Neither West Virginia's billionaire governor nor the country's billionaire president seem to think the normal rules of ethics apply to them. They both refuse to put their business interests into blind trusts while they’re supposed to be attending to the business of running our state and nation.

We deserve better.

In West Virginia, coal isn't just a fossil fuel. It's a value. Coal stands for bravery, sacrifice, and loyalty.  But the loyalty and sacrifice coal miners have given their communities has not been reciprocated by coal mine owners. They don’t care about miners who have risked their lives for centuries to bring coal out of the ground. 

For years, prevailing wage laws protected workers in West Virginia. Then, state legislators pushed through a repeal, arguing it would reduce the cost of public projects, such as schools. Turns out the repeal hasn’t saved money and has hurt West Virginia families.

Anybody who has spent any time in rural West Virginia knows people like to get together and eat. Going to Grandma’s house for Sunday supper is as part of West Virginia as singing along to "Country Roads" at a football game. 

But it’s getting harder and harder for Grandma to just get food for those suppers because the grocery stores keep closing. 

At a time when West Virginia needs all the help it can get, we have a distracted, often absentee governor in the mansion—when he is even there, that is. A recent Charleston Gazette-Mail story, produced in partnership with Pro Publica, had a lot to say in just the headline alone: “Gov. Justice still guides billion-dollar business empire, even though he said he wouldn’t.”

West Virginia’s U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito has hosted 21 events across West Virginia for young girls promoting female empowerment and leadership. 

Too bad her votes in Washington tend to betray West Virginia women more than help them.

Solar power installation? Commercial hemp? Are these among West Virginia's future diversified industries?

With the ups and downs of our global economy, and climate concerns on the rise, long-term prospects for coal and natural gas are looking shaky. It’s time for West Virginia to diversify its economy so that state families can thrive.

With our President facing impeachment, West Virginians have a lot of questions. But As far as we can tell, none of West Virginia’s congressional representatives have held an in-person public town hall meeting for a long time.

New findings showed West Virginia was not first, but 47th in the nation for personal income growth earlier this year. It turns out the “absolutely phenomenal growth” touted by Gov. Jim Justice never even happened. But is anyone really surprised?

West Virginia Teachers on picket lines fighting so-called reforms. Coal miners blocking a train for back wages in Kentucky. Protests over a state legislator’s deal that results in closing a newborn ICU in Tennessee. A West Virginia woman arrested for chaining herself to her car on her own property to protest eminent domain for profits from pipelines. 

What do they have in common? A long history of Appalachians standing up for their rights against big money, out-of-state interests.