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General Assembly and general chaos
North Carolina legislators will put on their Sunday best Tuesday for the opening of the General Assembly’s “short session.”
It’s a little like taking a college course in summer school — abbreviated terms, speedier assignments and a constant awareness of the clock. In this case, though, the legislators aren’t thinking about long weekends at the beach. They need to rush back home to politic.
The General Assembly sets its calendar to accommodate them. The tradition is to do some financial housekeeping in the short session and leave the heavy lifting for the odd-numbered year, when the legislature will be in Raleigh for six … seven … eight months or more.
The legislature has a $150 million surplus to play with, which seems like plenty of money to me, but it’s far short of the billion dollars or so the General Assembly had each of the past two years. That may not please the lawmakers much, but it’s good news for the rest of us. They can’t waste as much of our money, if they have less of it to begin with.
The General Assembly also faces a couple of interesting bond possibilities — one for roads, the other for University of North Carolina system projects. The bonds would be placed on the November ballot, if the lawmakers are so inclined.
Given the opposition voters showed last week in 18 counties that were considering sales tax increases, I’m not sure this is the best time for the legislature to be coming up with more ways to spend taxpayer money.
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Another star with ties to Rocky Mount
When I was a teenager in the 1970s, I first heard of Rocky Mount through the dribbling wizardry of Phil Ford at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Ford to this day is regarded as one of the great college point guards of all time.
Buck Williams made his mark at the University of Maryland not long after that, and Rocky Mount’s place in the universe was permanently fixed in my mind. That’s where they grow great basketball players.
It was only after moving here in 1993 that I began learning about this area’s long line of People Who Made It Big in other areas — Gov. Mike Easley, Attorney General Roy Cooper, financial giants Ken Thompson and William Harrison, jazz great Thelonious Monk, football coach Herman Boone, writers Kaye Gibbons and Alan Gurganus.
Now comes Holden Thorp, whose star rose in a hurry Thursday. Thorp is the new chancellor at UNC-Chapel Hill. His great-grandfather William Thorp was a judge and former Rocky Mount mayor. Holden Thorp’s dad, Herbert Thorp, got his start here before moving to Fayetteville, where Holden grew up.
That’s an impressive list of people of accomplishments for a city of any size, but even moreso in a town of fewer than 100,000 people.
We spend a lot of time talking about ways to improve this area through better jobs, more opportunities and improving education. But it helps to remember once in a while some of the folks who started in the Rocky Mount area, then went on to do quite well on a national and even international scale.
Not a bad list at all.
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Another manager for the former Parton Theatre
Roanoke Rapids has hired a South Carolina management company to take control of the Roanoke Rapids Theatre.
The move is the latest in a troubled history for what Roanoke Rapids folks hoped would be a thriving entertainment complex of hotels, restaurants and night clubs. Randy Parton, brother of Dolly Parton, was the main draw for Carolina Crossroads — before he ran into problems with money and booze.
Gilmore Entertainment, the new boss, manages Carolina Opry in Myrtle Beach. Gilmore officials warn that it will take time to turn the new project into a moneymaker. That makes sense, especially given its checkered past.
It sure would be great to see Carolina Crossroads succeed though. Tourist attractions rarely have an impact on the environment, and they bring in thousands of dollars from out of town. Eastern North Carolina could certainly use some of that.
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A short-sighted vote to save a quarter of a penny
People who voted against the sales tax increase proposals in Nash and Edgecombe counties Tuesday won a hollow victory.
They’ll no doubt be able to live handsomely off that penny they saved on every $4 they spend, but the needs that the increase might have addressed aren’t going away.
Take a ride over to Rocky Mount High School and tell those kids they don’t need a new facility. Watch the growth trend in the southern part of Nash County and explain why we won’t need a new elementary school there soon.
Keep in mind, also, that Tuesday’s vote did nothing to stop the state from continuing to take a half-cent per $1 on all purchases in all counties. That money is going to offset what the counties used to pay for Medicaid every year.
And as county commissioners begin considering property tax increases to meet the schools’ needs, be sure to pull out that extra quarter you saved on every $100 you spent. Something tells me you’re going to need it.
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A few thoughts about Primary Day 2008
It’s gorgeous out there — the kind of day that makes you glad to live in a state as pretty as North Carolina in a country as free as the United States.
