Opinion
The children are watching
Remember the game “Simon Says” we used to play as children? One person, the designated “Simon,” would show the players an action to take or a saying to repeat. But you weren’t supposed to mimic it unless Simon prefaced the instruction by specifically saying “Simon...
Politics should be less important
It might sound odd to hear this from someone who’s been writing a syndicated column on politics for nearly four decades, but politics has become vastly more important in our lives than it should be. Virtually every decision we make in our ostensibly free society...
The right side of history
Speaker Mike Johnson led the U.S. House of Representatives in a monumental decision to continue funding for the Ukraine war on Saturday. In the press conference following the historic bipartisan vote, he said, “I want to be on the right side of history.” And for...
Third-party candidates: America’s fortune-tellers
“I’m going to put the entire U.S. budget on blockchain,” presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says, “so that any American — every American — can look at every budget item in the entire budget anytime they want 24 hours a day.” That’s a great...
We’ve ended NC’s sexual assault kit backlog
This month, my office announced a milestone that has been more than six years in the making: North Carolina has ended the backlog of older sexual assault kits. This achievement is a testament to the hard work, dedication and collaboration of so many people. Survivors...
Peace on Earth Day: Direct action against nukes
In the middle of the night on Easter Sunday, April 22, 1984, eight people — all religious pacifists — got out of two cars on a dark Orlando road ready to commit a sensational crime to make a faith-based statement against the dangers of nuclear...
Why is David Marshburn running?
For the sake of argument, let’s concede that David Marshburn moved to 708 S. Robertson St. in Clayton to run for a seat on the Johnston County Board of Education. But why? Why go to the bother of moving? Mr. Marshburn could have waited two...
It won’t be merit pay if all town employees get the same amount
We trust this year won’t be the norm. The Clayton Town Council had planned in 2023 to launch merit pay for town employees. But late-arriving software made it impossible for all employees to complete the required software training in time, so merit pay couldn’t launch...
Is Selma just a one-man show?
S ome folks in Selma are growing weary — and wary — of the Byron McAllister Show. We’ve heard their chorus of critical reviews: Selma government under McAllister is a one-man play, with the mayor as playwright, director and lead actor. His fellow council members...
Our Opinion: Smithfield should let developers opt out of sidewalks to nowhere
On Market Street in West Smithfield, a concrete sidewalk runs in front of Ample Storage. Smithfield Planning Director Stephen Wensman would call it a sidewalk to nowhere. And he’d be right. To one side of Ample Storage is the shopping center that’s home to Food...
Johnston groups join forces on two murals
Over the past year, the group Friends of Johnston County Parks has worked with the Johnston County Arts Council on an outdoor mural project. With financial assistance from the Arts Council, the Friends embarked on their first art-meets-nature initiative. The Friends hired muralists to paint...
