Fannie Flono

In 2004, my home state of Georgia voted to amend its Constitution “to recognize as marriage only the union of man and woman.” Seventy-six percent of Georgia voters approved the measure. My nephew Stuart, finally at the legal age to vote and so casting a ballot for the first time, was among that 76 percent.

Whatever circumstances state and federal authorities determine preceded and/or precipitated the killing last month of an unarmed 17-year-old by a 28-year-old who said he was on neighborhood watch patrol, one thing seems clear. This tragedy could have been avoided.

A few weeks ago I was standing in line at a restaurant and spotted a familiar face: Rev. James Barnett. Newcomers to Charlotte won’t know who he is. But during the 1980s and 1990s, Barnett was the face and voice of a boisterous anti-crime movement whose rallying cry was to “Stop the Killing.”

The story of Jeremy Lin caught my eye for a couple of reasons.

Concern about income inequality and the huge and growing wealth gap in this country has found new energy in our political discourse of late.

Over the last three years, a lot of the wind has been knocked out of Bev Perdue's brash boast on the night she broke through the glass ceiling and became North Carolina's first female governor.

Three local stories converged for me this week that may lighten your spirit and inspire you as the New Year starts. They did for me.

Maybe we should start calling groups that engage in hazing gangs. It fits. Gangs use violence and threats to keep members in line. Gangs beat up people until they're seriously injured or die.

Now that Newt Gingrich has brought it up, maybe it's time for a refresher course on the value of child labor laws. The Republican presidential candidate's claim that child labor laws are "truly stupid" rightly offends many people.

I don't know whether Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is a serial sexual harasser of women or not.