October 21, 2009
When a ruckus arose recently over reports of criminal activity near benches on the city's new greenway, District 1 City Councilwoman T. Dianne Bellamy-Small showed up and conducted her own investigation. That's indicative of her solid commitment to...
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The late Claudette Burroughs-White, who served five City Council terms from 1994 to 2005, once fretted how hard it was to find someone willing and prepared to succeed her in District 2. She had a point. The district at times has struggled to attrac...
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October 20, 2009
Greensboro police last week stepped up loitering enforcement and effectively cleared the place known as "The Block." Just like that. Through a series of 30-minute patrols, officers shooed away the clusters of mostly men who routinely gath...
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Stories about former Gov. Mike Easley these days are like Chinese water torture: drip, drip, drip. The latest drop is really more like a torrent -- millions of gallons of water that Easley's golf club diverted from a major reservoir during a severe...
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October 18, 2009
A cartoon by longtime News & Record artist Tim Rickard.
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Yvonne Johnson was elected by a wide margin as mayor of Greensboro in November 2007, but at times it may have seemed that voters didn't do her much of a favor. The city was still divided over police department troubles, which included the forced res...
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October 17, 2009
The sins of the 1970s are coming back to haunt North Carolina communities in the form of dangerous criminals set free because of lenient laws. "I am appalled that the state of North Carolina is being forced to release prisoners who have committ...
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October 16, 2009
Elderly residents of Wesleyan Homes in High Point are finding out that nothing is forever. Some who had planned on living out their golden years there now are faced with finding a new home. Fortunately, High Point University has stepped up and is co...
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October 15, 2009
Elon law school's new legal clinic is just around the corner in downtown Greensboro, but it can reach a long way into the life of the community. Law students will help draft wills for low-income residents and provide mediation services in juvenile...
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Your loss is our loss. So said neighboring law enforcement agencies following the death of one of their own in the line of duty. Winston-Salem Police Sgt. Mickey Hutchens died Monday from gunshot wounds he suffered last week after answering a domes...
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October 14, 2009
The Early College at Guilford has been a great success since it opened in 2002, graduating outstanding students and earning an annual spot on a national magazine's rankings of best high schools in the United States. The best compliment, however, ha...
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Using facial-recognition techniques for Spaceship Earth riders at Epcot Center may be good for a chuckle. But using it to match driver's license photos with a databank of wanted criminals is no laughing matter. That's not to say an N.C. Department...
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October 13, 2009
Kay Hagan and other women senators made a big push last week for ending what they view as gender discrimination in health insurance. One goal of proposed health reform legislation, the Greensboro Democrat said on the Senate floor, is "stopping...
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A judge who overrules a jury, especially in a high-profile murder case, has to be very sure he's right. It took nearly two years, but Superior Court Judge John O. Craig III of High Point won a big vote of support last week. The N.C. Court of Appeal...
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October 12, 2009
Dell gags its workers, too Deal is not just laying off 900 workers in Winston-Salem, it's also threatening them. Employees "said they had been told by Dell officials that their severance package, ranging from eight to 12 weeks of pay and other benefi...
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October 11, 2009
Just three months ago, N.C. Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco conceded the state's high-stakes recruitment of Dell in 2004 had not "yet" proven to be a success. "We need three to four years to judge it in total," he told a gatherin...
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October 10, 2009
You're a teacher grading papers during your planning period when a summons comes from the main office. "Someone from the State Health Plan is here to see you." It's the BMI inspector. As an enrollee in the Standard Plan, you are subject t...
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October 9, 2009
In all fairness, the Lumbee Indians are entitled to federal tribal recognition. After all, North Carolina granted that status way back in 1885. Hopefully, bipartisan legislation sponsored by the state's two U.S. senators, Republican Richard Burr and...
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As a three-time loser, ex-con James David Nichols ought to benefit from going to church on Sundays. But since his crimes involved sex offenses, the law says he can't go because the church in Chatham County has an on-premises child day-care. The 31......
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October 8, 2009
Effective this week, N.C. A&T won't have anything to do with the vile-mouthed rapper Gucci Mane, who was scheduled to headline the university's homecoming concert on Oct. 31. Odds are Gucci, or Mane, or however you refer to the performer on sec...
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The deaths in Afghanistan of two soldiers assigned to an Army Reserve civil affairs unit based in Greensboro bring the distant fighting painfully closer to home. They come as the president faces agonizing decisions on whether to ramp up the nation&rsquo......
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October 7, 2009
Sitting Greensboro City Council members cruised through Tuesday’s primary elections. But signs point to possible upsets in November. Voters didn’t show overwhelming loyalty to most incumbents running for re-election, giving only one — Za...
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In a crowded field of new and familiar faces, three-term incumbent T. Dianne Bellamy-Small surged to the top in Tuesday’s District 1 City Council primary. Bellamy-Small had built a reputation as a survivor who took her share of scratches and b...
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October 6, 2009
You've probably heard this many times before, but it bears repeating all the same: Today's city elections probably will have a more direct impact on your day-to-day life than state and national ones. It's city government that's responsible for such routin...
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North Carolina is asking for more federal high-speed rail funding than it's likely to get, but it could put the money to good use. All $5.3 billion. Only $8 billion is available nationally under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, so the No...
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