Substance use disorder is an ugly, vicious disease. This disease has ravaged our communities and stolen more than 700,000 American lives. This epidemic has affected all of our families. Each of us knows someone who has been devastated by this public health crisis. West Virginia was experienc…
I don’t know why I am writing this column. The people who need to read it probably can’t read. Or if they can read, they will never admit they have a serious mental problem.
Since Cabell County voters approved a $60.5 million facilities bond Jan.28, 2006, Board of Education members and superintendents since have worked tirelessly to ensure the promises made to taxpayers at that time are promises kept.
It’s only September, and already West Virginia officials are making plans to reduce state spending because revenues are less than expected.
WASHINGTON — I want to hear the Democratic presidential candidates explain, convincingly, how they’re going to beat Donald Trump. Then I want to hear how they propose to repair the devastating damage Trump has done to all three branches of government — and to our trust in our institutions.
Some 1,600 years ago, in the A.D. 410, barbarian armies underneath King Alaric captured the ancient city of Rome, ransacking and pillaging the center of the Roman Empire. The fall of the once-great capital sent terrifying shock waves throughout the Western world, triggering Saint Jerome to l…
In a recent column, lobbyist Rebecca McPhail insists that growing a fracking-based plastics industry here is a national priority. It’s titled “WV must embrace petrochemical potential.”
The Exponent Telegram of Clarksburg, West Virginia, published this editorial on Sept. 18:
WASHINGTON — The recent fiasco at The New York Times, which last weekend published the latest uncorroborated sexual-assault accusation against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, was a monument to hearsay and a travesty of journalistic ethics.
WASHINGTON — So far, under the auspices of the Trump presidency, we’ve been quite lucky.
On 23 September, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will be hosting a summit on climate change in New York City. The USA has decided not to attend. Instead, the Trump government has tried to reverse environmental laws protecting the planet intended to reduce carbon emissions in our fact…
HONG KONG — Lee Cheuk-yan, unlike most Americans, remembers and reveres Lane Kirkland, a hero of the first Cold War. During 16 years as leader of the AFL-CIO, 1979-95, Kirkland gave crucial support, both material and moral, to Lech Walesa and the Solidarity movement in Poland, where it was a…
The extended Ross family welcomed its newest member Monday. Actually we welcomed her several months ago when we learned she was on the way. Monday was the day she was born, and we got to hold her after a long wait.
Speaking as a once highly trained U.S. Army infantryman, “assault” means to attack an enemy position. That can be done using a bayonet on the business end of a rifle, or a single-shot M-79, or artillery from 10 miles away. Even hand-to-hand combat with a club is an assault. It is a word that…
WASHINGTON — American Pharoah has joined the #Resistance.
This summer I had opportunities to see new outdoor and floodwall murals. As I viewed them, it became clear to me that Huntington needs to transform its plain old boring concrete downtown floodwall into a positive highlight. This can be done with professional quality murals.
Every vote should count in elections
We should allow each vote cast to count in all elections. Let's do away with electoral votes and super delegates.
WASHINGTON - A Columbia Journalism Review poll released this year found that half of all Americans have "hardly any confidence at all" in the media, which beat out even Congress as the institution for which the public has the lowest confidence. It's not hard to see why. Last week, CNN reported that the CIA was forced to pull a highly placed source inside the Kremlin because of concerns that President Trump might burn him - when it turns out the decision to extract the source was made before Trump took office because of leaks from senior Obama administration officials.
In his next-to-last year in office, President Barack Obama, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers altered a regulation pertaining to the waters of the United States, also known as WOTUS. The rule expanded the definition of WOTUS to include smaller streams, ditches and even puddles that had been under the jurisdiction of states.
WASHINGTON - President Trump is a horrendous racist. And it's time for Democrats to stop calling him one.
Counterintuitive? Yes. But substantial evidence shows that labeling Trump "racist" backfires against Democrats. It energizes his supporters without providing any additional motivation to Democrats, and it drives soft partisans - voters who could be up for grabs in 2020 - into Trump's arms.
The U.S. Department of Justice has recently sued the Baltimore County government alleging that its written test for police officer recruits was unfairly biased against black applicants. It turns out that black applicants failed the written test at a rate much greater than white applicants. That results in fewer blacks being trained and hired as police officers. John A. Olszewski Jr., Baltimore County Executive, said: "A law enforcement agency should look like the community it serves. As I have said repeatedly since taking office, I am committed to increasing diversity in the county's Police Department."
The Marietta (Ohio) Times published this editorial on Sept. 13:
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is right to be concerned about a proposal to privatize two mortgage industry giants that have been under federal control for about a decade. But Brown, D-Ohio, may be missing the big picture.
