Recently, Brandi Richards wrote a quasi-compelling blog regarding her love of the snow. As I sit in my office with my space heater on, the temperature outside sitting at a balmy -10, I would like to offer up this alternative. I'm over it. Over the snow. Over the cold. Over the winter. Bring on the spring and better yet, let's daydream about pop-up thunderstorms and watering our lawns.

I lived in the heart of the Kanawha Valley a/k/a "The Chemical Valley" for twelve years before leaving in 2009. Having a degree in chemistry, it amazed and perplexed me that chemical plants and storage tanks were permitted to operate in the midst of such a populated area, directly on the banks of rivers which provided drinking water to hundreds of thousands. I would see these facilitie s and wonder what chemicals were stored there and if anyone was really paying attention to what chemicals were where. Was anyone paying attention to how the chemicals interacted with one another if there was a system failure or accident and the chemicals came in contact with one another? Was anyone paying attention to whether the storage tanks were sufficient to withstand potential interactions with and among chemicals they were holding? Did anyone know what would happen in the event of a leak? Did anyone know the effects of human exposure to these chemicals? Were there mechanisms in place to protect the drinking water? When I would voice these concerns, my friend and colleagues would act like I was crazy. They, of course, assumed the answer to all of these questions was a resounding "yes". They trusted the "good corporate citizens" and the governmental regulators. Many thought these companies were overregulated. The events which began at Freedom Industries on January 9, 2014 proved their trust was misplaced and have forever changed the lives of the hundreds of thousands of West Virginians who have been exposed to both known and unknown chemicals and chemical combinations.

Three workers have been killed and others have been hurt in the collapse of a cell tower near Clarksburg, West Virginia. As the State continues to struggle with the aftermath of the water contamination disaster in the Kanawha region, this additional disaster is another blow. For older West Virginians, the collapse of a structure like this brings the Willow Island catastrophe to mind, where over fifty workers were killed in a collapse of a power plant cooling tower in 1978. More recently, disasters like Upper Big Branch and Sago , have claimed lives for workers on the job in West Virginia in mass incidents.

Happy Super Bowl weekend! As many prepare for the biggest sports weekend in America, we'll be taking it all in with our families and friends. Spring will soon be here - with competition and excitement in the air, it's a great time to sign your children up for sports and activities. The National Center for Education Statistics says that youth involvement in athletics correlates with higher attendance rates, higher grade point averages, improved social engagement, and improved college opportunities. Supporting your children's sports teams is also a great way to show them how much you care.

Why is the Super Bowl the most watched television event almost every year? Is it the matchup between two great football teams? Perhaps. Is it the halftime entertainment that provides memorable moments by famous musical acts like Janet Jackson's well-documented wardrobe malfunction? Possibly. But, I think the thing that may bring all ages, backgrounds, and sports fans and non-sports fans alike together is the commercials. Even if you don't know if a football is blown up or stuffed, even if you don't know the difference between Richard Sherman and Richard Simmons, everyone loves watching the commercials. We talk about and analyze them. They make us laugh. Heck, sometimes they even make us cry. There are the perennial favorites like the Budweiser Clydesdales . There are spots that stay with viewers for years like Mean Joe Greene's Coca-Cola ad. There are all types of funny animals such as monkeys, dogs, and frogs used to get our attention. Last year, Bordas & Bordas even got into the Super Bowl TV frenzy with a commercial of our own.

Who's your favorite collegiate mascot? Naming your selection could land you 4 tickets to WVU's matchup against Oklahoma on Wednesday, February 5th. Like our page, share this post with your friends, and comment with your favorite mascot for a chance to win. The winner will be announced on Monday, February 3rd. Good luck - we can't wait to hear your selections! For rules pertaining to all of our contests, please find them here .

Several weeks ago, I began to notice a problem in my right hand. For no apparent reason, two of my fingers were intermittently going numb. I did nothing at first, hoping the problem would resolve itself with time. As with most medical issues that I ignore, the problem did not go away; it got worse. When pain added itself to the mix two weeks ago, I grudgingly called my doctor. A late-night MRI and a visit to a neurosurgeon followed, and in two days I will undergo surgery. It turns out that I have three herniated discs in my neck, one of which is lodged firmly against a nerve near my spinal cord. The doctor has to go into my neck and cut away part of the vertebrae in order to relieve the pressure on the nerve. I have been an active/athletic person my entire life. At the age of 57, I am certainly no stranger to surgery. I have had both of my knees "scoped"; I had a screw surgically inserted into my right thumb; and I have an artificial hip. None of those surgeries caused me the least bit of anxiety. This one is different. This time, the doctor is going to be messing with my spinal cord. He is going to be using scalpels and drills and clamps and who-knows-what in an area where one tiny slip could produce a really bad result. Knowing all of that, my wife asks me if I'm worried. "Nope." My daughter asks me the same thing. "Not a bit. This is routine." My mother is so nervous she can't even talk about it. "Don't worry, Mom. No big deal. They do this every day." The truth is I lied (sorry, Mom). I'm scared.

This week's edition of the Bordas & Bordas Legal Review tackles the two topics dominating headlines: The Charleston Chemical Spill and Richard Sherman's post-game interview. What are the potential legal ramifications of each? Who is being or may be sued? Who is talking about Richard Sherman and is there a racial dimension to the controversy? Learn all these answers and more as Chris Regan and Jamie Bordas discuss the pressing issues of the day on WLTV's Bordas & Bordas Legal Review.

I opened my newspaper one Saturday morning in early January to read an article about the new healthcare law and was startled to learn that one of its problems is the fact that people with chronic illnesses, the ones in the most need of medical care and testing, would be the ones falling through the "cracks" of the new healthcare law and would find it more expensive. Even Ron Pollack, founding Executive Director of Families USA, a national organization whose mission is to achieve high-quality, "affordable" health coverage for everyone in the U.S., was quoted as saying in a somewhat apathetic sounding way: "If the question is, will some people find that coverage and care remain unaffordable, the answer is yes. There will be some people who feel that way. The overwhelming majority will be far better off, even if what they have is not perfect."

When I was told that I had cervical cancer twenty years ago, I had two small children and was scared to death. Not only did the doctors mention cervical cancer, but they expressed some fear that it had already turned into ovarian cancer. My first thought was what would happen to my family if I was not well enough to take care of them. Question after question went racing through my mind. My wonderful husband, our parents, other family and friends could only do so much. Children need their mothers! I started writing down things for my husband so just in case something happened to me, he could tell our boys about me and what type of mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt and friend I was. I wanted my sons to know about our awesome God, how to treat others and how much I loved them. The list could have gone forever. Once the shock was over, the doctor told us what I needed to have done and it needed to be done quickly. So I had all the tests done and within weeks I had to have a hysterectomy. No more children for us. We always wanted a big family, but it wasn't in God's plan for us.