The woman holding the Randy Stewart sign smiled. The volunteers inside Englewood Baptist Church were polite, professional and clearly enjoying their responsibilities.
I was No. 424 at around 1 p.m. — a low number for my precinct, where I’ve typically been 1,000 or more by lunchtime on previous election days.
“It’s the early voting,” said the gentleman who helped me put my ballot in the machine. “I’ll bet most of the people in this precinct voted before today.”
The early voting system is a wonderful convenience for folks who might otherwise have a tough time making it to the polls on the official day of the primary. It cuts down on lines and makes the process fairer and easier.
Even so, I’d miss the ceremony of today if I had voted earlier. There’s something about the volunteers, the poll workers, the conversations. A white pickup truck full of teenagers passed me on Sunset Avenue. “Honk for Obama!” said their sign.
Even if you’re a die-hard Republican, you have to love a bunch of kids so involved in the process at such a young age. My daughter will vote later today — her first election ever. My wife and son will be with her.
For journalists, this is like New Year’s Eve. Everything we learn in the next few hours will have a whole new meaning in the morning. Every moment until now will be regarded as history. Political conversations from here on will begin with “Well, before the 2008 primary …”
Vote, if you haven’t already. Enjoy the day, if you already have. And thanks for participating. Election Day is a reminder of how much we need each other.
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Volkswagen leaves us at the altar
Another hopeful rumor for bigtime economic development has fallen apart in Eastern North Carolina. Volkswagen announced last week it will build its new U.S. plant in one of three states, but North Carolina is no longer in the picture.
You probably remember the rumors that began swirling last fall. Volkswagen supposedly had its eye on 1,665 acres of farmland near Interstate 95. The site would have been roughly halfway between VW’s headquarters in Virginia and major plants in South Carolina. More than a few of us were excited, to say the least.
What’s especially discouraging about today’s news is it comes on the heels of an announcement that the state may give millions of dollars in incentives to GE-Hitachi for expanding its already existing plant in New Hanover County.
New Hanover County has benefited very nicely, thank you, from incentives awarded to North Carolina’s film industry, in particular. I guess the money Hollywood pours into that part of the state isn’t enough to keep a beautiful coastal town thriving.
(that was sarcasm, by the way).
North Carolina has an excellent reputation as a good business state. It’s too bad so much of that business is concentrated in a few selected corners.
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Musicians need health care coverage, too
When politicians start talking about health care insurance, they typically bring up children who have none or seniors who have to choose between buying prescriptions and paying for another essential such as food or utilities.
It’s hard to think of a case more critical than those, but the lack of health insurance affects people you might not think about in the same vein. Musicians, for instance.
I had never heard of Drew Glackin until a couple of weeks ago, but by all accounts, he was a talented musician for a band called The Silos. He also recorded or toured with some artists I have heard of — Susan Tedeschi and The Hold Steady, to name a couple.
Glackin died in January in New York of a thyroid condition that went undetected, in part, at least, because he had no health insurance. The medical treatment he received in his final days put a pretty big financial burden on his family for the same reason. Glackin was only 40 — way too young to die.
Glackin’s case puts another spotlight on the need for better, more affordable, more universal health care coverage in the United States. But it calls into attention something else, too.
Glackin DID have health care insurance options, even as a self-employed musician. A Web site called HINT — Health Insurance Navigation Tool — can help musicians find answers and advice about health care insurance. The site does not sell insurance. It’s there as a service from the Future of Music Coalition.
If you’re a musician or if you know one, check out the site. Health care insurance is much more affordable for those of us fortunate enough to have employer-provided benefits. But even expensive insurance is preferable to the situation Glackin’s family now faces.
In the meantime, if you’d like to help Glackin’s family, a two-day benefit will be held, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at The Pour House Music Hall — 224 S. Blount St., Raleigh. At 2:30 p.m. Sunday, a similar concert will be held at Sadlack’s Heroes at 2216 Hillsborough St., Raleigh. Sunday’s show is free.
You can also donate through PayPal at theandrewglackinmemorialfund@yahoo.com. For more information about Drew, check out http://www.drewglackin.com and www.myspace.com/drewglackin.
