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As every reader should know, 2022 was an election year in Brunswick County and across America. With that came our election coverage, largely in the form of candidate questionnaires and reporting of the results. There also came a weekly barrage of letters to the editor endorsing one political…

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A number of months ago, Hubby Dear sent me a copy of an email he had received. It arrived, as always, with a comment. Perhaps the message would be more appropriately described as a commentary accompanied by a not-so-subtle hint to consider the contents for a possible column. As always, I hee…

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One bright red winter fruit that begins appearing in our stores this time of year is the pomegranate. California is the leading producer of pomegranates in the United States, but we also get them from Arizona and Texas. They are usually readily available October through December.

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We had the Mississippi River to ourselves. At least for a little while a few weeks ago. We were on a dream vacation on a cruise ship we boarded in New Orleans headed to Memphis.

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North Carolina has an official state bird (the Northern Cardinal), an official state reptile (the Eastern Box Turtle), an official state insect (the honeybee), an official state mammal (the Gray Squirrel), an official saltwater fish (the Channel Bass), an official freshwater fish (the Southe…

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“Great fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite ‘em, And little fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum.”

How should North Carolina be governed? The same question can be asked about any other state in America, or any other country in the world. It’s a critical question. It lies at the heart of every political dispute you can think of, from education reform and environmental protection to tax pol…

For decades North Carolina has ranked near the bottom of all states in the country when it comes to the public’s right to know what went wrong when a government employee is transferred, demoted or terminated for disciplinary reasons.