Thank you, Richard Childress, for representing NC at the Great American State Fair | Opinion

A thumbs up to Richard Childress for providing the North Carolina pavilion at the Great American State Fair in Washington DC when Gov. Josh Stein refused. A car simulator at the pavilion was receiving an average of 880 visitors PER HOUR.

Celebrating 250 years should be non-partisan. The welfare and promotion of the state is more important than petty politics.

Brenda Untener, China Grove

Energy and Hormuz

As the Iran conflict settles, what if the biggest winner is not a nation, but a solar panel? Free energy from sunlight travels millions of miles to Earth and none of those miles go through the Strait of Hormuz.

History shows us that oil and costly geopolitical conflicts are often linked. If these wars teach us anything, it’s that the smartest energy sources of the future are those that can’t be blockaded or held hostage by events half a world away. Even without a war, America is in an oil quagmire dependent on global markets.

Meanwhile, China is sprinting ahead in the global clean-energy race for energy independence. The choice is clear. Clean energy diversification means fewer oil shocks, fewer wars, and creates new US jobs while cutting pollution that addresses the climate problem.

Jane Taylor, Charlotte

Where is the Limit?

I know in these times people are pretty entrenched in their political beliefs, but I would hope that at some point there will be a reality check for everyone. A nun was arrested by ICE in Texas while walking to Mass. I know it sounds like the set up to a joke, but it’s not. She was in full garb walking to Mass. Is there a breaking point?

Benjamin Harris, Charlotte

Flawed NCDOT

The state wants to charge Mecklenburg $60 million because we refuse to accept an extremely flawed plan for another decade of construction, destroyed neighborhoods, and undoubtedly no relief for traffic. Have you driven on I-77 in north Meck lately? There are toll lanes, and vehicles are still crawling. And why didn’t those very expensive planners include a median for easy and cheap light rail expansion?

NC’s traffic planners have a sad track record: Sections of I-485 had to be widened even before other parts of the beltway were completed.

Unless you want an I-77 with dozens of lanes, we need to get the thousands of trucks and through-traffic cars off the road that local drivers use for local traffic. A high-speed bypass with very, very limited access would benefit the non-local traffic that would gladly pay a very low toll to avoid an hour in Charlotte.

Hank Durkin, Charlotte

Thumbs up for the small stuff

A recent post on the Nextdoor app for Wood’s Edge in Durham struck a nerve: 190 responses and counting.

The topic was simple: the small acts of inconsideration we see every day. A cart left in a parking space. A car blocking an accessible space. A driver texting. A person who does not move over, hold the door, return the cart, or take the few extra seconds to make life easier for someone else.

The point was not that these shortcuts are dramatic or malicious. It was that they shift the burden. What saves one person a little time can cost someone else effort, safety, patience, or peace of mind. The comments mostly agreed. But some also asked a useful question: What about the positive side? Someone lets you go ahead in line because you only have a few items. Thumbs up. Someone returns a stray cart. Thumbs up. Someone who pauses to let you cross safely, moves over on the sidewalk, holds the door, waits patiently, picks up what someone else dropped, or takes the extra few seconds to make life easier for the next person. Thumbs up.

We notice inconsideration all the time. Maybe we should make a habit of noticing consideration, too. A thumbs-up is a simple way to say, “I noticed. Thank you.”

Beth Andrachick Hauptle, Durham