Widen Estes Drive!
When Betsy and I left a medical office in Cary recently, we found ourselves heading home on I-40 just after 4 o’clock on a Friday afternoon. This is a punishment that only a mean-spirited judge would use as a sentence.
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Is The Civil War Over?
Posted by D.G. Martin | Apr 21, 2015 | D.G. Martin
One hundred and fifty years later, is the Civil War finally over? On Saturday, we will mark the 150th anniversary of the April 26, 1865 final surrender by Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston of approximately 90,000 troops to...
Read MoreCommon Science Fourth Anniversary
Posted by Jeff Danner | Apr 19, 2015 | Common Science
This week is the fourth anniversary of Common Science®. I published my first column, An Introduction to Your Host, on April 25, 2011 and last’s week’s column was my 200th. This means I have averaged 50 columns per year! Since...
Read MoreWilliam Powell, Dean of North Carolina History
Posted by D.G. Martin | Apr 17, 2015 | D.G. Martin
When UNC-Chapel Hill Professor Emeritus William Powell died last week at the age of 95, North Carolina lost its dean of history. With constant help and support from his wife Virginia, he authored countless books and articles,...
Read More“Better Than Nothing” Isn’t Good Enough
Posted by The Commentators | Apr 15, 2015 | The Commentators
Remember all the fanfare last spring surrounding the Ephesus-Fordham redevelopment plan? How the new zoning code was going to eliminate traffic congestion, solve our flooding problems, bring us new shopping opportunities, create lots of affordable housing, improve the town’s balance sheet, help us lose weight and spice up our sex lives?
Read MoreAlvina Lyons On Supporting Teammates
Alvina Lyons talks to Ron Stutts about the end of the Healthiest You Challenge, and about how she and her UNC Health Care teammates hope to continue to meet up long after the Challenge ends this week.
Read MoreFive North Carolina Books
Posted by D.G. Martin | Apr 15, 2015 | D.G. Martin
Here are five recent books, starting with a novel featuring a thinly disguised Jesse Helms, by North Carolina authors to put on your bedside reading table. What is it really like to be the top aide to a powerful North Carolina...
Read MoreToxic Substances Control Act: A Redo After 40 Years
Posted by Jeff Danner | Apr 12, 2015 | Common Science
While the 1970s are better known for leisure suits and (in my opinion) great music, they were also a bit of a golden age for environmental regulation. The 1970s brought us the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, and in 1976...
Read MoreA Drought In Our Back Yard?
Posted by The Commentators | Apr 10, 2015 | The Commentators
Is it possible we could experience a severe drought this Summer? There is a high probability based upon long range weather forecasts, and we should be prepared. While our water reservoirs here in Orange County are at their highest peaks, a long, hot Summer with appreciable lack of rain would quickly draw down that supply.
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