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No party for bad behavior

State Rep. Cary Allred's threat last week to leave the Republican Party was answered with shouts of "Please!" Then he disappointed Republicans by changing his mind.

"If they don't like me, they can go to hell," he told an Associated Press reporter.

Allred, from Burlington, should blame himself. On April 27, he was stopped for speeding 102 mph on his way to Raleigh but was let go after he showed the trooper his legislative identification. On the floor of the House that evening, he was overly argumentative during debate but much too affectionate with a 17-year-old page, whom he embraced and kissed.

Several fellow Republican legislators wrote candid reports about his behavior. Some said they smelled alcohol on his breath. The hug was described as "gruesome," "fully body" and "never-ending." Some faulted him for showing disrespect during debate to Speaker Joe Hackney, a Democrat.

Good for those Republicans. There should be no party lines when it comes to decency. If Allred can't conduct himself any better, he doesn't belong in any party.

Hold the phone

State telephone companies are lobbying the General Assembly to partially deregulate their services, citing increased competition from wireless providers and cable firms.

Up to a point, they make a credible argument. Federal data show that for the first time more U.S. households have only cell phones -- about 20 percent -- than only land lines, about 17 percent. About 60 percent have both.

However, there are blips in the marketplace. Alternative phone choices aren't universally popular. For example, people living in rural areas, low-income and older residents may not opt for them.

Limiting Utilities Commission oversight and giving phone companies power to unilaterally raise rates could adversely affect consumers whom the state should be protecting.

While new competitors and changing markets should be considered, legislators shouldn't lose sight of the state's obligation to monitor companies providing critical services to thousands of customers. More competition doesn't necessarily translate into lower prices.

If you build it ...

Even with the promise of a new stadium on the horizon, Winston-Salem's minor-league baseball team is struggling mightily at the gate and in its front office.

The team, renamed the Dash this season from the Warthogs, has been forced to lay off three employees and is averaging only 350 fans per game.

The team expected to move into its new downtown ballpark this season, but delays have pushed the completion of the stadium until next year.

The team's problems make the Greensboro Grasshoppers' continuing success all the more impressive.

Even after the newness of the team's ballpark has worn off, it still ranks among the top draws in the nation in its classification.

Consider: The Dash had drawn a combined 5,586 in attendance for its first 16 home games through Wednesday of last week. The Hoppers drew more fans than that, 6,971, on Thursday night alone.

Interest in Winston-Salem's team should spike when the new stadium opens. And we wish the Dash all the best.

But as Grasshoppers President and General Manager Don Moore has said before, a new building alone is no guarantee.

His team is in the family entertainment business and has to constantly consider new ways to keep customers happy.

Shared sacrifice

It may not amount to that much in the scheme of things, but the Guilford County Board of Education did the right thing last week in cutting its own salaries.

The board not only voted to decrease all salaries to be in line with a 0.5 percent pay cut and mandatory furlough days required of all state-paid employees, but it included itself as well.

Earlier in the year, Superintendent Maurice "Mo" Green said he would forgo his 3 percent raise in light of the tight budgets.

For the board members, the cut amounts to only $60 apiece. But every little bit helps.

And, by including itself in those cuts, it sends a helpful and hopeful message: We're all in this together.