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Tuesday's lead editorial.

The state leader of a well-known gang stepped forward Monday morning and said he wanted to give peace a chance.

Flanked by fellow gang members and his two young daughters, ages 10 and 5, Jorge Cornell, 31, “Inca” of the Latin Kings in North Carolina, said he was reaching out to rival gangs such as the Bloods and the Crips, and that he was heartened by the response.

“The peace is already starting,” he said, wearing a yellow Latin Kings T-shirt and a pair of tattooed tear drops under his left eye.

It was a powerful moment. And it was a hopeful, utterly surprising development. Should we believe him?

We should certainly want to believe him. While still far from levels elsewhere in the country, gang activity is growing in North Carolina. If communities don’t take urgent steps now, it could become much worse.

The proof will come in the actions that follow Cornell’s words, spoken during a news conference at Faith Community Church. Cornell said he wanted to sit down with other gang members. And he reached out to church leaders in the black community. That in itself is a promising start.
He also called on the media to “get the word out so we can preach peace.”

Less clear was Cornell’s explanation as to why he was calling for peace now. He cited what he alleged was a warrantless arrest by Greensboro police and what he suggested is persecution of the entire Latino community for the misdeeds of a few. And, while he may have called for the truce among gangs, it would have been even more encouraging if he also had called for an end to all gang crime and violence in the community.

Ironically, on the very same morning as the news conference, “a validated member of the Latin Kings” was featured in the News & Record’s weekly feature, “Guilford’s County’s Most Wanted.” He has been charged with attempted murder.

Still, this small step toward progress could be a very important one. And even if that peace begins with rival gangs not battling one another, it’s not insignificant. Some of the highest-profile gang violence has involved innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire. In 2007, a 13-year-old girl was fatally shot during a birthday party in Salisbury. Only months ago, a spate of drive-by shootings into Greensboro houses were traced to rival gangs.

Some of us, meanwhile, may question the involvement of the Rev. Nelson Johnson in Monday’s announcement. After all, Johnson is no stranger to controversy, especially as it pertains to the Nov. 3, 1979, Klan-Nazi shootings in Morningside Homes and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission formed four years ago to revisit that event.

But that was then and this is now. We have called for the local faith community to be an active part of the gang solution. That’s what Johnson and a fellow clergyman, the Rev. Gregory Headen, appear to be doing.

If they can make a helpful difference, more power to them.

Tuesday's No. 2 editorial.

There was no day of rest from politics in the state capital Sunday.

Legislative budget negotiators met from morning till night, and even the governor got worked up. That doesn’t happen often, but Mike Easley decided he wouldn’t be ignored this time.
“I want to be clear,” the governor said in a statement. “The budget must be balanced and have the right priorities for me to sign it.”

Deliberations continued Monday in hopes of passing a budget before today’s start of the new fiscal year. Chances of success were slim.

Easley hammered at two problems: Legislators were counting on more tax revenue than the state is likely to collect over the next 12 months; and they weren’t allocating enough money for teachers’ pay raises or preschool programs.

The governor was right to insist legislators deal with pessimistic revenue forecasts. If anything, budget writers should count on even less in case the state’s economy performs worse than expected. Easley correctly noted that the N.C. Constitution requires a balanced budget, and he must not accept a deficit. But that makes it harder for him to demand more spending, even for his favorite causes. The governor opposes proposed tax cuts, but those are modest, and the tax increases he sought were rejected by the legislature and won’t come back.

The best option is for legislative bargainers to drop their tax cuts and bump up preschool funding and teacher pay raises a little but nowhere near as much as Easley wants. Everyone has to give up something these days.

The governor weighed in at a critical time in the debate. He also helped bring the discussion out of the closed meeting rooms where legislators prefer to operate. But now, with a new fiscal year begun, it’s time for a compromise. Then everyone can rest.

Wednesday's lead editorial.

Here’s one prescription for what ails the local economy: a Triad pharmacy school.
Both UNCG and High Point University are exploring that possibility and both can make potent cases for their causes.

School officials at HPU already have seen an initial feasibility study. The school also is exploring a nursing program, among other health-related options for professional schools.
For its part, UNCG has submitted a formal proposal to the UNC system and has received letters of support from Moses Cone Health System and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, which also would provide vital clinical internships.

Now, before anyone presumes that these two schools’ pursuit of the same goal means another heated tiff between High Point and Greensboro, plainly and simply, it does not. This news should be viewed not as a competition but as an opportunity to double the chances for success. If either bid is realized, Guilford County would become home to only the fourth pharmacy school in the state. The oldest and most prestigious, at UNC-Chapel Hill, was begun in 1897 and is ranked as high as second in the nation. Campbell and Wingate universities also have established pharmacy schools.

As for the Triad school, wherever it went, it would be a good thing. Pharmacists can earn as much as $125,000 — plus healthy bonuses — fresh out of school and there’s a staggering demand for their services. A pharmacy school also would enhance the academic profile of any institution fortunate enough and able to establish one.

The research potential is enormous. UNC-Chapel Hill in 2007 started a Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery to search for chemical compounds that can treat defective genes. The pharmacy school there is partnering in that effort with UNC’s chemistry department, medical school and Lineberger Cancer Center. There’s no reason similar initiatives couldn’t take root here.

But what’s in it for the rest of us, who are neither connected to the schools nor in the market for a pharmacy degree?

Schools of pharmacy can attract businesses, especially health-related industries. In addition, the Triad’s image would benefit significantly from another professional school that trains skilled, highly paid workers, especially in a health-related field.

Meanwhile, UNCG and High Point University each is uniquely poised for this kind of quantum leap. Under the charismatic leadership of its president, Nido Qubein, HPU has undergone a spiritual and physical transformation and has raised record amounts of money. With an impressive new chancellor, Linda Brady, set to succeed Patricia Sullivan in August, UNCG already is establishing research campuses with N.C. A&T, including a Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering.

In other words, if either institution should win this opportunity, we’ll all win. Best wishes to them both.

Wednesday's No. 2 editorial.

If first lady Mary Easley’s two trips abroad at taxpayers’ expense were anything but junkets, they should have been publicly announced.

