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Mon county makes strides in bridging digital media literacy gap

MORGANTOWN – Gretchan Utzman began her job as the The Morgantown Public Library’s “digital navigator” last week as a guide for aging populations to better understand technology as society evolves. The pilot program was announced in April by the Morgantown County Commission, in which $50,000 would be allocated to the library for digital education resources. The initiative is part of Mon County’s $8 million allocation of the American Rescue Plan Act, COVID-19 relief funding, to improve broadband access. James Spears, assistant director, said the program has launched ...

A billion-dollar bet on maybe, built next to two coal plants that already work

FirstEnergy wants West Virginia ratepayers to underwrite a 1,200-megawatt, $2.47 billion natural gas plant next door to the Fort Martin Power Station in Monongalia County — inside the same generation corridor as the Harrison Power Station. Before regulators sign off, someone needs to ask the obvious question: what happens to the two coal plants already standing on that ground? Nobody is arguing against new generation. West Virginia needs it. The question in front of the Public Service Commission is narrower and harder: should regulators hand over billions of dollars in cost ...

Trump still talking W.Va. language

Polls across the political spectrum continue to show a steady decline in Donald Trump’s approval rating. For example, a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll put the president’s approval rating at 33%, down 14 points from the start of his second term. Not all polls have his numbers that low. ...

Starting and keeping small businesses going

Some public officials in West Virginia have understood for years that we need to expand and diversify our economy -- and that maybe the best way to do that is to start small. Efforts to help people start and sustain small businesses here have strengthened to the degree that a study conducted by Franchise Opportunities has named the Mountain State the leading state for new business survival. That's a big deal. Plenty of small business owners will tell you it is easier to start one than to keep one going. Franchise Opportunities chose a five-year period that included the Covid-19 ...

Opportunities may determine state’s hard-working rankings

WalletHub recently produced its “Hardest-Working States in America (2026)” report. Readers in West Virginia and Appalachian Ohio are likely thinking “Finally! A report in which our region will not be dead last.” About that … Both the Mountain and Buckeye states fall in the bottom ten, which WalletHub labels “least hardworking.” West Virginia is 42nd, Ohio is 47th – those same residents will be pleased to note that ranks above Michigan, which did, indeed, come in dead last. This study looked at direct work factors, including metrics such as average workweek hours, ...

The Iran war is straining the U.S. military for nothing

Donald Trump has authored a whole anthology of aphorisms demonstrating his deep disdain for the military he commands. He derided those killed in action as “suckers and losers,” said in reference to former prisoner of war John McCain that he prefers troops who weren’t captured, and said his “own personal Vietnam” was avoiding sexually transmitted infections while dating in New York City. The president’s latest entry arrived when he was asked about reports of miserable conditions and attempted suicides aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which has almost nine ...