You may have heard about the Trump administration’s latest attack on very poor Americans: A punitive new restriction that will cut SNAP benefits for 688,000 people. SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, is our country’s most popular and effective nutrition assistance program.
Pocahontas County, West Virginia is one of the counties that hosts the Monongahela National Forest, which welcomes more than a million visitors to our state each year. However, the Monongahela National Forest occupies over 50 percent of Pocahontas County. And, because the forest is federally…
Very few issues today bring people of all political views together like robocalls.
Amazon is one of the largest companies in the world, boasting revenues of more than $230 billion last year. But last month the company sued the U.S. Department of Defense over a paltry potential $10 billion spread over 10 years.
Veterans Day is upon us, and we should take time on this day to honor and celebrate those who served this country.
West Virginia is one of the most patriotic states in this great nation. During my time in the U.S. Senate, it has been my greatest honor to serve those who have served, and celebrate veterans and all they have given for our freedom.
Once upon a time, having a job at a newspaper meant working in one of the most imposing buildings in town, inhaling the acrid aroma of fresh ink and the dusty breath of cheap newsprint and feeling mini-earthquakes under our feet every time the presses started to roll. For those of us old eno…
With hunting season just around the corner, hundreds of thousands of hunters in West Virginia are preparing to head into the woods. Hunting, obvious to any native West Virginian, has always been an important part of our culture here in the Mountain State. Many do this for sport, to connect t…
With just 45 words the founders guaranteed five — no six — basic freedoms, fundamental American rights.
Freedom of the press, of speech, of religion, of assembly and to petition the government are woven, like stars in the flag, into the fabric of the First Amendment.
For centuries, citizens have turned to their local news publication for local breaking and investigative news, as well as to learn about hot-button issues in their communities. In the last 15 years, with the rise of digital communications, many readers have changed their preferences to digit…
INDUSTRIAL HEMP. If you’ve seen new crops that look like leafy vegetables in fields this summer, there’s a good chance it’s industrial hemp. Our region provides ideal topography for growing and hundreds of acres were planted this year. Growing industrial hemp is a risk/reward venture. If the…
You may not be ready for next year’s elections, but in political time, they’re coming up fast. Even politicians who aren’t running for president are crafting their stump speeches. Which means that at some point you’re almost certain to hear someone announce, sternly, “I. Will. Not. Compromis…
The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy (in late July) released a report on wage theft in West Virginia. Wage theft can be defined in many ways. Some examples are minimum wage violations, overtime violations, illegal deductions, employee misclassification, and tipped minimum wage violations.
The German war machine rolled over tiny Denmark in April 1940. With Denmark’s government under German control, the Danish ambassador to the United States assumed the authority to grant the U.S. the right to establish military bases on Greenland in 1941. The U.S. needed to move a lot of aircr…
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the New York Times reports, fears “ransomware” attacks against America’s voter registration systems in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election. In response, it’s launching a program that …
During the 2019 legislative session when teachers, school administrators, parents, regular citizens and some Democratic legislators were advocating for more wrap-around social services funding for our schools to address the deep and troubling psychological effects of the opioid drug crisis o…
Where did the summer go? As Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote in 1860, “Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind.” Here’s a quick recap of several major issues facing our state which we cannot leave in the shadows.
We have two kinds of water problems: too much and not enough. The oceans cover 70 percent of our planet, and they contain 97 percent of the water on the planet. Samuel Coleridge in the Rime of the Ancient Mariner: “Water, water every where, Nor any drop to drink.”
The Trump administration recently axed a proposal that would have saved American patients billions of dollars by requiring insurers to share discounts they negotiate with drug companies directly with patients.
America, John Quincy Adams said in 1821, “goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own.” That’s as good a summary ever spoken of the non-interventionist position.
As a young boy in West Virginia, I loved being outside whenever I had the chance. Being a Boy Scout gave me the freedom to spend time outdoors and while I was there, I learned new skills, leadership qualities and gained friends and mentors that helped shape me into the United States Senator,…
On July 22, 2019 close to 45,000 Scouts, adult leaders and staff members will create the third largest city in West Virginia, virtually overnight. The city will stand for 12 days. What is this event, should you consider visiting and, if so, what should be your visit strategy?
We come from different political parties, represent two different parts of the state and sometimes vote differently as a result. As two of the youngest members of the West Virginia State Senate, however, we hold much in common.
