A bipartisan coalition of members of both houses of Congress has introduced legislation they hope will slow the spread of the latest drug menace afflicting the nation: xylazine.

This is a column about little things — many of them. We all have them in our lives; sometimes they are stored away or lost. But when readily available, these little things bring life to wonderful memories.

In Chapter 54 of a treatise titled “On the Incarnation,” a fourth-century bishop and Father of the Church, St. Athanasius, wrote a sentence that, in the words of an Orthodox priest, author and theologian, “has echoed down through the centuries, even into our own time.” That sentence is a rea…

If states cannot acquire the drugs necessary to perform executions by lethal injection, they will seek other methods. That may require a return to the old ways. In a few states, it means the return of firing squads.

Fentanyl is wreaking havoc here. West Virginia’s history of substance abuse probably began with bootlegging, progressed to marijuana growing, and blossomed with OxyContin pain relief (the addictiveness of which was not initially admitted). And now fentanyl: apparently not that hard to make a…

Scary statistics tell us we need more babies. The U.S. birth rate for every 1,000 people is 12 per year, half the number of 1955 when I was born.

The time is nearing when hundreds of eighth graders in this area will make the jump to high school. Do schools still have eighth grade graduations? If so, and in the unlikely event someone like me were invited to give a motivational speech, here is some of the advice I would give those students:

Although I receive the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and a few other papers online, I missed The Wall Street Journal February article “For Remote Workers, These U.S. Cities Are Great Places to Live” until a friend sent the link.

The advent of inexpensive and easy-to-use video technology and the ease of dissemination of those images has brought something to law enforcement that its officers and executives are not used to: accountability.

In his inimitable fashion, Pope Francis has dropped a bombshell into the frothy furor of debate over gender identity politics. Francis earlier this month told the Argentine newspaper La Nacion that “gender ideology today is one of the most dangerous ideological colonizations” on the planet.

I have voices in my head — “earworms” of songs from 1970s TV commercials and show themes. How is it that we were designed to have old jingles play infinite loops in our brains? Last month it was the 1970s Burger King commercial: “Hold the pickles hold the lettuce, special orders don’t upset …

A recent New York Times editorial titled “Biden’s Promises on Social Security and Medicare Ignore Financial Reality” is, alas, convincing. The president has said there will be no diminution of Social Security payments, even though the Social Security fund’s current outgo is higher than incom…

No one wants to see flashing blue lights as they’re driving along minding their own business, but sometimes law enforcement must crack down on excessive speed. The construction zone on Interstate 64 between the 29th Street exit and the Huntington Mall became an area of increased enforcement …

While traveling, Maury, I and friends were waiting for a table at a nice restaurant. There was no rush; we did not have a place to be after dinner. Yet I expressed annoyance that our wait seemed extremely long. One friend smiled said something to the effect, “Yes, we do have a first world pr…

The best three weeks of college basketball are upon us as the NCAA tournament begins. Prepare now for friends and coworkers complaining that their bracket is busted as upsets abound,

Child marriage in West Virginia is becoming a thing of the past. The Legislature took the first steps last week to outlawing the practice.

The late 1950s song “Sixteen Candles” has been running through my head this March because our wonderful Shepherd-Huskie mix and former Hospice House therapy dog Cooper has reached his 16th birthday (or at least “birth month”).

Three years ago this week, Gov. Jim Justice closed all schools in West Virginia in response to the threat of COVID-19. What may have seemed to be a logical response to the spread of an unfamiliar disease became an educational disaster for many of the state’s children.

Under current projections, by 2100 the number of people over 80 will be six times the number today. Meanwhile, the number of children under 6 will drop by half. Scary.

The 2023 West Virginia Legislature’s session has offered many pieces of legislation that will affect education, especially as many sources have ranked the state’s educational system extremely poor. The Legislature’s recent push for intelligent design to be included in the science curriculum …

As individuals, families, communities, schools and government officials, we all have lines that we do not cross. Some are clear. Some aren’t. And some cannot help but bring disagreements over basic beliefs.

The Elyria (Ohio) Chronicle published this editorial on March 1. It was distributed by the Associated Press.

No one can deny that we’ve had extraordinary swings of weather in the United States in recent times, especially over winter 2022-23. In late February the skies dumped 6 feet of snow in southern California while our Tri-State area was making like April with temps in the 70s.

The inevitable cutbacks in West Virginia higher education have begun. The question now is how far they will go before the decade is out.

Spirit Airlines is leaving.

“Some people believe the law to be a restriction. It is a restriction only against evil. Laws are made to free people not to bind them if they are the proper laws. They tell each of us what he may do without transgressing on the equal liberty of any other man.” — Borden Chantry by Louis L’Amour

A few thoughts as a mild winter yields to spring and trees begin to bud:

People get angry. It’s normal. In daily life, many of us have uttered the phrase, “I’m going to kill him,” regarding bosses who expect too much, spouses who don’t do as desired and children, despite warnings, who repeat ordinary annoying behaviors. Few people have the intention of killing th…

Cleveland Plain Dealer published this editorial on Feb. 24. It was distributed by the Associated Press: