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Editorial

A message to utilities: We aren’t made of money

We understand that under the laws governing power monopolies — sorry, utilities — companies are entitled to recoup their expenses and make a little extra for the shareholders. But the rate hike requests are getting out of hand. It all kicked off last winter when Mon Power/Potomac Edison/First Energy requested a rate increase because it lost money, ostensibly because it failed to keep enough fuel supply on hand and had to pay extra to get more. The Public Service Commission approved an $11.05 per month rate increase (which we’re paying now). However, it also suggested Mon Power ...

Project 2025: A plan to destroy democracy

“Led by the long-established Heritage Foundation think tank and fueled by former Trump administration officials, the far-reaching effort is essentially a government-in-waiting for the former president’s return — or any candidate who aligns with their ideals and can defeat President Joe Biden in 2024. “With a nearly 1,000-page ‘Project 2025’ handbook and an ‘army’ of Americans, the idea is to have the civic infrastructure in place on Day One … to gut the ‘administrative state’ from within, by ousting federal employees they [Trump-era Republicans] believe are ...

The what and who of West Virginia First Foundation

Last week, Gov. Jim Justice finally announced his five appointees to the 11-member West Virginia First Foundation board of directors, though they must still be confirmed by the state Senate. The other six members were elected by county and municipal representatives from each of six regions in July and early August. The WV First Foundation will be in charge of distributing nearly three-quarters of the hundreds of millions of dollars in opioid settlements the state has collected. A little less than a quarter will go directly to counties and municipalities, while 3% will be held in ...

First Ascent is a good first step

From the moment Ascend WV — the remote work program offering cash and recreation incentives to out-of-state workers — was revealed, people (including us) asked, “What about West Virginians who want to stay but can’t afford to?” WVU and Marshall seemed to have listened. At the annual Chamber of Commerce Conference last week, leaders from the state’s two largest schools announced the First Ascent program. First Ascent is similar to Ascend WV but will be open to WVU and Marshall students in their last year of school and/or who have graduated within the last year; and who are ...

LIV event ‘great’ for W.Va. or for Justice?

Gov. Jim Justice seems to have had a grand ol’ time at the LIV Golf tournament when it came to the Greenbrier in early August. “I thought the event was great,” he said during a news briefing, “and I thought the event was great for West Virginia.” Many people are taking issue with the fact that an active candidate for U.S. Senate hosted an event for an organization that is directly funded by the Saudi Arabian government (which isn’t exactly known for its stellar human rights record) and may or may not have spoken with important Saudi officials. And if Justice were to win a ...

The importance of reliable sources

A Wisconsin Supreme Court judge recently made headlines for editing her own Wikipedia page to remove links to news articles she considered critical of her, instead replacing some of the page’s content and citation links with her own judicial decisions. On the off chance you are unfamiliar with it, Wikipedia is a “free encyclopedia” on the internet. Often the top search result for any given topic, Wikipedia offers webpages dedicated to virtually every subject under the sun as well as notable objects, events and people. The thing about Wikipedia that makes it both a font of ...