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This week's column.

So perturbed was a Chapel Hill man that his yard signs were disappearing nearly as fast as he could plant them, he wired his next set to the power source for an electric pet fence.

A 9-year-old neighbor discovered the homemade hookup the hard way last week. No doubt the young man, who was caught on camera apparently attempting to substitute an Obama sign for a McCain-Palin one, was shocked in more ways than one.

For other slippery thieves of campaign signage, there may be a less painful deterrent: Vaseline. Slathering the signs with petroleum jelly apparently makes them harder to yank from the ground. At least that’s what I’m told.

It’s a shame to have to resort to such measures — and both sides have — but go figure. Does anyone really think pilfering other folks’ yard signs makes a difference in an election’s outcome?
It’s easy to dismiss these acts as silly pranks. But they insult the notion that Americans are free to vote however they choose without fear and intimidation ... and without having some idiot make off with their personal property.

Now that I’ve got that off my chest, more dispatches from the campaign trail.

McCrory for governor? Some readers were surprised that the News & Record endorsed seven-term Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory over Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue for governor.

But this wasn’t a close call.

McCrory articulated his vision for North Carolina much more clearly and forcefully. And his record of moderate leadership and working across party lines as a mayor has been impressive.
But isn’t McCrory a Republican?

Well, as a matter of fact, he is. So?

Endorsement season is over and now it’s voting season.

We make it a rule to talk to candidates in every race in which we’re endorsing, preferably in person, but at the very least by phone.

This obviously isn’t easy, especially in a presidential election year. All told, our staff of three full-timers and one part-time editorial writer interviewed more than 100 candidates for the primaries and the general election.

In fact, it seemed for a while as if we’d been interviewing candidates forever (the general election interviews began in June, the primary interviews in the early spring).

Each interview involved prep work, including background research and a questionnaire.

But there is no substitute for talking directly to who’s running. We appreciate nearly every single candidate making time to talk to us, including the candidates for governor, Beverly Perdue and Pat McCrory, who spoke with us three times.

In the case of the gubernatorial candidates and the U.S. Senate candidates, we conducted video interviews (for excerpts, click here) and scroll down to the media player.

For what it’s worth:

All told — counting candidates we interviewed more than once — we interviewed 109 candidates.

That includes interviewing 28 statewide and local candidates for the primaries. (We endorsed only in the primaries for governor, U.S. Senate and Congress and in local races in which the primary determined the outcome.)

We interviewed 81 statewide and local candidates for the general election (including the High Point City Council races), each individually or as a group for roughly an hour, many for more than that.

In 20 partisan races, we endorsed 14 Democrats and six Republicans (City Council, school board and state and local judicial races are all nonpartisan).

Please make your own best choices when you vote Tuesday, if you haven’t already. Here our are picks (to go to individual editorials on each race, click here):

U.S. Senate
Kay Hagan, D

U.S. House of Representatives
6th District: Howard Coble, R
12th District: Mel Watt, D
13th District: Brad Miller, D

Governor
Pat McCrory, R

Lieutenant governor
Walter Dalton, D

Attorney generalRoy Cooper, D

Auditor
Leslie Merritt, R

Agriculture commissioner
Steve Troxler, R

Insurance commissioner
Wayne Goodwin, D

Labor commissioner
Mary Fant Donnan, D

Secretary of state
Elaine Marshall, D

State superintendent
June Atkinson, D

State treasurer
Bill Daughtridge, R

State Senate
District 27: Don Vaughan, D
State House
District 58: Alma Adams, D
State House
District 59: No endorsement

Guilford County commissioner
At-large: Paul Gibson, D, and Larry Proctor, R
District 4: Kirk Perkins, D

N.C. Supreme Court justice
Robert H. (Bob) Edmunds Jr.

N.C. Court of Appeals judges
James A. (Jim) Wynn
Sam J. Ervin IV
Doug McCullough
Linda Stephens
John S. Arrowood

Guilford District Court judges
Susan Burch
Robert Enochs
A. Robinson Hassell
Betty J. Brown
Polly D. Sizemore

Guilford County school board
At-large: Michael McKinney
District 3: Darlene Garrett

Guilford County sales tax
For

Greensboro bonds

Street improvements: Yes

War Memorial Auditorium: Yes

Parks and Recreation: No

Housing: Yes

High Point City Council
At-large: Latimer B. Alexander IV and Mary Lou Andrews Blakeney
Ward 2: Julius Clark
Ward 6:John Faircloth

We already have received a handful of letters to the editor assuming that Barack Obama will be the next U.S. president.

Interestingly, they are from McCain supporters, who are lamenting the disastrous choice the country has made.

One casts blame on "a corrupted, dishonest, partisan media."

Maybe we should wait until the votes are counted?

Not so fast, guys.

