Our View: Babies and resolutions: it's a new year
Thumbs-up: to everyone who made a new year's resolution — and is still on track. There may be 359 days to go, but one day at a time gets the job done.
Thumbs-up: to Watauga County's first baby of the new year. At 3:47 p.m. Jan. 1, the baby born to Dana Powell and Eric Karchmer of Boone was unnamed. Today, we welcome Asa Karchmer — and we offer our encouragement as baby Asa undergoes scheduled surgery on Monday.
Thumbs-down: to state budget cuts that have forced the closure of the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center. More than an icon, the conference center offers a unique venue for large group meetings in the High Country. Hopefully, the movers and shakers at Appalachian State University will take what amounts to a public service into account as they assess the future of this building.
Thumbs-up: to a business responding to its customers. After word of a local coffee shop closing its doors made the newspaper, customers brewed grassroots support for the enterprise to keep it open.
Thumbs-down: to a new state gas tax rate that pushes North Carolina near the top of the nation. Before adjourning for the holidays, the N.C. House voted to cap the current 38.9 cents per gallon tax at 35 cents. In a Scrooge-like move, the Senate went home without addressing the issue.
Thumbs-up: to Watauga County's first baby of the new year. At 3:47 p.m. Jan. 1, the baby born to Dana Powell and Eric Karchmer of Boone was unnamed. Today, we welcome Asa Karchmer — and we offer our encouragement as baby Asa undergoes scheduled surgery on Monday.
Thumbs-down: to state budget cuts that have forced the closure of the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center. More than an icon, the conference center offers a unique venue for large group meetings in the High Country. Hopefully, the movers and shakers at Appalachian State University will take what amounts to a public service into account as they assess the future of this building.
Thumbs-up: to a business responding to its customers. After word of a local coffee shop closing its doors made the newspaper, customers brewed grassroots support for the enterprise to keep it open.
Thumbs-down: to a new state gas tax rate that pushes North Carolina near the top of the nation. Before adjourning for the holidays, the N.C. House voted to cap the current 38.9 cents per gallon tax at 35 cents. In a Scrooge-like move, the Senate went home without addressing the issue.