By Dominic Valentine
Despite several attempts, legislation banning texting while driving has yet to be enacted in West Virginia. According to Delegate Nancy Peoples Guthrie the first bill concerning banning cell phones while driving, House Bill 4047 introduced in 2008, was the closest we have come thus far. “We had enough support in the House and Senate, but at the last minute Senator Browning from Kanawha County included a provision to provide funding for cell phone towers in his county. It was one of the most absurd amendments I had heard …

 
By Thomas Harding
Not since the introduction of seatbelts has there been a traffic safety issue that has caused such concern among legislators and consumer protection organizations. With the rapid growth of cell-phones during the last few years, followed by the widespread practice of texting, distracted driving has become a life-and-death issue in America.
The numbers speak volumes.
In a Pew Research study, 47 percent of drivers admit to texting while driving. The study also found that 25 percent of American teens of driving age say they have texted while driving, and half …

A Day with Governor Joe Manchin
By Thomas Harding
 
9.45 am, Wellness Center, Romney.
We were all waiting for the Governor of West Virginia. There were maybe 20 of us – fitness center staff in blue polo shirts, executives in neatly pressed grey suits, a state senator in bright skirt and jacket – waiting in the concrete and steel lobby of the newly built wellness center in Romney. We were all standing, except six-term mayor William Hicks who sat in the corner, cane in hand, muttering that it was about time the governor …

By Thomas Harding
So things are on the up.
According to local realtors we are seeing an extremely active market in the sub $300,000 range, with multiple offers commonplace. We are even witnessing  the return of escalation clauses from buyers, something we haven’t seen since the heady days of 2005 and 2006.
We are also seeing the return of investors, another indicator that we have moved beyond the bottom of the market and that people are wanting to invest their extra cash in real estate before prices go on the rise.
The other good …

By David Lillard
Each July in Jefferson County, the curtain rises on a growing variety of arts, entertainment, and cultural offerings. From the Contemporary American Theater Festival’s five-play repertory to Shepherd University’s quiet historical walks featuring characters in historic dress, from the 10th annual Goose Route Dance Festival to the Over the Mountain summer art show, there’s a lot to see and hear. Plus, there’s a new art gallery in Charles Town, one celebrating its three-year anniversary in Shepherdstown, and a new art school in Shepherdstown. The month ends with an …

 
By David Lillard

At first the new name, “Hollywood,” seemed a stretch. You can dress it up, but Charles Town should go by the familiar Chuck Town to locals. Sure it’s the town the Washingtons built, and even the Colonials loved horse racing.
Two steps into the door, though, this really is Hollywood, not because the giant, curvaceous hi-def video wall plays movie trailers. “Hollywood” comes from the feeling of walking onto a movie set. Or stepping into the movie.
Workers are raising massive stone pillars that seem to hold up the sky …

Blue Ridge Press by David Lillard
I just spent a few days in my favorite national park, Shenandoah. It was great to escape cell phones, wi-fi, and email. It was even better to escape the “anger” being flashed on TV screens and splashed across newspapers. Enjoying the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains from Skyline Drive, it became clear that we Americans have much more to be thankful for than angry about. And though it’s unpopular to say it in some quarters, we taxpayers have often invested wisely.
Approaching summer, at a time when …

By Dominic Valentine
Over 20,000 rafters ride the Shenandoah River each year on commercially guided trips. As a father of three daughters and someone who lives on one of the local  waterways, Dominic Valentine felt a kinship to one of them. Roger Freeman, who died in a Shenandoah River rafting incident in 2004, was a family guy in his 40’s who loved life and to play music. For Valentine, Freeman is a reminder of how precious life is.

The vast majority of those trips are uneventful and end pleasantly. On the …

By Thomas Harding
If I tell you the good news, will you forgive me? Or should I start with bad news, so that you will trust me more when I say that things are getting better?
Okay, here’s the bad news: Appraisers are struggling to find the value that has been agreed by buyers and sellers. This is causing real heartache in the market, and many a decent contract has been tripped up in recent months because the contract value is higher than the appraised value. As soon as sales pick up, …

 
In advance of the upcoming primary elections, The Observer’s David Lillard asked candidates for the County Commission, House of Delegates and W.Va. Senate to share their views on a range of topics. Because this is a primary race, we surveyed only the races in which there were intra-party contests. But to give all candidates in those races “equal ink,” we surveyed unchallenged candidates in the races we surveyed. So, if a couple of Democrats are facing off in a primary, we surveyed an unchallenged GOP candidate in the same race. …