Old radios revive memories of youth
When I was on the 9/11/19 tour of The Museum of Radio and Technology in Huntington with The Cabell-Wayne Association of the Blind (CWAB), I couldn't help but think of the Carpenters song "Yesterday Once More":
In recent years, Marshall University has sold naming rights to its buildings to the highest bidders and the largest donors. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that. Honoring donors instead of faculty members and others who have made lasting impacts on the school is a way of raising money …
Eight days after fairly extensive urological surgery, I was up and walking without a cane. Post-op days one through seven, however, were painful and not what you might call “fully ambulatory.”
WASHINGTON — Watching the Democratic presidential debate Thursday night left one clear impression: Donald Trump won.
The Republican Party is unconscious — Why aren't the West Virginia senators and Congress members doing more for their constituents to get rid of this madman? We're headed toward a recession; why? America is looking more like a Third World country instead of a beacon of hope.
WASHINGTON — This is how the Trump administration goes about the quiet business of incapacitating the U.S. government. President Trump spent his summer making war on Denmark, attacking Baltimore, destabilizing the world economy, sending an imaginary hurricane to Alabama and ousting his national security adviser, among other things.
Dave Yost is the elected attorney general of all Ohioans, but he refuses to demonstrate he gets what that means. He refuses to acknowledge his responsibilities to all of the state's people and to communities that have borne the brunt of both the cost and hurt of the opioid crisis.
It's true that an assault weapons ban would do little to reduce overall gun deaths in America because mass shootings account for less than 1 percent of gun-related deaths. Unfortunately, it's also true the gunman in Dayton fired 41 shots killing nine people in less than 30 seconds. Why is anyone able to shoot that many rounds in 30 seconds?
Hospital venture may be unethical: As I read the article in The Herald-Dispatch last month concerning Mountain Health Network starting their own durable medical (wheelchair, walker, etc.) company along with respiratory supplies such as oxygen and C-PAP machines, I was struck with the impropriety of this new company.
This is it, Susie. The big day. Our golden wedding anniversary. We made it. We never gave our 50th wedding anniversary a thought on that fateful day when we looked at each other and said "Hey, let's go to Virginia and get married."
Marshall University's decades-long quest for a baseball stadium on or within walking distance of campus took a giant leap forward last week when the school signed papers completing the purchase of the former Flint Pigments Group property between 3rd and 5th avenues.
WASHINGTON — Here's some advice for the media covering President Trump: If you don't want to be accused of reporting fake news, don't report fake news.
WASHINGTON — House Democrats can't have it both ways. Either they're impeaching President Trump or they're not — and it looks like they're not. Why Congress is not fulfilling what would seem to be its constitutional duty has nothing to do with the merits of the case against Trump, who adds to the list of his impeachable offenses almost daily.
I attended college from 1965 until 1989, acquiring three degrees as well as taking other postgraduate education courses. The total tuition for my undergraduate and graduate classes was approximately $10,000 during the "golden age" of a college education.
WASHINGTON — President Trump's tweeting of a "Trump 2024" meme should concentrate the minds of his opponents. So should the results of North Carolina's special congressional elections on Tuesday. Perhaps it's a mistake to take the first too seriously. But it does underscore the utterly abnormal, chaotic, norm-breaking, and corrupt nature of this administration.
When negotiations broke down and Alecto Healthcare moved ahead with mothballing the Ohio Valley Medical Center in Wheeling, Gov. Jim Justice took the opportunity to lambaste "this huge out-of-state conglomerate" that "cares very little for West Virginians."
GOP should look to replace Trump: It is my expectation that President Trump is going to do all of us a big favor and decide sometime in early-to-mid 2020 not to run for re-election partly because of a slowdown in the economy. When that happens, I hope that the Republicans will nominate someone of good character such as Nikki Haley or Carly Fiorina.
HONG KONG — Physically diminutive, intellectually acerbic and with an eye for the ironic, Margaret Ng — lawyer, writer and former legislator — is, at 71, a member of the generation for which this city's youthful protesters have scant patience. They say the elders have been too patient about Hong Kong's precarious situation. But, says Ng dryly, the youths frequently welcome assistance from the older generation's lawyers.
Bill Theiss knows people who operate pleasure craft on the Ohio River between Huntington and Point Pleasant, West Virginia, can be frustrated with wait times at the Robert C. Byrd Locks and Dam, but there's not much he can do about it.
WV doesn't need fracking industries
In a recent column, lobbyist Rebecca McPhail insists that growing a fracking-based plastics industry here is a national priority. It's titled "WV must embrace petrochemical potential."
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Once upon a time, Mark Sanford might have been a contender, but there's too much water under the bridges that stretch from this city of steeples to his erstwhile home on Sullivan's Island.
WASHINGTON - Imagine if, back in 2011, President Barack Obama had not only withdrawn all U.S. forces from Iraq, facilitating the rise of the Islamic State, but also invited Islamic State leaders to Camp David to sign an agreement cementing his withdrawal plan. Obama's decision to pull out American troops was catastrophic, but even he was not dumb enough to seek a photo op with terrorists. Yet this is precisely what President Trump tried to do when he initially invited the Taliban to Camp David for a meeting this past weekend.
