Opinion

Opinion Roundup: Labor Day 2018, iconic N.C. lighthouses under duress, bridging racial divides and more

Monday, Sept. 3, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Traveling back to your roots on Labor Day weekend, the photos that helped put an end to child labor, bridging racial divides in America, Outer Banks lighthouses under threat of flooding, infected seals washing along East Coast, a history of North Carolina Quakers and more.

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Bluegrass on Labor Day
Monday, Sept. 3, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Traveling back to your roots on Labor Day weekend, the photos that helped put an end to child labor, bridging racial divides in America, Outer Banks lighthouses under threat of flooding, infected seals washing along East Coast, a history of North Carolina's Quakers and more.
LABOR DAY 2018
Rest ye from your labor (Winston-Salem Journal) — Bakers. Cooks. Waitstaff. Bartenders. Dishwashers. On today’s Labor Day, we hope everyone, even those who wind up having to put in a few hours, will have an opportunity to relax and celebrate the hard work and creativity of the people who have contributed to making this country great. That’s what it’s all about.
This Labor Day Belongs to Us All (Southern Pines Pilot) — In this country, we insist, as an essential of the American way of life, that the employer-employee relationship should be one between free men and equals. We refuse to regard those who work with hand or brain as different from or inferior to those who live from their property. We insist that labor is entitled to as much respect as property.
A sunnier job outlook on this Labor Day of 2018 (Fayetteville Observe) — Just a year ago, we devoted this space on Labor Day to something of a lament about the dim prospects here for our working class. We had plenty of jobs in Fayetteville, but many of them were in retailing, restaurants and call centers, and mighty few were in industries that pay solid, family-supporting wages. We were becoming a poster child for the disappearance of our nation’s middle class.
Labor Day evolves from early roots to today’s challenges (Wilson Times) — So just what does Labor Day mean? According to the U.S. Department of Labor, “It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well-being of our country.” But what does Labor Day mean to us today? Is it just a day off of work for some? A time for a picnic or family trip?
MICHAEL ABRAMOWITZ: Labor Day reunions boost families, economy (Greenville Daily Reflector reports) — Generations of Henrietta Maye’s descendants came to Greenville this weekend from across the United States. They began arriving on Friday, staying with family and filling local hotel rooms. Theirs is one of many such reunions taking place as families use the long Labor Day weekend to travel back to their roots.
JESSICA CONTRERA: The searing photos that helped end child labor in America (Washington Post reports) — He arrived at the coal mines, textile mills and industrial factories dressed in a three-piece suit. He wooed those in charge, asking to be let in. He was just a humble Bible salesman, he claimed, who wanted to spread the good word to the laborers inside. What Lewis Hine actually wanted was to take photos of those laborers — and show the world what it looked like when children were put to work.
POLICY & POLITICS
JESSICA PATRICK & JANINE BOWEN: Sons of Confederate Veterans group placed flowers at Silent Sam site (WRAL reports) — A Facebook post showing photos of people placing flowers at the site was shared on the Facebook page of Rowan Rifles #405, a Salisbury-based Sons of Confederate Veterans group. The group says they plan to return every Saturday with more bouquets.
JOHN MEYER: There’s no honor in ‘lost cause’ (Wilmington Star News column) — I don’t believe there’s any question that the soldiers who fought for the Confederacy did so courageously, and mostly for what they considered honorable reasons. But that’s no justification for publicly honoring a rebellion instigated by and fought for the benefit of slaveholders. I fully expect to hear the argument that I’m just some carpet-bagging Yankee who doesn’t understand the South. But as it happens, it’s not that simple. I can name the units and battles that my direct ancestors fought in, on the Confederate side. I can also cite the ages and tax values of the human beings who were part of my grandfather’s household property when he was growing up in Virginia.
BENJAMIN CHAVIS JR: I know about bridging racial divides. That’s why I salute Jerry Richardson (Charlotte Observer column) — At a time when our nation is once again divided over diversity and inclusion, it’s important to stand up and speak out for those who have had the courage and compassion to build strong bridges over the racial divide in America. One of those heroes is former Panthers owner Jerry Richardson.
