The West Virginia Legislature passed a bill three years ago legalizing the use of medical marijuana. But that law has never really taken effect. Read the Full Story >>
Independent Submission
How Will We Vote During Corona?
Given the current COVID-19 situation across the country, a recent press release from Washington Monthly stated: The 2020 election is at risk. Short of significant reform, voter participation is expected to plummet. Read the Full Story >>
Shepherdstown Community Club Moves Forward on Strength of 75-Year History
There is a sense of community in Shepherdstown that exists in a swirling pattern focusing first on the vibrant heart of the city’s German Street before moving outward to neighborhoods both old and new. The city’s heartbeat plays its rhythm softly in the background for times gone by, and ever more strongly today. Read the Full Story >>
Big Manufacturers Want a Big Property Tax Break
Once again, the West Virginia Manufacturers Association (WVMA) is coming to the Legislature with a proposal to give large manufacturers and mining companies a property tax break. Read the Full Story >>
Clean Drinking Water Bill to be Introduced
On December 16, several members of the House of Delegates, I included, held a press conference in Charleston at which we announced that we would be sponsoring a bill that would significantly improve drinking water protection. Read the Full Story >>
Homework for the Children of Democracy (December 2019)
If you vote in West Virginia and you don’t read any West Virginia newspapers, you haven’t done your homework. You’ll be sent to detention, which is what we’re all having now, as we speak. Read the Full Story >>
Exit the Baby Boomers
For years, we’ve watched our young people leave West Virginia. The children of our friends, whom we’ve watched grow up, head off to college or a job opportunity, and they don’t come back. Now, their parents—our friends and neighbors—are entering or nearing retirement, and asking one another: Are you going to stay in West Virginia? It’s remarkable how many say no, or give a long sigh and shrug that says, “I don’t know.” It’s not that they have somewhere else calling them. It’s the politics. Read the Full Story >>
MARC Train Service Appears to Be Saved
As of this writing, the West Virginia State Rail Authority (SRA), at the direction of Governor Jim Justice, was actively involved in discussions with the Maryland Mass Transit Administration (MTA) for a multi-year agreement to continue MARC commuter rail service at its current level. Read the Full Story >>
The Macho Masculine Manly Man
Scott Adams, creator of the “Dilbert” cartoon strip, exemplifies the “Manosphere” perfectly by writing that “… the psychological state of American men in 2016 is one of persistent humiliation for simply being male. Perhaps the biggest unreported story of this presidential election is the humiliation of the American male. You're seeing a celebration that your role in society is permanently diminished.” Read the Full Story >>
Are the Higher Education Policy Commission’s Days Numbered?
There have been four different systems of higher education in West Virginia since the 1960s. We seem to want to completely overhaul the structure every 20 years or so. Read the Full Story >>
Do We Need to Pollute the Water to Create Jobs?
On October 23, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) will hold a public hearing on Rockwool’s applications for two stormwater permits. The hearing will begin at 6pm in the Storer Ballroom of the Shepherd University Student Center and will end at 8pm. Any citizen concerned about drinking water should come to this hearing. Read the Full Story >>
MARC Train: Critical Public Hearing
The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA), which operates MARC, has said it will cut service from Martinsburg to Washington, D.C. (now three trains each way) to one train per day. Maryland has said the service to West Virginia costs it over $3 million per year, and West Virginia has not paid anywhere near that amount. The two trains that would be eliminated would still run from Brunswick to D.C. Read the Full Story >>
Citizens United, and the Making of America’s Frankenstein Monster
Citizens United needs no introduction; it will be forever remembered as the most polarizing Supreme Court decision of the contemporary era—so far. What’s easy to forget is that it began in 2004 when the non-profit organization “Citizens United” filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Michael Moore’s film “Fahrenheit 911.” Six years later, it delivered a cash cow of political influence in the form of paid endorsements, Super-Super PACs, expenditures, ads, dark money, and even worse, a broader legal definition of corporate personhood. Read the Full Story >>
Partisan Gerrymandering is Constitutional
About a month ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that what is called “partisan gerrymandering” passes constitutional muster. But that doesn’t make it right. Read the Full Story >>
Keep the Trains Running!
The Maryland Rail Corporation (MARC) has informed the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) that passenger service from West Virginia will be cut from three trains each way to one in October. This would be a disaster for Jefferson and Berkeley Counties. Read the Full Story >>