Recent editorials from West Virginia newspapers:
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May 23
Bluefield Daily Telegraph says “Opportunity Zones” designated by a new tax law benefit the state:
In addition to providing more take home pay for millions of hard working Americans, the Republican-backed tax bill that was signed into law earlier this year by President Donald Trump also includes an important job-creation provision. Specifically, the new tax law designates “Opportunity Zones” in localities across West Virginia.
The zones consist of cities, communities and other locations where a new federal tax incentive will be made available to help drive economic growth and private investment.
Areas designated as Opportunity Zones include parts of Bluefield, all of Oakvale, both sides of Interstate 77 Exit 1 near Bluefield, both sides of Exit 9 in Princeton, and the John Nash Boulevard development area, along with the Ceres, Green Valley, Maple Acres and Glenwood communities. The Mercer Mall, several existing industrial parks, and the Hunnicutt Sports complex in Princeton also are all designated as Opportunity
“Congress passed and President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act last year to provide tax relief, benefits and opportunities to families, workers and small businesses in West Virginia and across the country,” U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia, said. “These Opportunity Zones are yet another way tax reform is going to help West Virginians create jobs, drive economic growth and attract investment in areas that need it most.”
The Opportunity Zone program is designed to incentivize capital investments in low-income communities nationwide.
Economic development officials in our region should actively use the Opportunity Zones as a new economic development tool to help with marketing the area to prospective businesses and industries.
All efforts must be focused on job creation, and having these new federal tax incentives in place will certainly help.
Online: http://www.bdtonline.com
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May 21
The Parkersburg News and Sentinel says a project to restore the state’s wild elk may aid tourism:
There have been no herds of wild elk in West Virginia since 1875. That is changing.
And if human interference drove them out, it is good to know human perseverance is bringing them back.
During the past few years, state officials have been working to reintroduce elk to the Mountain State. A small herd of 35 of them seems to be doing well at a wildlife management area near Logan.
Last week, they were joined by 50 more elk from Arizona. Those animals have been held in a 5-acre holding pen since March, to comply with federal disease-control rules. Now, they reside on reclaimed coal mine property where grassland has been cultivated - another benefit of the program.
A new Mountain State elk herd would be more than a gratification for animal lovers. It could improve the state’s tourism industry, which for years rested on the theme, “wild, wonderful West Virginia.”
Though the official slogan now is “almost heaven,” many recreational travelers continue to come here to enjoy the natural splendor of our mountains, forests - and wildlife. Elk would be one more reason for them to come here and leave some of their money behind.
Good for all involved in the project to bring elk back to the mountains. They should persist with the initiative, even if they encounter setbacks along the way.
Online: http://www.newsandsentinel.com
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May 21
The Charleston Gazette says West Virginia dodged a bad farm bill with new requirements that would have cost West Virginians food and business:
Just so you know where West Virginia’s members of Congress stand, it’s ideology first, groceries for West Virginians a distant second.
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives defeated a farm bill with new requirements that would have cost West Virginians food and business. Thirty Republicans joined Democrats and voted against the bill, for various reasons. But Alex Mooney, Evan Jenkins and David McKinley, all three of West Virginia’s Republican members, voted for the bill.
It’s an appealing idea - at first. Make people work to get their monthly food allowance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The trouble is, it turns out many of those people are working, here and there or seasonally. Others struggle with obstacles the rules don’t anticipate. Demanding, in-person monthly status checks sound reasonable, but in practice are likely to trip up people who need help, disqualifying households for a year at a time in some cases. Making people less secure in their food supply does not support them toward more self-sufficiency.
A pilot project in West Virginia, in the counties with the most job opportunities, saw plenty of people cut off, few finding work and private food charities stressed beyond what they could supply. Gov. Jim Justice signed a bill taking those requirements statewide anyway.
Nationally, policy experts predicted something similar. People would be cut off of needed food help, but the obstacles keeping them out of the workforce would not be resolved.
In some rural communities, where food stores are few and far between, the loss of SNAP money in customers’ pockets could ripple out and spread economic hardship for those who are working or struggling to keep their businesses going.
The bill included exceptions, and even included a modest amount to contribute to job training. That’s the right direction, but not enough to get there.
The House of Representatives rejected this version, but the farm bill is about much more than SNAP. In addition to authorizing money for food assistance across the country, it includes programs for the agriculture industry.
West Virginia Agriculture Commissioner Kent Leonhardt said the bill included grants for specialty crops would help maple syrup producers, for example. Other programs would help his department get fresh food to schools; would help with land and water conservation; and would help combat invasive species. The bill could be amended to decriminalize industrial hemp, another welcome change for the state.
West Virginia and the nation need Congress to take up and pass a farm bill, but they need one that doesn’t make individuals less secure in their food supply, that doesn’t stress local food pantries, and that doesn’t cut off an important source of business for small and rural food stores.
Online: https://www.wvgazettemail.com
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