Take the money and run. That may well be the motto of officials at CGI Federal, the company that botched the rollout of the Obamacare website - www.healthcare.gov - last fall.Government officials announced last week they are not renewing CGI's contract to handle the website. Another company, ...

Last Thursday, about 7,500 gallons of a chemical, crude MCHM, used in the coal-cleaning process, leaked from a storage container owned by Freedom Industries at its Kanawha County facility on the Elk River. This leak touched off a crisis that completely cut off water for drinking, bathing and ...

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, on the heels of an announcement from House Speaker Tim Miley and Senate President Jeff Kessler of an investigation into an alleged fraud in the Department of Agriculture, recommended audits of state agencies and offices to find waste and abuse. The case in the ...

This past week marked the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson's declaration of the war on poverty. While this was a noble act, and despite spending $15 trillion in the last 50 years, poverty remains and in many ways is more prevalent than ever.The "war" has proven over and over that ...

UP: To the workers whose jobs kept them outside during the brutally cold temperatures of this past Monday and Tuesday.DOWN: To Robert L. Burdette, 61, Belleville, who on Friday was charged with the theft of several items from the Veterans Museum of the Mid-Ohio Valley. Police received several ...

Just two states, Maine and West Virginia, lost population last year, the Census Bureau reports. And of those left in the Mountain State, a disproportionate percentage are older people.Attractive career opportunities are few and far between in our state. That is why young people often roll up ...

Today, West Virginia lawmakers begin their first full day of the 2014 legislative session, and hunt for $33 million in budget cuts Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin says will be necessary to meet a growing decrease in tax collections.In addition, some Democrats also hope to do something they refused to do ...

It seems virtually every revelation about Obamacare is another piece of bad news. President Barack Obama's takeover of the national health care system is dominated by bad ideas.One is the grace period for those who buy health insurance policies through the program. They have 90 days to begin ...

Just before the old year ended, a federal appeals court judge handed champions of the liberties Americans cherish a stinging defeat.Federal District Court Judge William H. Pauley, in Washington, D.C., ruled the National Security Agency's mass collection of telephone data on tens of millions of ...

Until Wednesday morning, the weather forecast is calling for the coldest temperatures the Mid-Ohio Valley has seen in years. With lows in the single digits - and even below zero on Tuesday - being forecast, and highs barely in the teens, the weather is posing an extreme danger for people who ...

When Walt Helmick became West Virginia commissioner of agriculture last year, one of the first things he did was to request a thorough audit of his department. That is not unusual, especially when an office holder's predecessor has been in office for many years.What auditors found was unusual, ...

UP: To the Mid-Ohio Valley's first babies of 2014. At 8:08 a.m. New Year's Day at the Memorial Campus of Camden Clark Medical Center, Colton James Wolfe-Williams was welcomed by his parents, Dianna Wolfe and Brandon Williams. The family's newest addition weighed in at a healthy 6 pounds 15 ...

The Mid-Ohio Valley has much to look forward to in 2014, perhaps more this year than in recent memory.The biggest economic news for the region, if not the state of West Virginia, was the November announcement that Odebrecht, a multi-national chemical company, chose a site in Washington Bottom ...

In December, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., released his annual "Wastebook," giving us all a window into the positively absurd ways in which the federal government spends the hard-earned tax dollars we give it. This year's list includes some items that would be laughable, if those who received the ...

Now that the new year is upon us, we join in the chorus many of our readers are undoubtedly singing: where did the old year go? Time passes quickly. However, it has passed and 2014 is here. Whether or not we usher in the new year with resolutions, or whether we just look upon it as a ...

West Virginia lawmakers spent a good part of 2013 discussing college affordability, as it pertains to their effort to increase enrollment in higher education programs. The amount of debt with which most students graduate can be a heavy burden, and lowering that figure is a priority.According to ...

Some observers say President Barack Obama's administration is among the most secretive in history. Bolstering that contention is a decision by the Pentagon.Each day, the Defense Department compiles a list of news reports and opinion writing related to the military. Nicknamed the "Early Bird," ...

As the Wood County Commission begins looking for ways to regulate gun ranges, the three-member panel must separate the emotion from the discussion and base their deliberations on logic to reach a decision fair for all parties involved.The commission's recent 30-day cease-and-desist order for ...

UP: To the volunteers who prepared and served the 400 meals at the First Presbyterian Church's 20th annual Christmas Day Dinner. More than 30 volunteers assisted the Rev. Mike Seely with the dinner held in the church's fellowship hall. The food served was donated by area stores. Volunteers ...

West Virginians and Ohioans revere veterans of military service and direct a considerable amount of our giving to organizations that help them. During the past few weeks we have been reminded of the necessity of cynicism in that regard.Here in West Virginia, a recent report showed a group ...