Recent editorials from North Carolina newspapers:
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Oct. 23
News & Record of Greensboro on a stretch of Interstate 73:
More than a year has passed since the state highway department opened a sparkling new stretch of Interstate 73 from Bryan Boulevard north into Rockingham County and headed for Martinsville, Va.
This highway completed a southbound loop around Piedmont Triad International Airport, across Interstate 40, then I-85 and Business 85 and on toward Asheboro and Rockingham (the city, lest you think we can’t keep our directions straight).
This thoroughfare has made Summerfield-to-Charlotte a much-less-cantankerous course and allowed the northern extremes of the county to be much more accessible from downtown Greensboro.
But for reasons that are both perplexing and frustrating, there is an obvious absence of information to alert those who need to know - aka drivers whose GPS services don’t have I-73 mapped and need prompting - through traditional interstate signs.
This has been a problem to some extent ever since I-73 was opened, when for months drivers had no simple guidance for when and where this pathway began and largely where it would take them. There was new concrete extending from the end of Bryan that went at least to N.C. 68, as far as one could surmise.
But then its cousin roadway, a mile or so of the Urban Loop - I-840 it is called - opened from the intersection of Bryan and I-73. Suddenly there was scurrying to erect overhead signs that told drivers all the places this intersection of superslabs would take them.
If only drivers on the city’s main artery, I-40, were so lucky. Because to anyone meandering into town from the east or the west, that path north to Martinsville does not exist. There are no green overheads to put you on the right road.
For instance, if you arrive from the west you pass the N.C. 68 intersection and quickly arrive at a multilaned fork in the road for I-73 south to Asheboro. There’s also a ramp to Bryan Parkway and PTI, preceded by an easy-to-miss roadside chevron that tells you that I-73 north is straight ahead. Drivers aren’t clued that the connector to Bryan also is the path onto I-73 north - or I-840 to U.S. 220.
Likewise, if you approach from the east and encounter the fork south for I-85, you see that it also will take you to I-73 south toward, yes, Asheboro. But nothing says you should stay straight to access I-73 north. And, later, when the ramp to Bryan Boulevard and PTI again approaches, there is no sign to point to I-73 or I-840. Those roads must be nowhere.
Now there likely is some huge logistical issue that has caused a year to pass before travelers could get routine help. Heck, even some of the GPS systems finally have caught up. Some digital Sherpa even knows that, just past the I-40/I-85 fork, there’s a ramp to I-785 (the other end of the future Urban Loop) that will take drivers to Eden and Danville. Would that I-73 could be so lucky.
Is it the zoo that gives Asheboro all that draw? Because in this process. Martinsville and the Virginia border are persona non mappa.
And that leaves Greensboro with a bright, wonderful and convenient corridor whose notifications are neither thorough nor fair. The bright side is that there are no traffic problems when you do find the road.
Online: https://www.greensboro.com/
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Oct. 23
The Charlotte Observer on court elections:
North Carolinians are losing faith that their courts are fair, largely because the legislature has done so much to politicize the judiciary. Voters will elect a Supreme Court justice and three Court of Appeals judges amid that backdrop. Fortunately, though, voters have almost nothing but good choices before them.
Here’s how we see the four races.
NC Supreme Court
Barbara Jackson seeks a second term and faces a challenge from Anita Earls and Chris Anglin. Jackson and Earls are both qualified (and Anglin is not), but we think Earls is the best choice.
Jackson, a Republican, was a Court of Appeals judge for five years and has been an NC Supreme Court justice for eight years. She has been a fine justice and her experience is valuable.
We are appalled, though, at a TV ad she produced in this campaign that rails against “out of control liberal judges,” pleads to “stop the liberals” and touts “Barbara Jackson, a proven conservative.” Jackson claims to be concerned about public perceptions that the judiciary is not impartial at the very moment she is making an ad that forcefully fuels that perception.
She has also erred in some of her decisions on the bench, including when she used tortured reasoning to keep legislative Republicans’ communications about redistricting private.
