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Honoring a true West Virginia icon

During last week’s special session of the West Virginia Legislature, lawmakers carved out time to honor someone important not only to the state, but to the country.They passed a resolution to place a statue of the late Hershel “Woody” Williams inside the U.S. Capitol.Williams, who died in 2022, was the last surviving Congressional Medal of Honor recipient from World War II.Born in Quiet Dell, W.Va., Williams was a Marine Corps veteran who was in combat in the Pacific.He received the Medal of Honor in 1945, after serving in the Battle of Iwo Jima with the 21st Marines, 3rd Marine ...

Growing number of HIV cases must be addressed

West Virginia’s substance abuse epidemic (and, according to some public health officials, lawmakers’ response to it) has led to an increase in the number of HIV cases here as well.Particularly in rural counties, the worry is growing, as HIV clusters are appearing in places where there hadn’t been a single case in years.Dr. Anita Stewart, of the Nicholas County Health Department, told Mountain State Spotlight the problem is two-fold. First, in 2021 lawmakers passed a bill restricting how harm reduction programs could operate.After that, multiple county syringe exchange programs ...

Remember to register — and vote

Election day in West Virginia is just around the corner.Registered voters can turn out at the polls on Nov. 5 to vote for president, West Virginia’s next governor (either Republican Patrick Morrisey or Democrat Steve Williams) and other offices that make up the state’s Board of Public Works. There’s a proposed amendment to the state Constitution on the ballot as well relating to the protection from medically-assisted suicide or euthanasia.There also are contested races here for U.S. Senate (Democrat Glenn Elliott and Republican Jim Justice), U.S. House District 2 (Republican Riley ...

Lowering taxes in W.Va. right move

Lawmakers in Charleston made the prudent decision this past week when they agreed to a compromise with Gov. Jim Justice for an additional cut to the personal income tax rate. Starting on Jan. 1, the current 5.21% top personal income tax rate paid today will lower to 4.83%.This is a move that continues to signal that West Virginia leaders are serious about making the state a destination for those seeking a location with wonderful amenities — and a lower tax burden.“Even a little bit is meaningful,” said Delegate Larry Kump, R-Berkeley. “Anything we can do to reduce the tax burden ...

Child care credit a good step for W.Va. families

Members of the West Virginia House of Delegates did the right thing Monday by passing a child and dependent care credit against the personal income tax. Though some believe we should be doing even more on the child care front, getting the ball rolling was essential.All but five House lawmakers understood that.It should have been a no-brainer.“We’re mirroring the image of the federal program … to help parents be able to do child care along the same lines of the federal guidelines,” said House Finance Committee Chairman Vernon Criss, R-Wood.But knowing how hard it is for ...

Poll workers needed so Nov. 5 election can work

No matter your political leanings, everyone can agree the Nov. 5 general election is an unusually important one for our communities, states and country. From a new president to members of Congress, county commissioners, sheriffs and more, the 2024 general election is an important event in our history.There are calls from all sides to ensure this is a fair, legal, accurate election in which there is absolutely no room for doubt when all the results are tallied.But who makes that happen?Poll workers and state/local elections officials. Theirs is an enormously important job.But, in the ...