Neither her 2007 travels to France nor a spring visit to Russia and Estonia were disclosed at the time. Only after The News & Observer of Raleigh filed a public records request were they acknowledged.

Considered “cultural exchanges,” the goal of the trips supposedly was to build links with other countries. The rationale is that official visits help to attract major showings like the highly successful 2006-07 Monet exhibit at the N.C. Museum of Art.

But a convincing case has yet to be made that such iffy deals always should be consummated on foreign turf. And, so far, the first lady’s travels haven’t produced a single tangible result.
The revelation comes days after learning the costs of an April trip the Easleys and about a dozen officials took to Italy promoting the state as a tourist destination and business location.
All three trips share one thing in common: going first-class when less extravagant would have sufficed nicely. The bottom line for Mrs. Easley’s trips is $109,000. The final tally on the governor’s spring Italian tour comes to more than $170,000.

Unfortunately, whatever influence Mary Easley may have banked toward procuring traveling art exhibits for the state will have vanished by the time the next governor is sworn in.
Easley’s status as a lame duck not seeking office and the ill-chosen timing make the family trips appear to be last-minute plays for free vacations.

The late-term jaunts must be particularly galling to hard-working Tar Heels who canceled beach getaways because they can’t afford to buy gasoline.

To them, the pricey family travels must look like bold parting shots before the moving vans roll up in January.

Thursday's lead editorial.

The new partnership between N.C. A&T and GTCC isn’t only logical, it’s necessary.
Not to mention a great example of approaching problems from a One Guilford perspective.
Stanley Battle, chancellor at A&T for a year now, began his tenure by emphasizing academic quality. For years, A&T had been increasing enrollment by accepting a high proportion of applicants. But retention and graduation rates were low. It didn’t make sense to enroll more students who were likely to drop out. Battle said it was time to value quality over quantity.
Subsequently, the university raised admission standards, effective this fall, and developed an aggressive scholarship program designed to attract stronger applicants. One consequence: Students who in the past might be welcomed at A&T now would be left out.

But not without another chance. Last September, Battle told A&T’s student newspaper those students could attend a community college, complete a two-year program and come back to A&T.

Now that vision has been incorporated into an agreement with GTCC. The community college will accept students who just miss the cut at A&T and put them through a two-year associate’s degree course. If they make it, they’ll be guaranteed a place at A&T and an opportunity to begin halfway to a four-year degree.

More importantly, they’ll be much better prepared to succeed than they would have been straight out of high school.

The deeper issue has to do with a K-12 system of education that loses too many students before high school graduation and hands diplomas to others who are unready to meet the demands of work or higher education. A&T and GTCC are moving to address some of the problems, joining with Guilford County Schools in a Cosby Kids initiative aimed at improving the reading, math and science skills of black and Hispanic children in grades four, six and eight. Eventually, that effort should yield more students who are properly equipped to step directly from high school to university campuses.

One institution can’t tackle these challenges alone. Problems have to be addressed at many levels but with a common purpose.

That objective is to give young people the skills to thrive in a changing economic environment. A more capable work force, in turn, will attract companies that create good jobs. All of Guilford County’s educational institutions can contribute, and among them they have plenty of assets. They just have to make best use of them.

The new agreement between A&T and GTCC recognizes that more high school graduates must have access to higher education but also must meet higher standards. Those who can’t get through the door at A&T immediately might just need additional time and another means of entry. GTCC can give it to them. The collaboration will be good for students, good for A&T and GTCC, and good for Guilford County.

Thursday's No. 2 editorial.

All some homeowners need is just a little more time to forestall credit-ruining foreclosures. A reprieve benefits both them and the banks because refinancing is better than repossession.
Legislation being debated in the General Assembly and backed by Gov. Mike Easley could help stabilize a shaky housing market by buying time.

Eligible borrowers would get 45 days’ notice before mortgage holders initiate foreclosure proceedings. And the state banking commissioner could issue another delay of up to 30 days.
That may not seem like much, but it can keep the wolves at bay while home­owners use welcome breathing room to renegotiate their ballooning, and often confusing, subprime loans.

Despite faring better than hard-hit states like Florida and California, North Carolina still has experienced hundreds of foreclosures. In 2007, almost 50,000 were reported in the state, up 9 percent from the previous year.

Particularly at risk are home buyers chafing under adjustable subprime mortgage rates offered between 2005 and 2007. Tough lending rules approved last session were too late to protect many of those borrowers from possibly losing homes.

Equally important, $1 million is earmarked statewide to counsel home­owners facing eviction. In the past, such timely financial-planning advice might have helped evicted families stay in their homes.

There’s a limit, however, to what the states can do. Members of Congress and the Bush administration must end the partisan bickering and come up with a fair, workable plan that addresses mortgage inequities. Inadequate and outdated oversight of financial institutions by federal watchdog agencies bears much of the blame for the nation’s housing woes.

For now, the state is right on target by extending a helping hand.

Friday's lead editorial.

“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor” — the Declaration of Independence.

The hallmark of patriotism in 1776, and for many years after, was the willingness to offer any sacrifice, risk any danger and endure any hardship for one’s country.

Those who signed the great statement of separation were true to their words. Every one made himself a target for British retribution, and many of them paid a high price for their nation’s independence. They didn’t just send young men off to fight in a distant war; they lived and worked on the front lines: In 1777, the enemy captured Philadelphia. Later, Thomas Jefferson himself narrowly escaped British dragoons in Virginia. They might have hanged him. Ordinary Americans, too, whether engaged in the fighting or not, found themselves caught in the death, destruction and deprivations of war.

U.S. military men and women serving their country today in difficult wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are the equal of any patriots of the past. They and their families make immense sacrifices to answer the call of duty. Not all Americans, however, have experienced much hardship. Civilians haven’t been asked to support the war effort with even minor lifestyle changes, and the cost just adds to the national debt for future generations to pay.

