Posts that deal broadly with the physical, mental, and intellectual health of communities.

West Virginia’s Data Center Day of Infamy

The nation's most lenient state law governing data center development was born April 1st, 2025. Jeff Hertrick refers to this as West Virginia's Day of Infamy. He unravels how Eastern Panhandle Republicans led the way.

Republicans Want to Disown the Data Center Monster They Created

There's non-partisan politics and there's partisan politics. How do you decide whether legislation results from one or the other? Troy Miller levels an argument at Republicans, who want to claim that data centers should be a non-partisan issue, because nobody here wants them. But there's the reality that it is exactly Republican legislators who are roughly 100% responsible for why data centers are a looming reality.

Life Without Friends

It's common among Democrats to say that Donald Trump has taken over the Republican party with the consequence that the GOP does what they're told to do, not necessarily even what they want to do. In this article Jim Bauman speculates whether Trump's eagerness to offend is losing us friends. And, then, whether West Virginia and even Jefferson County are on the same track to become friendless.