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Welcome to W.Va., Coach DeVries

Thank you, Josh Eilert, for getting us through a tough season West Virginia University men’s basketball has officially closed one chapter and is beginning a new one. Early this week, WVU Athletics announced Darian DeVries will be taking over as head coach. DeVries comes to us from Drake University in Iowa, where he spent the last six years. Athletic Director Wren Baker said he liked DeVries not just for his winning records, but for his longevity: DeVries spent 17 years as an assistant coach at Creighton and six years as head coach at Drake. Wherever DeVries goes, he puts down ...

Science prevails as Gov. Justice vetoes vax exemption bill

On Wednesday, Gov. Jim Justice made the right decision and vetoed HB 5105, which would have exempted virtual public school students from vaccine requirements and allowed private and parochial schools to set their own requirements. (The Catholic Church already announced it would keep with existing vaccine requirements if the law did pass.) Despite the backlash from a vocal minority (like the legislator who threatened an even worse bill next time), Justice decided to listen to the concerns and wisdom of the medical community. Right now, West Virginia has some of the most stringent ...

Justice’s nonsense veto of research funds for RNI

Gov. Jim Justice often says and does nonsensical things. But his veto of research dollars for WVU’s Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute reaches a whole new level of ludicrousness. HB 5014 would have given $2 million to RNI to support ongoing ultrasound research, specifically to treat eating disorders and post-traumatic stress. It also included another $4 million for supporting hospital grants and research programs. RNI has already made incredible strides in expanding the medical uses for ultrasound technology. Under Dr. Ali Rezai, ultrasound has been used to treat tremors, to ...

Grassroots protest got band facility back on campus

To past, present and future Pride marching band members, the 2019 announcement that money was being raised for a dedicated band practice facility sounded like a dream come true. Renderings used to promote the fundraiser showed a full-size artificial turf field, a storage building for instruments and uniforms and a covered pavilion for practice sessions in the rain. Possibly the best part: It was going to be on campus — located at the former Hawley Field in Evansdale. And that’s how the project was sold to donors for roughly four years: An on-campus practice facility with ...

We need Bartlett House

Last week’s dip into freezing nighttime temperatures was a stark reminder of how important shelter is for our unhoused population — and it happened to coincide with a series of disappointing announcements from Bartlett House. As things currently stand, Bartlett House plans to close its triage shelter at Hazel’s House of Hope by June 30, because it did not receive the $166,000 it expected. At the same time it was announced Bartlett House would not get its funding for the year from the West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness, news broke that the new Rainbow House would ...

Scandal at WVSP Academy worse than originally thought

It’s hard to imagine, but the scandal surrounding the West Virginia State Police Academy in Institute has gotten even worse. The academy made headlines in 2023 when someone sent a letter to several state officials and lawmakers, detailing how cameras had been hidden in the women’s locker room and shower facilities and videos and photos had been taken of female cadets — including minors who attended the Junior Trooper academy. It was later revealed that a letter outlining the incident was sent to Gov. Jim Justice’s office roughly six months earlier, but that letter was never ...