Opinion
A Political Potpourri
On overconfident Giuliani supporters, the U.S. Senate race, Richard Moore v. Beverly Perdue, and Obama’s unforced error.
Opinion
The Regressive Progressives
Environmental pressure groups constantly tout policies that would disproportionately hurt the poor.
Opinion
Bonds or Back to Basics?
What’s the best way to cope with overcrowded classrooms and aging school buildings? For many school systems in North Carolina, constructing bright and shiny new schools – funded by school bonds – is the remedy of choice for our statewide facilities crisis.
Opinion
A Growing Political Dispute In Cary
It’s become somewhat of a cliché within North Carolina political circles to cite politics in Cary as exemplifying local conflicts over growth and development.
Opinion
Scoring The Coming Political Tests
To continue the test-taking analogy, if taxpayers leave their local-tax ballot question blank, that will still count as getting it wrong.
Opinion
A Race To Watch In Wilmington
Two of the top issues in the race present a sharp contrast between what has become a core government service and what should never be considered one.
Opinion
Wake County’s Open Space Bond
On October 9, 2007, Wake County voters will decide whether to support or oppose a $50 million bond for open space. The bond would fund a government land grab, with the alleged purpose of restricting development. This type of development restriction is a push for higher-density living and leads to higher home prices.
Opinion
A Taxing Year in Local Elections
It’s election season in North Carolina again. Think local politics isn’t all that important? Then you haven’t been paying attention lately.
Opinion
A Bright Idea–no bargain for consumers
In a slightly nuanced version of the classic Bootleggers and Baptists scenario, a number of U.S. manufacturers are seeking sweeping new regulation of their industries. These include some of the biggest manufacturers in the lighting—and thus the light bulb—industry. Incandescent bulbs could become extinct, albeit at a higher cost to the producer. If manufacturers are willing to impose new costs on themselves, how is it that consumers will do pennance for the bargain?
Opinion
Offsetting Global Warming Guilt
The market for carbon offsets reminds this writer of a literary classic.
Opinion
A Deficiency Not Limited To Bridges
Nearly a third of North Carolina’s bridges rate as deficient, ranking us 39th-best in the nation.
Opinion
Deconstructing NAEP
Recent data place American students on an upward academic trajectory. Results from Tuesday’s release of the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the “Nation’s Report Card,” reveal reading and math gains for both elementary and middle school students.
