Here and there:

*Forsyth GOP Chairman Nathan Tabor says he will challenge Brad Miller for the District 13 Congressional seat;

*WSSU cuts 11 full-time jobs;

*Chris Fitzsimon plays party-pooper, bemoaning the expiration of the state sales tax;

* An old college buddy called out of the blue to talk about John Lennon’s conservative conversion; he was as happy as I was, although he told me his brother —- another conservative convert —said he still wanted to hang onto the ‘old John’;

*The N&R editorialzes on the conflict between Greensboro city staff and the City Council:

Council members and staff should respect each others’ roles. But their relationship also should be somewhat distant, buffered by the city manager, for whom all staff members work and who reports to the council. At the heart of a “strong manager” system is the idea that the city is run by professionals with a minimum of political interference. Part-time council members aren’t well-suited for managing the details of city government. Their job is to set sound policies and secure the resources to carry them out.

From my perspective, the resources are there —it’s the council’s job to make sure they’re not squandered;

*Born on the Fourth of July: Last but not least, a big Happy Birthday to my nephew, who turns four today. God bless his his father, a Marine who preparing to deploy yet again, and his mother —-my sister —who endures his extended absences without complaint.