Why are we wasting money saving NC Highway 12 from coastal flooding? | Opinion

How much more taxpayer money will we spend on a clearly hopeless effort to keep NC Highway 12 open between Oregon Inlet and the pony pen on Ocracoke Island?

Face it: we can’t fight Mother Nature. The public deserves real leadership from elected officials, both executive and legislative. Instead of moving sand endlessly and building enormously expensive bridges that largely benefit out-of-state property owners, our money should be spent to improve the ferry system and to assist the local residents and business owners from Rodanthe to Ocracoke as they adjust to fewer tourists.

Chuck Till, Raleigh

Trump’s flawed strategy

Like statements by other leaders with imperial ambitions, the Trump administration’s National Security Strategy, published one month ago, frames the suppression of other countries as necessary: “The United States must be preeminent in the Western Hemisphere as a condition of our security and prosperity — a condition that allows us to assert ourselves confidently where and when we need to in the region.”

Like Putin with Ukraine, Trump sees Venezuela as his backyard. Putin invaded Ukraine, and Ukrainians still fight after four years. Now America started invading Venezuela. How can the Washington masterminds think that Venezuelans, whether they like Maduro or not, will let Americans “run” their country? Don’t Iraq and Afghanistan ring some bells in their heads?

Daniele Armaleo, Durham

Unappreciated architecture

In response to: “Couple rescues NC modernist home,” (12/25):

As a kid in the 1960s, I often visited the residential architecture section of our Encyclopedia Britannica, which had photos of revered houses from around the world, including TWO Matsumoto gems in Raleigh, which made the City of Oaks seem urbane. The N&O story puts the lie to that perception; for years, private citizens have had to fund and forge the redemption of Modernist masterpieces here.

If a city is lucky enough to have examples from Frank Lloyd Wright or George Matsumoto, it has an obligation to the world to keep them safe and sound. NC State University and the City of Raleigh are grossly negligent in this regard. If the Matsumoto works were not designed by an Asian American, would they be treated with more respect?

Randall Rickman, Raleigh

Legislative priorities

I am saddened and disgusted that our legislature has the time, wherewithal, and drive to pass yet more gender identity legislation and yet is unable to pass a budget which impacts health care, education, and compensation of teachers and other dedicated state employees. It’s time to focus on that what is important to the health and welfare of our people and state.

John Dowd, Raleigh

NC lottery problems

In response to: The NC Education Lottery’s sales are up, but schools are getting less. Let’s fix that. (Dec. 30):

Andrew Dunn’s column on the lottery was exactly on the mark, rightly noting the sordid history Democrats played in passing the lottery (I remember the vote well). Had he stopped there, I would have undoubtedly been writing in complaint. However, he continued with equal accuracy and objectivity to note that Republicans have come to embrace vice as a revenue strategy (great turn of phrase!). I also appreciated that he dug deeper to find the source of the problem (more digital games = more prizes = less money for education).

Thank you for a thoughtful, critical, and fair column.

Jeff Braden, Raleigh

PFAS changes

North Carolina has been particularly impacted by PFAS pollutants discharged into our drinking water sources. The EPA’s new proposal to loosen reporting requirements for businesses that make or use PFAS will harm communities in NC. A foundational element of the Clean Water Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act is accountability: A polluter needs to report on the type and amount of chemicals that it discharges. The PFAS reporting rule finalized in 2024 required companies manufacturing 6 PFAS varients between 2011 and 2022 to disclose how those chemicals were used and to provide available environmental or health data.

But the EPA’s new proposed rule, by the EPA’s own estimate, would eliminate more than 97% of the information that would otherwise be generated by the 2024 rule. The proposed rule is a distortion of previous laws and privatizes the profits of the chemical industry while socializing its costs.

In North Carolina, we need more information, not less.

Pamela Schwingl, Cedar Grove