The Silos, Tres Chicas, Patty Hurst Shifter, Chip Robinson and at least 10 other musicans and bands will pay tribute to Glackin during the concerts. It’s good music for a sobering cause. One that’s worth thinking about.
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New life for higher education in Eastern North Carolina?
It’s been more than a year since the University of North Carolina system turned out the lights on hopes a lot of us had for a UNC-Rocky Mount.
Despite a strong, innovative argument for converting N.C. Wesleyan College into a 17th campus in the UNC system, UNC President Erskine Bowles said, no, not this time. But, he added, there may be something else the system can do later to foster higher education in Eastern North Carolina.
At the time, it sounded like lip service. Just a lick and a promise for the hundreds of folks who packed the Dunn Center one evening to show their support for the UNC-Rocky Mount idea.
A year later, it would be easy to leave that plan on a closet shelf as if it never existed. But UNC officials have come back to Eastern North Carolina with hopes of doing some good for the students and families here.
Educators and other leaders from five counties have met twice now in a group called the Upper Coastal Plain Council of Learning. The counties are Nash, Edgecombe, Wilson, Halifax and Northampton — all of which share challenges in education and economies.
The council, chaired initially by Rocky Mount’s own Fred Turnage, is in the talking stage right now. Improving access to higher education is a goal, but no one is sure how to reach it at this point.
Even so, who would have thought just three or four months ago that UNC would ever revisit the idea? It’s good to see this important gap at last getting some much-needed attention.
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What would a sales tax increase do for schools?
Telegram Staff Writer Carolyn Casey put together an excellent package of stories Sunday about how Nash-Rocky Mount Schools would benefit from the proposed quarter-cent sales tax increase.
Casey’s report took a close look at classrooms in three elementary schools - Englewood, Bailey and Baskerville.
Bailey, one of the newest schools in the system, features modern amenities that you might not expect to find in an older school. But guess what. Englewood and Baskerville schools are amazing similar to one another - right down to the wall decorations in each school’s hallway.
That becomes important as educators and school board members begin comparing needs in schools on the Edgecombe side of Rocky Mount with those in schools on the Nash side of the city.
Some leaders on the Edgecombe side say schools there aren’t getting the attention that schools on the Nash side do. From what we could tell, the differences are small. You could make the case that all schools of a certain age in the Nash-Rocky Mount system need physical improvements.
If the proposed sales tax increases passes, Nash-Rocky Mount leaders have pledged to put more money into those needs. That’s the most important reason I can think for supporting the proposal on our May 6 ballot. And keep in mind that if it passes, we’ll pay only a penny more in sales tax on every $4 we spend.
Rocky Mount is a unique community in a lot of ways, but the division of schools between two counties and the way we approach capital needs for those schools is a constant magnet for attention. All the more reason to make sure we’re putting as much as we can into those resources.
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E Street Band’s Danny Federici — Rest In Peace
My wife and I scored tickets in 2001 to one of Bruce Springsteen’s famed Holiday Shows at the Asbury Park Convention Hall in Asbury Park, N.J.. At the last minute, I noticed on a Web site somewhere that Danny Federici (longtime organist and keyboard player for the E Street Band) was going to be at Jack’s Music Shoppe in Red Bank on the afternoon of the show to sign records and CDs.
We drove like mad to get to Jack’s in time, figuring that even if we had to stand in line for an hour or so, it would be worth it.
Amazingly, there might have been three people in the entire store when we got there. Danny stood smiling behind a counter and thanked me when I bought a copy of his new solo jazz album, then asked him to sign it.
I couldn’t believe we were the only people in the store with him. He talked to us for a good 15-20 minutes … as if he had all the time in the world for two complete strangers from North Carolina.
I asked him about rumors of a new Springsteen album (the first with the E Streeters in almost 15 years), and he told me Bruce and the band had been recording some stuff just before 9/11.
After that, he said, everything had changed … schedules, flights and most of all … the subject matter of Bruce’s music. It was the first time I heard any kind of hint about what was to become “The Rising” — Springsteen’s 2002 album that deals in large part with the 9/11 tragedies.
Danny asked Susan and me how long we had been married, then kidded about some of the … um … less-than-lifelong relationships he had been in.
