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A novel approach to the jail staffing crisis: Just ask

In all the discussion about solving West Virginia’s jail staffing crisis, has anyone bothered to ask the jails’ staff what they need?  Gov. Jim Justice has repeatedly called — though not pushed — for locality pay for Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation workers. Lawmakers balked at the idea and gave passing consideration to an across-the-board pay raise and a sign-on bonus for new recruits. But it’s becoming increasingly clear that offering higher salaries alone is not going to solve the jail system’s chronic understaffing problem.  The crisis is ...

Modeling civic engagement for the next generation

You may have seen that in addition to reading and math scores, the Nation’s Report Card also noted a decrease in students’ history and civics scores. There’s certainly an argument for suggesting teaching less history (or less accurate history) directly impacts students’ understanding of civics, we would also argue that the absence of civic engagement in students’ real lives makes it harder for them to understand what civics looks like in the abstract.  “Civics” is defined simply as “a social science dealing with the rights and duties of citizens.” ...

Shame on Manchin for supporting GOP ransom demands

Sen. Joe Manchin prides himself on his bipartisanship, but when it comes to negotiations over the debt ceiling, he should not support House Republicans’ ransom demands.   Manchin views himself as a deficit hawk, and he’s made it clear he’s displeased with President Biden’s rollout of the Inflation Reduction Act — even going so far as to suggest he would vote to repeal the bill he helped pass. But in this instance, Manchin needs to stand firm and condemn House Republicans for holding debt ceiling negotiations hostage in return for budget cuts.  Reducing ...

The information vacuum: The delicate balance of transparency and privacy

When North Elementary’s principal and vice principal were abruptly put on administrative leave in February, we warned about the dangers of an information vacuum: In the absence of facts, rumors will proliferate.  The information blackout didn’t just permit speculation — it allowed people to envision a variety of worst-case scenarios and prevented reputable sources from assuaging people’s fears.  Instead, the information void was filled with rumor and innuendo, spread by social media websites and word of mouth, and left to fester long enough that some tall tales ...

The obesity problem

Why distance and poverty have made us overweight U.S. News recently released its rankings for “most obese” state in America, based on CDC data. Can you guess which state was No. 1?   Yep — it’s West Virginia, with a 40.7% obesity rate.   We weren’t surprised to find our state has a significantly overweight population. It’s not that West Virginians don’t understand good nutrition or refuse to exercise. The root causes of obesity here are lack of access and affordability.  In 2018, the last year for which we were able to find data, around 25,000 ...

Maslow’s gun: Shoot first, question later

In addition to the seemingly inescapable mass shootings, wrong-place-wrong-time shootings are skyrocketing, too.  In the last few weeks, we’ve had reports of a Black teenager shot by an elderly man for knocking on his door; a young woman killed when she and her friends turned around in a man’s rural driveway; two cheerleaders shot for accidentally getting into the wrong car; two parents and their 6-year-old daughter shot after a neighbor opened fire because some kids’ basketball rolled into his yard; and five members of a family, including a 9-year-old, slaughtered by ...