… What the numbers tell us about Fibrant’s future

Thank you David Post for the honesty! My contract with the other provider will be up in August and I will be switching!

— Eric Phillips

We told you so! The Salisbury Post could have acted like an actual newspaper and published the truth but instead chose to disseminate pro-incumbent propaganda. The corruption within city management runs deep and will take Salisbury down if not eliminated.

— Chris Borre

Looking for solutions is a necessary step. However, the result may be that no break-even or profitable business plan for Fibrant is feasible. If the assumption that Fibrant can be fixed is mandatory, we may end up in the same cycle of deception.

— Pete Hoffman

… Investing in Fibrant’s future

The city propaganda, as published by the “Post” is now: “OK, it’s losing 3M per year, but it’s an investment for our future.” Here’s the rub. The Fibrant subsidy has starved all other departments including streets, fire, and police to the point where citizens have taken notice. To restore those funds and continue to subsidize Fibrant, a large property tax increase will soon be necessary. The massive “Fibrant Tax” is on its way, though I suspect it will well camouflaged. … Mayor Alexander may have her own reasons to be fond of Fibrant, but her running around portraying this thing as a goldmine is harming her credibility.

— Todd Paris

Fibrant is a forward thinking investment. What we need to be doing is supporting this and making sure the ill-conceived N.C. law Time Warner Cable pushed through gets overturned. Once this very bad law is over turned then Fibrant can do what it was meant to.

My business has to switch to Fibrant because the other available services can not give the required speeds (in particular latency speeds) necessary. Considering that my very tiny business requires this I can only imagine what a larger business would require.

So we need to support Fibrant and be the leaders in moving forward. Otherwise we will end up wishing we had and lament how we had the chance to be in the forefront.

— Natalie Errante

… Criminal history halting job prospects

N.C. does have various statutes to expunge your record; however, they are very limited and you have to strictly meet the criteria. The sad fact is that often employers will not hire, and often fire and reject you even if you are found “not guilty” or the case is “dismissed” — an easy expunction. …

N.C. needs an automatic expunction for”not guilty” and dismissed cases and a broader expunction statute for crimes over 15 years old, with no subsequent record. That’s the solution. To those so burdened, see your family lawyer.

— Todd Paris

I’ve known some good people who made mistakes in their life and paid their debt to society. People deserve second chances.

— Phillip Bradshaw

Excellent article about the long-term effects of a criminal record, something which has been labeled as a “financial death sentence.” Ending this system of perpetual punishment should be a priority among our elected leaders.

— The Papillon Foundation

Well, knowing that most cases are plead down to a lesser charge, he’s actually probably an intentional murderer. And until he can raise the dead and make amends for the crime, there’s no future for him either. Seems fair.

— Wilhelm Hisinger

Wow! God give us all forgiving hearts and minds just as you have. The past is just that; no one should be condemned or judged by any one but our God

— Vonda Hoover

I wouldn’t hire this guy in a 1000 years! When I hire, I do a criminal background check, verify their education credentials, contact previous employers and I ask for their Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter user ids and passwords. They have to pass all that before I’ll even train them.

— Bradford Hamilton

…Should NC ban the box?

Amanda Raymond’s story last week of the four men who have had trouble finding adequate employment was very moving, and made me see this issue in a different light than before.

Many people are truly capable of doing some very good things for society after having made a tragically poor decision that landed them in prison. I do not know what the solution should be, but the reporting by Ms. Raymond really put a human face on the matter. Great reporting, Ms. Raymond.

— Jeff Morris

While I truly have sympathy for convicts who legitimately have turned their lives around, this suggestion would merely put the burden (and costs) of finding out about the criminal records of applicants on employers and do nothing to encourage employers to hire former convicts. Employers legitimately must be concerned with criminal records when hiring.

… Like a lot of employer laws, this one will almost certainly increase the costs of hiring people and afford no discernible benefits for anyone, including the people it means to help.

— Bill Bucher

… Piping causing flooding, sinkholes on American Legion Post property

We have been paying storm water fees for two years. Storm water is the city’s problem and Mr. Bailey needs see that it is fixed. If we have to pay fees, why do they want to say it’s the property owner’s problem?

