This year’s census marks a turning point for the Eastern Panhandle. Consider the following: the population of Charles Town grew 63.9 percent from 2000 to 2008. Shepherdstown grew 42.71 percent and Martinsburg’s change was 13.68 percent. While the rest of the state is generally losing population, our region has experienced unprecedented growth. One need only [...]

Grant to Provide Momentum for Shepherdstown’s New Library Plans
The Shepherdstown Public Library has received a $5,000 grant through the 2010 FOCUS WV Brownfields program.   The grant will fund discussions with the Shepherdstown community about reclaiming the former Shepherdstown Municipal Dump for use as a new library.  The dump, which was used from 1954 to 1969, [...]

By Thomas Harding
This month I intend to overwhelm you with data . . . so strap on your seatbelts and let’s go for it.
First, let me introduce a new statistic to my loyal readers: the ratio between homes sold (“solds”) and homes on the market (“inventory”). Let’s call this ratio the sold/inventory ratio.
This ratio is [...]

by Jeff Feldman
“How’s the house?”
I am asked this a lot. In winter, this question is often followed with another question, either asked or implied: “Staying warm?”
These might seem unusual questions to ask the average homeowner. But factor in an unusual house—strawbale-insulated with no conventional heating system, and an unusually chilly winter with January and February [...]

By David and Christian Asam
Christian: When shopping for wine, I always try to buy from a locally owned wine shop. We are lucky to have a few stores in Jefferson County with a nice selection on their shelves. Allow me to send a special congratulations to Grapes & Grains on their new location and expanded [...]

By Steve Chase
Someone at work told me about the music service Pandora a year ago, but I hadn’t bothered to check it out until I recently loaded the Pandora App on my iPhone and turned it on during a long drive. There are many music “services” on the Internet, some of them available on [...]

by Glenn Scherer
The rush to tap vast natural gas reserves trapped in the Marcellus Shale bedrock underlying rural West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio has led to a heated regional debate concerning the safety of a controversial drilling process known as “fracking,” or natural gas hydraulic fracturing. Legislation introduced in the West Virginia House [...]

By Dominic Valentine
In November’s general election, West Virginia voters will decide whether to amend the state’s constitution to allow lawmakers to change the tax code. At issue is whether commercial and industrial machinery, equipment, and inventory can be exempted from real property tax, also known as ad valorem taxation. Currently, businesses pay yearly taxes akin [...]

By David Lillard
Imagine this. A couple of West Virginia high-school kids commit some pranks one weekend. Local officials decide to teach them a lesson, and file criminal charges. One of the kids, call him Ted, happens to be 18 years old, an adult. The case is heard by a circuit court judge who only recently [...]

In January, the West Virginia Supreme Court voted 5-0 to hear The Shepherdstown Observer v. Maghan. We brought this case last year against the Jefferson County Clerk, Jennifer Maghan, after her office refused to release the names of the people who signed the petition calling for a referendum on the new zoning ordinance in the [...]