Tonight (Thursday), the Orange County Board of Commissioners are to examine the question of whether the county should intervene in the permitting and licensing process for expansion at the Shearon Harris nuclear plant in New Hill. This would not be the first time the county has gotten involved with issues at the plant and, should…
Category: Opinion
Not a Session for Social Justice
Sarah Preston The 2008 session of the North Carolina General Assembly has come to a close and it’s time for us to assess the performance of state lawmakers. Unfortunately, even a brief look reveals that this was not a session that did much to advance the cause of social justice. Most notable among the session’s…
Teaching first
Margot Carmichael Lester & Steve Peha Something big happened in the world of reading recently: A major study found that kids who participated in the multi-billion-dollar Reading First program faired no better at reading than kids who didn’t participate. To most people, whether they’ve been directly involved in Reading First or not, this comes as…
Letter: Library cuts went deep
As branch manager of the Carrboro Library for the last 12 years, I feel compelled to correct erroneous statements made about our library by former Carrboro Cybrary manager Margot Malachowski (“Letters to the Editor,†July 17). 1. The cuts in Carrboro Library hours were indeed unique to our library and necessitated by our particular situation….
For the Record: Fair play
It’s a little difficult to swallow someone’s complaint that their side of the story hasn’t come out in the press when they’ve been studiously avoiding those trying to report the story. We do not know how or if the very disturbing events of late at Abbey Court will be resolved and we haven’t heard much…
For the Record: The passing of the torch
Jesse Helms is dead. And a new phase of the examination of his rise and career has begun. So far, he has been treated quite kindly, lauded even, for his long run in power. Curiously, though, he’s often referred to as the last of his kind. The Washington Post’s David Broder noted this in a…
Grading on a curve
Chris Fitzsimon The General Assembly session that began May 14 at noon and ended just before 5:00 in the afternoon July 18 is now being wrapped up, critiqued and evaluated. Pundits and partisans are assigning letter grades to lawmakers, providing detailed reviews of what passed the House and Senate and what didn’t and speculating about…
Jesse, my brother and the ‘pipsqueak rebellion’
Robert Dickson Like many folks in Eastern North Carolina, as a child I was usually in front of the television at 6:25 p.m. to watch Jesse Helms give his nightly diatribe on WRAL. My family and I were among those who considered it to be generally just snide, mean-spirited ramblings and not to be taken…
Comprehensive sex education makes for healthier kids
By Paige Johnson Kissing babies makes for a great photo op when politicians are on the campaign trail. Most legislators claim to care about children. But what happens when young people are beyond the age of a photo op, when their behavior is less than cherubic or when their needs run counter to a legislator’s…
Let’s stop pretending
Chris Fitzsimon is right to characterize my opposition to the bullying bill as “having nothing to do with bullying.†(“Standing up for all kids,†July 10, 2008) The flip side of this charge is that support for the bullying bill has nothing to do with bullying either. And therein lies the problem: The primary aim…
It’s all on the lists
Chris Fitzsimon Internal polls and worries about the November election hang over many of the important debates left in the General Assembly as lawmakers begin what may be the last week of the legislative session. Bills to address the role of race in the capital punishment system, protect children from bullying at school and make…
Letter: Small size limits Carrboro High
Your paper’s July 10th article on the reinstatement of some of the dropped AP courses at Carrboro High School is good news. However, the reintroduction of these courses for the coming year does not address the larger issue of the inevitable limitations posed by a small high school, apparently planned on the model of the…
The Carrboro Branch Library needs all our support
By Mark Chilton and Dan Coleman The normally quiet and perhaps underappreciated Carrboro Branch Library has been much in the news lately. The controversy was precipitated by a 35 percent cut-back Orange County made to the already minimal hours the Carrboro branch is open. Fortunately, we have a vigilant Friends of the Carrboro Branch Library…
A bumpy ride to a freestanding library
Jake Lehrer When an Orange County Official referred to the Carrboro Library as the ‘Carrboro Country Club’ in 1997, I knew our path to a freestanding library in Carrboro would indeed be bumpy. Though our public-service hours have(or should I say ‘had’) increased from 19 hours per week to 26 by 2008 and our circulation…
Library criticisms inaccurate
Margot Malachowski I am compelled to respond to the numerous inaccuracies regarding Orange County Public Libraries printed in local newspapers. I understand that the residents of Carrboro are upset by the recent cuts to the branch library. These cuts are not a hit directed solely at the Carrboro Branch as implied. BOCC’s Barry Jacobs publicly…