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 county. The Circuit Court sided with Maghan, arguing that any document prepared by a private citizen was not subject to a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request. We think this would have a chilling effect …

Two years ago in these pages we expressed skepticism over a proposal to allow table gaming at Charles Town Racing & Slots. Our concern had little to do with the morality of gaming itself. We acknowledge the passionate positions on both sides, but gaming already exists in the county; that boat has now sailed.
There have been other issues raised by opponents of table games. One of these is traffic. For their parts, table-games boosters can’t credibly on one hand tout the tens of thousands of new tourists who will spend …

By Thomas Harding
On November 7 a referendum will be held on the new zoning ordinance and map for Jefferson County. Most people haven’t read it; many haven’t even heard about it. The ordinance contains 278 pages, including 46 pages on permitted uses, 33 pages on environmental protection, 16 pages on landscaping, 20 pages on administrative processes, and 13 pages of definitions.
It took more than five years to write, and involved hundreds of people through public forums, committees, and written submissions.
Here is a guide to the ten biggest differences between the …

At last there is some activity in the county over the zoning referendum that is scheduled for Nov 7 and early voting is arleady underway.
The “NO” vote has erected large blue “No Zoning” signs all over the county. Interestingly these same signs were used in Berkeley County for the zoning referendum that took place last year. While some have argued that this smacks of outside interference in local county affairs, others have suggested this as a great example of recycling. The new signs have been updated however, with a sticker with …