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 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 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 to personal property taxes on all equipment and inventory. The proposed amendment, H.J.R. 101, would allow counties to choose whether to offer the tax benefit.
The current tax creates a disincentive for business to invest in …

By Thomas Harding
 
Unless you have been asleep, you surely know by now that Dan Brown has released his latest thriller, The Lost Symbol, which follows a professor as he chases a series of Masonic clues around the nation’s capital. The book had a print run of five million copies and has generated intense media interest around the world.
Closer to home, we have our own missing Masonic mystery: How many Masonic aprons were owned by George Washington, and where have they been stored all these many years?
As described in Brown’s book, …