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Among the surprises in Tuesday's election results were the bonds in Greensboro.

War Memorial Auditorium failed once again, despite a strong push by well-organized proponents. While that was disappointing, it was hardly a shock, given the $50 million price tag.

Also as expected, the housing and street improvement bonds passed,

But the Parks and Recreation bonds also passed muster with voters. Huh?

This package was easily the least urgent, containing a new $12 million swim center.

As I've posted before, I will be proud as punch of the new facility when it is built. But I still see it as a low priority during a waning economy.

Another quirk in Tuesday's results: Gov.-elect Bev Perdue beat seven-term Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory on his own turf in Mecklenburg County.

What's up with that?

Finally, according to the State Board of Elections, North Carolina goes to Obama/Biden by 11,246 votes.

I fully expected McCain to win here.

Correction: I've jumped the gun. The verdict in North Carolina is on hold until provisional ballots are counted.

I was curious about Pat McCrory's loss in the race for governor, especially in his home county, so I called one of my editorial colleagues in Charlotte for some insight.

Here's how she sees it:

McCrory lost even in Mecklenburg, she says, because:

1. The Obama wave in a heavily Democratic county spurred more straight-party voting.
2. Moderate Democrats who have traditionally supported McCrory chose not to this time.
3. McCrory has begun to wear thin with African Americans in Charlotte, who have not appreciated what they see as his insensitivity in discussing race and crime.
4. And McCrory has been off-putting to some locally because of his short temper.

She added that one key to McCrory winning seven consecutive mayoral races has been a general lack of strong Democratic opponents.

She says she expects that to change and that McCrory probably won't seek another term.

He may, however,seek fellow Republican Sue Myrick's congressional seat when she steps down.

In reports in media outlets that include Fox News, some former McCain aides have attacked Sarah Palin for helpng to sink the campaign.

Among their pointed jabs at Palin, Fox News reported, the unnamed aides said:

-- Palin resisted coaching before her notoriously bad Katie Couric interviews.
-- She did not understand that Africa was a continent not a country.
-- She could not name the three nations that are part of the North American Free Trade Agreement: the United States, Canada and Mexico.
-- She hurt the campaign by being duped in a prank radio interview by a Canadian radio host who posed as the president of France.

Meanwhile, the North Carolina GOP has come to Palin's defense.

A Friday press release from state GOP Chairwoman Linda Daves called the criticisms "cowardly, unsigned statements and whisper campaigns" that attempt "to pin this loss on the choice of Sarah Palin as a vice-presidential nominee."

The release continues: "Not only was Sarah Palin the first Republican woman to ever be nominated for the position, representing a significant step forward for the Republican Party, she also presented herself as a strong and capable leader in touch with regular people across America. She deserves our thanks for her unique contributions to our campaign and our Party. During this campaign, she inspired millions of Americans both with her life story and ability to articulate common sense conservative principles and relate them to the issues and challenges that face America. Those trying to disparage her to save their own political careers should be ashamed. The North Carolina Republican Party stands up for Sarah Palin."

If the attacks are true, they could hurt Palin's political aspirations.

But they also are unflattering to the McCain folks, and not only call into question how well they vetted Palin but how staunchly they defended her throughout the campaign.

Somebody wasn't expressing straight talk.

This week's column.

Not that long ago, the best-known and longest-running positive depiction of a black family aired at 8 p.m. on Thursday nights.

Cliff and Claire Huxtable presided over a colorful brood of good-looking and precocious kids.
Cliff was a doctor, Claire a lawyer. And they lived in a New York brownstone where the crisis of the week typically consisted of Theo’s new girlfriend or Rudy’s cold.

There were no pimps or drug pushers or sassy sistuh-talk. No shiftless older brother yelling “Dy-no-mite!”

Too good to be true, even in TV land?

Then, meet the Obamas.

Both Mom and Dad are trained lawyers. Dad also is a U.S. senator and, before that, was a state senator and before that, editor of the Harvard Law Review.

And, by the way, Dad becomes president of the United States.

No, really.

Whatever your politics or political party, the dramatic outcome on Nov. 4 was as monumental as it was improbable.

It says something special about the promise of this country — that all things are possible in these United States of America. And I mean all things.

Try pitching this story line as a sitcom plot:

A black guy whose mother was a Kansan and whose father is a Kenyan is reared by his white grandmother.

(We’ll cast him with a svelte, handsome actor, in the Dick Van Dyke mold, and throw in a pair of Alfred E. Neuman ears so he’s not too perfect.)

Despite a sometimes troubled youth, he makes it to college, then to law school at Harvard. He weds a classy looker named Michelle, who also holds a Harvard law degree.

The marriage produces two adorable daughters with ready-for-prime-time smiles and a natural talent for one-liners. (Cue sentimental “awwwwwwws” from studio audiences, especially for the littlest daughter.)

