Opinion

Editorial: Eyes on the prize

dshelton — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 03:00:57 -0500

One of the city's most promising and troubled institutions is one critical step closer to reality.

The International Civil Rights Center and Museum hopes to confirm soon at least $10 million in funding that would enable it to open by Feb. 1, 2010.

Museum backers have received $3 million from local foundations and businesses that now qualifies the project to obtain another $7 million to $8 million in financing through federal historic tax credits.

Editorial: After the big dance is over, who’s paying the bill and why?

dshelton — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 03:00:17 -0500

Nobody likes a party-pooper, but reasonable questions are being asked about who's paying for the merrymaking in Raleigh before Gov.-elect Bev. Perdue's inauguration Saturday and what donors might expect in return.

According to The News & Observer of Raleigh, companies and groups that do business with state government or might curry favors from it have contributed thousands of dollars to the Junior League of Raleigh, which sponsors the several inauguration galas.

Editorial: The N.C. A&T decision

dshelton — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:00:14 -0500

The misuse of funds at N.C. A&T may have been inappropriate, unseemly and in some cases just plain wrong, but it wasn't illegal.

That's the gist of an investigation by the office of Guilford County District Attorney Doug Henderson, who said in a news release Tuesday that he will not prosecute.

Now that the school has learned some painful lessons in accountability and oversight -- and presumably fixed what was broken -- it can move on.

Editorial essay: Who let the dogs out? And why?

dshelton — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:00:13 -0500

Sometimes I run for exercise. Sometimes I run for my life.

By my count, one neighborhood dog has chased me nearly a hundred times over the past three years.

I have threatened both owners with contacting Animal Control, but they obviously don't believe me. They simply shrug.

The irony is, they have a fenced-in backyard but still see a reason to let the dog (a very big one) roam the streets in the mornings.

Then there is this teeny, white-furred pug that came scampering after me the other day, growling with great ferocity - and wearing a striped sweater.

Editorial: Road money should go where it's most needed

import — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 03:00:00 -0500

The feud between Charlotte and Fayetteville over state highway funding looks like a mismatch only to people who are naive about North Carolina politics. The bigger city doesn't always get its way.

Charlotte-area leaders complained bitterly back in November when it appeared the state Board of Transportation was about to allocate $270 million for the next section of the Fayetteville Outer Loop -- while Charlotte's I-485 languishes incomplete.

Editorial: City records policy must stress accessibility, accountability

import — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 03:00:00 -0500

The city of Greensboro generally does a good job of making information available to the public. But not always.

As Denise Turner, filling the new position of assistant city manager for communication, works on a public-records policy, her priorities should be access and accountability.

The city's Web site already is an excellent source of information. Viewers can click on "media/public records" and find news releases, reports and other items of interest. What's not so apparent is where to go or whom to call for something else.

Editorial: David Wray’s lawsuit

dshelton — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:00:51 -0500

As if it needed it, the long-roiling controversy surrounding the Greensboro Police Department has received a fresh gust of momentum: Former Chief David Wray is suing the city and City Manager Mitchell Johnson.

Wray's lawsuit alleges that Johnson stripped his authority, locked him out of his office and ultimately forced him to resign in 2006 because he is white and because he had been pressured to do so by a powerful black political action committee, the George Simkins Memorial PAC.

Editorial: Paydays still a wheel of fortune for some frazzled N.C. workers

dshelton — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:00:13 -0500

A new payroll system that bungled state workers' pay last spring and summer is still wreaking havoc.

The system, ironically named BEACON, has shed more confusion than light since it was adopted by all state agencies.

Some employees still complain that they aren't always paid fully for the hours they've put in. Other have discovered that they've been paid too much.

"Imagine, two days before Christmas and $800 of your paycheck is missing," Lauren Jacobs of Central Regional Hospital told The News & Observer of Raleigh. "No notification, no nothing."

Short Stack: Food for thought, quick and over easy

dshelton — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 03:00:13 -0500

Recyclables trashed

Thanks to the economic recession, tin cans, waste paper and other assorted recyclables aren't worth the money it takes to haul them off. And that's a major hit in the pocketbook for the cities of Greensboro and High Point.

Both count on revenue from their immensely successful recycling programs to boost budgets. But projections are that profits for this fiscal year will be slim to none because of a worst-ever demand for recyclables.

Editorial: A penalty of the past

import — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 03:00:00 -0500

Gov. Mike Easley raised a pointed question about crime and punishment:

"When are we going to hold some of these people accountable and get some of these executions going again? That's what I want to know," the governor said to N&R reporter Mark Binker in an interview last month.

It won't happen on Easley's watch. His term expires Saturday. Whether the state's execution chamber gets busy again during the tenure of the next governor, Bev Perdue, remains to be seen. She also supports capital punishment, although probably not as impatiently as Easley.

Editorial: Red and yellow, black and white, we're more diverse in God's sight

import — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 03:00:00 -0500

How, where and when we choose to worship is a deeply personal decision.

And that's the way it ought to be: No government agency -- or anyone else -- should mandate matters of faith.

But there is no small irony in the long-held tradition of segregation in houses of worship -- that we so often listen to preachments of brother- and sisterhood on Sunday mornings in racially separate congregations.

Editorial: Get Gate City growing

dshelton — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 03:00:14 -0500

Most of us take stocked supermarket shelves for granted, except when a hurricane or snowstorm is forecast. But the supply chain for grocery stores is more fragile than we realize. It's not only the infrequent natural disasters that could disrupt it. Fuel shortages, power failures and truckers' strikes all could cause empty shelves.

The economic downturn has revealed another potential disrupter: tight credit. Farmers are having trouble getting loans for fertilizer, fuel and other needs. That may mean a smaller 2009 harvest.