Other challenges, though, might force adjustments in how we live. Rising energy costs will restrict how and where Americans get around and maybe what goods they can buy. North Carolinians already know they might have to use less water in the future — even the immediate future. Businesses are trying to do more with less, and it’s time for governments to implement greater efficiencies, too. In fact, just as Americans shouldn’t continually ask for additional tax cuts at a time when war costs mount, neither should they always expect more unearned benefits from their government.

The nation launched 232 years ago is still the greatest in history, but the heirs of liberty too easily take for granted the gifts they’ve inherited. Every few generations, Americans have been required to sacrifice for a cause larger than themselves.

The time has come again. Will this generation leave its successors a country that is more secure, energy independent, environmentally healthy, prosperous and free? If so, much needs to be done soon, and it won’t be easy. It could be called a matter of life, fortune and sacred honor.

Those words counted for everything in 1776. They still should matter on this and every Independenc

Friday's No. 2 editorial.

July Fourth without fireworks would be like New Year’s Eve without the ball dropping in Times Square. An essential part of the celebration wouldn’t be there.

But what wouldn’t be missed are fireworks injuries. If this year is like last, some 9,000-plus Americans will be injured by fireworks, most this holiday weekend.

A good portion of these injuries could be prevented if parents better supervised their kids. Children between the ages of 10 and 14 are the ones most often injured by fireworks, with those under 20 sustaining about half of all such injuries.

North Carolina parents have it easier than their South Carolina counterparts, where more dangerous fireworks are sold. Our state bans the use and possession of devices that explode or travel. Still, it’s a given that devices from south of the border will be around town, and parents should watch for children being exposed to them.

Sparklers are the fallback choice of many parents, as they are looked at as a way to give children a safe thrill. But sparklers come with their own hazards. They burn at temperatures up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit and can do damage to fingers and exposed toes. They also can ignite clothing. They cause the largest percentage of fireworks injuries in children 14 and younger.

Safety groups recommend that children 5 and younger not use sparklers. Children who do use them need to be taught some common-sense rules: Don’t hold more than one sparkler at a time; don’t wave them or run with them; hold them away from the body and stand while using them.

State law wisely bans children under 16 from purchasing fireworks. Adults should supervise the use of fireworks by all who can’t legally buy them. Boys especially should be watched, as males suffer more than 75 percent of fireworks injuries.

A trip tonight to Grimsley High School to see the professional fireworks might be the best way to keep kids safe — and to divert attention from amateur pyrotechnics.

Saturday's No. 1 editorial.

One of the most memorable and iconic figures in North Carolina history — for better and for worse — is gone.

Following years of declining health, former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, a pillar of the Republicans’ rise in the South and a force in Washington for decades, died Friday morning, on Independence Day, at age 86.

He was a potent voice for conservatism who became unbeatable over the years, staving off serious challenges for his seat from former Gov. Jim Hunt and former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt en route to 30 consecutive years in the Senate.

He also was a consummate battler, a scorched-earth campaigner whose words and views could be caustic and divisive.

From his early days as a broadcast editorialist on WRAL (Channel 5) in Raleigh, he was a champion of segregation, a view for which he never expressed remorse.

During two campaigns against Gantt, an African American, in 1990 and 1996, he was far from subtle in his use of racial fears as a tactic. During the 1990 race, a famous Helms commercial showed a white fist crumpling a job application. “You needed that job,” the words flashed on the screen, “ ... but they had to give it to a minority.”

When Helms said no, he meant it. He disdained liberalism and arms-control treaties and viewed foreign policy with a hard edge and an unwavering contempt for communism.

At the same time, he was a Southern gentleman who was known for his personal grace and charm. His office had a reputation for being responsive to constituents and he kept close tabs on the home front. When this newspaper ran letters to the editor with which he took issue, it wasn’t unusual for Helms’ office to call.

Yet Helms was willing to rethink some of his views, especially as he grew older. He was a relentless critic of the United Nations, which he viewed as useless and irrelevant. But he later agreed to measures to repay delinquent debt to the U.N. Helms also changed his views toward AIDS, teaming with, of all people, rock star Bono to support greater U.S. funding to battle the epidemic in Africa.

When Helms chose to not to seek re-election in 2002, the outpouring of warm sentiment bothered some critics, who believed those tributes glossed over Helms’ less-admirable qualities, especially his unenlightened views on race. “The reporting on his retirement was circumspect to the point of pussyfooting,” fumed Washington Post columnist David Broder.
That said, Helms battled with Democrats and some Republicans alike, and even some of his staunchest critics grudgingly admired his blistering candor.

There was a brand of honesty in Helms’ politics that’s especially hard to find today. But shooting straight doesn’t count for a lot if you’re aiming at the wrong target. So, even though we always knew where Jesse stood, too often it was in the wrong places.

Saturday's No. 2 editorial.

Street drag racing is fine if the speeding cars stay on the movie screen. But it’s a different story if they’re rocketing toward the family minivan at 120 mph on a dimly lit two-lane road.

The sentencing last week of three Triad men for prearranged drag racing on U.S. 311 in Forsyth County conjures up visions of rowdy speed epics that for years have filled theater seats.

But it also comes just months after an illegal drag race in Maryland turned deadly when another car plowed into and killed eight spectators gathered at night on a darkened highway.

For generations, street drag racing — spontaneous or prearranged — has been a part of the nation’s car-crazy culture. And Hollywood has done its dubious part by glamorizing it with sagas like “Rebel Without a Cause” and “The Fast and the Furious.” Along with movies and a host of video games, the Internet now is loaded with clips of illegal and impromptu races.

The March incident in Forsyth County easily could have ended in tragedy. A deputy sheriff said the onrushing racers narrowly missed a car with two elderly occupants that had slipped through a racers’ dragnet to shut down the road.

As part of a plea-bargain, three participants received license suspensions and steep fines. Two had their tricked-out cars confiscated. Had they tried to flee, jail time would have been likely.
One of the vehicles will be used as a mobile warning to other would-be racers. A good idea, but timely tips from the public would be even more helpful. Races don’t happen in a vacuum. Often, hundreds of noisy spectators plan to show up in the wee hours.

An even better idea is moving the racers and their cars from street to track. Race-sanctioning groups regularly hold events for modified vehicles.

