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Preserving green space as the city continues to grow

As a relatively small-but-growing city, Morgantown now faces the same problems previously faced by bigger cities — which were once small-but-growing cities, too. Growth requires development: commercial spaces, residential buildings, parking, related infrastructure, etc. Development, however, is often detrimental to the environment. Morgantown is now in that place where it must carefully consider how much land it should develop to meet the area’s growing economic and residential demands, and how much to leave as pristine green space. For example: The 14 wooded acres between E. ...

W.Va. vs. drug use: We’re losing

WV Department of Health and Human Resources The above map shows counties ranked by vulnerability to overdose mortality from all drugs. Dark red indicates the highest vulnerability to overdose deaths while light green indicates the lowest. Data from this map comes from 2017, the last time a statewide assessment was completed and the results made public. When Jeremiah Samples, senior policy adviser for the Legislature, gave his presentation on West Virginia’s addiction statistics, it was disappointing, though not surprising, to learn the Mountain State has made little progress in ...

Ahead of WVU game day, we can all be unofficial ambassadors

The air around Morgantown is positively electric — not just from the recent storms and lightning — as we gear up for the first home football game of the season. Pat McAfee will be broadcasting his live show from the site of the old Mountaineer Field downtown today. Mon County has canceled school for the day. Fans from both teams are already rolling into town ahead of tomorrow’s noon kickoff. FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff pregame show will broadcast live between the light blue and teal parking lots beginning at 10 a.m. tomorrow. The anticipation in the air is almost as thick as this ...

Yes, Morgantown council should move city elections

Morgantown City Council is considering a handful of changes to the city charter. (See Ben Conley’s reporting for full details.) We see all the proposals as net positives, and we don’t foresee much debate over them. The one amendment that seems to have council divided, however — and the one we believe most important — is the suggestion to move the city’s standalone election in line with the county-wide elections. Currently, city council elections happen in April of odd years; the last city election was in 2023, and if the schedule stays the same, the next should be in 2025, ...

Great strides in women’s equality, but still far to go

Monday was Women’s Equality Day, celebrated each year on the anniversary of the certification of the 19th Amendment. This year mark 104 years since women gained the right to vote. If you’ve been reading the League of Women Voters columns, you’ll remember that the fight to for female enfranchisement spanned decades (arguably centuries). Gaining the right to vote was the first step toward achieving equality for women. It gave them a voice in politics and the power to influence the laws and policies that governed their lives. It was the first foot in the door that eventually ...

Donation double standard

So ... Mon County 4-H can create an Amazon wish list on behalf of Monongalia County teachers, and people can order items off that wish list to be sent to Mon County schools. But Emily Calandrelli can’t share teachers’ Amazon wish lists, where people would order items to be sent to Mon County classrooms. One is considered a service project; the other is considered crowdfunding. It seems like this is a distinction without a difference. We understand Mon County Schools doesn’t necessarily want teachers going out and soliciting donations to their classrooms. We also understand ...