He joked about a lot of things, actually. And even though Susan and I were pinching ourselves to be talking to someone who had been a key part of the E Street Band since its inception, he acted like he was the one honored by our company.
Danny died of melanoma Thursday.
You meet so many jerks day in, day out. But on that afternoon, in December 2001, Danny Federici was the nicest guy in the world. We had driven from North Carolina to Red Bank, N.J., to meet a guy whose talent we’d long admired. We left feeling like we’d been in the house of a friend.
God bless him. Some of the greatest music this life has ever offered will never sound the same again.
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Why is Sam Knight still serving as Princeville’s town manager?
So what in the world does Princeville have to gain by pretending its town manager hasn’t been indicted by the SBI?
Sam Knight keeps handling business as usual. Never mind the allegations that threaten to put him and the historic town he’s supposed to serve under a cloud of suspicion.
The State Bureau of Investigation has charged Knight with 13 counts of obtaining property under false pretenses. Specifically, the bureau accuses Knight of paying public tax dollars to a nonexistent construction company for work that was never done.
Let’s hope it’s all a big misunderstanding. We’ve watched Princeville go from financial disaster to flooded disaster to a recovering symbol of hope in Eastern North Carolina. No one wants to see Princeville stumble again … especially into a courtroom.
But there’s no reason in the world why Knight should continue to serve so long as the SBI charges are hanging over his head. The town board needs to move immediately to suspend him from his duties, appoint an interim manager and get to the bottom of this mess.
The longer he serves, the longer this scandal mocks a town of good people.
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Is the residency challenge marathon finally winding down?
The N.C. Court of Appeals this week threw out a 2006 ruling on Rocky Mount City Councilman Andre Knight’s residency made by the Edgecombe County Board of Elections.
The elections board originally determined that Knight did not live at the house he owns on Cherry Street. But the Court of Appeals ruled that the board erred in several ways.
Gladys Shelton, who had publicly said before the hearing even began that she didn’t believe Knight lived where he said he did, didn’t recuse herself from the procedure. The board also met twice in closed session without giving a reason why.
As I’ve said before. I don’t know where Knight lived in 2006. But then again, I don’t know where U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole lives either. The residency requirements for elected officials who have more than one piece of property seem pretty arbitrarily enforced to me.
At any rate, it would be nice to think the residency nightmare was over. But that doesn’t seem likely.
Roosevelt Higgs, who filed the original residency challenge against Knight, has filed about a half-million more since 2006. Yeah, I know that’s an exaggeration, but Higgs kind of brings that out in me.
Here’s a guy who not long ago lived in a school bus. He’s had plenty of brushes with the law that go beyond where he happens to hang his hat. This is Edgecombe’s self- appointed crusader for justice?
Here’s hoping the elections board looks beyond these nuisance complaints. The Twin Counties have bigger issues at hand.
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What happens when people don’t do their jobs …
The last time Bill Clinton visited the Twin Counties, we were still splashing around looking for a safe harbor.
That would have been September 1999, a few days after Hurricane Floyd dumped a ton of rain on Eastern North Carolina. The Tar River rose to unprecedented heights, flooding thousands of homes and businesses.
We all suffered. We all pitched in to help one another. And whatever your political leanings or however you feel about Clinton’s presidency, FEMA responded as FEMA should respond.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency helped organize shelters, set up trailers for homeless survivors and manned claim centers so folks could get back on their feet.
Long after the national media moved on to report on some other disaster, FEMA worked with then-Mayor Fred Turnage and leaders all over Eastern North Carolina to iron out the details of a buyout program that went a long way toward jump-starting the recovery after Floyd.
I think a lot of us were thankful at the time for what FEMA and Clinton did for our area, but probably not overly so. After all, that’s what FEMA is supposed to do, isn’t it? Not to take anything away from the workers’ extraordinary efforts, but we do pay for that service through our tax dollars.
Six years after Floyd, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina put FEMA in a whole new light. The disaster on the Gulf Coast states didn’t end after Katrina blew through. Our federal government’s weak response only worsened the catastrophe.
A group of volunteers from First Presbyterian Church in Rocky Mount drove to Biloxi, Miss., on a mission trip to rebuild houses a year after Katrina. I’ll never forget how quiet that truck was as we drove along the coastline, seeing one wreck after another, where houses once stood.
