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My Segway for a horse?

Mounting Greensboro police officers on Segways must be part of a plan to win approval for horses. A horseback patrol, although prohibitively expensive, would look so much more impressive.

Anyone want to donate some steeds?

Chicken wars

The feathers are flying in Sanford about an ordinance that bans keeping chickens in the city limits.

Raising chickens is a growing hobby in the state, as the popular "Tour D'Coop" in Raleigh attests.

But the Sanford City Council has taken no action to revise the ban.

Some say it's more than a fear of chickens; it's a fear of Latino newcomers, who they believe will bring all kinds of livestock to their homes if the ban is lifted.

A fuss over chickens also erupted in Greensboro some months ago. Brian Talbert was the target of zoning officers because of chickens he keeps at his home near Lindley Park. A city ordinance requires coops to be at least 50 feet from any property line, an impossibility where he lives. In April, Talbert was denied a variance so he could keep his chickens (and also his bees). Since then, an ordinance that would relax the rules so more people can raise chickens and bees has been proposed. The City Council will hold a hearing on it at its Aug. 19 meeting (see freerangegso.blogspot.com).

Fortunately, the feather-ruffling in Greensboro is about the birds and bees. Period. It would be sad and unfortunate if things progressed as they have in Sanford and it turned into anything else.

Jobless in North Carolina

Let's hope this week is better than last for North Carolina. First, there was the news that Charlotte-based Wachovia will lay off more than 6,000 people nationwide and that it lost $8.9 billion in the second quarter of 2008.

Then, the U.S. Labor Department released its latest weekly unemployment figures. North Carolina had the third-highest increase - after New York and California - in first applications for unemployment benefits. They were up by 9,344 in this state. A host of industries besides textiles and furniture laid off workers here: They include the electronic and electrical equipment and rubber and plastics industries.

At least Thomasville Furniture is hiring: It said July 23 that it will add 100 positions to its Lenoir plant. Rising fuel, labor and shipping costs overseas have caused it to move work back to its last U.S. plant that makes wooden furniture. See? There is a good side to high oil prices.

Killer deserves to stay in prison

The family of the late Sandra Coles Coulthard received welcome news last week: Her killer, Robert F. Coulthard, was denied parole.

Sandy Coulthard's death by arsenic poisoning in July 1988 was one of High Point's most sensational murder cases - more so when her husband, Rob, was charged with murder. He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison. Sentencing guidelines at the time made him eligible for parole in only 20 years.

Sandy Coulthard was a 30-year-old mother of two small children. She was poisoned on several occasions over a period of eight months, investigators determined. Her parents, who live in Lexington, raised her son and daughter. They strongly objected to Rob Coulthard's release - as did hundreds of others who expressed their views in letters to the state parole commission.

The commission deserves credit for listening and for deciding that Rob Coulthard should remain in prison for at least one more year. Twenty years is too short a time to pay for one of the cruelest crimes ever committed in High Point.