"West Virginia Rising" was the title of an economic recovery summit held at Marshall University in January 2017. While the main focus of the event was on recovering from the disastrous floods in the eastern part of our state in 2016, my presentation dealt with much broader initiatives to address economic growth across the entire state.

A West Virginia lawmaker's rants against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people last week provided plenty of evidence that a statewide law banning discrimination against people with those gender identities is needed more than ever.

It is sometimes difficult for me to even fathom how people of Appalachia were able to accomplish some of the things they did, particularly during the 1800s when there were no roads and only animal and Indian trails to traverse through the rough terrain that most of us now call home. Of course, the various tributaries, be it the Guyandotte, Big Sandy, Tug or Coal rivers also provided a way into and out of hills and valleys that still exist in Logan, Mingo and Boone counties.