- Associated Press - Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Recent editorials from West Virginia newspapers:

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May 22

The Herald-Dispatch on why the state needs to focus on urban and metro growth:

The United States is, of course, organized by states.

But economists say the real driving force for growth and development are not necessarily the statewide entities, but the metropolitan areas within the states and those that often spill across state lines.

Consider this. The combined annual gross domestic product of the country’s 10 largest metropolitan areas is greater than the combined GDP of 36 states. But it is not just the largest metro areas that are growing; many mid-level metro areas - from Pascagoula, Mississippi, to Fargo, North Dakota - are growing faster than the nation as a whole.

Unfortunately, very little of that is happening in West Virginia. The Morgantown and Martinsburg areas of the Eastern Panhandle are seeing some growth. But the rest of West Virginia’s metro areas are shrinking.

The census estimates for 2016 already have shown that The Mountain State is one of just four that have lost population since 2010, and West Virginia’s decline is the sharpest by far. County population estimates released in March also underscored the losses through much of West Virginia, including Cabell County, which dropped below its 2010 level, falling from 96,319 to 95,987.

Then this week, the census released city population estimates that show most of West Virginia’s cities lost population again last year and are generally smaller than they were in 2010. Charleston and Huntington remain the state’s largest cities, but both have declined from 2010. The capital city dropped from 51,340 in 2010 to 49,138 in 2016 and Huntington is down from 49,206 to 48,113.

The alarming fact is not just that West Virginia’s rural areas are losing population - that is happening in many parts of the country - but that our urban areas and critical metro areas are declining, too.

To its credit, Huntington has an ambitious and award-winning plan for redevelopment. The America’s Best Communities recognition last month was a ringing endorsement that the city has put together strong strategies for growth, and the continuing population decline only underscores the urgency of that work.

But state leaders need to see the writing on the wall, as well. The state’s metro areas and urban centers are critical to the state’s success, and state government needs to do much more to support those revitalization and development efforts.

The bill before the legislature to increase the tax credit for rehabilitating historic commercial buildings is a good example. This would benefit the whole state, but particularly cities and towns. It is time for lawmakers to pull the trigger and give cities a new tool for revitalization.

Without a greater focus on the state’s cities and metro areas, the state’s population will continue to decline.

Online: https://www.herald-dispatch.com/

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May 29

The Charleston Daily-Mail on Shale Crescent USA seeking to grow the mid-Ohio Valley:

If the region that encompasses northern West Virginia, eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania - all connected by a long and crooked crescent of the Ohio River - were its own country, that nation would be the third-largest natural gas producer in the world.

But don’t worry. There are no secessionists trying to form an insurrection and create a nation out of the resource-rich region. But there is a group of committed businessmen and women who have teamed together to promote the region for industrial and economic development.

The region has been an economic development hub before, as an emerging young nation spread westward and used the reliable Ohio River to transport raw resources and finished goods to market.

It was a hub again during the Industrial Revolution and much of the 20th century, as access to abundant natural resources, rail and river transportation networks, and a growing national workforce helped forge steel, manufacture chemicals and lead a growing nation to victory in two world wars and post-war prosperity.

Shale Crescent USA was launched in June 2016 by folks who want to see the Mid-Ohio Valley thrive again. It’s an initiative focused on attracting energy-intensive manufacturing industries to the Mid-Ohio Valley and encouraging business growth based on the area’s natural assets, geographic location, experienced workforce and abundant natural gas, the Parkersburg News and Sentinel reported.

The group is based in Marietta, Ohio, but members emphasize it’s a regional, not a state-specific group. Shale Crescent USA wants the world to know the region boasts the cheapest and most abundant natural gas in the industrialized world, and petrochemical manufacturers and other employers can make good use of it by locating in the region.

“We are nonpolitical and nongovernmental,” said Greg Kozera, director of marketing for the group. “It doesn’t matter what side of the Ohio a plant locates. The key is for us to work together as a region so that everyone wins.”

About 500 area business leaders and residents attended a program by the group last week at the Smoot Theater in Parkersburg. The keynote speaker was West Virginia University men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins, who emphasized the need for teamwork.

“The harder you work, the better chance you will have to be successful,” Huggins said during his 45-minute presentation, reported the Parkersburg News and Sentinel.

Other speakers included Rebecca McPhail, president of the West Virginia Manufacturers Association; Tom Witt, president of Witt Economics LLC and emeritus professor of economics at WVU; Wally Kandel, senior vice president and Marietta site manager for Solvay Specialty Polymers USA; and Jerry James, president of Artex Oil Company.

James noted how new technology to develop previously hard to access shale-based natural gas has made a difference for the region.

“At the beginning of the last decade Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia produced 3 percent of the nation’s natural gas,” James said. “Today they produce 30 percent and that is growing rapidly to 35 percent.”

The beauty of the group, like many economic development groups, is that it is private business and community development folks - working with government agencies and others - to grow a region. If they are successful in helping bring more jobs and more industry and more economic impact to the region, everybody, including West Virginia, will benefit.

Here’s hoping Shale Crescent and other like-minded development groups succeed in bringing growth to a state and region that sorely needs it.

Online: https://www.wvgazettemail.com/

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May 30

The Parkersburg News and Sentinel on public transit officials asking for the community’s input:

“Public transit is a very important piece to economic growth,” said Mid-Ohio Valley Transit Authority General Manager Tim Thomas, as he was inviting people to a meeting that could help improve the public transit system here at home.

Wednesday, local officials, transportation providers and other stakeholders have a chance to weigh in on making an essential component for our community the best it can be, during a meeting at 2 p.m. at the MOVTA office.

As many people as are able should attend.

“There are a lot of holes where there is not service,” Thomas said. “My overall goal as general manager of MOVTA is to see a regional transit system in our area that serves as many people as possible and a system that will attract more companies to our areas.”

In fact, an affordable, reliable, convenient public transportation system is a key factor for many companies seeking new locations. Thomas is right to look toward our future economic opportunities in planning next steps for the system.

“I believe if we can start to coordinate services to expand transit, our communities will be more attractive to growth when businesses look to expand in our area,” he said.

Surely if enough people put their heads together to provide that coordination, we will be one step closer to presenting the kinds of assets and resources employers need as they make those decisions.

Online: https://www.newsandsentinel.com/

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