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Editorial

Greedflation has hit the tipping point

If there was ever proof of “greedflation” — corporations inflating prices just because they can — it’s the price rollbacks many retailers are now touting as “for the customer” in press releases and commercials. Part of the disconnect between how people feel about the economy and the economy’s actual performance (by traditional metrics) has been what people experience daily in grocery and big-box stores and what they experience when they check on their investment accounts every few months or so. Investment metrics are off the charts, with the stock market performing ...

Why did RA bond fail? We already know the reasons

Last week, Nancy Walker — who is stepping down from the Mon County Board of Education after 28 years — recommended to her fellow board members that they pursue a “voter engagement poll” to see why the Renaissance Academy bond was rejected by an overwhelming margin. Ideally, she said, the architectural firm tapped to design the STEM school, DLR Group, would front the costs for the public survey, but we find it doubtful the company would take on the expense for a project that seems unlikely to be funded. Nor do we think it would be financially prudent for the board of education ...

The phantom campaigns of Joe Manchin

Current U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin recently changed his voter registration from Democrat to “unaffiliated” (aka, independent). This is noteworthy, though not surprising. Manchin has reiterated several times over the last several years that he’s felt the national Democratic Party has moved too far left for his tastes, and he follows the path laid by Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who changed from Democrat to independent in 2022. What’s created all the buzz, however, is not that Manchin changed his party affiliation but the timing of his switch. Some Republicans have reportedly ...

Facts, not politics, convicted Trump

Let’s start with the indisputable facts. In 2018, Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen pled guilty to multiple charges, including campaign finance violations directly related to the $130,000 in “hush money” he paid adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet that she and Trump had a sexual encounter in 2006. In April this year, Trump was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to reimbursements made to Cohen; specifically, that the payments constituted election interference by suppressing a story that could have damaged Trump’s ...

Justice says emergency in jails is over. Is it?

After nearly two years, Gov. Jim Justice has rescinded the state of emergency over jail staffing shortages. It is a cause for celebration — and possibly one for concern. Good news: The vacancy rate for uniformed corrections officers is down to 12% from a high of roughly 33% a year ago. Over 230 people have graduated from the corrections training program since January, and more than 30 of the National Guardsmen who were deployed to assist in the jails have decided to remain on staff. Bad news: Non-uniformed corrections staff still has a vacancy rate around 20%. The difference ...

Pride Month kicks off in Morgantown

On this first day of Pride Month, we’d like to highlight Pride and Pride-themed events and activities happening around Morgantown in June. Morgantown Adventure Outfitters is offering LGBTQ+ kayaking and biking tours 4-8 p.m. every Saturday in June (including today). These outdoor activities double as a place to meet other members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies and to make new connections and friendships. Morgantown Pride, in conjunction with Main Street Morgantown, will be hosting its Pride Parade at 7 p.m. June 13 (line-up at 5:45 p.m.). Line the sidewalks of High Street ...