After less than one term in the U.S. Senate, Dad decides to run for president.
He takes on the most powerful name in the Democratic Party and beats Hillary Clinton in a series of bruising primaries. (For comic relief there’ll be an episode featuring him bowling gutter balls and Hillary guzzling shot glasses of Crown Royal with Regular Guys in an Indiana bar. Hilarity ensues.)

It disturbs me that in the same election in which Barack Obama became president, Calfornia banned same-sex marriages -- thanks in large part to black voters.

This would seem to confirm that many, in not most, African Americans tend to skew very conservative on many social and cultural issues, especially sexual orientation.

How ironic that a group that has endured the pain and indignities of having its rights denied would do the same to another group.

I've said this and I'll say it again: I respect that many people oppose gay marriage on a religious bases. But to call denying gay people the right to get married "protecting" marriage is fundamentally illogical.

We heterosexuals have done a pretty good job of screwing that up ourselves.

I myself was divorced 11 years ago. If I'm gonna blame gay people for that I might as well blame space aliens, too.

I'll join Tim Rice, president and CEO of the Moses Cone Health System, for a group discussion of Tommy Hays' delightful book, "The Pleasure Was Mine," Wednesday morning at 7:30 in the Greensboro Historical Museum.

Tim and I held a preliminary discussion between ourselves yesterday and found lots of points to address about the book.: health care, race, the ravages of Alzheimer's Disease, the power of community.

For more about Hays' inspiration for the book, click here.

Come and join us. They'll serve breakfast, but you'll need to register ahead of time.

For more information about the breakfast, call call 373-3636.

A brief footnote to the discussion Moses Cone's Tim Rice and I led of Tommy Hays' "The Pleasure Was Mine" Wednesday morning at the Greensboro Historical Museum:

The session was thoughtful and spirited. Among audience members were people who have experienced the challenges of Alzheimer's firsthand in their families, including one man who recently lost his wife.

Some of the points we considered:

1. I saw this not as a book about Alzheimer's. but about relationships. As I read it, this book was a love story ... between husband and wife, father and son, and grandfather and grandson.

2. Everyone seemed to agree that the scenes including the African American character of Nate in the book made some gentle but memorable observations about the main character, Prate Marshbank's, racial prejudices. We also agreed that those prejudices were rooted in ignorance, not malice.

3. I had trouble with too many coincidences in the book. Some characters' paths conveniently crossed too many times to be convincing.

4. The scenes in the nursing home especially resonated with Tim, who filled in as interim director of a nursing facility during his time at Cone. He said he knew firsthand some of the challenges depicted in the book.

5. We could not agree on whether the protagonist's doctor made the right call in encouraging him to have, um, relations with his Alzheimer's-stricken spouse. Some of us thought it was sound advice. Others wondered if it was, in a sense, taking advantage of her. Would it have been better for him to have begun dating other women? And when is the right time to do that?

A letter to the editor that arrived this week (but was not chosen for publication), states as a fact that Barack Obama is going to take his oath of office on the Koran.

And that he probably also is the Anti-Christ.

I believe the writer was serious.

This week's column.

I can count the number of my Latino friends on one hand.

Actually, two fingers.

Oh, I see them every day, just as you do. I just don’t know very many of them.

Not that there aren’t plenty of Latinos to get to know.

In 1990, the county’s Hispanic population numbered fewer than 2,000. Today, it totals more than 16,500, an increase of 800 percent. Statewide, the Latino population has grown to nearly 600,000 people.

Hispanics now account for 8.4 percent of the enrollment in Guilford County Schools.
But it still seems as if our Latino residents are typically seen but not heard — and understood even less. Especially among African Americans.

When they arise as conversation topics, too often I hear them referred to as “those Mexicans.” Who’s to say where they are from? We don’t ask. We just assume.

They all look alike. They all act alike.

Sound familiar?

But there is hope. “Problems do happen,” says Dr. Nolo Martinez, an assistant director at UNCG’s Center for New North Carolinians. He cites occasional friction among black and Latino students in public schools.

But he also cited progress, rattling off the names of several African Americans who have made earnest outreaches to Latinos.

They include the Rev. Odell Cleveland of Greensboro’s Welfare Liaison Project and County Commissioner Carolyn Coleman, who helped Martinez secure an appointment as Latino affairs director in Gov. Jim Hunt’s administration.

There’s hope even in the curious saga of Jorge Cornell, 32, state leader of the Latin Kings gang. Most recently, he and three others were arrested and charged in connection with the alleged abduction of a 15-year-old girl.

Cornell and several local clergy say the charges are bogus — that police have consistently targeted him since he called last summer for peace among gangs in the city.

Frankly, I’m not sure whom to believe at this point.

