Today marks the 147th anniversary of West Virginia’s statehood. In celebration, several people from the Mountain State’s online community have offered submissions for this year’s “a Better West Virginia Network” initiative, outlining needs that exist within their organizational, business, and personal efforts.
As you peruse the various essays below, perhaps you can help participants make a [...]

Posted in Business, Culture, Economy, West Virginia 3 Comments »

West Virginia Day (June 20) provides an ideal time to celebrate the Mountain State’s many unique qualities, but it also offers us the opportunity to do something for the state’s betterment.
The online community is invited to join this year’s “a Better West Virginia Network” effort, intended to help connect organizations, businesses, and individuals according to [...]

Posted in Business, Culture, Economy, West Virginia 15 Comments »

Internet connectivity is an essential tool in today’s modern economy, but West Virginia lags behind the nation when it comes to Web accessibility.
While 66 percent of U.S. households have Internet access, only 56 percent of West Virginia households are connected to the Web, according to a 2007 task force report by the state Public Service [...]

Posted in Business, Economy, Education, West Virginia 8 Comments »

The debate over coal’s environmental impact and future, between Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship and environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was most significant due to the relatively civil manner in which it occurred. Last night’s forum, hosted at The University of Charleston, was mostly devoid of the disrespect and intimidation that arose during public [...]

Posted in Culture, Economy, Education, Government, West Virginia 9 Comments »

Once again, the Mountain State has been smeared by commentary distributed via a major media conglomerate. NBC Washington columnist Chris Needham featured an account of the public records database developed by the state Division of Culture and History, a system that had previously received praise as “fantastic” in comparison to similar efforts across the country.
In [...]

Posted in Culture, Education, Media, West Virginia 10 Comments »

By Carrie Robey
“Even as the cell is the unit of the organic body, so the family is the unit of society.”
– Ruth Nanda Ansehn
In the lives of children, families are the building blocks, providing a place of encouragement, a place to build dreams and a place to grow. A positive and encouraging family helps children [...]

Posted in Education, West Virginia 1 Comment »

Organizers of the 2009 Create WV Conference are asking the public to jump start the conversations that will take place there by using Twitter, Facebook and blogs to answer this open-ended phrase: “WV, I WILL CREATE…”
Because conferences can tend to offer too many ideas and not enough results, people are being asked to not only [...]

Posted in Business, Culture, Economy, Education, West Virginia 9 Comments »