Going fast isn’t the issue. Finding a safe place to do it is.

What is your reaction to a local gang leader’s call for peace last week? Do you believe him? Will it make a difference?

Sunday's editorial.

If reporter Morgan Josey Glover’s “Peak Prospects” series wasn’t enough of a wake-up call concerning America’s shaky future with oil, take a look at what happened when Hurricane Katrina affected energy supplies in North Carolina.

Similar disruptions could occur during “peak oil,” the time when global demand for petroleum products exceeds supply, creating higher prices, shortages and other instability. Many energy experts think we are already, or will soon be, at peak oil.

Katrina and North Carolina
Much of the Southeast may have been days away from paralysis because of Katrina’s effect on energy infrastructure. The 2005 hurricane shut down the power to the two pipelines from the Gulf Coast that supply most of the motor fuel to the region.

Here is a little of what happened in North Carolina from just a few days’ disruption:

-- Gas stations in western North Carolina had trouble getting supplies. More than 60 percent of Buncombe County’s stations ran out of fuel.

-- School athletic events were canceled, with many districts considering a four-day school week.

-- Some local government vehicles began filling up at private service stations in order to preserve their supply.

-- The state ferry system cut back on trips and the state DOT went to a shortened work week.
Lessons learned

The disruptions prompted the state’s energy office to take a look at developing better emergency response plans. The state realized from the disruption, for example, that fuel storage capacity for the DOT was insufficient. It also realized it needed a way to move fuel around the state in emergencies, and so purchased a fuel tanker truck.

The crisis especially showed the vulnerabilities of local governments. Most local governments in North Carolina rely on “just-in-time fuel delivery,” a big problem in such a crisis. Some turned to the state for emergency fuel but found they had a lower priority than the state agencies. A study also found that public transit systems generally were not prepared: More people were riding public transit, yet fuel for those vehicles was running low.

Energy crisis preparation lacking
These details are provided in the report “Fuel Price, Availability and Mobility: What We Can Learn from North Carolina in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Oil Shocks of the 1970s and early 1980s” by Kathy Leotta of the Seattle office of Parsons Brinckerhoff. It should be mandatory reading for local government officials in our state. So should the report “Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty” by Daniel Lerch of the Post Carbon Institute. Both studies would help local governments start preparing for the volatilities associated with a declining resource.

Most public agencies haven’t made any peak oil plans. Few U.S. cities have planned how to handle disruptions that may come about because of fuel shortages. Few have looked at how to stay economically healthy when the price of petroleum products remains high.

Some think it’s alarmist to make such plans. Others argue that more drilling or alternative technology will fix the problem. But these stands are naive.

Oil resources are finite, and, even if drilling does occur, new fields will take years to get online. Even the International Energy Agency warns that, long term, the global demand for oil looks to be outpacing supply.

Production of an affordable, mass-produced alternatively powered vehicle isn’t a given and can’t be accomplished quickly. We will still face years of energy volatility even if more areas are opened for drilling and an alternatively powered car becomes viable.

Local, regional action needed
Greensboro is taking a step in the right direction by allowing a briefing on peak oil to the City Council. The city’s environmental committee then needs to put peak oil preparation front and center. A good place to start would be to contact Portland’s peak oil task force. It produced an extensive report for the way its city can best weather the problems peak oil will cause, examining issues such as planning, transportation and agriculture.

It also would be good for the Triad as a whole to examine the long-term impacts of this oncoming change. Prohibitive fuel costs endanger global supply chains. Many think that energy disruptions will out of necessity lead to more self-sufficient, localized economies (see H3 op-ed, “Gas prices bring relocalization”).

Some areas already have started planning how to adapt to such a future. A 2006 study by the Philadelphia-area Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, “A Post-Global Economic Development Strategy,” shows that region looking at ways to benefit from a more localized world. It argues for developing “eco-industry clusters” and for “eco-branding” the region as a model for sustainability.

Peak oil is not an issue of the left or of the right. We must put old divisions behind us and unite to find new ways to address the energy challenges we face. We must all be open to looking at new ideas. Environmentalists might have to rethink their stands against drilling and nuclear energy. Conservatives may have to realize that government functions such as public transit are necessities. One thing is clear: Fifty years from now, the healthiest communities won’t be the ones that argued. They will be the ones that planned.

More money but less travel?
The hubbub over Mary Easley’s expensive European travels hadn’t begun to subside last week when news arrived of her 88 percent pay raise at N.C. State. North Carolina’s first lady, an “executive in residence and senior lecturer” in the provost’s office, was given more responsibilities and bumped up from $90,000 to $170,000 a year on July 1.

Her “commitment to public service” was mentioned by State’s chief academic officer as one asset she brings to the position. That sounds like another way of saying “governor’s wife.”
On the bright side: The bigger job in Raleigh might keep Mrs. Easley from traveling so much.
Governor also gets some love

Although the Easleys were taking their lumps in the North Carolina media last week, the governor did get a lift from the National Education Association. The teachers’ organization gave him its “America’s Greatest Education Governor Award” at its annual meeting in Washington for his “achievements in transforming public education in North Carolina.” It cited Easley’s promotion of programs like More at Four and Learn and Earn.

The “transformation” isn’t so obvious here, but Easley has worked hard to secure more funding — primarily through the creation of a state lottery — for preschool programs, college opportunities and school construction. And, as the NEA surely has noticed, he’s pushed for higher teacher salaries.

The governor had a rough week, so it was nice for him that he could close it with a few cheers. And favorable publicity about public education in North Carolina, whether entirely deserved or not, is never a bad thing.

Satan, sex and assault?
In a bizarre case in Durham, a husband and wife have been arrested following allegations of satanic rituals, kidnapping and sexual assault.

The plot thickens. The wife, Joy Suzanne Johnson, 30, just happens to be a former third vice chairwoman of the Durham County Democratic Party and vice chairwoman of the Young Democrats there.

Among the couple’s alleged actions: imprisoning a man in a dog cage for hours and depriving him of food and water.

Despite some predictable sneers on the blogosphere, however, the Durham community at large seems to be withholding judgment.

