By Chris Fitzsimon The crisis in North Carolina’s mental health system is center stage this week in the state’s political debate, something long overdue considering the woeful performance of the system that is supposed to provide care for people with mental illness, a developmental disability or addiction. The Raleigh News & Observer kicked off a…
Category: Opinion
Letter to the Editor: Thanks, Ken
Though a Chapel Hill-ian, I have grown more and more fond of reading your weekly paper, The Carrboro Citizen. In recent weeks, I find myself eagerly awaiting the next installment of Ken Moore’s “Flora†column. His appreciation for the natural world and eloquent expression make his columns a pleasure to read.Â
Letter to the Editor: Town should act
I was very dismayed to read about the bicycle accident suffered by musician Dave Laney. Particularly so, because I had just written to Mayor Chilton a few days ago about unregulated traffic in Carrboro.
For the Record: Free Oak Avenue (from speeders)
Free Oak Avenue (from speeders) There are a lot of times in local government when a group of citizens gets up before a board of elected officials and says, “If you had to approve this today, you wouldn’t.†So, Oak Avenue residents were right to remind the board of aldermen Tuesday that they wouldn’t allow…
Letters to the editor: 02/21/08
The cyclists’ life Thank you so much for the picture and caption highlighting recent autos hitting bicyclists. As a daily commuter to work through Carrboro and Chapel Hill, I am aware that we bikers can be hard to see and seem annoying to car drivers. But, it can be annoying to us bikers to have…
Inspiring program helps suspended students
By Isabel Geffner The recent attention given to the Report to the Joint Education Legislative Oversight Committee on the Annual Report on Dropout Events and Rates in North Carolina has brought into clear focus many of the challenges that lie ahead of us for addressing the needs of our state’s most at-risk youth. Too many…
Wal-Mart’s corporate tax shenanigans
By Elaine Mejia Recently, a North Carolina judge ruled against Wal-Mart in the giant retailer’s lawsuit against the state of North Carolina. In 2005, the state sent Wal-Mart a bill claiming that the retailer owed $33.5 million in back taxes. Wal-Mart paid up (probably to avoid heavy interest penalties later on) but then sued in…
For the Record: As a community
As a community There was a frustrating inevitability to the failure of the state’s effort to farm out the care of its citizens with developmental disabilities and those in need of mental health care to the free market. The signs of an impending collapse were there and became even clearer over the past year as…
Letter to the Editor: Brushes With Life
Everyone who’s ever picked up a paintbrush and touched a canvas knows the thrill and release of creation. The joy of pressing the shutter on an old Leica camera and hearing that click as you immortalize the look of a stranger or a towering building or golden-hued sunlight resting on the treetops. The nurture of…
Letter to the Editor: HFCS offers benefits
The February 6 article “HFCS: A ban worth getting excited over†may mislead consumers about high-fructose corn syrup. Dr. Walter Willett, Harvard School of Public Health Nutrition Department Chairman, told The New York Times, “There’s no substantial evidence to support the idea that high-fructose corn syrup is somehow responsible for obesity.â€
No dumping
On a nature hike two weeks ago, I was totally grossed out when I glanced over the bridge railing over a small stream on a dirt road and saw five deer carcasses. Bloated and stinking, they spanned the pool created by the turbulence of water falling from the culvert under the road. The remains of…
Don’t believe Duke’s latest pitch
By Jim Warren Climate change is causing extensive damage at an accelerating rate. Oxfam International reports that weather disasters have quadrupled in 20 years, with a quarter billion people impacted annually. Arctic sea ice could be gone by summer 2012 – further disrupting weather systems. And the world’s top scientists recently amplified their call for…
For the Record: 02/14/08
Politicians seeming not to care Politicians always like to quote the state motto that appears on the state seal in front of the Legislative Building in Raleigh when they are making speeches and promising to be responsive to the people they represent. The motto is “Esse Quam Videri†— “To be rather than to seem 
For the Record: 02/07/08
Schools take a stand In a year where election posturing is fueling an already overheated debate over immigration policy, most officials not in the running are inclined to fly low. So credit the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education for having the guts to step into the debate over whether undocumented individuals are eligible to receive…
The real class warfare continues
Chris Fitzsimon The post-mortems on the Edwards campaign continue, with most political analysts attributing the failure of his candidacy to his embrace of what the pundits insist is class warfare, the focus on the country’s staggering and growing economic inequality. A secondary analysis focuses on Edwards’ ambition. A prominent North Carolina columnist wishes Edwards had…