Editor's note: The following letter from Sen. Paul Hardesty to President Donald Trump was forwarded to the Tribune for publication.
“The United States is running concentration camps on our southern border,” U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) pointed out in an Instagram video on June 18.
One night a few years ago, my partner woke up delirious with fever, a bright rash, and joint pain so bad he couldn’t get out of bed without help. I was scared — mostly for his health, but also for our financial situation, which weighed heavily on me during our 4 a.m. ride to the emergency room.
President Donald Trump’s trade war is a little over a year old, so it’s a good time to review its impact — especially since he is rattling the steel-tariffs sword once again.
Middle school children are vaping in school, hiding paraphernalia in bathroom ceiling tiles, due to the effortless availability and need to be a part of the latest fad that is killing our children. West Virginia residents ages 18 and older are dying for oxygen related to a breath-taking dise…
Broadband access is critical in the 21st century, but West Virginia is sadly still far behind the rest of the country when it comes to internet coverage. Our mountainous terrain and low population density make it extremely difficult and expensive to build out broadband infrastructure without…
Is there anyone in West Virginia who hasn’t experienced the effects of our state’s opioid epidemic?
Democrat firebrands Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey unveiled their “Green New Deal,” a multi-trillion-dollar effort to overhaul the energy industry and slash America’s net greenhouse gas emissions to zero within a decade.
On May 7, 2019, I officially completed my first “term of court” as a Circuit Judge. In the judicial world, the court calendar is divided into three four-month long periods referred to as “terms of court.” The first term begins on the second Tuesday in January, the second term begins on the s…
Two hundred and forty-three years ago, America’s Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence and made it possible for every American to be free and independent. Entrepreneurs can earn personal independence through starting and running their own businesses with help from the U.S. …
In a June 12 interview with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News, President Donald Trump freely admitted that he would listen to foreigners offering him “dirt” on his political opponents: “I think you might want to listen, there isn’t anything wrong with listening .... Somebody comes up and say…
Three years ago, the lives of thousands of West Virginians were changed forever. After 24 hours of unrelenting rain, flash floods destroyed huge swaths of 44 counties. A 1,000-year flood event, meteorological experts called it.
Ever since the historic beginning of our state, we have never failed to answer our country’s call. No demand has been too great, no danger too daunting and no trial too threatening.
A thriving school system, inclusive of a free public education, provides students with the tools needed to not only overcome the obstacles facing our state, but also to be positioned for success as responsible citizens.
Here’s a quick rundown of several important issues (including good news on several fronts) you won’t read about elsewhere.
Most Americans loathe “lobbyists,” and most Americans think “bipartisanship” sounds like a good, moderate idea representing compromise and common ground for the public good. So a surprise “bipartisan alliance” between U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and U.S. Senator Ted C…
Even if you know nothing about the Tiananmen Square Massacre, you’ve almost surely seen the famous photo of a man facing down a line of tanks, defiantly blocking their path.
A study by Johns Hopkins University of the abandonment of the needle exchange program by city leaders in Charleston last year should give pause to any public official thinking of following in those misguided policy footsteps.
We have a good news-bad news situation on our hands when it comes to defense spending. The good news is, it’s heading in the right direction: Up. The bad news is, it remains too low to fix the spending holiday that afflicted our military for years — a failure to fund that has seriously compr…
FDA officials are sending mixed messages about a genetic test they just approved — and the lack of clarity could jeopardize Americans’ health.
Memorial Day, formerly known as Decoration Day after its institution in the years following the U.S. Civil War, became a federal holiday in 1971. Observed each last Monday in May, it is set aside as a day to pay tribute to those fallen while serving in the U.S. military.
In a long overdue step forward for the chemically contaminated Fayette County town of Minden, the Environmental Protection Agency has designated it as a National Priorities List Superfund site.
Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, adding his voice to calls to “break up” the social media giant, calls it a “powerful monopoly, eclipsing all of its rivals and erasing competition.” In recent years, we’ve seen similar claims, and heard demands for similar remedies, aimed at Google, Amazon, …
We have an accumulation of wisdom distilled from centuries of human experience. We call it the U.S. Constitution.
A couple of weeks ago I was speaking to a group of students and decided to start with a point-blank question: Is Congress doing a good job? There were perhaps 100 people in the room, and not a single one raised his or her hand.
We’ve got a rural health care emergency on the horizon.
Happy Mother’s Day to my dear wife, who is a great mom, and to every mother everywhere.
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