UPDATE: Carrie Eaves, assistant professor of Political Science at Elon, will moderate the forum. The new regional editor for area Gannett newspapers, including the Burlington Times-News, Donnie Fetter is expected to take part. Admission is free. The Moseley Center is located across from the McMichael Parking Lot off North O'Kelly Avenue on the Elon campus. … Continue reading Updated: Elon fills gap by providing local candidates forum in commissioners race
Community Connections
Deja vu all over again for the county budget and education spending
Tim Sutton told me once that he wasn't too concerned about what his legacy as an elected county leader might be. He simply didn't care. It was an interesting statement that could be taken multiple ways. I have spoken to the longtime Alamance County commissioner dating back to his pre-elected office days -- when he … Continue reading Deja vu all over again for the county budget and education spending
Leo’s lasts, Elon firsts and new beginnings (Includes video)
A little more than a year ago Leo Lambert announced plans to retire as president of Elon University, ending 19 remarkable years guiding a once small regional college to its transformation into a nationally renowned university. On the day his plans were made public, I had worked at Elon barely a month. I … Continue reading Leo’s lasts, Elon firsts and new beginnings (Includes video)
Who do we trust?
"The Truth is Out There" and "Trust No One" are two phrases that for years were most closely associated with the murky conspiracy-rich TV series, "The X-Files." Today both define life in the United States of America. How we got to this point in our history was not a random evolution of human nature and culture. … Continue reading Who do we trust?
‘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
How to avoid a Tornado Warning and other Community Connections thoughts
Memo to us, otherwise known as the Community Connections Planning Committee: In the future, avoid dates for our forums that include the words “Tornado Warning.” Seems simple enough. Yes, what the TV weather forecasters like to call “severe weather” crashed our party on Monday, Oct. 23 at Elon University. Conditions conducive to tornado formation were … Continue reading How to avoid a Tornado Warning and other Community Connections thoughts
Talking technology, jobs and the future at Community Connections
In October of 2013 LabCorp offered a reporter, editor and publisher for the local newspaper an opportunity to tour its massive testing laboratories on York Court in Burlington. I was fortunate enough to be part of it. The highly structured tour occurred at night, after 7 p.m., just before the overnight shift arrived for work. … Continue reading Talking technology, jobs and the future at Community Connections
Elon’s incoming president was a journalist first
Connie Ledoux Book impressed me right from the start. I saw her for the first time several years ago, nearly a lifetime it seems today. I was in attendance at the then-annual lunch hosted by the North Carolina bureau of the Associated Press in conjunction with the annual Winter Institute and awards ceremony conducted by … Continue reading Elon’s incoming president was a journalist first
Updated: Community Connections at Elon hits a milestone year
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This post was updated to reflect a time and date has been selected for the first Community Connections forum for 2017-18. It will be 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 23 in Lakeside at the Moseley Center at Elon University. That's a new site for the forum but the same building. "Can it really … Continue reading Updated: Community Connections at Elon hits a milestone year
Throwback Thursday: Our bug-infested megalopolis to be
This is something I wrote in 2014 after reading a very revealing study about what North Carolina might look like in the year 2060. Think a bug-infested wasteland -- something like "Blade Runner meets the Andy Griffith Show." This column actually sparked a Community Connections discussion at Elon. Here it goes ... --- It’s almost … Continue reading Throwback Thursday: Our bug-infested megalopolis to be
Madison's Avenue 