Laurels to the potential for smoother relations in 2014 between Salisbury City Council and the county commission. City Council took a step this week when it approved a resolution to seek a better working relationship with commissioners. It is, as some have suggested, a purely symbolic gesture — but symbols send signals about our intentions and purposes. In explaining her support for the resolution, Mayor Pro Tem Maggie Blackwell described it as a “gesture of good faith.” Good faith — or mutual trust — has too often been lacking in deliberations involving these two bodies. It’s difficult to reach a meeting of the minds when the minds are suspicious of each other’s motives. Someone has to extend the olive branch — and the other side has to grasp it.
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Dart to the continuing scourge of illegal methamphetamine labs. Last year saw another increase in the number of meth lab busts in North Carolina — 561, compared to 460 the previous year and 344 in 2011. While the busts show that law-enforcement officers are vigorously pursuing meth distributors, the rising number represents a high toll in human and economic costs from meth, a highly addictive and dangerous substance. Most were of the “shake and bake” or “one pot” variety, a mobile operation that uses plastic bottles or jugs and can be easily transported. The N.C. Justice Department says investigators have been aided by an electronic data exchange that helps track purchases of drugs containing pseudoephedrine, a common ingredient used in making meth. In 2013, the exchange revealed 44,299 illegal purchases — many of which were traced to people suspected of operating meth labs.
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Laurels to one of nature’s most efficient recycling machines — the red wiggler worm. The lowly worm — formally known as eisenia fetida — got a turn in the spotlight this week after Charlotte Douglas International Airport officials announced they would import 1 million worms to recycle leftover food. Delays in building a new recycling center led to the fallback plan involving large-scale vermiculture. The worms will feed on the tons of food scraps generated at the airport, turning the waste into humus-rich compost that will then be used to improve planting sites around the airport grounds.