The good news is that West Virginians lead the nation in at least one positive health care statistic. Our residents are more likely than those in most other states to have filled out an advance directive such as a living will or medical power of attorney. The bad news is that even as one of the best[Read More…]
Opinion
The Editorial category is a roundup of links to editorials and columns from West Virginia newspapers.
New law promotes more open government
An editorial from The Herald-Dispatch HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Following this year’s regular session of the West Virginia Legislature, there was plenty of debate about what lawmakers in Charleston did and did not do. Some saw legislation coming out of the newly Republican-controlled legislature as steps backward, while others argued that[Read More…]
Former Mingo senator gets $30,000 parting gift
A column by Phil Kabler of The Charleston Gazette CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It had to be shock for Truman Chafin last November when he lost the state Senate seat he had held for 30 consecutive years to used car dealer Mark Maynard, a Republican who essentially ran an unfunded campaign. However,[Read More…]
Governor’s veto a raw deal for raw milk supporters
An editorial from the Charleston Daily Mail CHARLESTON, W.Va. — To hear opponents of the bill passed by the Legislature legalizing the sale of raw milk, you’d think grocery store shelves would be full of the unpasteurized product, and hurried consumers might unwittingly pick up a bottle of raw milk when[Read More…]
Improving the public’s right to know
An editorial from the Charleston Daily Mail CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The nature of the Freedom of Information Act is to ensure that government is using its resources without waste, corruption or wrongdoing. The only way to find out is through curiosity, attention and persistence. Public access to what West Virginia’s government[Read More…]
Joe Manchin should follow Harry Reid’s example
An editorial from The Charleston Gazette CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada — injured and half-blinded by a New Year’s Day exercise accident — announced last week that he will retire from politics and not seek reelection next year. His announcement gives political figures and parties in[Read More…]
Ohio should collect more from casinos
An editorial from The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register WHEELING, W.Va. — Legalized casino gambling in Ohio has followed a trail worn well in other states. First, promise voters enormous riches if they approve table gambling and electronic slot machines. Second, convince state officials to grant tax breaks so casinos can compete against[Read More…]
W.Va. should regulate instrastate pipelines
An editorial from The Exponent Telegram CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — The Marcellus shale gas boom has resulted in proposals for five major gas lines to be built to export, at peak performance, over 10 billion cubic feet of natural gas across state lines to markets in other states and in one[Read More…]
Loss of Fayette K-9s a blow to law enforcement
An editorial from The Register-Herald BECKLEY, W.Va. — The press release that popped into The Register-Herald newsroom’s e-mail at mid-evening Tuesday was startling and, perhaps, met with a bit of disbelief. In the release, Sheriff Steve Kessler broke the news that the department’s K-9 unit had lost yet another member to[Read More…]
Focus on security at mental health facilities needed
An editorial from The Exponent Telegram CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — The recent escape of a murder suspect from the William R. Sharpe Jr. Hospital in Weston has raised an alarm about the security in place at mental health facilities that provide evaluations for those awaiting criminal trials. Labeled as forensic cases,[Read More…]
