Columns

Memo to anyone in Sunset Beach with a garbage can in need of emptying:

Notice is hereby given you’d better be mindful of the scheduled pickup times by the local Waste Industries garbage truck. This includes the time frame you’re allowed to (1) roll the can out to the end of your driveway prior to pickup and (2) roll the can back up the driveway and out of “unsightliness” after pickup.

If you’re not aware of the rules, it could cost you a $50 fine.

If there’s one thing people hate more than the complex labyrinth of wasted stimulus money known as the Smith Avenue extension project, it’s the new congressional districts recently adopted in the General Assembly.

Just as the new route traversing Shallotte is a dismal failure lacking any rhyme or reason, so are the new congressional districts, or at least the 7th Congressional District, where we live.

Everybody hates the new 7th District. It was sliced and diced to span from the coast to the outskirts of Raleigh.

I pulled into a South Carolina gas station on manic Monday morning ready to fill up—again. Seems like it was déjà vu all over—again. Because, in fact, it was.

I’ve been jumping through hoops on this gas-gigging, dog-and-pony routine on a weekly basis all summer. It’s sweltering outside, after all, and my car has been thirsty.

Besides, I have the kind of reporting job that requires me to rove around Brunswick County—one of the largest in North Carolina.

In case you haven’t noticed, coupons—or as I like to refer to them, beautifully perforated money-saving gems—returned to the Beacon this week.

That’s right, this week’s Beacon marks the return of the much-requested coupons back into your weekly newspaper. I doubt there’s anyone out there more excited than me.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m no professional couponer—yet. But I’d consider myself at least slightly above average.