Opinion Roundup: Cooper's veto pen strikes Wade's public notices vendetta

Tuesday, July 18, 2017 -- A roundup of opinion, commentary and analysis on the fate of public notices in Guilford County newspapers, the struggle for N.C. school districts to shorten pre-K wait lists, a UNC study assessing the disappearance of local news resources and more.

Cooper stands up for transparency, vetoes Wade’s bill (Wilson Times) -- The doomsday prediction wasn’t scrawled on a cardboard sign, but printed in bold black ink at the top of the newspaper page. “Trudy Wade’s Bill Will Close Jamestown News,” it warns.

CATHERINE CLABBY: Eliminating Pre-K Waiting Lists Proves a Knotty Problem (N.C. Health News analysis) -- Lawmakers promise to eliminate the waiting lists for North Carolina's state funded preschool program, but it's tougher than at first glimpse.

PAUL FARHI: What happens to local news when there is no local media to cover it? (Washington Post analysis) -- Thousands of towns across America are seeing community reporting shrinking and sometimes disappearing. The biggest factor, according to a UNC study of the phenomenon: cutbacks, consolidation and closures of daily and weekly newspapers, the traditional lifeblood of local reporting in America since before its founding.

JULIAN ZELIZER: Who's behind GOP's stunning defeat on health care? (CNN Analysis) -- As the blame game now begins, everyone in Washington will be asking -- who killed the health bill? As in an Agatha Christie novel, there are many suspects on the train.

Get to the truth (Greensboro News & Record) -- Every dodge and denial by President Trump, family members and White House flaks rings hollow now. The trail is warm, and it’s leading to very disturbing conclusions. N.C. Sen. Richard Burr, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, also must learn the full extent of Russian activities. He will do a great service for our country if he pursues this investigation to its conclusion.

Curbing domestic violence (Winston-Salem Journal) -- Domestic violence is a scourge, no doubt. And it’s not a partisan issue. It has the potential to affect any family with deadly consequences.

KIP TABB: Summer Recipe: How to Make An Algal Bloom (Coastal Review column) -- Not all algal blooms are considered harmful, but the right mix of warmth and nutrients can yield a funky blue-green slime that is potentially toxic to humans, their pets and marine life.

SCOTT SEXTON: Cracking down on sweepstakes parlors. Again. (Winston-Salem Journal column) -- There wasn’t much going on at the AA Sweepstakes parlor Monday morning. A few small green and blue lights, similar to what you might find on a Christmas tree, were visibly blinking behind large tinted glass windows designed to keep passersby from staring inside.

ROGER CHESLEY: When public podiums are turned into pulpits, everybody loses (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot column) -- Chesley agrees with an appeals court decision that smacked down a Rowan County board's decision to open public meetings with Christian prayers only.

D.G. MARTIN: Tracking down the eateries we missed (Winston-Salem Journal column) -- Can you believe it has been almost a year since I last wrote a column about local country-cooking eateries, my favorite stopping places when I am on the road?