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Editorial

Teachers aren’t happy. It’s not hard to see why

After reviewing some of the results from the West Virginia Education Association’s recent teacher survey, it’s easy to see why the Mountain State’s school system is struggling. A few highlights: 73% dissatisfaction rate with working conditions in the past year vs. 2% satisfaction rate; 62% said they are feeling burnt out — a higher rate than in 2020; 35% said they aren’t confident they’ll remain in the teaching profession (the greatest share of which are “early career” employees); and roughly half of those who said they’ll remain teaching for a while still indicated ...

Libraries in the 21st century

Perhaps you’ve seen those “alternative” weather maps that measure the snow forecast not in inches of accumulation, but in number of books you’ll need to keep yourself entertained until you can get out again. These images, of course, don’t depict an actual forecast, but they reminded us of something very important: Even when the snow is deep and the roads are impassable, you still have a whole world of digital, audio and visual entertainment at your fingertips for free — as long as you have a library card and internet. Libraries have long been imagined as stoic places ...

The Good, the Bad and the Stupid 1

Welcome to the first “The Good, the Bad and the Stupid” of the 2024 regular legislative session. For those who are unfamiliar with this annual tradition: Every Friday while the West Virginia Legislature is in session, we do a roundup of bills, rank them as good, bad or stupid and tell you why.  If there are bills you would like to see gain more traction or ones you’d like to see die, make sure to reach out to your area delegate and/or senator. The Senate suspended regular reading rules during the session’s first week and immediately passed dozens of bills, moving them to ...

For family-friendly downtown, focus on store looks, not store type

How many smoke and vape shops is too many? The Morgantown Planning Commission is considering a change in zoning ordinances to limit any more vape/tobacco stores from coming to downtown. The concern is that too many such stores make High Street and its offshoots a less welcoming place for families. We can certainly respect that concern, especially considering all the work the City of Morgantown has put into reviving downtown. And, to be fair, a quick Google Maps search will turn up five smoke and vape businesses between Willey Street and Walnut Street. But we don’t think ...

W.Va. voters have alternatives to GOP

You may have noticed that virtually all the discussion surrounding West Virginia state elections has centered around the Republican candidates for office. In large part, that’s because West Virginia is increasingly a one-party state where elections are determined in the primary. But it doesn’t have to be that way — there are Democrats running for state office (and a few federal offices). And unlike the Republican candidates, who are just trying to out-Trump each other, the Democratic candidates cover a range of ideologies from Joe Manchin-style moderates to a self-proclaimed ...

Bringing civility back to political discourse

We have officially entered 2024 election season (even though it feels like the 2022 election season never ended) — and the rhetoric from politicians and pundits is already heated. Unfortunately, it will only get worse. Mudslinging has long been a feature of politics, with verbal and written attacks on everything from an opponent’s policies to their appearance. Sadly, research has shown that potential voters are more engaged by “dirty” fights, such as negative advertising and personal attacks during debates, than by positive promotions. However, anyone would be hard pressed ...