This is a column I wrote more than 20 years ago when I used to let the chips fall in every direction. It about something a county elected official said in relation to polluted waters caused by hog farm mishaps or municipal waste. One incident in Onslow County, North Carolina led to a hog . … Continue reading Throwback Thursday: Going medieval
Month: January 2018
Retiring superintendent is serious about possible political bid. Just do it
Friday this came across my Twitter feed. "Huh," I thought out loud to no one in particular. Is Bill Harrison saying what I think he's saying? Does he want to run for statewide office after his retirement as superintendent of the Alamance-Burlington School System starts in June? Really? So after mulling it over for, oh, … Continue reading Retiring superintendent is serious about possible political bid. Just do it
The Elon football connection to … Bill Belichick?
The print issue of Sports Illustrated this week -- well, make that this month since it appears the magazine will no longer be published on a regular weekly basis -- contains an interesting story on the long-standing friendship of arguably the greatest NFL coach of all time and his counterpart on the collegiate level. I'm … Continue reading The Elon football connection to … Bill Belichick?
The Mediterranean Deli at Elon is almost ready — promise (unofficially)
When it was announced last summer that the Mediterranean Deli, Bakery and Catering planned to open a location in Elon I started monitoring progress at its future home -- the Park Place site on West Haggard Avenue in the downtown area of town. That's how much I'm looking forward to its arrival to the area. I'm … Continue reading The Mediterranean Deli at Elon is almost ready — promise (unofficially)
Is Jim Thome the first from a Burlington minor league team to make the Hall of Fame?
Jim Thome was elected to the baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot. The announcement arrived Wednesday night from New York. There wasn't much doubt the affable Thome, with 612 career home runs and a career devoid of steroid accusations, would be elected along with fellow first-timer Chipper Jones this year. It's an outstanding … Continue reading Is Jim Thome the first from a Burlington minor league team to make the Hall of Fame?
‘The Last Ballad’ is a tragic story from North Carolina’s often forgotten history
"The Last Ballad"; by Wiley Cash; 2017, HarperCollins Publishers; 375 pages. The American South is a minefield of emotions. It's a land of hope, faith and joy intermingled with hatred, anger, and sometimes unspeakable violence. It's a place where understanding and common sense can be overwhelmed by confusion and ignorance -- often sparked by a … Continue reading ‘The Last Ballad’ is a tragic story from North Carolina’s often forgotten history
The reality of a world without newspapers
I had a depressing conversation with my mother on Sunday. It's not the first time. It won't be the last. The subject is a familiar one -- the slow demise of newspapers. My mom is 86 years old, a graduate of the School of Journalism at the University of North Carolina and a healthy consumer … Continue reading The reality of a world without newspapers
Wayback Wednesday column: The thankless job of reporting on porn
We travel far back in time for today’s impromptu due to a major snowstorm Wayback Wednesday column — to March of 1987 — March 25 in fact as the helpful time stamp notes. I keyed in the text of it below so the column is easier to read. But first, some back story. I was … Continue reading Wayback Wednesday column: The thankless job of reporting on porn
‘The Post’ and lessons about freedom of the press
It's almost impossible to view "The Post," Steven Spielberg's much-anticipated film chronicling a First Amendment fight in 1971 pitting two newspapers vs. the U.S. government over reporting classified Defense Department information. without also considering what happens later. Indeed the re-election of President Richard M. Nixon in 1972, the ensuing Watergate scandal initiated by Washington Post … Continue reading ‘The Post’ and lessons about freedom of the press
Living the words of Dr. King in the worst of times
UPDATE FOR 2021: If the past 12 months tell us anything it's that our nation is now closer to Abraham Lincoln's worst nightmare than the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's hopeful dream. It was an exhausting year of racial strife, unrest and protests amid the ongoing problem of inequity and justice unequally applied to Black … Continue reading Living the words of Dr. King in the worst of times
Madison's Avenue 