We had lunch in an Applebee’s and talked with a waitress about her experience in the storm. Almost a full year after Katrina hit, the waitress had just moved into a FEMA trailer.
Can you imagine being completely uprooted by one of the worst hurricanes in history and then left to fend for yourself for almost a full year before the government offered you a place to stay?
Clinton’s speech tonight at N.C. Wesleyan College probably won’t dwell much on the wrath Floyd dumped on us almost a decade ago. After all, thanks to some great leadership and a lot of hard work, we’ve mostly moved on since then.
But a little gratitude might be in order for the former president. We’ve seen all too vividly how natural disasters can escalate when people don’t do their jobs.
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Who has time for questions?
N.C. Sen. Clark Jenkins, D-Edgecombe, has a ton of money and a fiery temper and really doesn’t care much for newspaper people.
He’s been known to cut off interviews with a quick “Are you really going to waste my time with that question?” Then he’ll ignore reporters’ phone calls for the rest of the week.
And that’s even during election years, when you’d think he might enjoy a chance to tell folks why they should vote for him.
Either he’s a nicer guy in the N.C. Senate or his peers don’t mind much. He still manages to be the 15th-most effective member of the Senate, according to a poll of legislators, lobbyists and journalists who cover the capital.
That’s all the more remarkable, considering Jenkins’ dismal attendance record. Out of 113 days in session last year, he missed 17 full days and five partial days. That ranks him 49th in attendance out of 50 senators.
He missed a bunch of votes, too. Out of 1,241 votes cast in the Senate last year, he participated in 940. That’s more than 300 votes he didn’t have a say in, ranking him 42nd in vote participation.
We’d love to ask Jenkins about voting and attendance, but we’ve been having a hard time getting him to talk to us during the past week and a half.
Then again, he’d probably call those questions a waste of time, too.
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How will you vote on the sales tax option?
Commissioners in Nash and Edgecombe counties will have their fingers crossed when you go to the polls on May 6. Some of them face primary opposition, but all will be counting on you to approve a sales tax increase.
Tax increases aren’t an easy sell, and this one’s no exception. Telegram Staff Writer Justin Boulmay had an excellent package of stories in Sunday’s edition that explained the reasons for the proposal and what the counties plan to do with the money, if the increase is approved. I’m including links to his stories at the end of this entry.
The short explanation is: Counties need the extra money because of an agreement worked out with the state last year over Medicaid. For the first time in almost forever, North Carolina counties will no longer have to bear any part of the burden for Medicaid, a health benefits program for poor people.
In exchange, the state will take sales tax revenue already being generated in each county. That’s why county commissioners hope voters will approve the increase on the May 6 primary ballots — to help replenish county funds for what the state is going to take anyway.
Before you reach for your wallet with one hand and your gun with the other, think about this: It’s a quarter of a cent on a dollar.
That’s 1 extra penny per $4 purchase. On a $100 shopping spree, that’s just a quarter. And it doesn’t apply to purchases of food, homes or cars.
County commissioners already have identified some significant needs that the additional sales tax would help them meet — mostly in the area of school improvements.
It’s a tough year, a tougher economy, and few of us want even more money going out of our wallets. But considering what the counties stand to gain, this is one very small tax increase that can make our futures better.
It’s worth a “yes” vote.
http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/local/content/news/stories/2008/04/06/centerpiece.html http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/local/content/news/stories/2008/04/06/sidebar.html
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Can Mark Bowling get a fair trial in Pitt County?
I was in Atlanta last week for an editors meeting when Staff Writer Mike Hixenbaugh texted me the news: Mark Bowling’s murder trial will be moved to Pitt County.
The change of venue wasn’t entirely unexpected. If ever there has been a case in Nash County that has garnered excessive publicity, this is it.
But Pitt County?
I have friends in Guilford County who have asked me about the case, and that’s halfway across the state. How can the court expect to find 12 impartial jurors in Pitt who don’t know anything about Mark Bowling?
Greenville’s newspaper, The Daily Reflector, is owned by Cox Enterprises — just as the Rocky Mount Telegram is. They’ve run almost every story we’ve printed on the case. Have those readers been less intrigued by the lurid details of a story that has included allegations of strippers, love triangles and murder?
Well, let’s hope so.
