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Columns

  • All I want for Christmas is ...

    This time last year, all I wanted for Christmas was to keep everyone and everything I have. I don’t think Santa heard me or maybe he misunderstood, because we lost my cousin Lisa and one of my best friends died last month. Perhaps I should have been clearer, too. I’d have been very happy to lose some pounds; I guess I didn’t really want to keep everything. Even so, it all makes me even more grateful for who and what I still have in my life.

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  • You decide this year: What will 2015’s economy look like?

    By Mike Walden

    North Carolina Cooperative Extension

     

    Economists receive much attention at the beginning of a new year. Understandably, people want some insight into how the economy will perform. Of course, no economist can predict every individual’s economic outlook. Instead, what we do is try to forecast the general trends in the economy so that households and businesses can make more informed decisions about their personal situations.

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  • Even short stuff is subject to commentary

    When people call me short, I no longer take offense. After all, it’s a statement of fact.

    My height, officially, is 4-foot-11¾. I can’t break that 5-foot barrier without wearing shoes or at least thick socks.

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  • Stumbling upon news has become second nature

    There I was in the office the other night — sitting at my desk and working at my computer, listening to Ray Charles and doing editor things — when I glanced out the window into the dark and saw a nondescript sedan heading down Smith Avenue toward U.S. 17 but slowing down for the Shallotte police cruiser, its blue lights flashing, following behind it. No big deal.

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  • Making your gift count

    By Roy Cooper

    Guest Columnist

     

    The holidays are a time to celebrate with friends and family and give thanks for our blessings. It’s also a time when many of us choose to give to those who are less fortunate.

    Across North Carolina, many people consider making donations to charities and worthy causes an important part of their holiday traditions. 


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  • Garbage-line delay raises a stink in Carolina Shores

    You know the Thanksgiving holiday is over when:

    1. The turkey platter is picked clean.
    2. Garbage and weekend yard-debris bags are full and piling up.
    3. The traffic line at the Carolina Shores recycle center is backed up Monday morning with residents waiting to dispose of those aforementioned bags.

    This is not a multiple-choice quiz. All of the above is correct.

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  • Business, a needed break and busy-ness

    Last week, I asked readers to share what types of retail businesses they’d like to see here in Brunswick County that don’t already exist. My list includes Target; menswear, sportswear and plus-sized women’s clothing stores; a lingerie shop that carries a variety of sizes and foundations and caters to women who have had mastectomies and breast reconstruction; a fine wine and beer shop; and a sporting goods store.

    Among the other suggestions I received are:

    ·      A toy store

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  • The joy of giving, the ordeal of getting

    There’s always so much ado about Black Friday, that maddening day-after-Thanksgiving tradition when people practically trample each other in the quest to claim the best pre-Christmas shopping bargains and when retailers hope the frenzy results in a significantly boosted bottom line by the end of the year.

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  • There’s still time to select a 2015 Medicare drug plan

    By Jennifer Prince Sherman

    Guest Columnist

    Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin and the staff of SHIIP, the Seniors’ Health Insurance Information Program, are reminding Medicare beneficiaries of a very important deadline.

    The Annual Election Period to review, compare and choose Medicare prescription drug coverage ends Dec. 7. Medicare beneficiaries are encouraged to call SHIIP at (855) 408-1212 or (800) MEDICARE for free and unbiased help in choosing a drug plan.

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  • Notes from a human traffic cone
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