By Steve Peha, Columnist If you follow education – and you follow it on TV, the radio, the Internet or just about anywhere else – you probably think our schools are goin’ to hell in a handbasket. Truth is, it’s hard to tell, given the monkey business states have engaged in with their test scores.
Category: Opinion
Letter: Candidates should get out to meet the voters
Low voter turnout is always discouraging. It speaks of disengagement and disenchantment. It is a demoralizing commentary on democracy. But what do you do when even the candidates hardly come out?
Endorsement Letter: Cook for alderman
For fellow parents in Carrboro hoping for more practical leadership in Town Hall, I strongly recommend Sharon Cook for the board of alderman.
Endorsement Letter: Vote for Green
Dr. Joseph Green is an ideal candidate for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education.
Endorsement Letter: Slade leaves it better
My mother always taught me to “leave it better than you found it.†I continue to find this advice useful when I think about the responsibilities we are going to pass off to future generations.
Endorsement Letter: For Brownstein
I lead a parent-staff group in the CHCCS district that is dedicated to improving the educational process for some of our underserved children.
Letter: Addressing homelessness
We cannot accept the current condition of homelessness in our communities. This is especially true for a sizeable and particularly tragic segment of our homeless population. A disproportionate 16 percent of adults who are homeless are diagnosed with a severe mental illness (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder) and 30-70 percent of those also have a substance-use…
Letter: Buses welcome
It was very gratifying for me to hear that Mayor Randy Voller and the Pittsboro town board unanimously passed a motion to support the trial bus service from Pittsboro to Chapel Hill. The Chatham County Board of Commissioners had already passed a motion to support the bus service, but in order for this effort to…
Letter: Thanks for Flora
I must comment on the most recent Flora column regarding the pokeweed plant. I really enjoy reading these columns, although most of the time I am totally clueless on the plant being discussed. Most of the plants discussed are omnipresent, but unfortunately go unnoticed by the masses except for the most discerning biology disciples.
Letter: Climate threats
In the history of mankind, no group or government has enacted policies that were capable of controlling or managing the climate. While there are examples of policies that have resulted in the improvement of local environments, these policies have typically produced extreme negative effects via the unintended consequences of these poorly thought-out actions.
Letter: Car free
Last Tuesday was Car Free Day, an annual international event when people reflect on how our lives and our communities are improved when we develop and use alternatives to the personal automobile. Our communities are healthier when people choose to travel by foot, bicycle and public transit.
A worthy suggestion
Interim County Manager Frank Clifton was a good hire on many counts. He brought in not only a high degree of competency and experience, but a fresh set of eyes on some lingering problems with the structure of county government. Like much of the rest of this place, county government grew too quickly and too…
Read. Write. Think. Speak.
The above words are the unofficial motto of this newspaper. To us, it is more than an encouragement to learn and offer considered views. It is an appeal for more individuals to engage in the debate and discussion of this community’s future, past and present.
A time for grace, kindness and resilience
By Vicky Dickson Columnist I’m still basking in the afterglow of the N.C. Literary Festival. What an opportunity it was, to be in the same room with a celebrity like John Grisham, listen to literary lions Allan Gurganus and Elizabeth Spencer, learn about the blues from Bill Ferris and Cuba from Lars Schoultz, and be…
Letter: A champion for all students
As the former chair of the Special Needs Advisory Council (SNAC) and the mother of three children in the CHCCS district, one with special needs, I am thrilled that such a quality candidate as Michelle (Shell) Brownstein is running for our school board.