But put aside, for the moment, whether you think Cornell really means what he says about peace.

And just consider that his most fervent supporters happen to be black people.

I was surprised to someone I've known for many years, Vincent Sims, on the front page of Sunday's paper.

I also was encouraged that Sims, whose family lived near mine in Woodmere Park when we were growing up, is doing much better after struggles with homelessness, drug use and schizophrenia.

I've seen him from time to time on the streets of downtown.

You wouldn't have expected this from him. He came from a solid, middle-class family.
His mom was a school secretary who occasionally gave us lifts to school. His brother was a star athlete at Page High School.

I remember him when we were growing up as a quiet little guy. But something happened along the way.

And he wasn't the only one from the old neighborhood who wound up that way. One childhood friend from Woodmere died last year, broken and aimless and addled by drugs. He was smart, gregarious and athletic as a teenager. I don't know what drove him to the streets.

Most recently, I saw him in front of the News & Record building, and he showed me something he hadn't showed me before: hope. He smiled and talked about his new apartment. He was excited to be working odd jobs. He still was in touch with his family.

Amanda Lehmert's story notes that a new program that provides homes for homeless people like Vincent not only can save lives, but can save taxpayer money.

It is cheaper than the cost of emergency rooms, shelter visits and jail time.

I'm glad Vincent appears to be on the path back to a productive life. And I wish him the very best.

They held a memorial service for Mohammed "Mike" Ali Sunday in Center City Park.

Ali, co-owner of Red Mike Grocery on North Elm Street in Fisher Park, was fatally shot in the store on Nov. 9, only four days before his scheduled wedding.

Meanwhile, the robberies continue:

-- two gunmen rob a Kangaroo store on Pleasant Garden Road early Saturday.
-- two men are robbed Saturday night, one at an ATM, the other while walking near Jackson Middle School.
-- And Sunday morning, a pistol-wielding man robs a BP station on North Elm Street -- only hours before Ali's memorial service.

High Point Road is to Greensboro what a cousin who chews with his mouth open, wears leisure suits and tells dirty jokes is to family reunions.

He belongs, but sometimes you wish he didn’t.

High Point Road isn’t exactly an embarrassment, but it has seen a steep decline over the years.

A new vision for the High Point Road/Lee Street corridor could change the less than flattering image of that part of town.

The city’s planning board will discuss the plan during a public hearing on Wednesday at 2 p.m.
The area isn’t close to all of our neighborhoods but it provides one of city’s major gateways and remains one of its most-used thoroughfares.

It needs and deserves your input.

I drove past Red Mike's Grocery today, as I do most mornings.

It was nice to see the door propped wide and the neon "Open" sign lit.

No doubt carrying on there isn't easy in the wake of the senseless killing of the store's namesake and co-owner on Nov. 9. But I'm glad they're back and wish them the best.

I'm guessing even the most ardent conservative out there agrees with Barack Obama on this point: college football's bowl system is whack and ought to be put out of its misery.

He said it in a pre-election interview during "Monday Night Football' and he repeated it Sunday on "60 Minutes."

Now that's change we can believe in.

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This week's column.

The voters have spoken, whether they knew what they were saying or not.

We’re all now the proud owners of a brand-new, $12 million swim center.

We don’t know yet where it will be built or who will operate it — or even when it will be built.
But it’s ours, to love and to cherish, in shallow waters and deep, till debt do us part.

After failing miserably at the polls in two previous elections, the swim center bonds passed this year because few voters likely knew they were there. The center won approval on Nov. 4 as part of the fine print in a $20 million parks and recreation bond package.

Although the ballot contained a 118-word description of the what these bonds would buy, only seven syllables (“a swimming facility”) mentioned the costliest item on the list.

Is it too cynical to suggest that the bonds passed with 57 percent of the vote because too few voters knew they even included a swim center? Not really.

When asked if they’d known what they’d done, some voters readily admitted they’d checked the “yes” box with no clue that they were approving the center.

Swim center boosters had, in fact, counted on that. “We thought that the best thing we had going for us is the parks and recreation name,” said Ted Oliver of the Greensboro Swim Association.

Parks and recreation bonds haven’t failed in Greensboro in at least the last 40 years. Conversely, swim center bonds have never passed, falling handily in 2000 and 2006, when they were placed as standalone items on the ballot.

When asked last week if he agreed that a lack of voter awareness helped pass the bonds, Oliver wouldn’t say.

“The real question is why it wasn’t put on the ballot as a parks and recreation project before,” he said. “I think that’s the better question.”

Either way, mission accomplished. Now what?

.... presumably forever. My Sunday column is in error. The Canada Dry land to be purchased by the city will not be resold for private development.

It will belongs to the city, and as such, will likely become a part of the Greensboro Coliseum's footprint.

Only the Coliseum Inn land will be resold at some point..