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Economic reality check

This past Wednesday, Gov. Jim Justice scoffed at a WalletHub ranking that put West Virginia’s economy last overall in the nation. Specifically, he called it “political garbage” from a “bunch of liberal fruitcakes.” While Justice likes to brag about the state’s surpluses (which he never puts to good use), the situation on the ground doesn’t look so rosy. WalletHub’s ranking for West Virginia in its three main categories were 49th in economic activity, 42nd for economic health and 51st (including the District of Columbia) for innovation potential. These three main ...

An alternative to a gas tax holiday

At his press conference Wednesday, (we can no longer call them “COVID briefings” in good faith) Gov. Justice once again shot down the idea of a gas tax holiday, largely due to Republican legislators’ opposition. At the time, though, Justice said he was open to ideas. So we’d like ...

The AR, AR-style rifle conundrum

Today we present the last of our gun reform proposals, and it is probably the most controversial of them all. The sale of AR and AR-style rifles should be limited, if not outright banned. We say this with the understanding that “AR” does not mean “assault rifle” or “automatic rifle,” but rather “ArmaLite rifle,” a specific brand. “AR-style” or “Modern Sporting Rifle (MSR)” refers to semiautomatic rifles that resemble the ArmaLite rifle. We also acknowledge that ARs and AR-style guns can look like anything from a traditional hunting rifle (but with a larger ...

Reforming gun laws

Yesterday, when we mentioned the process of getting a license to drive a car, we said we’d come back to that. Well, we’re coming back to it now. At the moment, it is harder to get a driver’s license in some states than it is to get a gun. In the vein of commonsense gun reform, the process for purchasing, owning and/or possessing a firearm should be similar to getting a driver’s license. You should have to prove you are a resident of that state. You should have to pass a written exam on the basic mechanics and safety procedures for guns. You should have to pass a skills ...

Bring common sense back to gun ownership

First, the supermarket shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., that left 10 dead. Second, the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 kids and two teachers dead. Finally, the medical center shooting in Tulsa, Okla., that left four dead. The first thing we’d like to say, as fellow residents of a state where hunting is a way of life, is that no one wants to take away your hunting rifles. Here comes the “but.” But we, as nation, need to make changes to gun laws. If you hear us out, you may find we don’t disagree as much as you’d think. One thing all three gunmen from the ...

Self-fulfilling prophecy of ‘bad schools’

Monongalia and Preston county schools received devastating financial news this past week. Mon County is expected to lose 350 students to charter schools, many of them to the new in-person charter, while Preston will likely lose 44 — to the tune of $1.9 million and $272,000 respectively. Because of legislation passed in the last few years, parents can now choose to enroll their kids in “public” charter schools. We use the term “public” loosely, because charters are not obligated to accept every child the way real public schools do, nor do charters have to hire certified ...