Recent editorials from North Carolina newspapers:
April 26
Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer on a smaller Army:
It wasn’t long ago that the Army was 570,000 soldiers deep. With two wars underway and other commitments around the world, that’s what it took.
Now, with Iraq behind us and Afghanistan winding down, Washington budget-writers are calling for big military staffing cuts. The Army is already down to about 522,000 solders. The projection is 490,000 by late next year and 450,000 two years later.
In some scenarios, the Army could go as low as 420,000 troops, which is dangerous, since it’s not enough to wage one major, prolonged war. We need better readiness than that, and talk about a smaller Army than we’ve had since before we entered World War II is downright dangerous.
Meanwhile, there’s concern about the numbers of well-trained, combat-experienced officers who may become downsizing casualties. Some excellent leaders, especially captains and majors, may be lost.
That will only be a problem if the Army doesn’t thin its ranks with great care. Just as it is in the enlisted ranks, not all officers are equal. There are superb leaders, adequate leaders and lousy leaders. That last group should be the first go to, followed by the mediocre. But protect the best. Careful downsizing can, and should, be the route to excellence throughout all of our military services.
Online:
https://www.fayobserver.com
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April 28
Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal on sterilization compensation:
After a slow start last fall, the state has been doing a decent job of letting the victims of North Carolina’s forced sterilization program know that they need to fill out paperwork to share in the $10 million compensation pool that the state approved this past summer. But with the clock quickly ticking toward a registration deadline of June 30, the state needs to ramp up its efforts.
North Carolina has gained positive press nationwide as the first state in the country to offer compensation to sterilization victims. Now it must make sure the compensation process is done right.
North Carolina’s sterilization program, one of the most aggressive in the nation, operated from 1929 through 1974, rendering barren more than 7,600 people, mostly poor and powerless, to “better society” and reduce the welfare rolls. The program went for whites, blacks and American Indians, and targeted black women and girls of modest means in its last years. Those involved in the fight have estimated that as many as 1,500 victims may still be alive.
But by the state’s latest count, only 240 victims’ claims have been sent to the N.C. Industrial Commission, which will process the claims. Of those 240 claims, 111 have been matched to records from the N.C. Eugenics Board, which carried out the program. Officials say more claims will be sent to the commission Thursday. The state, through the Office of Justice for Sterilization Victims, says it has sent out more than 900 mailings to potential victims, and is doing media and other outreach to more victims. That’s good, but it should ramp up those efforts even more.
The Journal editorial board gained crucial support in its compensation fight early on from black Democrat Larry Womble of Winston-Salem during his years in the state House. Later, after Womble was nearly killed in a 2011 car accident, state House Speaker Thom Tillis, a white Republican, helped carry the cause to fruition.
Our state was among the worst at forced sterilization. Now, we’re set to give the nation a lesson in redemption - if we carry out the compensation process right.
Online:
https://www.journalnow.com
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April 28
The Herald-Sun, Durham, N.C., on the NCDOT:
Ten years ago, the N. C. Department of Transportation and the city of Durham agreed to share an estimated $600,000 cost of fixing a badly aligned intersection of Riddle Road, Fayetteville Street and Buxton Street.
Certainly, that was not a bad idea. It would have been, in the scheme of the city and NCDOT budgets, a fairly modest sum to eliminate a 100-foot offset of the points where Riddle and Buxton connect with Fayetteville.
Fast-forward a decade, and the project, like many highway undertakings, is still inching its way toward reality. The intersection still challenges motorists, and that still is awkward, but a couple other things have changed.
The estimated cost has ballooned to $5.3 million. And NCDOT is out of the picture — as the costs crept up, the state’s contribution was frozen at $300,000. Eventually, that became such a minor portion of the cost that the city concluded it wasn’t worth the trouble to secure it.
So last week, the City Council did something governments too seldom too when faced with the seemingly inexorable momentum of a long-planned project. They at least temporarily put the brakes on the idea.
The immediate catalyst was the council’s bemusement at the cost of some land and easements required for the project. The city is looking at a price tag of $275,000 to acquire a substantial chunk of a parking lot for a convenience store at Riddle Road and Fayetteville Street. That’s just over a quarter-acre — so the cost works out to the equivalent of about $1 million an acre.
The high cost stems from the fact the loss of the parking spaces would scuttle an already-approved plan for an expansion of the building. As Councilwoman Diane Catotti put it, “it’s clearly a highly inflated real estate value” because of what economists term the “opportunity cost.”
We’re glad the council is raising the cost concern on that plot. But we hope his colleagues also ponder a larger concern raised by Councilman Steve Schewel — maybe the whole realignment idea isn’t worth it.
The council may yet conclude the intersection realignment is important enough to press forward — but we’re glad they are taking the time to consider a potential reset.
Online:
https://www.heraldsun.com
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