Earls, a Williams College and Yale Law graduate, has a sharp legal mind and has been a forceful advocate for decades. She founded and led the Southern Coalition for Social Justice for the past decade, fighting for civil rights and equal access. We think she has the potential to be an outstanding justice and so we recommend her. Our only hesitancy is whether Earls, a Democrat, will let her undeniably liberal views influence her impartiality on the bench. She insists she won’t, and we hope she doesn’t.
Anglin, who switched from Democrat to Republican shortly before filing and threatens to split the GOP vote, has a checkered past and a less sophisticated grasp of the law than either Earls or Jackson.
Court of Appeals, Seat 1
Court of Appeals Judge John Arrowood of Charlotte faces a challenge from Andrew Heath. Both are capable, and we give a slight nod to Arrowood because of his experience on the court.
Arrowood, a Democrat, has twice been appointed to the appeals court. In those stints, he has authored close to 200 opinions and dissents. He also clerked and was senior staff attorney to the court early in his career. He practiced a variety of types of law during a 25-year career at James, McElroy and Diehl in Charlotte. He was one of only two appellate candidates to receive the endorsement of both the plaintiffs’ group and the defense attorneys’ group.
Heath, 37 and a Republican, has built an impressive resume. He was Gov. Pat McCrory’s budget director and chaired the state Industrial Commission. McCrory appointed him to be a Superior Court judge, which he has done for the past two years. He is impressive and has a bright future, but Arrowood has the more relevant experience in this race.
Court of Appeals, Seat 2
Two District Court judges - Republicans Jefferson Griffin and Sandra Ray - are running against appellate attorney Toby Hampson for an open seat. We think Hampson is the best choice.
Hampson, a Democrat, has dedicated his career to practicing in the Court of Appeals and N.C. Supreme Court. He clerked at the appeals court before going into private practice, and has done appellate work for the past 14 years. He co-leads his firm’s appellate practice group and is certified by the state bar as a specialist in appellate practice. He says he is the counsel of record on 186 different decisions from the court of appeals and Supreme Court. Judges and lawyers who work with him closely tout his ability and breadth of experience.
Griffin, a judge in Wake County, and Ray, a judge in New Hanover and Pender counties, have judicial experience but lack the experience at the appellate level that Hampson has.
Court of Appeals, Seat 3
Republican Chuck Kitchen, Democrat Allegra Collins and Libertarian Michael Monaco are running for an open seat. Kitchen and Collins are the most qualified, and we give a slight nod to Kitchen.
Kitchen has practiced law for 38 years, including 30 years as county attorney for Alamance County and then Durham County. That has given him experience with a wide range of cases, including in appellate courts. His experience with local government law would be rare, and welcome, on the Court of Appeals.
Collins is also qualified, though with a very different background. She is a full-time professor at Campbell University Law School, teaching students to write appellate briefs and opinions in appellate cases. She clerked for Judge Linda Stephens at the Court of Appeals and was a court reporter for the NC Supreme Court. She has also practiced appellate law for the past four years.
Online: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/
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Oct. 21
Winston-Salem Journal on flu shots:
This season’s flu is expected to be less severe than the previous one, but that’s not saying much. Nationwide, there were more than 80,000 flu-related deaths during the 2017-18 flu season, the highest level since 1976-77, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Three-hundred eighty-six of those occurred in North Carolina. Most of the victims were over 65, but 11 were under 25.
Fortunately, there’s a readily available and effective preventative measure: the flu vaccine.
It may seem premature to think about the flu while fall is still struggling to assert itself, but some sporadic cases of the flu have already been seen this season, Dr. Christopher Ohl, infectious diseases expert at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, told the Journal earlier this month.
Influenza is a highly contagious disease and can be transmitted from coughs or sneezes from up to six feet away. Symptoms include a fever of 100 degrees or higher (though not everyone with the flu has a fever); a cough and/or sore throat; a runny or stuffy nose; headaches and/or body aches; chills, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea. Even if it doesn’t kill, it can be debilitating and require hospitalization.
If symptoms strike, it’s important to see a doctor immediately.
Or you can do the smart thing: get the flu shot. Today.
Online: https://www.journalnow.com/
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