Breaking News

Editorial

Since complaints don’t work on Republic, maybe levying fines will

Recycling pickup was spotty throughout the Suncrest neighborhood on Friday. Some bins were emptied; others were not, seemingly without rhyme or reason. That’s likely because there was a substitute recycling driver that day, but only a fraction of Republic Services customers knew it. Some people got text messages letting them know. Others turned to the hive-mind of social media and neighborhood Facebook groups to find out why their recycling hadn’t been collected. Still others were left in the dark, wondering when — or even if — someone would ever come by to empty the big ...

Hansen at COP28

The future of energy and the Mountain State The 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, came to a close this past Tuesday. World leaders in government, business, finance and energy (renewable and, yes, fossil fuels) came together for nearly two weeks of learning, discussing and negotiating. At the end, representatives from nearly 200 countries produced a “global stocktake” and acknowledged that global emissions must be cut nearly in half by 2030 to maintain a worldwide warming of no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. Among the ...

Girls Who Code show what public schools can do

Mylan Park Elementary’s Girls Who Code Club visited Charleston Monday for “Country Roads Codes Day at the Capitol.” While there, these girls spoke to legislators and visitors about the computer science program at “The Park,” as the elementary school is affectionately called, and even taught some lawmakers how to code. We’re so proud of the Girls Who Code and their ambassadorship. They are a shining example of what West Virginia’s future can hold. And they’ve given us an opportunity to talk about the bigger picture: how a good public school can change kids’ ...

To succeed, airport must be willing to change course

The already bumpy ride to an extended runway at the Morgantown Municipal Airport has gotten even more turbulent. What was originally predicted as a 5-year, $50 million venture has swiftly ballooned to seven years and $70 million — and we suspect those numbers will continue to grow. It seems every time the project builds momentum, the money dries up and progress grinds to a halt. The Federal Aviation Administration has repeatedly shortchanged the Morgantown Municipal Airport in favor of higher priority projects. But the airport hasn’t helped itself by leaving available federal ...

‘Pro-life’ politicians sell a fantasy. Here’s reality

Pro-life politicians are the world’s best salesmen. They sell the fantasy of every baby born perfect, with 10 fingers and 10 toes and scrunched pink faces and chubby little fists. They sell the idea of perfect traditional nuclear families and paint women seeking abortion as young, reckless and irresponsible who need to live with the consequences of their actions without “killing” their babies. They’ll say that there are exceptions for rape or incest or minors — except when there’s not, like in the case of the 10-year-old Ohio girl who had to travel to Indiana to abort ...

At gubernatorial debate, no good options presented

If last Thursday’s MetroNews gubernatorial debate is anything to go by, Republican primary voters have no good options. None of the three participating candidates stood out as an overall good choice. On economic policy, Chris Miller proclaimed income taxes need to be cut further and faster: “Get rid of it day one,” he said. Obviously, government doesn’t work that way. A governor can’t walk in on the first day of office and re-write the state’s entire tax structure. We hope he’s just using this as a campaign slogan, but we’re afraid he actually means it. And even ...