Parkersburg News and Sentinel. April 27, 2022.
Editorial: Veteran Care: Bureaucrats should toss aside proposal
We already knew proposals by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs would do more harm than good for West Virginia veterans, but state Veterans Assistance Secretary Ted Diaz hammered the point home earlier this week. He warned members of the state legislature’s Select Committee on Veterans’ Affairs about the proposed reduction in accessible facilities and services.
Though federal officials describe the changes as improvements that would modernize services, it is clear those same folks are more worried about change for change’s sake than serving veterans in states where services are most needed.
“My best recommendation I give to you — and I’ve already given to the congressional delegation in D.C. — is this plan needs to be eliminated now,” Diaz told state lawmakers, according to MetroNews.
Shifting the balance of care to rural hospitals already stretched to their breaking points is unconscionable, and surely VA officials in Washington, D.C., know that.
“Our concerns are with the ability of the non-VA facilities to address the unique veteran situation. Veterans have a unique need of care, whether it be traumatic injuries in battle (or) mental health issues from the mental injuries that have been inflicted through the years of war,” Diaz reportedly told state lawmakers.
And as a nation, we promised those who were willing to give their lives for the rest of us we would give them the care they deserved. Tossing aside that promise would not be on the table, if bureaucrats in D.C. understood what our veterans face, and the challenges in the rural communities so many of them call home.
It begs the question, then, do they care?
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The Intelligencer. April 27, 2022.
Editorial: A Tool to Clean Up W.Va. Communities
Mayors from across the state were in attendance last week when West Virginia Auditor JB McCuskey talked about next steps after the passage of Senate Bill 552, which will help municipalities address dilapidated buildings.
Beginning in June, the bill will provide $10 million to help cities and counties demolish structures doing more harm than good when it comes to safety and also property values.
“When we tell people that this is Mayberry, this is the kind of place your family will be happy and safe, we have to clean up our towns. We have to make sure they shine and sparkle like we advertise they do,” McCuskey said.
As we all know, $10 million is just the tip of the iceberg for the amount of money needed to tackle a major problem in many Mountain State communities. In fact, McCuskey told MetroNews the problem costs closer to $300 million.
But benefits of the new process include eliminating an “enormous amount of bureaucratic red tape” in allowing cities and counties to buy properties; and creates a larger bidding process, which should drive down demolition costs, according to McCuskey.
Provided the elimination of that red tape does not infringe upon the rights of private property owners, local officials are likely thrilled with the prospect.
This is the kind of reform that will make a difference as we work to revitalize our communities, reinvigorate our population and transition our economy.
Lawmakers are to be congratulated for passage of SB 552. Now it is time for local communities to get to work fulfilling that mission.
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Charleston Gazette-Mail April 21, 2022.
Editorial: Coal won’t keep lights on, if rate hikes persist
It would be understandable, in the current business climate, for American Electric Power subsidiaries to seek rate increase approval from the West Virginia Public Service Commission.
COVID-19 and energy embargoes against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, among other factors, have contributed to high inflation. The cost of doing business is higher, and any utility is going to look to recoup that by charging its customers more.
But the persistent rate hikes and mind-boggling decisions both agencies have inflicted on West Virginians just in the past couple of years make AEP’s latest request to raise rates by $297 million — roughly $18 a month per West Virginia customer — seem cruel.
The average West Virginia customer who uses 1,000 kilowatts of electricity already pays about $155 a month, according to a report from the Gazette-Mail’s Mike Tony. That’s up from about $139 last year, and $55 in 2006. The price most West Virginians pay for electricity has increased by 150% over the past 15 years.
Now AEP wants more, because it has steadily cost more to operate the coal-fired plants that power most of the state, while other states have turned to a mix of cheaper and cleaner alternative energy sources. But exactly how are West Virginians, who live in one of the poorest states in the nation and are dealing with the same inflation hitting everyone else, supposed to afford yet another rate hike for a utility they can’t live without?
The PSC deserves an equal share of the blame for the situation as it stands. The agency is stacked with coal industry supporters, who enacted a rule that three coal-fired plants in West Virginia operate at 69% capacity, even though AEP and clean energy proponents alike argued that it made no financial sense to do so. The coal industry is dwindling, but it would seem that some on the PSC want to make sure their coal executive chums get every dollar they can. The PSC also approved a plan for AEP to pass rate hikes onto its customers to pay for upgrades to keep the plants operational past 2028.
Kentucky and Virginia also receive power from these plants, and the public service commissions in those states rejected the plan as uneconomical. So the West Virginia PSC decided it was fine for Mountain State customers to bear the cost for parts of three states all on their own.
West Virginia used to tout its low energy rates as a plus for residents and potential businesses. Now, West Virginians pay some of the highest utility rates in the country, and recent history does not suggest it is going to get better as the PSC considers this latest rate increase.
Coal won’t be keeping the lights on, if people can’t afford to pay their bills.
END