Will Duke take a look at itself?
Rick Martinez: The New Year is often a fresh start. Some Duke University faculty members and administrators should take advantage of the opportunity to reflect on their actions of the past year and to reclaim their reputations.
No bars to holiday giving
Rick Martinez: Today and tomorrow, Steve Bizzell will put the finishing touches on 250 special presents he'll deliver Christmas Day. The gifts won't generate the screams of excitement an HD television or PlayStation3 would.
Officers who abuse their badges
Rick Martinez: North Carolina has a cop problem. This is how bad it is. Up until this year, when flashing blue lights showed up in my rear-view mirror or rolled down my street, I went through a mental checklist of what I might have done wrong. No more.
Policies bordering on chaos
Rick Martinez:While Congress continues to turn its back on immigration control and reform, local governments are taking matters into their own hands. In North Carolina, some actions are not much more than an assertion of American pride.
Teacher pay that reaches the students
Rick Martinez:Equality is overrated, especially when it comes to education. Racial equality has often been used as an excuse to ship poor, minority and usually underperforming kids from the inner city to the suburbs to be among their higher-performing white and Asian peers.
They saw no humor in racism
Rick Martinez:Sometimes, monumental moments are hard to spot. Take comedian Michael Richards' racist rant at a West Hollywood nightclub.
At heart, they're all in the rescue business
Rick Martinez:Durham Deputy Sheriff Ernie Mills Jr. spent a number of his childhood years in a homeless shelter. His parents were poor -- by choice.
With faith and charity, there's hope
Rick Martinez:Starting tomorrow and continuing through Christmas, Americans will kick into charity mode.
Failure to prevail in Iraq
Rick Martinez:Iraq is lost. Baghdad won't fall tomorrow, but in time its name will stand alongside Beirut, Mogadishu and Saigon as one of America's post-World War II military failures.
Rewarding visions of military life today
Rick Martinez:Most vets will tell you that downtime, especially during deployment, was a significant part of their military career. Aboard ship, sailors find a variety of ways to pass the time between watches.
Don't call them 'contests'
Rick Martinez:For many, casting a ballot is the epitome of what's right with America. But the ballot is itself becoming the prime piece of evidence of what's wrong with our democracy.
A night to remember for sex offenders
Rick Martinez:Paul King is throwing a Halloween party of sorts. Be glad you're not invited.
Wal-Mart's anti-poverty prescription
Rick Martinez:If you want to feel good about helping the poor, donate to a charity. If you want to make a positive and instantaneous difference in the lives of the poor, make sure they have access to a Wal-Mart.
The bonds aren't the whole issue
Rick Martinez:School bond elections are generally about as thrilling as an accountants' convention. That's changing. In urban North Carolina, bond elections are becoming high-profile political battlegrounds.
When crooks take off, she revs up
Rick Martinez:Robin Stikeleather strives to be self-sufficient -- even when it comes to relying on local law enforcement.
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