Author: Zander Aloi

What Would President Trump Mean for West Virginia?

If the new President Trump repeals the Affordable Care Act, what would happen to West Virginians? If Clinton wins, what does that mean for coal?

Scott Finn, Laurie Lin and WVPB’s Ashton Marra, discuss what the candidates face once they are no longer just candidates – both at the presidential and governor levels.

How would a Governor Justice be able to balance the state’s budget without, as he has claimed, creating new taxes? How would a Governor Cole slash the size of government as much as he says he will?

The Front Porch” is a place where we tackle the tough issues facing West Virginia and Appalachia with some of the region’s most interesting thinkers.

WVPB Executive Director Scott Finn serves as host and provocateur, joined by Laurie Lin, a conservative lawyer and columnist, and Rick Wilson, a liberal columnist and avid goat herder who works for the American Friends Service Committee .

Subscribe to “The Front Porch” podcast on iTunes or however you listen to podcasts.

An edited version of “The Front Porch” airs Fridays at 4:50 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s radio network, and the full version is available above.

Share your opinions with us about these issues, and let us know what you’d like us to discuss in the future. Send a tweet to @radiofinn or @wvpublicnews, or e-mail Scott at sfinn @ wvpublic.org

The Front Porch is underwritten by The Charleston Gazette Mail, providing both sides of the story on its two editorial pages. Check it out: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/

Should Union Group Call Itself "Family Values"?

When you think of the term “family values,” chances are you think of the Republican Party, circa 1994. But recently, a labor-backed organization called “West Virginia Family Values” is funding attack ads against exclusively Republican targets.

On this week’s Front Porch podcast, Laurie Lin suggests this is an attempt to muddy the waters and co-opt conservative messages.

Rick Wilson contests that the Republican Party neither holds a monopoly on family values, nor is it even particularly conservative.

Before that, though, they have to wade through the presidential race, with talk of “bad hombres” and “nasty women.”

Subscribe to “The Front Porch” podcast on iTunes or however you listen to podcasts.

An edited version of “The Front Porch” airs Fridays at 4:50 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s radio network, and the full version is available above.

Share your opinions with us about these issues, and let us know what you’d like us to discuss in the future. Send a tweet to @radiofinn or @wvpublicnews, or e-mail Scott at sfinn @ wvpublic.org

The Front Porch is underwritten by The Charleston Gazette Mail, providing both sides of the story on its two editorial pages. Check it out: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/

Are Elections in West Virginia Rigged?

On this episode of the Front Porch, we deal with Donald Trump’s claim that the race is rigged.

West Virginia had its share of election fraud in the past, but is it really at work today?

Also, what about another type of rigging – media bias?

A recent report by the Center for Public Integrity shows journalists are much more likely to donate to Clinton than Trump.

Does this prove the media is out to “get” Trump, or can the coverage of the campaign stand independently from the personal preferences of the people covering it?

We also debate the role of third party candidates in the presidential and gubernatorial elections. Do they provide a necessary alternative to the established political order, or, as some suggest, are they simply “spoilers?”

Subscribe to “The Front Porch” podcast on iTunes or however you listen to podcasts.

An edited version of “The Front Porch” airs Fridays at 4:50 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s radio network, and the full version is available above.

Share your opinions with us about these issues, and let us know what you’d like us to discuss in the future. Send a tweet to @radiofinn or @wvpublicnews, or e-mail Scott at sfinn @ wvpublic.org

The Front Porch is underwritten by The Charleston Gazette Mail, providing both sides of the story on its two editorial pages. Check it out: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/

Justice or Cole, Who Won the WV Governor Debate?

The two leading candidates for governor attacked each other over unpaid bills and Donald Trump at the last major party debate. Who won, and will it matter?

On this episode of the Front Porch, Scott, Laurie, and Rick discuss this week’s final debate between West Virginia gubernatorial candidates Jim Justice and Bill Cole.

They dissect a wide variety of issues, ranging from declining state revenues to the candidates’ own personal sartorial styles.

Also covered is the recently released audio of Donald Trump, and the effect it will have not only on the presidential election, but on the future of the Republican Party as well.

The Front Porch” is a place where we tackle the tough issues facing West Virginia and Appalachia with some of the region’s most interesting thinkers.

WVPB Executive Director Scott Finn serves as host and provocateur, joined by Laurie Lin, a conservative lawyer and columnist, and Rick Wilson, a liberal columnist and avid goat herder who works for the American Friends Service Committee .

Subscribe to “The Front Porch” podcast on iTunes or however you listen to podcasts.

An edited version of “The Front Porch” airs Fridays at 4:50 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s radio network, and the full version is available above.

Share your opinions with us about these issues, and let us know what you’d like us to discuss in the future. Send a tweet to @radiofinn or @wvpublicnews, or e-mail Scott at sfinn @ wvpublic.org

The Front Porch is underwritten by The Charleston Gazette Mail, providing both sides of the story on its two editorial pages. Check it out: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/

Battling Big Sugar in West Virginia

The sugar industry spent years denying the harm it does to the nation's health, according to investigative reports. This week on the Front Porch, Laurie…

The sugar industry spent years denying the harm it does to the nation’s health, according to investigative reports.  

This week on the Front Porch, Laurie and Rick speak with Mandy Curry, co-founder of Healthy Kids, Inc.

They discuss the sugar industry’s attempt to downplay health risks associated with sugar consumption, and the effects this has had on the sugar content of the food we all eat.

Mandy also describes programs designed to better inform West Virginia students on health and nutrition using the 2014 documentary “Fed Up,” and what can be done to help encourage healthier habits.

Healthy Kids, Inc.’s website is located at https://www.healthykidsinc.com/

Rick Wilson has recently written an op-ed on this subject for the Charleston Gazette-Mail, located at http://www.wvgazettemail.com/gazette-op-ed-commentaries/20161005/rick-wilson-sugar-is-the-new-tobacco-lets-tax-it-gazette

The Front Porch” is a place where we tackle the tough issues facing West Virginia and Appalachia with some of the region’s most interesting thinkers.

WVPB Executive Director Scott Finn serves as host and provocateur, joined by Laurie Lin, a conservative lawyer and columnist, and Rick Wilson, a liberal columnist and avid goat herder who works for the American Friends Service Committee .

Subscribe to “The Front Porch” podcast on iTunes or however you listen to podcasts.

An edited version of “The Front Porch” airs Fridays at 4:50 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s radio network, and the full version is available above.

Share your opinions with us about these issues, and let us know what you’d like us to discuss in the future. Send a tweet to @radiofinn or @wvpublicnews, or e-mail Scott at sfinn @ wvpublic.org

The Front Porch is underwritten by The Charleston Gazette Mail, providing both sides of the story on its two editorial pages. Check it out: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/

Do You Have a License for That?

On this episode of “The Front Porch,” Scott, Laurie and Rick are joined by Ted Boettner of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy.

They discuss the effect the increasing number of professions requiring licensure or certification has on the state’s economy. Are all these licenses really necessary? If not, what’s the best way to eliminate the ones we don’t need?

Also on the podcast, a discussion of “Sit-gate” in the 2016 gubernatorial race and more.

Subscribe to “The Front Porch” podcast on iTunes or however you listen to podcasts.

An edited version of “The Front Porch” airs Fridays at 4:50 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s radio network, and the full version is available above.

Share your opinions with us about these issues, and let us know what you’d like us to discuss in the future. Send a tweet to @radiofinn or @wvpublicnews, or e-mail Scott at sfinn @ wvpublic.org

The Front Porch is underwritten by The Charleston Gazette Mail, providing both sides of the story on its two editorial pages. Check it out: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/

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