Editorial Comment/Spin In Queram Story On DENR

It wasn’t like this wasn’t predictable, but commentary, posing as journalism is still a shame.  In Kate Queram’s piece at the StarNews on DENR today, such commentary slips in:

That mindset, coupled with a Republican super-majority in a state government that has in recent years slashed both DENR’s budget and its oversight capabilities, could spell disaster for protective measures currently in place to preserve natural resources, according to environmental experts.

But the quote from the Coastal Resource Commission does NOT assert that there is any looming disaster:

“It will absolutely be easier for deregulation to take place under this administration,” said David Webster, a biologist at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and a member of the state’s Coastal Resources Commission. “I’m always suspicious of the influence that special-interest groups have on the political process. By nature, they are advocates for their own narrow agendas and unfortunately, our political process allows that.”

Dead Fish Better On The Shore Or In Supplements?

I’m not entirely sure where this goes, but I do think it worth noting in some way:

(StarNews) – Hundreds of thousands of dead fish washed ashore this week at Masonboro Island, according to the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The dead fish, identified as Atlantic Menhaden, are strewn along the island’s beaches and in the water, stretching over a one-mile area from the Mason Inlet jetty to Loosins Creek, officials reported.

They apparently clustered together, starved themselves of oxygen and died, a fishy suicide.  But the state has been pursuing a strategy on Menhaden for some time that would lead you to believe their numbers have been depleted.

(May 12, 2012, Outer Banks Voice)  North Carolina will soon ban industrial-scale purse seine fishing for menhaden, a species long at the center of conflict between marine conservation interests and producers of a valued dietary supplement. Menhaden are used to make omega-3 fatty oil, a dietary supplement said to fight heart disease, and as fertilizers and livestock feed.

There’s something here, but I’m just missing it somehow. Menhaden are a smelly fish and I have little doubt that the Masonboro Island smelled to high-heaven.

RC Soles. . . In The News Again!

It’s still worthy of a screenplay and it’s funny. . .

(WECT) –  Two people face charges for following former State Senator R.C. Soles’ car, according to Tabor City police. Jason Fowler and Toni Dew followed Soles’ vehicle Thursday afternoon but never made it to his side, according to police. A wrecker driven by Soles’ bodyguard was in between the two. Dew attempted to pass the wrecker, but crashed into it. That’s when police said Fowler punched the bodyguard inthe head. He’s charged with simple assault. Fowler was charged with trespassingon Soles’ property in October 2011.

So. . Dew wrecked a wrecker.  Just funny that Soles is being followed by a wrecker driven by his bodyguard.  Bizarro!  And it’s now been going on for decades. . . .