WITH the passage of Issue 3 in Ohio, casinos will soon open in Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Toledo.

This will pose a challenge to the two racetracks in the Northern Panhandle, and to a lesser extent to the racetrack in Nitro. 

West Virginia lawmakers and the managers of the state's four racetrack casinos have long predicted that neighboring states would expand their gambling to casinos. This was why legislators gave local voters the option of approving table games.

Now it is time for West Virginia racinos to prove their mettle. They face competition. Gamblers will decide where to play.

Unsolicited advice to Ohio: Never rely on gambling money to support operating expenses. As gambling revenues rose, West Virginia resisted the temptation to use the money to expand state government.

Gambling turned out not to be recession-proof.

The state's initial prudence makes adjusting its budget - a $100 million revenue shortfall is expected this fiscal year - a lot easier.

AFTER more than 30 years, the Kanawha Valley Genealogical Society is disbanding. That is disheartening news. Membership had swelled to 390 in 1998, but has since fallen to 110. 

The society's collection of information has been distributed to remaining societies in Elkview and other parts of the state.

Only 12 people used the society's library in the first six months of this year, treasurer Donald E. Patterson wrote recently.

The Internet has made such searches for information easier, which contributed to the decline in the use of the society's library. The ability to gather such information nearly instantly from anywhere in the world is an improvement.

But the knowledge that comes from face-to-face contact with these dedicated guardians of history is a great loss.

WITH the passage of Issue 3 in Ohio, casinos will soon open in Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Toledo.

This will pose a challenge to the two racetracks in the Northern Panhandle, and to a lesser extent to the racetrack in Nitro. 

West Virginia lawmakers and the managers of the state's four racetrack casinos have long predicted that neighboring states would expand their gambling to casinos. This was why legislators gave local voters the option of approving table games.

Now it is time for West Virginia racinos to prove their mettle. They face competition. Gamblers will decide where to play.

Unsolicited advice to Ohio: Never rely on gambling money to support operating expenses. As gambling revenues rose, West Virginia resisted the temptation to use the money to expand state government.

Gambling turned out not to be recession-proof.

The state's initial prudence makes adjusting its budget - a $100 million revenue shortfall is expected this fiscal year - a lot easier.

AFTER more than 30 years, the Kanawha Valley Genealogical Society is disbanding. That is disheartening news. Membership had swelled to 390 in 1998, but has since fallen to 110. 

The society's collection of information has been distributed to remaining societies in Elkview and other parts of the state.

Only 12 people used the society's library in the first six months of this year, treasurer Donald E. Patterson wrote recently.

The Internet has made such searches for information easier, which contributed to the decline in the use of the society's library. The ability to gather such information nearly instantly from anywhere in the world is an improvement.

But the knowledge that comes from face-to-face contact with these dedicated guardians of history is a great loss.

CALIFORNIA state government has lived beyond the means of its taxpayers for years, swinging from one budget crisis to the next like Tarzan on the grapevines.

The state paid its bills with IOUs this summer and has since moved on to stronger measures - taking a $1.7 billion interest-free loan from taxpayers by raising its withholding for state income tax by 10 percent, the Los Angeles Times reported.

A married person earning $90,000 with two dependents will receive $24.87 less per month in pay.

Theoretically at least, California taxpayers will get any overwitholding back from their bankrupt state at tax time.

Not only is this an abuse of the public, but it's a sure way to keep the state mired in recession. As the Times pointed out, the state is "holding back 10 percent more than it already does in state income taxes just as the biggest shopping season of the year kicks into gear."

As bad as the politicians in Sacramento are, voters are to blame. Until Californians demand good management when they vote, they will get little sympathy from the rest of the country.

OCTOBER was Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and Logan County authorities spent it it in a high state of awareness indeed.

The Logan Banner reported that police arrested 26 people, including three women, on such charges, in October alone.

Publishing the list was a sobering way of making people aware of domestic violence.

There is no reason to believe the crime is more common in Logan than in other places. People everywhere need to know how pervasive this is.