Mr. Trump can claim all he wants that foreigners pay his tariffs, Deere & Co. said on an earnings call last month ...

Addressing W.Va.’s nursing shortage is a good start

September 28, 2026

Among the projects under West Virginia’s Rural Health Transformation Program is Mountain State Care Force, which is meant to address the shortage of healthcare workers in many of our communities. This week, the initiative awarded $201,403 to the WVU Medicine Center for Nursing Education, where it is expected to increase capacity for approximately 100 additional nursing students each year and increase access to nursing education for students from “rural and Health Professional Shortage Area communities, including Hancock, Ohio, Marshall, Tyler and Wetzel counties,” according to a ...

The harsh reality of W.Va.’s working poor

September 24, 2026

I wrote about West Virginia’s poverty level in last week’s commentary, based on U.S. Census figures. However, those numbers do tell only part of the story of the financial challenges in our state. The United Way’s ALICE report is more revealing. ALICE stands for asset limited, income ...

What a difference Save A Life Day makes

September 23, 2026

It’s no surprise an observance such as today’s Save A Life Day was born in West Virginia — a state ravaged to a greater degree than any other by the substance abuse epidemic that continues to plague us. From a humble pilot meant to increase access to naloxone and help prevent overdose death, the day has become a nationwide push to take action. In the Mountain State alone, there will be 220 events today, with the West Virginia First Foundation noting the sense of urgency means the number of events could continue to grow. Access and awareness of naloxone is essential, as is ...

On Donald Trump’s crusade against ‘dreamer’ students

September 21, 2026

The Trump administration sued D.C. and three states last week to try to invalidate their policies allowing in-state tuition for undocumented college students. It was a lamentable milestone: Since President Donald Trump returned to office last year, his administration has now sued every jurisdiction that offered such assistance. This is part of a broader campaign against “dreamers,” the young immigrants who were brought into the United States illegally as children. Many remember no other country as home. College degrees are particularly important for this cohort: Degrees can lead to ...