— Bob Smith

I hope that this problem is fixed very soon. Kenny Hardin is on the move!

— Lisa Henderson

… Legislators: federal judges ‘short-sighted’

No, the shortsightedness was on the part of the legislators cheating the people. It blew up in your faces and now you’re crying about it. Like I tell my children (since you’re acting like them): get up and deal with it.

— Joel Johnson

I would think that someone could come up with a computer program that could draw all the district lines to eliminate any racial gerrymandering as well as safe districts — if legislators Warren and Ford would not drag their feet.

— Blaine Gorney

… Four thoughts from state economic development leader

Building the superhighway from Morehead City to I-40 and I-95 would get N.C. all the business it could handle. Only Burr has said anything about it. Democrats need to listen to their engineers, though the engineers must be asked at NCSU before they will tell a politician anything.

— Russell Day

… Child living in squalid conditions; mother, sister charged

What a shame. Here in America this is happening. How can anyone live this way? I wish we could get all these children and keep them safe. …You can be poor and be clean. I grew up poor but my mom always kept our house clean and kept us clean. Please help these children to get out of this place and not go back.

— Bonnie Beaver

Poor thing. Prayers for the whole family. We don’t know the struggles this family has gone through.

— Carie Elizabeth Davis

… Petulant Panther

We now know that one Michael Powell of the New York Times is a poor scholar, who failed to investigate the circumstances of the Cam Newton interview, which was held abut a place where Broncos were interviewed, and that Newton was beset with jeering remarks and so much noise, reporters were having to repeat questions. Powell additionally failed to include Newton’s gracious exchange with and embrace of Peyton Manning.

— Stephen Owen

… Where NC is headed on teacher pay

Our legislators are irresponsible, unreasonable, and out of touch. I do believe this is a ploy to drive “good” teachers out of the state and students into private schools.

What is a good teacher anyway? On a given day, I could be a good teacher as I used to teach Advanced Placement and Honors English student; on others, I could be considered a poor teacher, as I also taught students who were learning disabled and struggled to read on grade level …

We seem to find money for vouchers for families for private schools and money for voter ID background checks (which haven’t been statistically proven to be needed ). Please don’t tell me we don’t have the money to pay teachers what they deserve. Our legislators (beginning with mine, Carl Ford) just choose not to prioritize public education.

— Susan Bame

All state employees will probably get a 2 or 3 percent pay increase. The bad news is that this will be paid for by the loss of state worker benefits. It looks as if spousal and family insurance benefit options will be the first to be axed.

— Carl Prine

… Beneficial reuse is part of coal-ash cleanup

This should be the alternative for North Carolina coal ash instead of dumping it on communities like Lee county that has no coal ash.

— Terica Luxton

All liners eventually leak. Toxic coal ash needs to be encapsulated with salt stone at current locations like nuclear waste. Stop contaminating other communities.

— Keely Puricz

Coal ash should be recycled into new highways.

— Pete Wagner

This is such propaganda. How is it that “Governor McCrory helped build the framework for the first law in the nation” if he challenges the constitutionality of the Coal Ash Commission and the Coal Ash Management Act?

— Janet Smith

… Larry Efird: ‘And justice for all’?

Poignant as always, my friend. Moving from the classroom to admin more than 20 years ago gave me a look into the “business” end of education. My first principalship was in one of the large metro school systems in N.C. Like the old saw about making sausage, “you don’t want to see how it’s made.” Sadly, a teacher is as out of place in a courtroom as an attorney would be in English I class.

— Ron Turbyfill

… Pedal Factory hopes to help those without bikes

Getting around Salisbury by bike is not too treacherous of a task. We spend quite a bit of time commuting around town and with the right routes, things are quite good. The community seems to be accepting of road shares and just the idea of bikes being around. As long as we do the right things — obey traffic laws and use good judgment — things go pretty well. I spend quite a bit of time riding around Salisbury, Spencer and beyond. I get good vibes and feel confident!

— Todd Rosser