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Our fearless leader is plunging into dangerous territory: the topic of Terry Grier's raise.

The Guilford County school board last week bumped the superintendent's pay by $15,030 to $202,903. His bosses said he met performance standards and earned the reward.

You're invited to share your opinion before Allen expresses ours, probably on the Thursday editorial page.

Update: We've switched planned publication to Sunday. Thanks for the input so far.

Andy Brod's Ideas article Sept. 23, "Water woes: Pricing, not policing, will limit water use in Greensboro," should have pumped up some new thinking.

Brod recommends harnessing the power of pricing: "The key is to maintain a low price for the first few thousand gallons used, in order not to affect essential activities like drinking and bathing. But for higher levels of water use, which tend to be for discretionary activities like lawn watering and car washing, the price should rise sharply in order to provide the necessary incentive not to waste or overuse water."

The city currently employs a mild escalation of water rates as consumption levels rise for residential use, and a flat rate for businesses. The incentive to save water is minimal.

We think Andy's proposal has a great deal of merit and could forestall the need to severely restrict water use generally. What do you think?

How can the UNC system better serve the state?

(For context, see www.nctomorrow.org)

We hope to publish responses in next Sunday's Ideas section.

In a new feature beginning today, you'll get to comment on the cartoons of local artist and blogger Anthony Piraino.

Here's the first one on Haw River Park:

There's a whole lot more unity in Greensboro than we thought: 93 percent of registered voters agree that they don't care about their city government.

The other 7 percent are the ones who are all mixed up. They voted in yesterday's primary elections, dividing their support among 26 different candidates.

All right, enough sarcasm. The low turnout is a serious subject for tomorrow's editorial page.

We expected a lot better. With all the candidates, with all issues, all the forums by various community groups and -- we don't want to blow our own horns, but -- all the news and editorial coverage, we thought more people would care enough to vote.

Crime, water, jobs and economic development, environmental concerns, taxes ... Don't more than 7 percent of voters think the leaders they elect make a difference when it comes to addressing these important issues?

I'm collecting some voter turnout info from other cities around the state. So far: Cary, 20 percent; Raleigh, 16 percent; Asheville, 13 percent. The Asheville Citizen-Times noted that the 13 percent turnout there yesterday was the lowest for a city council primary in 12 years. I guess that would be considered pretty good in Greensboro.

As you can tell, I'm working up to a good editorial scolding. What would you add? How would you explain the low voter participation? How can it be improved?

Addendum

There are some lousy voter turnout numbers for other cities, too:

Fayetteville, 7 percent; Durham, 10 percent; Charlotte (Sept. 11 primary), 5 percent.

One more: Wilmington, 22 percent.

Wilmington is a different story because it held its election yesterday, rather than a primary. However, it appears there will be a runoff for a couple of council seats on Nov. 6.

Should Greensboro rely on pricing, instead of policing, to curb water use during a drought?

We'd like to use some responses in our Ideas section next Sunday.

The New York Times reports today about a Saudi-born North Carolina man whose blog extols jihad and the al-Qaida message.

An exercise of free speech, or inciting violence?

For now we'll take the former view of 21-year-old Samir Khan, a U.S. resident since he was 7 who seems to hate America. Unless his hatred turns into criminal action, he's simply taking advantage of the liberties that this country protects.

At the same time, perhaps his extreme views should make him a person of interest to the FBI.

What do you think?

Addendum: Interesting reading about this at The Jawa Report.

Gov. Mike Easley Monday urged municipal leaders to push harder for water conservation.

Should he do more?

"'State law gives me emergency powers to take action, even ordering rationing, if there is a threat to life and property," Easley told a gathering of the N.C. League of Municipalities. "'Now, I do not want to have to use these powers. As leaders of your communities, you know what works best at the local level. I am asking for your help. Your communities, businesses and neighbors need you to help make the tough choices today to avoid a crisis in the weeks or months to come."

Is Easley too timid? Is it time for mandatory statewide restrictions? Do local-only restrictions force some North Carolinians to make greater sacrifices than others? Or should local conditions dictate responses?

If some areas do virtually run out of water, can they rely on other water systems for help? If that's an option, shouldn't even those localities that aren't under a dire threat also begin serious mandatory conservation efforts now, in case their excess supplies are needed later?

Here is our planned schedule of endorsements for the general election. It is, of course, subject to modification if major news breaks.

Oct. 22: District 1
Oct. 23: District 2
Oct. 24: District 3
Oct. 25: District 4
Oct. 26: District 5
Oct. 27: At-large
Oct. 28: Mayor

If you miss any of these endorsements (and we know you're anxiously marking your calendars now), they'll all be archived here on our Web site.

Also, the deadline for election-related letters is noon on Wednesday.

This week's question is actually two questions.

Do you think older drivers should be required to take a driving test? If so, at what age?

Several weeks ago we wrote an editorial on the topic of older drivers which drew a fair amount of response. The issue came back into the news recently when a 78-year-old woman entered I-40/85 on an exit ramp in Burlington and drove the wrong way. A tractor-trailer operator crashed his vehicle into a wall trying to avoid her. Fortunately, neither party was seriously injured.

Would mandatory annual driving tests for seniors cut down on such incidents? If so, at what age would they begin? Or is it discriminatory to suggest older drivers be targeted for testing? After all, not too long ago a 16-year-old learner's-permit driver applied the gas instead of the brake and ended up ramming a car into the Chili's on New Garden.

Tell us what you think.

Feel free to comment on Anthony Piraino's latest take on a local issue.

With the Nov. 6 election right around the corner we thought we would ask:

Will you vote Nov. 6? Why or why not?

In Sunday's Ideas section we will run a column from Elon business professor David Noer on the Top 10 wrong reasons not to vote. We will also run your responses to our question.

While we want to hear from Greensboro voters, we'd also like to hear from those outside the city. What issues or races draw you to the polls? Are you a person who thinks voting is a civic duty? If so, do you try to persuade others to vote?

If you aren't voting, why have you decided not to? Do you only vote in certain elections? If so, why?

Please post your thoughts by noon Wednesday. And encourage others to post their thoughts too.