GINGER LIVINGSTON: New rules restrict phones, enforce court decorum (Greenville Daily Reflector reports) — Pitt County’s senior resident Superior Court judge is implementing new policies that require people to get off their phones and stay in their seats during hectic criminal administrative sessions. The new rules state no cell phone usage will be permitted during proceedings. That’s no talking, no texting, no internet usage. Everyone in court must follow the rules, including all attorneys, all court personnel with the exception of courtroom security.
EDUCATION
JOHN NEWSOM: In search for new workers, local manufacturers turn to young apprentices (Greensboro News & Record reports) — As companies struggle to find enough workers with the technical skills they want and as more high school students and their families question the rising cost of a four-year college degree, GAP and Weavil are trailblazers in a third way for high school graduates — not college, not a job but both at the same time.
T. KEUNG HUI: Why North Carolina’s youngest students will get some relief from testing this year (Charlotte Observer reports) — The state Department of Public Instruction is no longer requiring that kindergarten through third-grade teachers give certain tests designed to assess how well students are doing in the Read to Achieve program.
JANNETTE PIPPIN: School board to consider school-based mental health services (Jacksonville Daily News reports) — Through a partnership with Trillium Health Resources, Onslow County Schools is considering a plan that would arrange for mental health providers to address student needs in the school setting. Board of Education Chairwoman Pam Thomas said the school district has counselors and school psychologists but this would be an additional service to students to help address mental health issues.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
And so we wait for federal GenX guidelines (Fayetteville Observer) — When you see the word “provisional” attached to a safe-consumption standard, it’s hard to feel comfortable about drinking the water. And for many homeowners, the Chemours cutback means they’ll have to buy the bottled water themselves, adding irritation to an already incendiary situation.
MARK PRICE: Two Outer Banks lighthouse sites face floods as sands erode around them (Charlotte Observer reports) — Two of North Carolina’s most iconic Outer Banks lighthouse sites — Ocracoke and Bodie — are now vulnerable to flooding and the National Park Service says steps must be taken if their adjoining buildings are to survive.
ABBIE BENNETT: Infected East Coast seals are washing ashore – and are a danger to people and pets, experts say (Charlotte Observer reports) Harbor and gray seals on the northern Atlantic Coast of the United States have tested positive for avian influenza, or bird flu, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries. Both gray and harbor seals can range as far south as the Carolinas, where they sometimes travel during the winter months and haul themselves onto beaches to rest and soak up some sun.
JEFF HAMPTON: New plant guide can help bring back Outer Banks' natural habitat (The Virginian Pilot reports) — The common reed, or phragmites, has spread all over the region, suffocating native plants and damaging habitat. It is the worst invasive plant in coastal North Carolina, said Paul Hosier, author of the new book “Seacoast Plants of the Carolinas.”
AND MORE…
RACHAEL RILEY: 100 years together: Fort Bragg, Fayetteville see benefits in close ties (Fayetteville Observer reports) — A century ago, Fayetteville, Cumberland County and Fort Bragg were more neighbors than one overlapping community. But since World War II, the three entities have muddled the borders between each other as the bonds tying the nation’s largest military post to the surrounding community grow ever tighter.
JENNIFER FERNANDEZ: Jim Coman, former SBI director, prosecutor in Klan-Nazi shootings, has died (Greensboro News & Record reports) — Jim Coman, a former Guilford County prosecutor who led the State Bureau of Investigation for several years, has died. Coman, who died Thursday at age 75, served as Greensboro's first police attorney and helped prosecute during the  1979 Klan-Nazi shootings trial.
BILL HAND: So, about those North Carolina Quakers (New Bern Sun Journal column) — We’re coming up on the 307th anniversary of the Tuscarora War, where a miserably prepared European colony (that’s us) was nearly wiped out. The Tuscarora probably wouldn’t have taken us on if we weren’t in such disarray; we wouldn’t have been in such disarray if Mr. Cary hadn’t started his rebellion, and Mr. Cary would have gotten nowhere if it wasn’t for his Quaker allies.
5-pound dog dies saving family from bear in NC home (CNN reports) — “I thought I was going to die,” Tiffany Merrill said. “I started yelling for my kids, ‘Shut your doors, shut your doors, there’s a bear in the house.’” Moments later, her five-pound dog, Pickles, appeared.

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