Tag: Front Porch

The Front Porch: Does Harvard Have an Asian-American Quota?

Is Harvard University is keeping out qualified Asian-American applicants in the interest of racial diversity? That’s what is alleged in a lawsuit.

On The Front Porch, a Yalie, a Harvard man and our resident intellectual from Marshall debate whether colleges should use race during admissions.

Are Appalachian students are at a disadvantage or advantage when they apply to selective schools? Perhaps a little bit of both.

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

Next week, we’re tackling Appalachian accents, and we want to hear YOURS. Have you ever experienced discrimination because of your accent? Or has your accent led to some new connections with other people. Use your VOICE MEMO app on an iphone or other recording device and email me your answer. Send it to sfinn@wvpublic.org, and we might use it in the show.

The Front Porch is Scott Finn of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, Rick Wilson of the American Friends Service Committee and Laurie Lin of the Charleston Daily Mail. Our theme music is from the group Little Sparrow.

And unless Tudor’s Biscuit World starts answering our phone calls…YOU can underwrite The Front Porch. Reach an audience of some of the best thinkers in Appalachia and beyond. E-mail me at s-finn@wvpublic.org for more information.

You can hear The Front Porch most Fridays at 4:50 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting or find other episodes here.

Hey, we want YOU to join us on The Front Porch. Do you have ideas for guests we should interview or tough topics to tackle? Send me an e-mail to sfinn@wvpublic.org or send us a tweet – I’m @radiofinn, Laurie’s @wvpundette and Rick is @elcabrero – that’s “the Goat Herder” in Spanish, in case you’re wondering.

The Front Porch: Working Class Men Can't Find Work

Increasingly, working class men in Appalachia can’t find work.

Central Appalachia has seen thousands of layoffs in the coal industry this decade. More and more, women are the main breadwinners.

This week on The Front Porch podcast: What does this new gender dynamic mean in a traditional culture like Appalachia? And what does it mean to be a man, when the old ideas no longer hold sway?

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: Who's to Blame for Appalachia's Drug Addiction?

West Virginia has the nation's worst rate of drug overdose deaths. It started with prescription painkillers, and now is increasingly fueled by heroin.On…

West Virginia has the nation’s worst rate of drug overdose deaths. It started with prescription painkillers, and now is increasingly fueled by heroin.

On this week’s “The Front Porch,” we debate what’s causing the epidemic, and what might actually work in curbing it.

We speak with Ashley, a recovering heroin addict about why she began using, how she got clean, and the struggles to remain sober for her three kids.

We also ask whether society is ready to treat addiction as a health issue, or whether we are still quick to make moral judgments about people with drug addictions.

Finally, we debate what’s at fault:

– An unwillingness by state and federal officials to pay for treatment, even if it is less expensive and more effective than jailing addicts

– Prescription drug companies, for marketing painkillers heavily in the region (West Virginia consumes more prescription painkillers per capita than any other state)

– Workers Comp, for only paying for cheaper drugs and not expensive physical therapy for injured workers

– Drug dealers, who profit from peddling misery

– People who give drugs to people who then overdose (and should they be charged with felony murder?)

– People with addiction (what about personal responsibility?)

– A general sense of hopelessness in our region that leads to more drug abuse

Click here to see West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s series on heroin.

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: Anna Sale on Loving and Leaving West Virginia

As host and executive producer of the hit podcast “Death, Sex & Money” from WNYC, Anna Sale asks famous people and regular folks about the things we need to talk more about, but don’t.

On this week’s “The Front Porch,” Sale talks about her complicated love of West Virginia, and the bittersweet experience of visiting home, once you know you’re gone for good.

Sale remembers starting her career as a journalist at West Virginia Public Broadcasting. She said people would come up to her and say, “That was a great story. Please don’t leave.”

She says moving to a larger city for your career may happen in all small cities and towns, but “it has more of an edge here…I think there is a pride certainly in cheering on West Virginians who are successful outside of West Virginia. But there also comes with it that sense of loss.”

“But it is a strange thing when you are an ambitious young person, who’s excited to explore the world, to have people who love and the community you care about say, we hope you’re successful, but maybe not so much that you leave,” she said.

Sale is interviewing New York Times book reviewer Dwight Garner, a Fairmont native and former Charlestonian, at a live, free show on June 24 at the Clay Center in Charleston. You can RSVP here.

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: Five Taxes That Could Be Cut

Reforming the tax system is a major priority for the new GOP leadership of the West Virginia Legislature. Senate President Bill Cole has even floated the idea of eliminating the state income tax.

Like the cicadas, the issue seems to come up every few years, sometimes leading to changes, and sometimes not.

This week, The Front Porch gang debates whether West Virginia needs to change its tax system, and if so, who should benefit.

Rick Wilson of the American Friends Service Committee says that previous cuts to business taxes have not led to new jobs. He argues for investments in early childhood education and higher education over any tax cuts.

Laurie Lin of the Charleston Daily Mail says its too early to tell whether business tax cuts from a few years ago are working. As a former tax lawyer, she hopes lawmakers will try to make a simpler system.

Both Wilson and Lin agree that expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit would reward West Virginia’s low-income working families.

Credit Tax Foundation
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West Virginia ranks 35th in combined state and federal taxes

Here are some predictions for other proposed tax cuts:

1. Eliminating the state income tax – UNLIKELY. This is the biggest source of state revenues. Replacing it would require big hikes in sales and property taxes, which would be regressive and unpopular.

2. Increasing “sin” taxes – LIKELY. Despite the regressive nature of taxes on tobacco and alcohol, Wilson says they’re an easier target because they lead to better health outcomes

3. Decreasing severance taxes on coal – POSSIBLE. Never underestimate the power of the coal industry in West Virginia, especially amid a downturn. But cutting severance taxes would leave a big hole in state AND local government budgets.

4. Eliminating the tax on business inventories – POSSIBLE. This is one tax that most of our surrounding states do not have – the last business tax that sets West Virginia apart from its neighbors in a negative way. Wilson says the tax is not too burdensome considering the low real property taxes some businesses pay. But again, eliminating this tax will reduce revenues at both the state and county level, much of which goes for education.

5. Increasing the sales tax on services -POSSIBLE. Right now, West Virginians pay a sales tax on most tangible good, except for food, but they don’t pay sales tax on many services, from haircuts to legal advice. Taxing services would raise millions every year, but could prove unpopular with consumers and the lawyers and barbers who provide services.

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: Outsiders in Appalachia

Jesse and Marisha Camp were driving through McDowell County when they were confronted by angry residents who believed they were taking photos of their children.

No one was injured, but Marisha Camp recorded the tense encounter and shared it with photographer Roger May. It’s become a national story, especially among photographers. What can explain a group of people reacting so negatively to someone taking a few pictures?

There’s a bigger context for this incident. Appalachia has a long and troubled history with outsiders. And more specifically, some of those outsiders with cameras have portrayed residents as depraved and freakish.

On The Front Porch this week, we tackle the third rail of Appalachian culture: outsiders, and how we deal with them. Daily Mail columnist Laurie Lin and Rick Wilson of the American Friends Service Committee bravely delve into this tough topic with host Scott Finn.

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 at wvpublic.org and as a podcast as well.

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

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