Editorial: Farmers, motorists benefit from canola marketing plan

dshelton — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 03:00:40 -0500

Canola-based biodiesel fuel may not be the answer to the nation's dependence on foreign petroleum, but it offers promising possibilities.

And the unique plan by two Piedmont entrepreneurs to market it at franchised truck stops could be equally beneficial to "green-friendly" drivers and the farmers who grow the crop.

Dean Price of Stokesdale and Gary Sink of Davidson County envision outlets across the Southeast selling affordable biodiesel for use in farm equipment, trucks and cars. Their first Red Birch location is in Bassett, Va., about 60 miles from Greensboro.

Editorial: State insurance plan helps pay health costs

dshelton — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 03:00:29 -0500

The N.C. Health Insurance Risk Pool launched with little fanfare Jan. 1 will serve only a few of the estimated 1.4 million residents with no health insurance, but it's still a commendable beginning.

Making it easier for people with high-risk pre-existing medical conditions to get subsidized coverage rather than paying exorbitant premiums to private insurers is the laudable goal.

Editorial: Make incentives meaningful

dshelton — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 03:00:34 -0500

You would think that the leaders of businesses getting incentives would at least know their companies were receiving them. After all, the reason governments give incentives is to attract and keep businesses.

But a UNC researcher found that 62 percent of the "top officials" at businesses getting incentives from the state of North Carolina didn't know their companies had them.

Editorial: Leadership matters, especially during 2009

import — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 03:00:00 -0500

Americans want strong, decisive, effective leadership -- especially in troubled times.

The new year of 2009 calls for extraordinary efforts by the people elected to federal, state and local offices. Here are a few words of encouragement for those leaders.

For Barack Obama: Govern as well as you campaigned, calling for unity rather than division. Inspire others to promote common interests, not their own. Follow your principles but draw ideas and strategies from all sources, regardless of party politics. If one plan fails, don't be afraid to try another.

Editorial: Little changes, but big benefits

import — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 03:00:00 -0500

It's misguided, at least in North Carolina, to equate only the new year with new laws. A quick glance through a summary of General Assembly action in 2008 finds that more laws went into effect last July 1 and Dec. 1 than take effect today.

And, if you equate "new laws" with burdensome regulation, that notion also should be re-examined. The few state laws that take effect today are more helpful than harmful.

Editorial: Downtown downturn?

dshelton — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 03:00:28 -0500

If the heartbeat of a city can be measured by its downtown, the pulse in Greensboro's urban core is strong and growing stronger.

Time was when the place seemed cold and lifeless. Especially on weekends.

Now people live and play in the center city even on week nights.

Editorial: Clock is ticking on 2008 charitable gifts

dshelton — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 03:00:46 -0500

The end of December usually sees a flurry of charitable giving, with people making contributions that can be deducted on the year's taxes. That flurry needs to be an avalanche this year, as the bad economy has caused needs to increase but donations to decline.

A recent report from the North Carolina secretary of state's office for fiscal year 2007-'08 found that donations made through campaigns run by professional solicitors were down $26 million from the year before. And that was before the fall's steep turndown.

Editorial: FedEx IOU is still Triad prize

dshelton — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 03:00:58 -0500

Last week's FedEx announcement was like getting an IOU for Christmas. The giant delivery company will postpone the start of its new air-cargo operations at Piedmont Triad International Airport and hire fewer workers initially.

Short Stack: Food for thought, quick and over easy

dshelton — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 03:00:21 -0500

A family affair

The mother of Tar Heel basketball star Tyler Hansbrough was hired on Dec. 8 as associate director of development of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Dentistry.

Her primary responsibility will be fundraising, and odds are that a woman named Hansbrough should do just fine in that capacity.

UNC-CH officials insist this deal is strictly on the up and up, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association has raised no red flags. NCAA rules prohibit special arrangements for student-athletes and their relatives.

Editorial: An early line on 2009

dshelton — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 03:00:39 -0500

As the final days of 2008 play out, it's time to ask the pressing question:Can the New Year possibly bring even more stunning and unpredictable events than the tumultuous developments we've just seen?

Don't look here for a serious answer. We aren't soothsayers. But, since we're not afraid to guess, we'll stake our reputations on these predictions of state and local news during 2009:

* Inspired by the Skip Alston-Steve Arnold partnership on the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, other local politicians form their own strange alliances:

Editorial: American royalty

dshelton — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 03:00:42 -0500

Trend forecaster Gerald Celente is nothing if not dire. Take his predictions for the next few years. He sees economic troubles in the United States leading to mayhem, including riots, food shortages and a taxpayers' rebellion. An outlandish view? Maybe. But outlandish acts are happening that could create the perfect storm for tempestuous times.

Nowhere is that seen more than in the actions of the financial institutions receiving bailout money.

First, there's the compensation given many of their chieftains.

Editorial: Exam, inauguration conflict justifies changing schedule

dshelton — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 03:00:26 -0500

When the choice is between taking an exam in school or celebrating the historic inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, there's little doubt as to which will win out.

It's one of those times when arbitrary scheduling should be adjusted in the face of reality and enthusiasm. The Guilford County school system's decision last week to delay End of Course tests shouldn't pose a problem or be a major inconvenience.

Editorial: Enviable growth rate is a two-edged sword

dshelton — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 03:00:58 -0500

No doubt about it, more and more people like calling North Carolina home. Last year alone, in-state migration added 181,000 new residents.

Compared to most of the nation, we're on a fast track. The state is the fourth-fastest in growth nationwide, according to the Census Bureau, and outpaces its East Coast neighbors.

But with growth can come problems. State and local governments must prepare to deal with increasing demands for services, based on accurate profiles of newcomers and their needs.