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Editorial

Keep online drama from going IRL

Many were likely shocked, though perhaps not surprised, by the story of an online fight that ended in real-world violence in Westover, with an 18-year-old in police custody and charged with assault and a minor in the hospital with a concussion and other injuries. “Shocked” because of the brutality of the fight. “Not surprised” because it is no longer uncommon for arguments started on social media to result in real-world drama. Social media is no longer just a reflection of our lives — it’s an extension. We actively engage with others through comments, shares, tags and ...

Better to arrive late than never

As some of you know, we keep a scanner in the newsroom that allows us to monitor emergency calls. As the day wears on, we hear everything from loitering to domestic arguments to overdoses to fires and some very strange things in between. But not a day goes by that we don’t hear at least one emergency call involving a vehicle. Hit-and-runs, especially in parking lots, come up a lot. There are also a disturbing number of road-rage incidents and reckless diving (e.g., speeding and weaving in and out of traffic). And we hear about vehicle crashes — particularly on Interstates 68 and ...

Why Maine’s mass shooting matters for us

We’ve almost become numb to the horror of mass shootings as their frequency has increased in the last several years. But the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, should hold particular resonance with West Virginians: Maine has a deep-rooted gun culture built around hunting and sport shooting. It doesn’t require a permit for concealed carry. It doesn’t have “red flag” laws. In fact, it has very few gun laws at all. But it’s also a state with comparatively little violent crime. Sound familiar? But this is not an editorial about mass shootings. Not really. This is an ...

Biden did his part. Now Congress must address AI

On Monday, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to put guardrails in place as artificial intelligence and large language models continue to be developed and released for public and commercial use. The order came just ahead of this week’s global summit on AI safety. We can’t say Biden’s order puts us ahead of the curve, exactly, because AI is already frequently used and has already created problems. But, Monday’s order helps us from falling too far behind technological advancement to be able to regulate it at all, as happened with social media. The two main parts ...

Let there be warmth

A sincere thank you to Milan Puskar Health Right and Sabra United Methodist Church for stepping up to provide this winter’s warming shelter. The announcement was made at Monday’s committee of the whole meeting. As part of a presentation, Morgantown Community Kitchen Director Jennifer Powell said she and Dani Ludwig will serve as supervisors, while Health Right handles fiscal management, hiring and training. Sabra UMC, on Richwood Avenue, will host and insure the shelter operations. The overnight shelter will run 6 p.m.-7 a.m. from Dec. 1-March 15 and will be able to hold up to ...

People require more than verbal promises

When it comes to Lake Lynn Generation’s proposal to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to remove 307.1 acres surrounding Cheat Lake from federal protection, Friends of the Cheat said it best: “FOC does not fully understand the justification for the removal of these lands from the Project Boundary.” Lake Lynn Generation has said the removal is largely for administrative purposes — simplifying the project’s boundary to only cover lands necessary for operation and maintenance of the power station. (It’s important to note that the following public access areas will ...