Archive for the ‘Local’ Category
More on the NC Gas Tax Hike
The gas tax hike I posted about here went into effect on Sunday, despite public outcry to stop it. Today’s Raleigh News & Observer profiles Salisbury lawyer Bill Graham, a leader in the effort to prevent the tax hike. The article names him as a likely Republican candidate for the governor’s office in 2008.
According to the article, Mr. Graham was able to collect over 22,000 signatures from his website in just three weeks, and has submitted them to state government officials. The esteemed Governor Easley (spit!) is against rolling back the tax hike.
Unbelievable (to me, at least) is that not everyone is in favor of the rollback. The article quotes Larry Goode, a former state highway administrator and co-chairman of NC Go (a coalition of 130 organizations representing chambers of commerce, highway contractors and such corporations as Wachovia) as saying “The gas tax is a small part of the price.” Goode said the increase would cost the average driver $15 per year. I’m curious where Mr. Goode got that number from!
My job requires me to track my mileage and fuel purchases. I pulled out my records for the last quarter of 2005. During that 3-month period, I purchased 449.817 gallons of gasoline. The increase of 2.8 cents per gallon, had it been in effect last quarter, would have cost me $12.60 (over and above the $31.27 that I did actually pay). That’s the cost for just one quarter! Annualized, the cost of the increase would be $50.40, not the $15.00 that Mr. Goode is estimating. Admittedly, I have a longer-than-average commute, but certainly not four times longer than average.
It looks like Mr. Goode needs to check his facts before he opens his mouth.
I’ll be watching this story, and keeping an eye on Bill Graham. It’s time that North Carolina had a Republican in the Governor’s Mansion. If only he wasn’t a personal injury lawyer!
Stop the Gas Tax Hike
This post is aimed at my North Carolina readers … but all are welcome to follow the link. Maybe reading about how the Tarheels are being fleeced will make ya’ll feel better about where you live!
In the last four years, a 37% increase in the gas tax is costing North Carolina drivers an extra $300 million a year. The National Federation of Independent Business, the nation’s leading small business organization, says our state’s gas tax - the highest in the Southeast- is part of the reason why small business in North Carolina is hurting compared to our neighboring states.
While increasing the gas tax, the Legislature has drained $1 billion out of the Highway Trust Fund in the last four years. That’s part of the reason why we have the 5th worst roads in the country.
It is time to restore common sense to Raleigh. It is time to stop spending $400,000 on a teapot museum and $2 million on an ACC Hall of Fame.
Your signature on our petition will show the Legislature that people at the grassroots are outraged over high gas taxes that will go even higher in the New Year. Please tell your friends and associates to sign on and check the website for updates.
Click here to read more and/or sign the petition.
Morning Glory
National “News” hits local level
RALEIGH, N.C. — (Source: wral.com) Everyone celebrates religion and holidays in their own individual ways, but currently there are questions about whether the two should be more connected. One of the latest places involved in the controversy is a McDonald’s restaurant in Raleigh.
The sign at McDonald’s on the corner of Falls of Neuse and Spring Forest Road reads: “Merry Christmas, Jesus is the Reason for the Season.” It is a holiday message that Amanda Alpert thinks comes on a little too strongly.
“It offends me because it specifically talks about Jesus, Merry Christmas. It doesn’t give credit to anyone else,” Alpert said. (Emphasis mine: Who else should get credit? Jesus is the only reason for Christmas. If my Jewish neighbors want to put up signs telling us the reason for Hannukah, I have no problem with that. I don’t know the reason for Hannukah, and I’m always open to learning new things.)
Alpert called the McDonald’s corporate office in Atlanta and requested that the sign be changed to the politically correct Happy Holidays. The response was the owner has the right to do what she wants with the sign. (Emphasis mine: Hooray for McDonald’s Corporate Office! They’re absolutely right.)
“I care because I’m Jewish, and the reason for the season is upsetting to me,” Alpert said.
None of the drivers WRAL spoke to were offended by the sign.
“I’ve always known it to be Merry Christmas, and it is Jesus’ birthday,” said Tom David of Smithfield.
It’s a debate that’s struck a chord nationally and locally. The White House Christmas card surprised some with its “Happy Holiday Season” message. A proposed nativity scene in Raleigh recently drew a crowd at council chambers.
McDonald’s managers say the sign has been good for business. They say church groups have stopped by to eat, and some people who usually don’t eat food from McDonald’s have stopped by because of the sign. (Emphasis mine: So, this was a good business decision? I’m glad to hear that. But good or bad, it’s the owner’s decision to make.) The store’s owner did not return WRAL’s calls.
MorningGlory
The Story, as Promised
The Sanford Herald printed this story about the cheerleaders, just as they promised they would [see post below for background],
I wish the girls luck, both with their fundraising today, and with the competition next week.
Sport? Or not?
I sent this letter out today. Things like this just make me so angry. BTW, my niece is on one of the teams competing.
Editor, The Sanford Herald
Dear Sir:
On December 1, The Raleigh News & Observer ran a Section A, Page 1 article (available online) about the Triangle-Area Pop Warner Cheerleaders who are going to be competing in the National Championship next week at Walt Disney World. Earlier this week, a representative of the Lee County Pop Warner Association (LCPWA) talked to the Sports Editor at The Sanford Herald, and asked him to run a similar story about the two cheerleading squads from Lee County who qualified last week in Huntsville, Alabama and will be competing in this event. She was told “We don’t run cheerleading stories. Cheerleading isn’t really a sport.”
