First and third There is probably no government-generated report less reliable than the one on crime in North Carolina issued annually by the state Attorney General’s Office and the State Bureau of Investigation.
It doesn’t take a close examination to find errors. This year we did our double-take on the number of murders investigated by the Sheriff’s Office. The report said there were six in all of 2010. We knew better, asked, and the Sheriff’s Office told...
Image conscious There might remain some people who don’t understand the hazards of inhaling cigarette smoke.
Anything, we’re told, is possible.
But the Food and Drug Administration’s requirement that tobacco companies put graphic images with cautionary messages on cigarette packages isn’t intended for the deaf, dumb and blind among us. Rather, the images will drive even harder home the fact to cigarette smokers that each cigarette takes minutes off the e...
City shouldn’t waste chance The Lumberton City Council this week debated the merits of a voluntary recycling program for city residents, but in the end took no action, apparently paralyzed by the fear of a nickel a day that Waste Management would charge for the curbside service.
It’s unclear when — or if — the council will revisit the issue. Even if that happens, the water might be muddied by the fact that some council members aren’t pleased with Waste Management, and...
Want to bet In what could be a classic case of be careful what you wish for, several Internet cafes have fled Lumberton because they couldn’t afford licensing fees for the fiscal year that began on Friday.
That was the city’s intent last year when it adopted fees that were plainly prohibitive for most if not all of these small businesses — $5,000 for each business, and an additional $2,500 for each machine, making the yearly bill $30,000 for a business...
Redistricting: Act I Some preliminary redistricting maps have been released, and as far as local legislators go, it’s probably too early to know with certainty, but at first blush no one seems imperiled.
Although Republicans are in charge, it would be difficult for them to put a glove on our local legislators, three out of four of whom are Democrats, in a county such as Robeson, where about three out of four people calls themselves a Democrat.
U.S. Rep. Mike ...
Waiting on Manning Robeson County last week was a major player in a court hearing in Raleigh that could chart the path of education in North Carolina for the distant future, and most certainly will for the near future.
Lawyers representing Robeson, Hoke, Vance, Halifax and Cumberland counties — the plaintiffs in the landmark Leandro case — argued to Superior Court Judge Howard Manning Jr. that the recently approved state budget guts education spending enough ...
A long-awaited foot finally dropped on the University of North Carolina’s football program Tuesday, tarring the Tar Heels’ claim of running a sports program the “Carolina Way.” Another foot hangs as UNC will find out within 90 days the penalties it will suffer, which could include a television ban, loss of bowl eligibility, vacated wins, lost scholarships and probation.
But there was a sigh of relief in Chapel Hill as there was fear things ...
Jobs and health care Are you looking for a career, one that would be rewarding financially, but in other ways as well, such as helping people reclaim their health?
In August 2012, Robeson Community College will enroll its first class of students, probably 24 strong, who will seek to become licensed practical nurses in what amounts to a one-year program. Graduates can expect to earn more than $30,000 a year immediately upon graduation, and they shouldn’t have to...
Sealey’s punishment The local chapter of the NAACP believes the firing of Hubert Sealey, a Robeson County commissioner, by the Highway Patrol was “racist,” arguing that another trooper, who was white, suffered a lesser punishment for basically the same transgressions — conducting private business while on the public clock.
If the local chapter’s argument is that the white trooper should have been fired as well, then it might have a point. We have a letter, sup...
Risky behavior When it comes to corporal punishment, Robeson County educators spared the rod with the fewest frequency of all the state’s school systems during the 2009-2010 school year, according to the state Department of Public Instruction.
According to the DPI, Robeson County educators used corporal punishment 296 times during that school year, while it was used a total of 864 times in all the other state’s public schools. That means 25 percent of the...
Tillis gives big raises while pushing budget cutting jobs To the Editor,
Republican House Speaker Thom Tillis really is looking out for the citizens of North Carolina. He has given his personal staff members raises of up to twenty-seven (27) percent. One of his staff member’s salaries has risen from $120,000 to $ $150,000 while he has helped to eliminate many jobs where individuals were making $30,000 or less.
That $30,000 raise could have employed a qualified individual somewhere in the state w...
A better alternative There were 20,000 good reasons for legislation that the General Assembly approved last week lifting the cap of 100 for charter schools in North Carolina. According to the Associated Press, 20,000 is the number of families in North Carolina who are on a waiting list to get their children enrolled into a charter school.
If 20,000 moms and dads believe a charter school is their child’s best option for a quality education, then that choice shou...
Fueling tourism The budget that Gov. Bev Perdue will either sign or veto is Exhibit A that the Republicans in the General Assembly are adamant in their campaign pledge to cut taxes. Despite enormous and growing pressure, they have decided to allow a single-cent sales tax to expire that would generate $1.3 billion during the next fiscal year — enough money and more to satisfy educational leaders in this state who are now forecasting Armageddon.
But the Hous...
Internet connection Never has New York Rep. Anthony Weiner’s last name been more unfortunate.
On Monday, Weiner, a groom for about a year, tearfully stood before a camera and after more than a week of lies and denials, said yes, it was he who sent a photo of himself wearing gray boxer shorts to a 21-year-old college student on the West Coast he had never met but had buddied up to on the Interent. Weiner, a Democrat in his seventh term as the District 9 represe...
Man with the mirror At this point, offering an opinion on John Edwards, the former North Carolina senator and two-time presidential candidate, seems like piling on as he has become a punch line for late-night comedians.
There are plenty who are finding glee in Edwards’ fall because he inflicted a lot of damage during both his ascent and his descent — on doctors he sued using junk science to make his fortune, to people who believed in his message, to the poor h...
