By Adam Searing Two new statewide polls show a virtual tie in the race for U.S. Senate between incumbent Senator Elizabeth Dole and Democratic challenger Kay Hagan, a state senator from Greensboro. This is obviously sparking some worry over at the Dole campaign, where Dole’s name recognition and millions in donations have perhaps made her…
Category: Opinion
The money shuffle in Raleigh
By Chris Fitzsimon Many of the decisions state lawmakers make this session will be influenced by November’s election and legislative leaders in both parties have plenty of people to help them figure out how certain issues will play with the voters. The Democratic Caucus in the House and Senate each has its own political consultants…
For the Record: Expensive commute
That cracking sound you may have heard just before the Memorial Day weekend was gas prices around here breaking the $4 mark. Right on the heels of that is news via Forbes that Raleigh commuters (we presume that means those of us who commute to and fro) face the second-worst commute in the country among…
For the Record: Big potential
Forget repealing the gas tax. This state has a much simpler way to put millions of dollars back into the hands of North Carolinians. At the same time, the move will help streamline state government, eliminate unnecessary government bureaucracy and prevent the siphoning off of millions to out-of-state enterprises. Furthermore, the result of this innovation…
For the Record: In our trust
IA very salient point was made at the recent public hearing on the town budget. The discussion was over whether or not to fully fund the Orange County Land Trust’s request. To the town, the difference was more symbolic in terms of impact, for it was meant to reflect what other governments likewise encumbered by…
Human evidence of the need for justice
By Chris Fitzsimon It’s too bad that every single member of the General Assembly who stands in front of television cameras clamoring for the state to resume executions wasn’t in the press room at the Legislative Building Tuesday afternoon. Three men recently freed from North Carolina’s death row after spending a combined 36 years awaiting…
Contrary to the hype, NC business taxes are low
By Elaine Mejia Those pesky researchers at business-friendly Ernst & Young and the Council on State Taxation have done it again. They simply refuse to develop a methodology for ranking state business tax burdens in such a way that North Carolina’s ranking will come out where the anti-tax zealots like to claim that they are.
Letter from the Editor: Life by the gallon
Water and gasoline don’t mix, but the conservation of each merged over the winter as both liquids got scarce. Like a lot of people, I found myself more and more measuring myself by the gallon. A shorter shower saved this. A trip by bike or on foot saved that. Thanks to recent rains, the worries…
Letter from the Editor: Well grounded
Chancellor-elect Holden Thorp checked in the other day via email. I’d inquired how he felt about having to pack up the family and move from Carrboro to the chancellor’s quarters on Raleigh Road. (Nice place, by the way, with a swell pool.) The chancellor said he had mixed feelings about the move, especially since his…
A few corrections
• You’d think we’d at least get the name of the mascot of Carrboro High School right. Most times, we do. Last week, we didn’t. Go, Jaguars. • The fellow helping Scotty Mclean in a front-page photo of the capture of the Century Center bees is Leo Gaev.
Letter from the editor: Requiem for reality
No one has a monopoly on the truth, and most certainly no one political party or persuasion has a monopoly on the desire to make this country a better place and a more positive force in the world. But to read without getting angry what is passing these days for discourse on which candidate is…
Health in the short session
Adam Searing As the NC General Assembly gets underway this week – even in a so-called short session year, it’s a little like watching an aircraft carrier try to do a three-point turn in Beaufort channel – a reasonable citizen might wonder what steps legislators will be taking to make health care more affordable and…
Carrboro and mental health: Dancing to an alternate beat
Peter Kramer May is Mental Health Month and this year’s theme is “Get Connected.†The importance of social connectedness to good mental health has led some of us to consider Carrboro’s role as a leader in innovative programs that promote mental health wellness. Carrboro is home to, among other organizations, the Mental Health Association of…
Behind the budget headlines
Chris Fitzsimon The General Assembly session is less than a week old but the budget process is steaming ahead, as lawmakers continue not only to analyze the $21.5 billion plan proposed by Gov. Mike Easley, but also to narrow down their own spending recommendations. The House will pass the budget first this summer and House…
For the Record: Three lives far too short
Two accidents and a senseless act of violence, and this community is without three bright lights that once walked among us. Our hearts go out to the family and friends of James Karpinos, Jake Billings and Irina Yarmolenko, who grew up here and, just as they were taking wing, are now gone. Each had left…