Letters: There’s no reason for Laura Riddick to get her pension.
Dale Folwell was elected State Treasurer to watch over the state’s money. Now it is time to apply state law to stop Laura Riddick from getting this huge retirement check (“Ex-register of deeds sues to keep her pension,” Nov. 27). She pleaded guilty in a plea bargain to some of the illegal actions she committed while serving as the Wake County Register of Deeds.
You can find a lawyer to sue a ham sandwich these days to see if they can twist the law every way but right to make them money.
Also, the state should not pay for her attorney to sue the state of North Carolina.
Any judge who rules against Dale Folwell should be recalled.
Mary Lou Smith
Raleigh
Future at risk
If you cannot kill a story, bury it by releasing it on a holiday. Perhaps that is why the government chose Friday of Thanksgiving weekend to release the mandated National Climate Assessment. The report squarely places the cause of this year’s wildfires in the West on climate change and, more importantly, points to worsening conditions in years ahead if steps are not taken to lessen the causes of global warming (“Climate change could triple risk of wildfires, federal report says,” Nov. 24). The U.S. economic toll, “nearly $400 billion since 2015,” will only rise in the future. Science is not fake news. The report’s co-author notes: “We are seeing the things we said would be happening happen now in real life.”
Apparently nothing in the reports suggests that the President’s solution to forest fires — raking of the forest floor — will reduce the monetary, pollution and health costs associated with climate warming. The Report’s importance to our health and the health and well-being of future generations warrants front-page publication, so the public can know how our children and grandchildren will suffer if we fail to act now.
Carl F. Goodman
Chapel Hill
Responsible driving
There have been several good letters published recently about the driving skills, or lack thereof, displayed by drivers on our roads. As a former USAF pilot, may I offer some brief words of advice? I treat my time on the Triangle’s roads as I did in combat. My head is on a swivel, checking my mirrors, on both sides, as I am routinely passed on either side on the Beltline. I try to keep four car lengths behind the car in front (though other drivers keep jumping in front of me due to the space).
Ever notice how many rear-enders there are on the Beltline? I always look for an “out” – someplace I can go to when an accident happens in front of me. Example: on a two- lane road with a hill behind me, I never pull to be bumper to bumper but leave space to zoom to the right in case some idiot comes flying over the hill, blind to the stopped traffic line. In short, drive like someone out there is trying to kill you — because they are!
Doug Aitken
Clayton
Sustained mediocrity
Coach Fedora’s firing came as no surprise. Mack Brown’s hiring was somewhat surprising. Like his predecessors, Brown will promise to take UNC football to the next level. Realistically, sustained mediocrity is the next level for Division 1 FCS teams, UNC, NC State, Duke, and Wake Forest. Good luck to all.
Allen Tew
Clayton
New ladders
Trump’s 30-foot-wall should help Mexico’s economy. It’s rumored that several companies there that build such things are ramping up plans for 40-foot ladders.
Frank A. Read
Louisburg
N&O panel to preview ACC basketball season
As the 2018-19 ACC men’s basketball season gets underway, a News & Observer panel on Wednesday, Nov. 28, will assess the prospects for North Carolina’s four ACC schools and offer predictions on which teams are likely to finish where.
The panelists are Luke DeCock, N&O sports columnist; Bridget Condon, ABC11 sports reporter; Chucky Brown, former N.C. State and NBA player; and David Shumate, play-by-play announcer for the Duke Blue Devils. Ned Barnett, N&O associate editor, will moderate.
This Community Voices forum — “ACC men’s basketball, this season and beyond” — will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at the N.C. Museum of History.. Admission is free and open to the public.