This looks bad, but Durham learned the hard way not to leap to conclusions.

Leave the driving to us
Crank up the PART buses and they will come. Well, maybe in time.
The Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation’s new commuter routes linking Randolph and Davidson counties with Greensboro and Winston-Salem got off to a slow start last week.
PART officials, however, are confident that once word spreads and park-and-ride lots are finished, the routes will be as popular as the Surry Express run between Mount Airy and Winston-Salem. Scheduled stops at shopping centers, hospitals, schools and downtown should attract a wide audience. There may not be a savings in time, but PART’s reasonable fares beat filling the family SUV at $4 a gallon.

No-parking zones
Telling people what to do on private property is a touchy issue. Remember that infamous purple house in Westerwood?

Now, in Winston-Salem, they’re fighting over whether residents should be allowed to park cars in their yards. Community standards versus individual rights, Round 3,485. The Winston-Salem City Council will discuss an ordinance tonight.

Some neighborhoods can be downright persnickety about rules. Still, lawns do seem to be better suit

Tuesday's lead editorial.

As the summer sun cooks the red Carolina clay and the air grows thick and unbearable, here are some cold facts to consider: North Carolina ranks No. 1 in the nation in heat-related crop worker deaths — deadlier even than Florida and California — according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released June 19.

The report mentions, as a case study, the death of a 56-year-old worker who fell ill in 2005 while harvesting tobacco in North Carolina. His core body temperature had reached 108 degrees before he died.

Crop workers, as a group, are particularly vulnerable to heat stroke. Nationally, the vast majority of heat-related deaths involves construction workers, the CDC reports. Even so, crop workers, per capita, are 20 times more likely to die from heat stress than others. Many are migrant workers who are unaccustomed to the heat and humidity and who typically spend more time in the fields during the hottest months of the year.

The most susceptible workers tend to be older. Language barriers also may play a role. From 2003 to 2006, the CDC found, 71 percent of the crop workers who died nationwide were Latino. The worker who died here in 2005 spoke only Spanish.

Finally, the demands of harvesting tobacco hardly help. Even in oppressive heat, workers routinely wear long-sleeved clothing as protection from pesticides and tobacco-borne sicknesses.

The issue ought to be addressed as Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry, a Republican, and her Democratic challenger, Mary Fant Donnan, make their cases to voters in an election year. For now, the state is pushing efforts to raise awareness with a newsletter and a bilingual DVD.
That’s a start. The North Carolina worker who died in 2005 had received training in handling pesticides, but none in coping with the heat.

The state Labor Department followed up last week with a well-timed public service announcement. July is the deadliest month for heat illnesses.

Federal labor regulations, meanwhile, make no provisions for heat safety and only two states — California and Washington — have adopted heat-related workplace safety rules. Berry’s office favors awareness over new rules in North Carolina. “Commissioner Berry definitely is not interested in new regulations,” a spokeswoman said last week. She will need to rethink that position if the problem persists.

Still, there’s reason to hope the CDC report has special resonance here, not only because of what it has to say, but because of who says it. One of its co-authors is Regina Luginbuhl, head of the Agricultural Safety and Health Bureau. In North Carolina.

Tuesday's No. 2 editorial.

Cross-burning and displaying nooses to intimidate minorities aren’t just vile acts relegated to history books. They can and do happen.

A bill approved by the state Senate would raise to felony status the existing penalty for carrying out such threats. The proposed longer prison stays ought to convince potential violators that these aren’t childish pranks.

But, while intimidators must be punished, free speech can’t be stifled. And that inevitably comes down to intent.

If robed Klansmen burn crosses and spew hate-filled rhetoric, there’s little doubt as to their motives.

But the message wasn’t as precise when a toy action figure with a string tied around its neck was found this spring in a classroom at Appalachian State University.

The arrests last year of six African American students in Jena, La., for assaulting a white student after nooses were found on a high school campus led to dozens of copycat incidents nationwide. When that happens, the motivation can be purely self-serving.

In the end, the courts must determine if the intent was to harm or the act was merely a misguided bid for attention. Clearly, there will be dicey exceptions to a worthwhile law. The stakes will be much higher for a felony.

Yet the crux of the matter remains intimidation. And, as communities change, so does the victim profile. Religion, nationality or country of origin can be as much of a factor as race.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Doug Berger, D-Franklin, targets those who would harm people just because they look or sound different. Together with state and federal hate-crime laws, Berger’s bill can make a difference.

Passed in the Senate by a 47-3 margin, it now goes to the House. But, before approving it, members should take time to address those lingering First Amendment concerns.

Wednesday's lead editorial.

North Carolina’s most spectacular and unspoiled natural habitat doesn’t get many visitors. It’s so remote that most people would never notice if harm came to it.

That’s exactly why it deserves strong protection before it’s too late.

The Lophelia banks lie in deep North Carolina coastal waters, part of a chain of coral formations stretching from New England to the Florida keys. Only scientists in specially designed submersibles have seen them, but their findings portray an immensely rich ecosystem teeming with life but also extremely vulnerable to human disturbance.

The South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council already recommends designating the Lophelia banks an area of concern, but there are calls for stronger steps. Last week, Sen. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina asked President Bush to declare the area a marine national monument. Immediately, the subject turned into a political issue. Her opponent for the Senate seat, Kay Hagan of Greensboro, claimed Dole was undermining her own position after earlier proposing a measure that could lead to offshore drilling for oil and natural gas.

“Elizabeth Dole wants President Bush to protect the same coral reefs she wants to drill into for more oil — that is completely hypocritical,” a Hagan news release said.

It’s not that bad. Designation as a marine natural monument would safeguard the coral formations from drilling. An energy bill co-sponsored by Dole would allow states to petition the U.S. Department of the Interior for permission to lease offshore fields for oil and gas exploitation. Proximity to fragile coral systems should give the government ample reason to say no.

There’s a more pressing danger, according to a recent report to Congress by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): “Disturbances to deep-sea coral communities from bottom-tending fishing gear, especially bottom trawl gear, are the best documented and pose the most widespread threat.” Energy exploration and development and laying of cables and pipelines are listed as other harmful activities.

