August 17, 2009
Moving slowly, but surely This year's economic woes may have temporarily slowed the downtown Greensboro Children's Museum's expansion plans but fortunately haven't derailed them. Rather than proceeding with a more extensive overhaul, museum officials say...
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August 16, 2009
One house, one tree. That's the gist of one of the proposed new development rules for Greensboro. Every new house would require at least one tree, say the new rules, which would take effect in January. And why not? What's not to like about trees? Th...
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August 15, 2009
When former N.C. A&T Chancellor Stanley Battle abruptly retired this year, he received six months of paid research leave while maintaining his chancellor's salary of $273,156 per year. He will return to teach in January at an unspecified profe...
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August 14, 2009
North Carolina's two U.S. senators should get together for a public forum on health care reform. Town hall meetings have become lightning rods for demonstrators angry over proposals to change the way medical care is delivered in this country. Many m...
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Though the state's 2008 crime statistics released Wednesday don't tell the whole story, they'll help law enforcement agencies better protect all of us. According to Attorney General Roy Cooper, the good news is violent crimes are down 2.2 percent ac...
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August 13, 2009
Small businesses are usually overlooked when governments hand out tax breaks and other economic incentives.That would change under the proposed Commercial Investment Policy under consideration by Guilford County commissioners.The plan would provide grants...
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Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes won’t give up Tasers for the 287(g) program. And he shouldn’t have to.The 287(g) agreement will give the Sheriff’s Office access to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement databases, allowing much faste...
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August 12, 2009
North Carolina lawmakers didn't show much creativity when writing a new state budget. After cutting all the spending they dared, they enacted the usual tax increases to close the remaining funding gap. The big hit to everyone's pocket is a penny boost to...
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Stricter rules proposed for student-athletes in Guilford County schools and their parents may not be tamper-proof, but they'll make it much more difficult to "game" the system. For years, coaches, parents and gifted athletes have taken advantage...
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August 11, 2009
You need two hands to send a text message, two more to hold the wheel, two eyes to look at the screen and two more eyes to watch the road. That adds up to four hands and four eyes -- way more than the typical human possesses. Texting while driving......
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State budget writers began their work this year in a $4.5 billion hole. That's how far state revenues were projected to be short of expenses. So it's tempting to cut them some slack for the light years-from-perfect spending plan approved last week and si...
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August 10, 2009
An ounce of prevention As the health care debate lurches forward, one example worth emulating is a program at Duke University that provides house calls -- and saves money in the process. The program targets older adults, saving them the challenge of...
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August 9, 2009
Among the challenges presented by Greensboro's growing downtown night life scene: security, loitering; noise, litter ... and not having your car crushed by a locomotive. Downtown Greensboro Inc. President Ed Wolverton says patrons of the Lotus Loung...
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August 8, 2009
Whoever said good things come to he who waits obviously wasn't talking about the 2009-10 state budget. Delivered more than one month late and millions of dollars short, the $19 billion spending plan gets most of the broad strokes right: It makes painful b...
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August 7, 2009
It's awful, sad and far too common. A teenager is murdered. Family and friends grieve. Police hunt for a suspect. Dig deeper, and the stories get darker: gangs, drugs, guns and fear. Some might say that the Hickory Trails apartment complex near High...
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The General Assembly's decision to eliminate funding for group homes serving potentially violent children could backfire without assurances of adequate alternative care elsewhere. In its place comes another new initiative emphasizing high-intensity...
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August 6, 2009
Now that Guilford County Schools has finished its probe into Northern Guilford High School, it’s time to assess the damage. The school was stripped of its boys state basketball title, forfeited numerous games in five sports and had its baseball team...
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The City Council this week voted to hold a "business community summit" that would allow local business leaders to discuss their concerns. The concept was floated by Councilwoman Trudy Wade and eagerly embraced by her compatriots. Good mov...
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August 5, 2009
For once, the General Assembly did the right thing in passing the buck. As part of protracted budget negotiations, Democrats in the House and Senate have decided to give the job of how to cut expenses to local school boards. Of course, there are gro...
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The annual sales-tax holiday can't get here fast enough for North Carolina residents and retailers. The three-day break from the 6.75 percent state sales tax starts at 12:01 a.m. Friday and runs through 11:59 p.m. Sunday. During that time shoppers w...
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August 4, 2009
After 14 years of fits and starts, the downtown civil rights museum appears certain to open on Feb. 1, 2010, the 50th anniversary of the historic sit-ins that inspired it. But that's not all. Two new developments give the project even more momentum...
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N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper gave a push last week to DNA collection from all criminal suspects. He makes a good point from a law-enforcement perspective, but this is an issue where authorities should be careful they don't push too hard. Althoug...
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August 2, 2009
Whatever the alleged terrorists arrested last week were up to, it wasn't meant to take place in North Carolina or anywhere else on American soil. Federal indictments say the men conspired to "advance violent jihad, including supporting and participat...
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August 1, 2009
The R. in R. Carter Pate must stand for Rescue. With financially distressed Greensboro College desperately in need of a rescue, Pate's elevation to chairman of the Board of Trustees comes just in time. He brings a record of business success and an attitud...
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July 31, 2009
President Barack Obama had some words for opponents of his health care reform proposal when he spoke in Raleigh Wednesday: “These folks need to stop scaring everybody.”Could he have been referring to U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, the Republican fro...
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