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Guest column/Don’t let Congress undercut life-saving research

Local Columns

Across Ohio, researchers are achieving medical breakthroughs on what seems to be a monthly basis. Unfortunately, proposed legislation in Congress threatens to undermine Buckeye State scientists by weakening the patent protections that biotech startups rely on to raise capital and to give patients meaningful access to promising research ideas by developing those ideas into real-world therapies. This year, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced several such troubling bills, including the Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act and the Drug Competition Enhancement Act. The reason ...

Continuing to smile ... the mask we all wear

Local Columns

It’s Sunday morning. The coffee is brewing. The newspaper is spread out on the kitchen table. And maybe, just maybe, you have somehow found a way to manage a moment of peace before the week’s anxieties begin. But in this one, single moment … let us be honest. How many of you reading this right now, are sitting there knowing how tomorrow you will once again be forced to wear the disguise of a smile on your face? Because just beneath the surface, your entire world feels as if it is a house of cards ready to crumble at any moment? For those of you who understand, I want ...

Guest column/W.Va. businesses should be able to procure their own electricity

Local Columns

The cold days of winter have barely set in, and electricity is already one of the biggest concerns in West Virginia. At kitchen tables, in campaign speeches, and at national energy forums, people are asking the same questions: How do we keep power affordable and reliable, all while demand grows? At local hearings, residents are worried about rising bills. At economic-development meetings, leaders are debating how to power energy-hungry data centers. And just the other week in Charleston, energy experts at the West Virginia Energy Summit outlined a stark reality: Demand is climbing, ...

Are you nice?

Letters to the Editor

To the editor: How pleasant it is to be with nice people. A bevy of matronly women gushing over decorations on a well-lit Christmas tree is certainly nice. What’s even nicer are the same women making a fuss over a baby smiling his gummy, toothless smile while gurgling with delight, waving his little arms and kicking his chubby legs. Some things are not nice at all. In attendance at a church service were two young men listening to a solo sung by a portly gentleman who’d most willingly volunteered to sing when the pastor asked if anyone should like to sing a solo. There ...

Guest column/A college education vs. workplace training

Local Columns

Is a college education the only answer to a bright future? I’m beginning to wonder if college is always the right path for one to take. And so should all high school graduates who are not sure what their goals are in life. Let’s take a look at the numbers. The average cost for a four-year college degree that includes tuition, housing, parking, books and various fees can cost as much as $120,000-plus for a bachelor’s degree, $70.000-plus for a master’s degree and $150,000.00-plus for a PhD or EdD. (Source: SoFi Loan Financing.com) That’s a grand total of $340,000-plus ...

FirstEnergy errors remain troubling

Editorials

Details continue to be revealed regarding FirstEnergy’s behavior while it was involved in financing a $61 million bribery scheme, according to a report by the Energy and Policy Institute. Evidence suggests FirstEnergy was classifying lobbying and donations as “construction expenses” while it was also funding what became a bribery scandal. However, the Ohio Capital Journal says the report does not determine whether any of that misclassified money was being used to pay for bribes. However, they were labeled, $108 million in such errors have been found. Now, FirstEnergy has the ...