Opinions
Unions play an important role in economy, helping workers
CHARLESTON – While attempting to diminish the work of labor unions using absolutely no facts or research, Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce CEO Bill Bissett said: “Recognizing self-interest allows one to better understand why you are doing what you are doing.” Indeed. But, let's look closer.
You can't blame Kroger for a pre-existing condition
If insurance companies won’t cover pre-existing conditions, why should supermarkets? You didn’t know supermarkets cover pre-existing conditions? Well, they don’t, actually, but someone needs to explain that to Jennifer Thompson and Carolyn Foster.
It's time to tell the truth about unions
What does Right To Work mean for West Virginia? In a recent HADCO meeting, I asked a site selection expert if West Virginia’s passage of Right To Work was a factor in our region being considered by his company. He answered bluntly, “We would have never considered West Virginia without passing Right To Work.”
Drug crisis calls for action to heal our state
When I look at West Virginia and our debilitating drug epidemic, it shakes me to my core. I cannot understand why our current governor’s plan to address this challenge remains in draft form after being office for over 1,000 days. I know just about every nook and cranny of our state, and this crisis touches all of us. It’s why I recently announced a lengthy and detailed action plan to address this crisis.
Brenda Miller, do your job or find another one!
You wouldn’t think you’d need to explain to someone who’s been an Ohio County Circuit Clerk for 20 years that attorneys deserve the respect and cooperation of court employees. Brenda Miller may be just a clerk, but she seems to fancy herself a queen, with the power and authority to do as she pleases.
Hemp has a chance to be a budding success in the Mountain State
West Virginia can become a national voice for industrial hemp. This is an opportunity we cannot miss. And, with the help of our producers and government leaders in West Virginia, we won’t.
What’s not to like about a Judge Richard Neely?
“No one wants to bring back the bad old days of jackpot justice, including when Richard Neely was on the court. West Virginians don’t want more runaway verdicts and embarrassing actions and rhetoric from greedy personal injury lawyers like Richard Neely.”
President Trump will be re-elected in 2020
CHARLESTON – With respect to a recent op-ed penned by my friend and former Mayor of Charleston Danny Jones, President Trump will be re-elected in 2020. Not only will President Trump be re-elected, but he will also prevail by a larger margin in 2020 than in 2016.
It’s time for green revolutionaries to admit defeat
You can’t accuse the facile foes of fossil fuels of lacking energy. Knowledge or logic or honesty, yes. Energy, no. Whether it’s generated by lots of wind or the product of biomass hysteria, they’ve got plenty of energy. They never give up.
Our unrelenting fight against robocalls
These calls are more than an aggravation – they are dangerous. That is because oftentimes the caller is a thief attempting to steal your money and personal, identifiable information.
We’re enjoying Richard Neely’s retirement, and so should he
The problem with Richard Neely’s “real experience” is the same as Darrell McGraw’s: we had to live through it, too. We’re old enough to remember it, not old enough to have forgotten.
Local newspapers continue to keep us informed
WASHINGTON – For as long as our great nation has existed, newspapers have been part of the fabric that strengthens our democracy and makes our communities stronger.
Scaremongering lawyers should be disciplined
Lawyers running anti-drug commercials should be held accountable for their claims. If they can’t substantiate those claims, they should be forced to compensate the companies whose sales they’ve depressed and the drug users whose health they’ve impaired.
Automated voter registration will be implemented responsibly to avoid disenfranchising voters
CHARLESTON – Multiagency coordination is under way between lawmakers, Department of Motor Vehicles, Secretary of State, county clerks and the governor to provide West Virginia new systems to implement “opt-out” Automated Voter Registration. The process is technical, and needs to be done properly to protect against voter disenfranchisement that has occurred during implementation in other states due to old systems, gaps in technology and human error.
Want to help feed the hungry? Donate your deer this hunting season
In 2018, hunters once again stepped up to the challenge, donating 685 deer to the program resulting in 24,378 pounds of venison.
Grease at a ‘greasy spoon’? What a surprise!
Is any fast food fan so obtuse as to not know the obvious hazards associated with facilities offering such fare?
State lawmakers shouldn't waste millions on an unnecessary intermediate court
CHARLESTON – West Virginia's legislative leaders say that they want to reduce the size of state government and eliminate government waste. If that's the case, then why do they want to add a whole new layer of government to our judicial branch that will waste millions in our tax dollars? We don't need an intermediate court.
Our lawsuit climate is in a holding pattern
Ever feel like you’re just treading water, not really getting anywhere? It’s discouraging. Still, it beats the hell out of being swept downstream and over the falls.
It’s time to get our communities 'vote ready'
CHARLESTON – On this National Voter Registration Day, Sept. 24, the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Elections Office looks forward to efforts which get our communities “vote ready.”
Affirming the rights of states and landowners
The original WOTUS rule proposed to interpret the terms “navigable waters” and “bodies of water” so broadly that they could be applied to every inch of every acre in every state in America – no matter how dry or unnavigable.