One of the strongest arguments against offshore oil drilling rises from concern for the state’s fishing industry. But some fishing practices aren’t compatible with preservation of undersea resources. If it’s imperative to protect deep-sea corals from one threat, it’s imperative to protect them from all.

NOAA notes that “significant gaps in knowledge about deep-sea corals remain, including the location of many deep-sea coral assemblages and most aspects of their biology and ecology.” It proposes more funding for research and further steps toward preservation. These are sensible precautions.

Out of sight doesn’t justify out of mind for barely discovered natural treasures that play a still poorly understood role in the health of our oceans. Mistakes made out of ignorance might have costly consequences.

Wednesday's No. 2 editorial.

As state Attorney General Roy Cooper sees it, “People with severe mental illnesses should not be able to purchase a gun. It’s as simple as that.”

Now, state law doesn’t prevent individuals committed involuntarily for mental health treatment or evaluation from buying them.

Legislation in the General Assembly would close that loophole by entering into a national databank the names of people ordered by state courts to get such care. As a result, they no longer could legally buy handguns in North Carolina and several other states.

The push to tighten gun ownership rules comes in the aftermath of the April 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech, which claimed the lives of 32 students and faculty members.

The shooter, student Seung-Hui Cho, had been involuntarily committed to a mental health facility but his name never was entered in the national “don’t buy” registry. He later purchased the two weapons used in the bloodbath.

That glaring omission has led to change. In Virginia, Gov. Tim Kaine signed an executive order closing the information gap, and Congress has expanded the federal database.

Cooper and bill sponsor Sen. Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, are on target addressing the problem. It’s imperative to spot potentially dangerous people and keep guns out of their hands before the violence begins.

Critics argue that the bill is too broad and could unfairly deny gun ownership to someone ordered to undergo outpatient treatment for drug or alcohol abuse. People needing help, they warn, may not seek it.

However, the law allows for appeals by petitioning state courts to remove names. If it proves too cumbersome, the process always can be revised.

But as Cooper contends, no one has yet to make a convincing argument that someone involuntarily committed for mental troubles is entitled to purchase a handgun.

Future tragedies can be averted by reasonable preventive measures. Closing purchase loopholes is a start.

A special report on the racial achievement gap in Guilford County Schools reveals a major crisis among black male students. This is not acceptable.

A new “comprehensive study” of the Educational Conditions and Academic Performance of Male African American Students in Guilford County public schools spans 67 pages and contains nearly as many charts and graphs.

But it only takes two words to sum up Guilford’s progress in closing the racial achievement gap: Not much.

Small wonder why.

Black male students are more likely to be suspended or expelled for disciplinary reasons than any other demographic group. Even though school suspensions decreased overall, African American students accounted for the vast majority of suspensions of 10 days or fewer (71.5 percent), with black males comprising 49.4 percent.

There is more bad news:

Black males are more likely than their white counterparts to come from low-income homes.
They are more prone to suffer from learning or behavioral disabilities.

They tend to repeat elementary, middle school and high school grades at higher rates.

They are least likely to do assigned homework.

They are twice as likely to drop out of high school as white male students.

The sobering news came on June 23 at a special meeting of the Board of Education.

It is a sensitive, difficult subject to discuss, falling, as it does, at the troubling intersection of race, class and gender. But wishing won’t make it go away and, when the school revisits the issue and discusses possible remedies later this summer, it should do so with a sense of urgency.

Some thoughts the board should bear in mind:

l Think comprehensively. This is a complex challenge that won’t be solved by a single program or initiative.

l Seek partnerships. The entire community needs to own the solution to this problem because, like it or not, it owns the consequences, namely higher crime, crowded jails and prisons, low-skilled labor and greater social-service burdens, among others.

l Invite and empower parents to team with the schools to help keep their children more engaged in, and accountable for, their school work.

l Give teachers the training and support to better connect to these students.

l Recruit stronger and more experienced teachers at schools with high-poverty enrollments.

l Explore more alternative school settings such as middle high schools and even single-gender schools, as suggested by school board member Amos Quick.

l Redouble efforts to recruit more black male role models as tutors and volunteers.

And make certain the new superintendent sees this as the crisis it is, and as a major priority when he or she arrives.

Make clear to the new superintendent that we’ve talked plenty about achievement gap and that it’s time now for tangible actions. And measurable results.

An indoor competitive swim facility may or may not make it to a referendum ballot in November. People should tell City Council what to do.

People with opinions about city bond proposals should dive in at next week’s public hearing. They can make a big splash.

The City Council created waves Monday by voting to include an indoor competitive swim facility in a $20 million parks and recreation bond. The decision, by a 5-4 margin, followed a sometimes-acrimonious debate that highlighted a faulty process of bringing projects to a referendum. It became apparent that some proposals had been thrown together too quickly with little guidance from the city’s elected leaders. Led by Mike Barber, five council members ordered a significant change Monday — but another shift is possible next week, depending on what’s said at the public hearing.

The swim facility appeared on the ballot in November 2006 but was rejected by 59 percent of city voters. The stated cost then was $9 million. Now it would be millions more, maybe twice as much — enough to crowd out almost all other projects initially included on this year’s proposed $20 million parks and recreation bond slate.

Barber pushed Monday for giving the pool another chance, along with the bid for extensive renovations at War Memorial Auditorium. Voters shot down $36 million in auditorium bonds in 2006; now the request is for $50 million. Barber contends Greensboro can gain major state and regional swim meets with a first-rate facility where competitions can’t be canceled by thunderstorms. Such a venue would be a plum for the city and allow other recreation and water-safety activities for children and adults. Proponents offered similar arguments in 2006.

The same objections will be voiced, too, only more vociferously. In a difficult economy, the case for funding items not deemed necessities becomes difficult. Guilford County voters rejected $20 million in parks and recreation bonds May 6 while approving bonds for schools, GTCC and a jail.

“These things are not in the purview of what our main objectives are,” Councilwoman T. Dianne Bellamy-Small said Monday, comparing parks to police, fire and streets. She voted against adding the pool to the bond package.

