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Editorial

When creditors call in debts, it’s not politics. It’s business

The way Jim Justice tells it, the whole world is out to get him in a political witch hunt. So far, there’s been: The helicopter repo saga, in which the helicopter was hidden from creditors trying to repossess it to settle outstanding debt. (The helicopter was eventually put up for sale.) The state tax department filing multiple liens on The Greenbrier Hotel Corp. for unpaid sales taxes. (The Greenbrier also owed roughly $2.3 million to Greenbrier County in unpaid property taxes.) Over 650 parcels of land owned by Justice family companies put up for auction in McDowell, ...

Instead of tiny shelters, how about tiny homes?

A couple weeks ago, a group from Morgantown Church of Christ approached Morgantown City Council about helping to build up to 50 non-congregate shelters as resources for the area’s unhoused community. Representatives from the church proposed putting up 10x12-foot overnight shelters, with two beds and an electrical outlet. Youth Pastor Brandon Brammer said local businesses have already pledged $10,000 for the effort. They just need help from the city locating land to build on and an agency to oversee the structures’ use. Not only does the idea have merit, it has precedent. The Tiny ...

With lawsuits, hold govt. accountable, but leave art alone

In early July, shortly after the new murals in the Capitol Rotunda were revealed, two presuit notices were filed contesting the artwork and the process leading to its installation. The murals went from being a run-of-the-mill improvement project to a media sensation and lightning rod for controversy when it appeared one of the four murals — “Shivaree of Seneca Rock” — depicted Babydog. In the painting, an English bulldog that bears a strong resemblance to Gov. Jim Justice’s beloved pet sits in the grass between a painter and a mandolin player. Under the raucous ...

Another ‘bad apple’

If you haven’t already heard about the traffic stop gone wrong in Monongah, you likely will soon. The widely shared video starts near the end of the interaction, which began with a traffic stop about 30 yards away near Shaver Street and Lambert Avenue. The accounts of the initial traffic stop given by Sarah Beth Delloma, the driver of the vehicle, and by Nathan Lanham, now-former Monongah Chief of Police, differ. (Read Erin Cleavenger’s coverage for full details.) Delloma, through her lawyer, said she repeatedly asked to see Lanham’s badge. When he refused, she told him her ...

Finally — headway on UTC traffic light project

The good news: The much-needed traffic lights at the University Town Centre seem to be on track to be installed where University Town Centre Drive passes between Sesame Drive and Granville Square and between WVU Medicine and Walmart. The bad news: The project is looking at a 2025 completion date. Once the notice to proceed is given (which it hasn’t yet, but hopefully soon), the 60-day site prep starts and the actual light poles can be ordered, which are expected to take four to five months to come in. Assuming the right permissions come this week, the poles won’t arrive until ...

We can’t take our local businesses for granted

To quote Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” — “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.” In the last couple weeks, two of Morgantown’s locally owned institutions closed their doors: Ruby & Ketchy’s after 66 years in business, and Sellaro’s Overhead Door Service after 38. Ruby & Ketchy’s was a family-owned restaurant in Cheat Lake named for its original proprietors: Ruby Nicholson ran the kitchen, whipping up meals and desserts using her own recipes, and her husband Wilbur “Ketchy” gathered her ingredients ...