The 2024 West Virginia Legislative Session in Numbers It is the end of the 2024 West Virginia Legislative Session. As the action in Charleston has wrapped up, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on what has transpired. Certainly, there were fireworks and heated debates along the way. Interestingly enough, many of the bills […]

Grocery Stores in Bureautopia There was once a country called Bureautopia. Bureautopia, in its time, looked surprisingly similar to the United States. It had vast natural beauty and resources. It had varied regional cultures across its land. And it had a government that, for better or worse, tried to provision important resources like food to […]

Benefit Cliffs Prevent Work We have all heard, at one time or another, terms that look to describe or deride people who take advantage of public benefits programs. I won’t list them here, but we’ve all heard them. These terms are the result of sometimes righteous frustration with individuals or families that live on the […]

Jeff Kimble is a lawyer practicing in the Clarksburg office of Robinson & McElwee PLLC where he serves on the firm’s board of directors. His practice primarily involves commercial and corporate defense with a particular focus on property-related litigation. Jeff serves on the Board of Directors of Clarksburg-Uptown. He served as a member of the […]

WVU Faces Budget Crisis and Difficult Decisions West Virginia University (WVU) has undergone the difficult process of eliminating 28 majors, 143 jobs, and millions of dollars in spending. The cuts were prompted by the university’s $45 million deficit this year. Deficit projections over the next five years are estimated to grow to $75 million. On […]

What do Republican Presidential Candidates Have to Say About School Choice? School Choice initiatives aim to introduce education to the marketplace. These programs give parents purchasing power, free students from zip code based schools, and bring innovation to schooling. While school choice is largely a state-level issue, the attitudes of federal officials can make it […]

What a State Celebrates Matters Show me what a state celebrates, and I will show you what a state values. For now, one would have to assume that revenue is the “highest good” for the state’s political leadership. On one level, this is understandable, but it’s important to recognize that this is, ultimately, flawed. More […]

Wonderful Policy Changes to Celebrate in West Virginia On Tuesday, June 20th, our beloved West Virginia celebrates 160 years of statehood. While this year’s celebration may lack the same pomp and circumstance of 2013’s sesquicentennial, there’s plenty over the last 10 years to be excited about.   As a policy organization, we’re keen to focus […]

A Look at Opportunity in Cities in the Nation’s Third Most Rural State When one thinks of West Virginia, many things are likely to come to mind: natural beauty, John Denver, coal, whitewater rafting, rock climbing, poverty, opioids, state pride, and so on down the line. What isn’t likely to make a top ten list […]

Keep Your Paycheck Every year, shortly after January 1st, you go into work. After a week or two, you receive that year’s first paycheck. Much to your dismay, the list of taxes begin to pile up: federal, state, payroll. Each eating away at the money you earned. Each eating away at the things you’d otherwise […]