Bowling’s lawyers complained in court about the Telegram’s coverage of the case and argued that there have been a number of inaccuracies in our reporting. If so, I have yet to hear from any of them about errors or requests for corrections. Until then, we stand by every word of our coverage.
One final point to ponder: Bowling’s lawyers made much of a poll conducted in Nash County to see how much pre-trial publicity could affect the case. The poll reportedly found that more than 90 percent of those surveyed said they knew something about the Bowling case.
But here’s the interesting part: About 44 percent of those contacted said they already thought Bowling was guilty.
Just 44 percent? I’ll bet you’d find that number on roughly any criminal case before it’s tried. Rightly or wrongly, people tend to believe police officers and district attorneys.
Telegram City Editor Gene Metrick said he’d probably take those odds if he was a lawyer for Bowling.
Then again, maybe they’ll find better numbers in Pitt County.
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What can rockymounttelegram.com do for you?
Greetings from Atlanta, where I’m spending most of the week in meetings with other Cox Newspaper editors and Web site producers.
Our main topic: What can we do to make our Web sites more valuable to you, the visitor?
The subject arrives on a timely note, given the amount of interest and the number of comments generated from Web site visitors about the police department situation. More on that in a second, but first, what else would you like to see on the Telegram’s Web site?
In the past year, Jenny White, Gene Metrick, Ross Chandler and Ben Jones — and many other reporters, photographers and editors — have worked hard to put good news, sports, features, photos, videos and more on our site as quickly as possible. These guys are excellent newspaper people, but we’ll all admit there’s plenty about the unexplored space of the Internet that we’re barely beginning to tap.
What would you like to see? We really want to hear from you. If you don’t feel like posting publicly, please feel free to e-mail me at jherrin@coxnc.com.
Very quickly, back to the discussion on Chief Manley: I appreciate the spirit and the courtesy shown by almost everyone who has weighed in with a comment. I’ve had to edit a couple of remarks because they veered off-topic, and in some cases, launched into personal attacks on one or more people in our community.
Folks, don’t go there. That kind of “discussion” only gets other people steamed and really doesn’t do much for the community. It’s a big reason why we pulled the plug on the Telegram’s message board last year.
Many thanks to those of you who have kept the discussion on-topic and relevant. I’m learning a lot, and I hope you are, too.
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Troubled times for Rocky Mount Police Department
The sexual allegations leveled against Rocky Mount Police Chief John Manley are disturbing, to say the least.
Shirley Moore, a former police cadet, has charged in a complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that Manley promised her promotions in exchange for sexual favors. Lawrence Phifer, a former Rocky Mount police officer, echoes those claims and says he felt badgered by Manley into resigning because of Phifer’s friendship with Moore.
Manley denies all allegations.
The rumor mill has been in overdrive about the complaint for a number of weeks. It’s important not to rush to judgment, but Rocky Mount’s administration has not exactly been forthcoming about this situation.
Telegram reporter Eric Klamut, who is covering the story, contacted City Manager Steve Raper a month ago about the rumors. Raper at that time said he wasn’t aware of any such allegations, but if they did exist, the city would regard them as personnel issues.
I’ve known Raper for a long time, and there’s nothing to suggest he wasn’t telling the truth when he talked to Klamut. But why no comment in the weeks since then?
Moore filed her complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in February. The EEOC is a federal agency, but it notifies employers when a complaint has been filed. If a sexual harassment charge is leveled against someone in a position as high-profile as the chief of police, Rocky Mount city administrators — especially Raper — have a responsibility to be completely forthcoming about the issue to everyone in Rocky Mount. It’s we, after all, who pay their salaries.
Even Rocky Mount City Councilman W.B. Bullock said Friday he didn’t know anything about the complaint until media reports began surfacing on the Internet. What kind of accountability is that?
Manley isn’t guilty of anything until something has been proven. But let’s hope he and the city adopt a more open policy about this — and any other charges of impropriety — as the investigation follows its course.
The people of Rocky Mount deserve nothing less.
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We’re losing another great record store …
I try to keep Fridays kind of light, but this news bums me out. Schoolkids Records has closed its store in Chapel Hill.
When I was a college kid in the 1970s, Schoolkids was a great friend. The small independent chain had stores in just about every college town in the South, it seemed — Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Boone, Wilmington, Greensboro and Athens, Ga. — to name some of the ones I remember.
