Breaking News

Editorial

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 ...

New traffic lights at University Town Centre will be worth every penny

The Town of Granville and other University Town Centre stakeholders got a little sticker shock when the price tag for two new traffic light systems came in over double the original estimate. The initial price tag was expected to be around $600,000 to $700,000. The official estimate is over $1.5 million. Looking back, the original numbers do seem low. A little researching shows it’s not uncommon for traffic lights and their installations to cost as much as $500,000 for one intersection — and the UTC project is looking at two intersections, each consisting of at least five lanes ...

Editorial Encore: Sunshine Week has ended but our work never does

EDITOR'S NOTE: This editorial has been adapted from one that originally published March 19, 2023. Sunshine Week — a celebration of access to public, particularly government, information — ended last week. Most years, we would have highlighted Sunshine Week either before it started or while it was going on. However, we were so busy doing the work of illuminating government activity that we didn’t have the time to celebrate the work. Sunshine Week is structured around Freedom of Information Day, which falls on or near James Madison’s March 16 birthday. (Of the Founding ...

Kids told teachers how they had made a difference

You can, too Sometimes, we just need something to restore our faith in humanity. The recent “You Made a Difference” Awards by University Motors was exactly that. During the ceremony, 18 educators were honored, received awards and $500 checks and got to hear the letters nominating them read aloud by the students who felt they had made a difference. It was a beautiful reminder of the impact teachers have on students. And that while a single person may not be able to change the whole world, they can change someone else’s whole world. They can make a child want to learn. They ...

The Good, the Bad and the Stupid 10

Of the over 2,500 bills introduced this past legislative session, only 279 became completed legislation. And of the 140-ish bills we were following, only about 16 of them passed. Friday, we presented you with the Legislative Graveyard. Today, we’ll give you some of the bills that did pass, presented with their original “good,” “bad” or “stupid” designation. Good: SB 190 — to remove the marital exemption for sexual assault. This bill largely flew under the radar. The provisions of this bill had been amended into the House version of the “Women’s Bill of ...

The Good, the Bad and the Stupid 9

The Legislative Graveyard Welcome to the Legislative Graveyard, where bills that did not become law come to rest –— though rarely in peace. The vast majority of bills we followed this session died, for better or worse. We can’t list them all, but we’ll give you the highlights. Each bill is listed with its original “good,” “bad” or “stupid” designation.  Good: SB 740 and SB 741 — dealt with digitally manipulated images to create child pornography: SB 740 forbade altering images to make it appear a real child was engaged in sexually explicit conduct, while ...