So did Councilman Robbie Perkins, who said he supports the pool but not on this fall’s referendum.

With the council narrowly divided, and with little known about the details of the proposed pool — it’s not listed on the city’s six-year Capital Improvements Program — there’s opportunity for public input to turn the tide.

Pool advocates should attend the hearing at 7 p.m. Wednesday to state their case. Proponents of other parks and recreation projects should do the same. Those with other views should express them, too. Then the council should act as the people advise.

Too little consideration has been given to the pool proposal to simply pass it to a ballot without testing the waters of public opinion first. Wednesday’s hearing provides the chance for everyone interested to plunge in to the debate.

The 2008-’09 state budget has many items benefiting the Guilford area. Legislators may need to limit such spending next year if hard times continue.

The Guilford County area has a lot to like about the $21.4 billion state budget for the next fiscal year. There are many goodies tucked into the state’s annual picnic basket of appropriations.

Higher education — and university contractors — benefit the most.

• $42.7 million will be borrowed to construct a classroom building at UNCG.

• N.C. A&T gets $2 million to boost its College of Engineering and $7 million to go toward construction of a $20.49 million classroom building.

• N.C. A&T and UNCG both will benefit from $3 million for their joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering and from $1.8 million for planning for a joint data center.

Other sectors benefit as well.

The High Point furniture market, forced to compete with its counterpart in Las Vegas for buyers’ attention, will receive $1.46 million for marketing and promotion.

Probably the most needed extra our area received was the addition of new assistant district attorney positions for Guilford and Rockingham counties. That should help lighten the heavy loads these public lawyers carry.

The state also is directing more than $3 million to the N.C. Zoo to improve its polar bear exhibit and $600,000 for planning for its African exhibit. A half-million grant goes to Sit In Movement Inc., for the civil rights museum in Greensboro’s Woolworth’s. The Charlotte Hawkins Brown historical site in Sedalia receives $1 million. And $75,000 in funds goes to a John Coltrane Music Hall if the High Point Area Arts Council raises matching funds.

Even the controversial horse park in Rockingham County wasn’t left out. But it had to morph a bit to secure $2.4 million in borrowing for it. It has been combined with N.C. A&T’s request for a horse research facility.

While the state budget will benefit many in the Triad, the largesse leaves us feeling wary. With tight economic times upon us, money should be directed toward essentials, not frills.
To be fair, legislators did curb spending. The state budget grew a little more than 3 percent, a much smaller rate than in many previous years.

But state revenue this year is down $70 million from projections, and the economy doesn’t seem like it will turn around by next year.

The more prudent approach would have been to curtail spending more in order to prevent an even larger revenue gap next year. Legislators also should have shied away from nonessential borrowing, instead putting most of those projects on the ballot.

The Triad and the rest of the state’s regions better enjoy their goodies. It’s likely conditions will force legislators to be more frugal next year.

The unexplained deaths of two gibbons Wednesday was “gut-wrenching,” Natural Science Center Executive Director Glenn Dobrogosz said the next day. But the sad event won’t, and shouldn’t, end the Greensboro zoo’s plan to participate in breeding programs for the endangered Southeast Asian apes.

Dobrogosz, who personally escorted Beau and Jambi from a zoo in Syracuse, N.Y., last year, seemed devastated but determined to obtain another pair pending Species Survival Plan approval. The captive-breeding management program is operated by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), which this year granted accreditation for the Natural Science Center.

First, as much as possible about the deaths has to be learned. The animals did not regain consciousness after routine physical exams under anesthesia.

“We simply can’t find anything that went wrong,” Dobrogosz said.

“This kind of unfortunate occurrence is not unheard of,” said Steven Feldman, the AZA’s senior vice president for communications.

Two chimpanzees died under similar circumstances at the N.C. Zoo in 2005. In one instance, a 29-year-old male was found to have died of heart failure. Unfortunately, there are still significant knowledge gaps regarding the physiology of gibbons.

Beau, the male, was nearly 42, an old age. But Jambi, the female, was only 12, not quite breeding age. Her death was especially troubling and a terrible loss to the captive breeding stock.

The gibbons were popular attractions here, but breeding is a key reason for keeping these very active animals in captivity. Natural habitats — dense rain forests in Southeast Asia — are rapidly disappearing, threatening gibbons’ survival.

The Natural Science Center built a spacious habitat for gibbons and earned approval for Species Survival Plan participation. The two deaths are a bitter blow, but they should not end hopes that eventually gibbons will breed successfully in Greensboro.

A consultant’s report praises Greensboro’s department but recommends scores of possible improvements. The study should be taken seriously.

Greensboro has a very good Police Department that can do better.

So says a detailed, comprehensive and potentially very valuable study by a public-safety consulting firm presented to the City Council last week.

The headline was the recommendation by Carroll Buracker & Associates Inc. of Harrisonburg, Va., to add 79 positions to the force. But that wasn’t unexpected. Manpower has been a concern for a long time, with budget constraints preventing dramatic increases in personnel. More importantly, the consultants say better organization can make a big difference. More effective utilization of existing resources can begin right away, assuming city leaders agree to implement changes.

Lingering effects of old turmoil

The study team did a thorough job, researching records and statistics, conducting interviews, riding with officers on patrol, analyzing policies and structures, then offering scores of suggestions ranging from hiring some secretaries to changing the patrol shifts that were just put into place last year.

The consultants were keenly aware of past troubles. They noted the department has had five chiefs in the last 10 years and that, “At the time this study was initiated, neither the chief (Tim Bellamy) nor any of the four assistant chiefs had been in their position for one year. ... With such a high turnover in leadership positions, it would be difficult for any police department to sustain consistency and uniformity — two very important factors in a well-managed police agency.” They also reported hearing from officers about racial tensions and divisions, too much involvement by city management, “knee-jerk reactions” by the City Council and the need to restore public respect for the department.

Greensboro’s officers deserve respect, the consultants said, praising the high educational level of the force and the “commitment, honesty and attitudes” of its men and women. “At least 99 percent ... including the current police chief and executive staff, had nothing to do with the prior activities by a few employees that resulted in recent negative publicity.”

