For Neloa Jones As an Orange County commissioner, Neloa Barbee Jones will work hard to assure that all voices are heard and considered before making policy decisions. Neloa earned both her B.A. and M.A. at UNC. She has spent her career as an educator and is committed to ensuring the best possible education for our…
Category: Opinion
Endorsement Letters: Ellie Kinnaird
For Ellie Kinnaird The root cause of many of our problems is too much big money in politics. Fortunately, the best example of campaign finance reform is right in our midst. Sen. Ellie Kinnaird has never taken corporate PAC money and limits individual contributions to maintain her independence. She has consistently run her campaigns on…
Letter from the Editor: Use it or lose it
No doubt, sometime prior to Election Day in 2000, a few hundred Floridians uttered the oft-heard phrase “my vote doesn’t count.†Seven and a half years later, as we watch the consequences of that shirking of civic duty, a large portion of the country would still like to throttle them.
Letter from the Editor: Drought not over
There’s an interesting twist to the jump from Stage III water conservation all the way back to Stage I. Under Stage II and Stage III, the dozens of local swimming pools, most notably those at the university and the public pools, could not be refilled. So one reason for the OWASA decision last week to…
Letter from the Editor: Governor sunshine
We weren’t there, but can presume that at his swearing in Gov. Mike Easley swore to uphold and defend the constitution of the state of North Carolina. Just as a reminder, Article I Section 10 goes something like: “Freedom of speech and of the press are two of the great bulwarks of liberty and therefore…
Sierra Endorsements Announced
Editor’s note: The Citizen recently received this announcement of the state Sierra Club’s choices in local elections. The North Carolina Chapter of the Sierra Club today officially announced its endorsements in Senate District 23, House Districts 54 & 56, and for the Orange County Board of Commissioners.
Letter: Good choices
Kudos to the Sierra Club for its astute endorsements of Bernadette Pelissier for Orange County Commissioner and Ellie Kinnaird for re-election to the state Senate. Bernadette’s environmental credentials are top notch, as are her qualifications as a member of the county Planning Board, the OWASA board and Chancellor Moeser’s Leadership Advisory Committee. Her long career…
Letter: Pedestrian safety
The recent and tragic deaths of Basil and Kaled Shahin in Raleigh highlight the importance of pedestrian safety. We would like to share our experience in advocating to change a dangerous intersection.
Letter: For the tax
We are not exceptionally knowledgeable about politics or taxes. We do listen to the news every day, frequently read the local newspapers and vote every opportunity we get the chance. We understand the basic idea of the proposed land transfer tax referendum (referred to mistakenly by opponents of the measure as a “home taxâ€) for…
Letter: Tax didn’t bring results
A recent letter to the editor in your newspaper praised some coastal counties for implementing the transfer tax as a solution to local budget issues. However, a closer look at the issue shows that the transfer tax — also known as the home tax — is not the answer.
Letter: Vote “yesâ€
I am writing in support of the land transfer tax. It is estimated that this tax will generate between $3 and $4 million dollars. This money has been earmarked for our schools and parks in Orange County. Only people selling commercial property, homes or land will be affected by this tax — and it applies when the…
Letter: Voting for Ellie
I am thrilled that our veteran senator, Ellie Kinnaird, has decided to run again for another term in the NC Senate. It takes a special kind of person and woman – a courageous, smart and assertive one – to tangle with the mostly male North Carolina Senate.
Letter from the Editor: Attention farmers and gardeners
While we are big fans of agriculture and other outdoor activities, those of us who distribute free newspapers in this area find that there are some people who believe that emptying out a newspaper box for mulching material is an acceptable practice. Our friends at the Independent Weekly have noticed this for years, particularly around…
Letter from the Editor: The election ahead
As our story points out this week (and we’ll be reminding you for the next several weeks), this is a rather complicated election. There are new rules about registration, a new district system for county commissioners, a tax referendum, a contested race for North Carolina Senate, and a full statewide and national primary ballot that…
Letter: Animal sheltering changes
Animals have been adopted or recovered from the Animal Shelter on Martin Luther King Boulevard for as long as community memory serves. It was run by the Animal Protection Society until 2004 when Orange County assumed direct operational responsibility for the shelter. The next year the County created Animal Services, a department responsible for animal…