You’d walk into a store full of posters and mystique. Schoolkids had a knack for finding great new bands before they hit it big — I still have R.E.M.’s first vinyl EP — Chronic Town — bought, if I remember correctly, at the store in Greensboro.
They had huge back stocks of old favorites, too — every record ever made by the Beatles, Stones, Dylan, Stevie Wonder, the Who … you name it. Best of all, they were CHEAP.
Now, in the age of downloads, both legal and illegal, stores are having a tough time even selling CDs, much less vinyl. It’s a real shame for music freaks like me. Record stores were great places to socialize, hear new bands and spend an hour or three.
Schoolkids still has stores in Raleigh and Athens, Ga., but that’s it. And who knows for how long?
As I said, I feel like I’m losing a friend.
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Doesn’t probation mean anything?
The Rocky Mount Police Department’s Street Engagement Team racks up one success after another in its crusade against crime, guns and drugs. Unfortunately, the bungling of one court case after another should anger all of us.
The worst recent example is the continuing story of Laurence Lovette, who is charged in the separate homicides of Eve Carson and Abhijit Mahato, two young students with talents and intelligence that could have benefited the world in who knows how many ways.
As I wrote in an editorial last week: What in the world do you have to do in Durham to get thrown in jail?
Lovette, 17, walked out of a Durham courtroom in January with a suspended sentence and probation for breaking and entering and larceny - crimes he committed in November. He and another suspect are charged with killing Mahato, a Duke University graduate student, on Jan. 16 — two days after Lovette left the courthouse.
In the weeks that followed that slaying, Lovette was arrested several other times and was charged with nine different crimes, including burglary, car theft, breaking and entering and resisting arrest. He was released after each arrest.
Doesn’t probation for a prior conviction mean anything?
The thought that Lovette might have been locked up weeks before Carson’s death should chill every parent’s blood and should outrage everyone who wants to believe in our criminal justice system.
Will the revolving door at North Carolina courthouses ever stop spinning?
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When war hits close to home …
When the United States is at war, every American heart goes out to our troops and their families, no matter what kind of politics you subscribe to.
The war in Iraq hit especially close to home this week with the deaths of three soldiers serving in a National Guard unit from Rocky Mount.
A bomb exploded near an armored Humvee Saturday, killing Spc. David Stelmat, 27, of Littleton, N.H.; Sgt. Thomas C. Ray, 40, of Weaverville; and Sgt. Blake Williams of Tarboro.
The solders were traveling near Baghdad when the bomb exploded.
The 4,000 American troops who have died in Iraq during the past five years weigh heavily on the hearts and minds of Americans everywhere. But the sacrifices they and others have made hit hardest when we feel it at home.
Say a prayer, if you will, for the families of Spc. Stelmat, Sgt. Ray and Sgt. Williams. And keep the troops who remain in Iraq in your hearts. They’ve paid a price that few of the rest of us will ever begin to comprehend.
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Roanoke Rapids Theater? Gilmore has it right, it will take time to be a good moneymaker. If anyone can help get it going great, it will in fact be Gilmore.
Thank goodness the ‘GiveMore’ management approach might be over. I suspect
... read the full comment by ken | Comment on Another manager for the former Parton Theatre Read Another manager for the former Parton Theatre
Robert I read your letter to the editor. You seem to be one of the few people who use data to back up your opinion. I like that.
I think public trust in public officials and knowing specifically and definitely where the money
... read the full comment by Holt | Comment on A short-sighted vote to save a quarter of a penny Read A short-sighted vote to save a quarter of a penny
Jeff you are absolutely right when you say that voting, “is a reminder of how much we need each other”.
The forces in power spend so much time trying to cause chaos and divide us and confuse us that right now is the time that
... read the full comment by Holt | Comment on A few thoughts about Primary Day 2008 Read A few thoughts about Primary Day 2008
Speaking for myself most of the acts on the bill just do not interest me. The only one I might have been likely to go see was the recent Leon Russell show.
Most of the acts are country acts. I dig some country but mostly something more along
... read the full comment by Holt | Comment on Another manager for the former Parton Theatre Read Another manager for the former Parton Theatre