In Segment 1, Autumn Long, West Virginia Program Director for Solar United Neighbors discusses the potential benefits of bringing solar energy to West Virginia. The national nonprofit, also known as SUN, is an advocate for solar energy.Long says bringing solar energy to the Mountain State would help diversify the state’s energy economy and maintain West Virginia’s relevance as an energy-producing state. She says West Virginia has an opportunity to be part of a changing energy economy where renewable resources are coming to the forefront as a generation source for clean sustainable energy production.She says for businesses, such as Dickenson Saltworks in Malden, which switched to solar energy in 2020, going solar can be a return on investment that saves money in the long run.In Segment 2, we hear from the State Director of the Sierra Club for West Virginia Karan Ireland. She says having a new federal administration that wants to move more toward renewable energy provides a huge opportunity in regard to climate change, reclamation in West Virginia and West Virginia jobs.Ireland says wind operators and solar jobs have been the fastest-growing job sectors in the United States for a couple of years and bringing those industries to the Mountain State would create more jobs, including for coal miners who have lost work.West Virginia Program Director for Solar United Neighbors Autumn Davis also returns to talk about the importance of policy to set the tone to make solar energy work in West Virginia. She says SUN hopes to see more pro-solar energy legislation bills passed in the Mountain State.In Segment 3, former West Virginia State Treasurer John Perdue looks back at some of the highlights of his six terms in office, including the Smart 529 College Savings Program, which helps parents and guardians save for their children’s education.He says as part of the program, they also started the 529 Walk to benefit foster children in the Mountain State by raising money for scholarships. According to Perdue, only about 2% of the state’s foster children get the opportunity to go on to higher education.Perdue says one major issue he was focusing on when his last term ended is bringing broadband to West Virginia. He says he hopes to see the work continue because providing broadband across the state is critical to the Mountain State’s future. The problem with little to no access in more rural areas has been further highlighted by the ongoing pandemic as people need more internet access for virtual learning, telework and telehealth.In Segment 4, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia Mike Stuart talks about providing justice to victims of crimes, including for West Virginia’s veterans, such as in his recent prosecution of Dr. Jonathan Yates, a former doctor at the Beckley VA Medical Center who was accused of sexually molesting U.S. Military Veterans at the facility.He says his main goal as a prosecutor is bringing justice to the victims of crimes, including the victims of another tough case involving, the suspicious deaths of multiple veterans at the VA Medical Center in Clarksburg. While the northern district is handling the prosecution of Reta Mays, a former employee at the center who is set to be sentenced later this month, Stuart’s office is handling the civil lawsuits filed by the victims’ families.Stuart has also been heavily involved in trying to crack down on the opioid epidemic in the state, taking part in operations such as Project Parkersburg, the largest meth takedown in the history of both West Virginia and Ohio. He also helped prosecute in Operation Saigon Sunset, which took down a large network of drug dealers in the state.

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