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Editorial

Tackling obesity in Mountain State

West Virginia comes in last or very near the bottom in all kinds of significant categories. It’s been that way for so long, it’s almost become a running joke. And when we’re on top, it’s usually for something like leading the nation in overdose deaths.Now, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research shows we are leading in another category: obesity.The CDC says obesity is increasing across the country. All U.S. states and territories have obesity rates higher than 20%. But in the Mountain State, an astounding 41% of adults are obese.According to Dr. Alyson Goodman, ...

Nurses critical for health care

One of the reasons for West Virginia’s challenges in ensuring everyone has access to affordable, quality healthcare has been the shortage in healthcare workers.Nurses, for example, are in incredibly short supply.But two years ago, the Nursing Workforce Expansion Program was launched. Now, officials are celebrating its early successes.Between 2022 and 2023 there was a nearly 15% increase in the number of registered nurses graduating with associates degrees.The 676 graduates from that year represent a record number of nursing graduates in the Mountain State.Funded projects for the ...

Finding ways to help those impacted by the hurricane

For those of us watching in horror as Florida, North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee come to grips with the devastation left by Hurricane Helene, the first thought might be “I need to help. Now.”Whether the urge is to send money, send supplies or volunteer, we might have to be more patient than we’d like.Federal Emergency Management Agency guidance begins with something that might come as a surprise. Should you be trying to contact someone in the affected regions, text rather than calling. Texting leaves the lines open for emergencies.FEMA goes ...

Keeping Coal Miners Safe in West Virginia

Last month, we lost another West Virginia coal miner.Though his home was in South Williamson, Kentucky, Gary Chapman did his work at the Mountaineer II Mine near Sharples, W.Va.He is the fourth coal miner to have died on the job in West Virginia just this year.That is half the national total for coal mine deaths so far this year.According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration, on May 16, in Wyoming County, the classification for the fatal accident was “machinery;” on July 12, in Wyoming County, the classification for the fatal accident was ...

If 5% tax cut passes, Jim Justice wins but W.Va. loses

In a surreal turn of events, we find ourselves in the company of the likes of gubernatorial candidate Patrick Morrisey and Senate Finance Chair Eric Tarr — all of us opposing Gov. Jim Justice’s insistence on an additional 5% personal income tax cut. What we agree upon: There is no urgent need for the extra cut to the personal income tax, which will already receive a 4% cut because of triggers built into the law passed last year, which is in addition to the over 21% tax cut that has already gone into effect. Where we disagree is in the nuance. Both Morrisey and his ...

Editorial encore: Most of W.Va. has local news for now

EDITOR'S NOTE: This editorial originally published Dec. 3, 2023. West Virginia is surprisingly lucky when it comes to local news: All but two of our 55 counties have some kind of local publication, according to recent research by Northwestern University and the Medill Local News Initiative. The good news: With the exception of Putnam and Marshall counties, all of West Virginia has access to at least one non-television local news source. A handful of places, including Mon and Preston counties, have access to two, and Kanawha County has three. By the numbers, West Virginia has 64 ...