New light bulb regulations arenít such a bright idea
Regarding the March 11 editorial ěDonít buy bulb brouhahaî:
We should really thank the Post for keeping us aware of the terrible things those nasty old Republicans are doing. Now they donít think the government should be able to do away with incandescent light bulbs.
Just because there are thousand and thousands of water lines and well pumps which are kept from freezing by the use of these bulbs and a variety of other uses which are not served by CFL bulbs, that is no excuse not to do away with them. And, just because the CFL bulbs are known to set houses on fire when the ballast goes bad and burns through the base, that is no reason not to use them exclusively. Houses can be rebuilt and that helps the economy.
It seems like the Post and Democrat response would be better served by giving GE a hearty golly gee whiz for shutting another plant down and putting 200 more people out of work here and giving more jobs to China. I think it is time for the Post administrative staff and the Democrats to be outsourced.
ó Eddie Warren
Rockwell
A Saturday to remember
Saturday I witnessed a great day of high school basketball. At noon, the Salisbury girls began making history. At 2:30 p.m., North Rowan was on its way to a championship, and by 9:30 p.m., my alma mater, the West Charlotte Lions, had won the state 4A championship. But what I remember most about this day was half time of the North Rowan game. The crowd at Reynolds Coliseum started standing and clapping. When I looked across court, I witnessed something very special. The Salisbury womens’ basketball team and their coaches had just entered. These girls left their celebration to come cheer their former coach and the Cavaliers on. That Saturday will stay with our family forever.
ó Sandra H. Mitchell
Salisbury
Sending wrong message
Day after day, I hear on the news that jobs are being cut or lost, people are being laid off or asked to take a reduction in pay in order to reduce state, county and city budgets.
The very teachers of our children and future leaders are fearful of losing their jobs. Yet our City Council members while announcing job losses and reductions in pay for city employees deem it necessary to give City Manager David Treme a $70,000 retirement bonus. I am sure he does a good job and is a good man, but there are many other good people who work just as hard that are going to lose their jobs or work for less pay.
In a time when people are being asked to sacrifice, our City Council and our county commissioners are sending the wrong message by approving this or any other bonus. David Treme should set an example to the people he employs and reject it. The taxpayers of Salisbury and Rowan County should hold everyone who approves this accountable. This is our money they are spending.
ó Duke C. Brown Sr.
Salisbury
Time to face facts
Regarding the March 13 letter to the editor from Sampson County Economic Development Director John Swope:
Mr. Swope suggests itís imperative that North Carolina compete in the deepwater port business, claiming that ěthe 600 acre N.C. International Terminal site is one of our stateís very few, deep water locations …î
How is it possible that Mr. Swope does not know that in order to achieve ědeepwaterî status for the NCIT, dredging ó deep dredging, continuous dredging ó will be required. The current estimate to take the channel from 42-feet deep to 50 feet is $1.2 billion. Maintenance dredging is estimated to be $12 million annually! Weíve been waiting years for the Corps of Engineers to perform the required mitigation procedures from the dredging to 42 feet.
The state has already sunk $40 million into the NCIT project, and now Mr. Swope wants it to sink another $10 million based on the faulty premise that N.C. needs this port. Has he seen the concealed consultantís report (T.F. Richardson) that now estimates NCIT at $4.4 billion? Probably not. The Ports Authority paid for the report and promptly buried it.
Facts are stubborn things, and spending millions more of taxpayer dollars to study feasibility will not widen the river or deepen it. Itís time for Mr. Swope ó and the governorís office ó to accept the limitations of geography and compete where they can win. There is no shame in being a competitive player in the smaller vessel market.
ó Toby J. Bronstein
Caswell Beach
Bronstein is a member of Save the Cape.