Neuse Regional Libraries are starting off the new year by providing awesome recreational adult programming for our community members. We have two monthly observances that we will celebrate in January and February, one of which is Winter Reads!
All in Columns
John Hood: Let's really reform state universities
Are North Carolina policymakers thinking big enough about the future of post-secondary education and training? I’m not convinced they are.
Mike Parker: Listening to my grandchildren a lesson in time travel
As many of you know, I have four adult grandchildren in their 20s. They are confronting the only reality of American life they have ever known, but I have lived through at least three or four transmutations of America – especially the American economy.
Cooking with Tammy Kelly: Fun Facts About Cilantro
Cilantro or Coriander Leaf, is one of the more polarizing herbs out there, however, believe it or not, it is also one of the most widely eaten herbs in the world. It is super versatile and can be used as an ingredient or a garnish.
John Hood: How North Carolina Can Expand Opportunity
Having enacted major reforms of North Carolina’s tax code, regulatory system, budgeting process, transportation funding, and education system over the past dozen years, what should the General Assembly do next?
Mike Parker: A special word of thanks to our local medical staff
Some of you may have noticed my column was not in last week’s edition of Neuse News. The reason for my dereliction of duty sprang from a host of medical appointments in preparation for total hip replacement surgery on January 5.
Cooking with Tammy Kelly: Rooting for Rutabaga
So, what do you do with a rutabaga? Even saying the word somehow feels funny, but the rutabaga is not some strange being, yet merely a member of the cabbage family, often confused with a turnip, but very different.
John Hood: Liberate Markets to Help Workers Succeed
I have two favorite quotes from Ronald Reagan about the world of work. The first one illustrates his mastery of an indispensable political tool: self-deprecating humor. “It’s true hard work never killed anybody,” he quipped, “but I figure, why take the chance?”
Cooking with Tammy: Healthy New Recipes to try for 2023!
Whether you are trying to stick to your New Year’s Resolutions or just want to get back on the healthy eating track after a little too much seasonal excess, here are some new and different recipes for you to give a try! Many of these will fall under the Mediterranean Diet.
John Hood: Competition Makes Public Schools Better
According to multiple media reports, there will likely be major efforts during the 2023 session of the North Carolina General Assembly to raise and reform teacher compensation and enact other public-education reforms while also expanding the state’s school-choice programs.
John Hood: New Law Properly Checks Governor’s Power
When COVID-19 first struck North Carolina nearly three years ago, Gov. Roy Cooper responded with a series of executive orders that closed or limited the operations of schools, businesses, public amenities, and even churches.
Mike Parker: As the New Year opens, my only resolution: Practice gratitude
As 2022 drew to a close, I had an acute awareness of how much complaining I had done last year. I confess that fault to my shame. So much in my life that brings me joy and continual challenge, yet I focus on the negatives too much of the time.
Cooking with Tammy Kelly: Blessings for the New Year
The New Year offers us an opportunity to make a clean start on developing new life habits and even leave some behind us. Be sure to start your new year with an extra boost of good fortune by enjoying a meal sure to promise good blessings. The traditional foods in the South relating to good fortune are beans, greens and pork.
John Hood: Democratic Court Blew It on Redistricting
I’ve been on the redistricting beat a long time. Back in the early 1990s, I wrote numerous articles criticizing the collaboration among Republican and NAACP activists to maximize the number of black-majority districts. After the egregious Democratic gerrymander of 2001, I cheered on the lawsuit that ultimately became the Stephenson v. Bartlett case, which overturned the gerrymander and enforced the state constitution’s rule against unnecessarily splitting counties in legislative maps.
John Hood: Christmas Gets a Cheeky Defense
One of the ironies of the holiday calendar is that Christmas follows closely after Thanksgiving. Many of the Pilgrims and Puritans who helped make Thanksgiving an American tradition were appalled by and opposed to the celebration of Christmas.
Mike Parker: Snow Hill knows how to do a parade right
On a December 3rd that mixed threats of rain with actual rain, participants and onlookers determined in their hearts that no matter the weather, the Snow Hill Christmas Parade must go on. Parade participants lined up, and a little after 2 p.m., the first group stepped out to begin the 2.5-mile parade route.
Adopting a dog brings joy to all
In 2019, I went to a pet store in Greenville on the hunt for my best friend. I knew since I was 5 years old that as soon as I had my home, I would adopt a dog. No one tells you how difficult it is to adopt or purchase a dog, but you need to weigh the options either way.
Cooking with Tammy: Tried and True Christmas Food Favorites
Most every family has food traditions; they are as much a part of who we are as the educations we receive. They are a part of our culture and really show where we come from and form a great deal of who we will become.
John Hood: Index Confirms State’s Reddish Tint
No, I haven’t come up with the #ncpol equivalent of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. In that famous science-fiction satire, the protagonist learns there is an “Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything” — and its answer is 42. But the question itself is never revealed, and indeed it’s suggested that if both the question and answer were known simultaneously, the universe would cease to exist.
Matt Lococo: Meet Me Greene County, featuring Amber Hargett
Neuse News is beginning a series to introduce Greene County readers to some of the influential, interesting, and decision-making leaders of our community. Consider this “Meet Me Greene County” column a look into what makes Greene County the special place it is to live, work, and play.