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Posted on Sat, Sep. 02, 2006



Superintendent finds some food for thought




Superintendent finds

some food for thought

Call the nutrition police! Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Peter Gorman reports on his blog that he had lunch at the Merry Oaks Elementary cafeteria this week and chose a hamburger, rice, mashed potatoes and chocolate milk.

"Like a lot of the kids, I passed on the vegetables," he writes. "Unless ... is ketchup a vegetable?"

Gorman reports having a great time helping teach fifth-grade math. And the guy who's in charge of the district's billion-dollar budget says he particularly enjoyed "multiplying numbers ending in zeroes." -- Ann Doss Helms

Robinson puts new spin on old idea

The "black Jesse Helms" has ripped a page out of the real Jesse Helms' playbook.Republican Vernon Robinson, a no-holds-barred conservative running in North Carolina's 13th Congressional District, which stretches from Greensboro to Raleigh, has a new ad that mimics one that helped Helms defeat former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt in the 1990 U.S. Senate race.

Helms' ad showed a pair of white hands crumpling a rejection letter, as an announcer said, "You needed that job. ... But they had to give it to a minority."

Robinson's ad features the hands of a black woman crumpling a letter.

"You needed that job," an announcer says. "And you were the best qualified. But they gave it to an illegal alien -- so they could pay him under the table. ... These illegals pay no taxes, but take our jobs and our government handouts. Then spit in our face. And burn our flag. Well, Vernon Robinson has had enough!"

Immigration is a hot topic for Robinson, who faces Democratic Rep. Brad Miller. An earlier ad featured mariachi music in the background.

"If Miller had his way," it said. "America would be nothing but one big fiesta for illegal aliens and homosexuals." -- jim morrill

Honorable protest? Not to McCrory

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory delivered a mild public scolding recently to a friend and fellow mayor, Salt Lake City's Rocky Anderson.

Anderson, a Democrat, made headlines last month by announcing he would speak at a protest rally coinciding with President Bush's visit Wednesday to Utah's capital.

McCrory, a Republican, was quoted in an Aug. 15 story about Anderson's plans in The Salt Lake Tribune, which sought McCrory out because Charlotte hosted Bush in April.

"It's inappropriate and disrespectful" for a mayor to protest when the president visits his city, McCrory said. "You're the ambassador for the city. There is an unwritten rule that you show respect. That's why you're called honorable."

McCrory added that he considers Anderson a friend. McCrory was one of the few Republican mayors who last year attended the Sundance Summit on global warming, co-hosted by Anderson and actor-activist Robert Redford, near Salt Lake City.

If Anderson was inclined to rethink his position, he didn't show it. During his speech Wednesday, he referred to Bush as "a dishonest, warmongering, human rights-violating president." -- greg lacour

Money talk: Challengers can't walk

A lot of local candidates will join today's parade at the Matthews Alive festival. That is, except for the ones who weren't invited.Some candidates cried foul when festival organizers rejected their requests to march. The only politicians invited are elected officials. Organizers say they worried that taking money from others could jeopardize the festival's nonprofit status. So incumbents will have the parade -- and the audience -- to themselves.

"I've gotten calls from the Democrats and the Republicans," said Mayor Lee Myers. "Obviously we're not showing favoritism because we've had folks upset on both sides." -- jim morrill






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