In recent weeks, two events have come out of the Marshall University community that are worth noting. They point to Marshall's future and its past.
HONG KONG - The masked men who recently tossed firebombs at Jimmy Lai's home targeted one of this city's foremost democracy advocates. Lai, a 71-year-old media billionaire, calls this summer's ongoing protest "a martyrdom movement" and "a last-straw movement." It has an intensity and dynamic that bewilders the protesters' opponents in Beijing and in Hong Kong's Beijing-obedient city administration.
Milton lacks sewer debt transparency
On Sept. 3, the Milton City Council approved a first reading of an ordinance to increase sewer rates 18% to meet debt service payments associated with an upcoming sewer improvement project. The new rate proposed is $14.81 per 1,000 gallons, equivalent to an additional $2.31 per 1,000 gallons above current rates. While the city is likely justified in increasing the sewer rate to cover cost of debt, they are not transparent about the actual monthly debt cost that must be paid and how long it will take to pay off the debt. The rate increase proposed, if approved, will continue in force even after the debt is paid off.
Millions watched as Hurricane Dorian slowly approached our nation's southeast coast. As it pummeled Abaco, the National Weather Service (NWS) reported probable strike zones in the form of a cone of uncertainty. This included most of Florida and coastal regions north of it.
Do you realize that everywhere you go is your mission field? Joshua 1:3 says, "Every place which your feet tread, I have given to you just as I spoke to Moses." That means that anywhere we go, every person we come in contact with or situation we encounter, we are meant to prosper as long as we are being obedient to God.
The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch published this editorial on Sept. 7:
Trying to make up for deep-seated inequality in American society without being unfair to any one individual is no easy task. No one knows this better than people in the college admissions business - in particular the College Board, which recently backed away from a planned tweak in its all-important Scholastic Aptitude Test after the change was roundly blasted by critics.
WASHINGTON - As we move into the fall, there's one overriding foreign policy priority for America: Find a strategy to deal with a rising China that protects U.S. interests but doesn't subvert the global economy.
Look at the good all around you
With all the bad we see, hear and witness, would it not be so wonderful to hear, see and witness all the good?
WASHINGTON - "It is impossible to prepare for an apocalypse," Dr. Duane Sands, the health minister of the Bahamas, told reporters Sunday.
Officials of the West Virginia Department of Education and at least two county school superintendents met in Parkersburg last week to discuss rules to regulate charter schools in West Virginia.
News junkie that I am, I check in periodically with C-SPAN, the public interest TV channel paid for by cable TV companies. Recently, I got important updates on America's opioids epidemic from a panel sponsored by Oxford House, a not-for-profit that helps addicts with recovery through a network of "clean and sober" houses.
Thanks for story on MU memorial
My sister and I would like to thank The Herald-Dispatch for the fantastic article about saving the Marshall Football Memorial created by our father, Vernon Howell. We would also like to recognize television stations WOWK-TV and WCHS-TV for their time and coverage of our story. You have captured the essence and soul of this memorial perfectly.
WASHINGTON - As we move into the fall, there's one overriding foreign policy priority for America: Find a strategy to deal with a rising China that protects U.S. interests but doesn't subvert the global economy.
We've all heard the old "jokes" told mostly by those from outside West Virginia about the condition of our teeth. Nasty as they might have been, there was a grain of truth to them in terms of the need for better oral health for many families in our state. Progress has been made, but room for improvement remains.
Wars by the elites on the people are flaring in English-speaking nations on both sides of the Atlantic. It's being waged fiercely in the Palace of Westminster House of Commons and in the House of Lords. And in the newsrooms and greenrooms of American journalism.
Many wonderful people in Huntington: I feel so much is written and said about what is wrong with Huntington and the surrounding area, but not enough credit is given to the wonderful, caring people who live here.
WASHINGTON — Sticks and stones may break his bones, but poor Mitch McConnell thinks words hurt him, too. The Senate majority leader is distressed that people are calling him names. First there was "Moscow Mitch" (because he refuses to do anything significant to stop Russian interference in U.S. elections), and then there was "Massacre Mitch" and even "Murder Turtle" (because he refuses to take up gun-violence legislation despite massacre after massacre). At the risk of hurting the Kentucky Republican's tender feelings still further, I suggest another moniker: Muzzle Mitch.
Do you realize that everywhere you go is your mission field? Joshua 1:3 says, "Every place which your feet tread, I have given to you just as I spoke to Moses." That means that anywhere we go, every person we come in contact with or situation we encounter, we are meant to prosper as long as we are being obedient to God.
Remember United Flight 93: It all began on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, in the skies of eastern Ohio at an altitude of 35,000 feet when the hijackers started to gain control of United 93, but what happened the next few minutes would show America and the world what teamwork is all about!
