The N&R’s Monday morning Short Stack is an interesting mix of gloom and rosy optimism.
For starters, the paper warns us to be very afraid of —-gasp—- Code Orange days:
Around here, a Code Orange alert doesn’t have anything to do with the threat of terrorism — unless poor air quality scares you. Last week’s Triad ozone readings pushed into the uncomfortable orange range for the first time in 2007. That means it was smoggy.
The number of measurably smoggy days in the Triad has declined in the last few years. But recording the first one so early in the warm season isn’t a good sign. Hotter weather ahead could worsen air quality. For people with breathing disorders, the thought of more Code Orange alerts, let alone Red or Purple, can be terrifying.
Yet there’s still reason to feel good about N.C. A&T, which, by the way, has misplaced another $131,000 in state property:
Recent revelations of financial mismanagement at N.C. A&T aren’t the kind of news you hope to hear from a tradition-steeped local school that’s also a major employer and economic engine.
But don’t throw out the baby with the bath water.
N.C. A&T’s growth and vitality remain crucial to the Triad economy. The school appears earnest and forthright in fixing what a team of UNC system auditors found broken.
Meanwhile, funds for a planned joint research campus with UNCG that will focus on nanotechnology have received an enthusiastic nod in the state Senate’s budget.
Good for A&T. And good for the Triad.
If they say so.