Crime on a slight downward path

The study asserted that Greensboro residents are safer from crime than they were in 1995, and that crime rates for 2005, 2006 and 2007 “reflect a slightly downward trend.” The consultants credited the department for a clearance rate higher than the national average but noted a decline in arrests in 2006 and 2007 except for a sharp increase in juvenile arrests last year — for reasons unclear.

Despite the positive findings, Carroll Buracker found plenty of room for improvements. It pronounced the five-days-on, four-off fixed-shift schedule for patrol squads a failure and recommended abolishing it. The system, which was supposed to allocate more manpower at times of greatest need, sometimes does the opposite. Consultants reviewed 2007 workloads and recommended three possible models for staffing patrol services with the goal of meeting demands more efficiently. It said some detectives and higher-ranking officers should be assigned to work at night and on weekends. Reaching high objectives also would require a larger force, especially in light of the city’s growth, they said.

Plenty of ideas for police to ponder

Some observations and recommendations may shake public assumptions: Average response times are slow but are skewed unfavorably by counting calls that shouldn’t be classified as high priorities; there’s no coherent programming for community-oriented policing; the gang unit should be cut in half and the new robbery suppression team should be disbanded, replaced by a tactical squad created to respond to all types of crime problems; the rank of corporal should be eliminated; members of the Police Reserve Corps should be paid and more fully utilized; and some sworn officer positions should be “civilianized.”

Also, officers who take patrol cars home shouldn’t have to pay for the privilege and ought to be allowed limited personal use; and the city should consider putting in place a network of cameras to watch major business and high-crime areas. These measures can stretch manpower and deter crime, the study contended. Some officers spend too much valuable time attending meetings and writing reports without clerical help, the consultants said. Some may be doing the wrong jobs.

The information in this report warrants careful evaluation and, in many instances, appropriate action. Bellamy quickly heeded the recommendation to revamp promotion policies, a wise move.

It’s encouraging that outside experts saw so many positives in Greensboro’s Police Department, but the many proposals for achieving better law enforcement are equally welcome.

Should there be a national speed limit of 55 mph to reduce fuel use?

Last time the interstate speed limit was 55 mph, it's estimated that it reduced daily U.S. vehicle gas consumption by 167,000 gallons. Would that type of reduction help make our country more energy independent?

Nowhere to pull off

What’s an easy way to add lanes to congested highways? Let vehicles use the shoulders. Whether that’s a smart way is open to question.

State transportation planners are considering the idea for parts of I-77 and I-485 in Charlotte. Federal highway officials have been encouraging. It could happen by late next year.

The proposal promises some relief for backed-up motorists. But what about the consequences of giving up the shoulder? You can’t change a flat tire in the middle of traffic.

Meanwhile, some commuters already are using the shoulders as travel lanes — possibly at considerable risk. A man piloting a scooter on the shoulder of I-40 in eastern Guilford County Friday morning seemed safely out of the path of cars and trucks, except at exit and entrance ramps where he’d have to watch over both shoulders and pray motorists could see him.

Jesse Helms lives on

Jesse Helms’ death July 4 shortened — and maybe even eliminated — many state pundits’ holidays, as they had to skip the parades and other festivities to produce commentary on the man. One can’t help but think the late senator, fond of baiting the media, would have liked this state of affairs just fine.

Whether Helms would have liked the resulting analysis is another matter. One of the more interesting commentaries to appear isprogressive Michael Lind’s, found at the online journal Salon. In “Jesse Helms Is Not Dead,” he concedes that Helms’ influence is writ large over the country’s political and economic landscapes. He sees the political fund-raising organization Moveon.org as a liberal response to Helms’ Congressional Club, and he cites MSNBC’s left-leaning commentator Keith Olbermann as owing his “hectoring” strategy to Helms.

He also thinks the United States in 2008, with its weak unions and political parties and its increasing economic inequality, resembles the South Helms fought to uphold.

The rest of the story

Not found in the news stories on the recent U.S. Census report on America’s fastest-growing cities was where Greensboro stands. The city ranks 38 in growth rate for cities of more than 100,000, right between Austin and Phoenix. It grew 2.4 percent and added 5,811 residents between 2006 and 2007, for a total population of 247,183. (Census didn’t reveal the percentage of new residents added under duress.)

Maybe even more noteworthy is the news on High Point. It made this particular Census list for the first time, as its population grew to 100,432 from 98,627 between 2006 and 2007. That gave it a 1.8 percent growth rate for the year and made it No. 54 on the list of 262 cities.

High Point’s growth rate between 2000 and 2007 was even more dramatic. During that time it grew 16.5 percent, giving it a rank of 46, while Greensboro grew 8.2 percent for a rank of 91.

A Libertarian at heart?

State Rep. Earl Jones of Greensboro is a Democrat, but sometimes he sounds more like a Libertarian.

Like last week, when he was the only member of the House of Representatives to vote against banning video slot machines.

“I think people really just want to be left alone,” he explained. “If a person wants to play cards or play the lottery or participate in this activity ... it just seems to be overreaching relative to government telling people what to do.”

Democrats and Republicans approve laws all the time that tell people what to do. Maybe Jones should belong to a third party.

Tuesday's lead editorial.

It was all bold headlines in May: “Gov. Easley announces 1,000 jobs at Global TransPark.”

Two months later, the fine print says Spirit AeroSystems could employ far fewer workers and still earn millions in state incentives.

The deal for the Kansas-based aircraft manufacturer to build an assembly plant near Kinston is still welcome. It’s just more complicated and contains more loopholes than the public was led to believe when it was announced.

All the more reason to introduce greater openness to the business-recruitment process. Although it might be necessary to hold negotiations behind closed doors, details about promised public funds should be revealed before agreements are signed, and the public should have a chance to comment.

State officials understandably were eager to land a big company at the GTP, created and maintained for years at state expense without generating much activity. Eastern North Carolina’s economy has lagged behind other parts of the state, thanks in large part to the decline of tobacco and other traditional industries.

Then, early last year, the state saw a chan