Legislature should help Spellings bring change at UNC

Legislature should listen to Spellings

In response to Taylor Batten “No slack in Spellings’ rope” (Oct. 3 Opinion):

As a native North Carolinian and UNC Chapel Hill graduate, I am a big supporter of the UNC system and its new president, Margaret Spellings.

She raises what seem to be valid questions regarding the size of the Board of Governors, the many layers below it, and related costs.

I hope the legislature will give her the backing she needs to bring positive change and continued growth to our excellent UNC system.

Don Justice, Charlotte

Scott’s widow refused CMPD request

In response to “CMPD probe omitted key witness, family’s lawyer says” (Oct. 4):

I fail to understand why you would include a quote from Susanna Birdsong of the ACLU, “I am trying to think of a good reason why they wouldn’t interview her and I can’t think of one.”

In just a few sentences before that, you give the good reason: Rakeyia Scott refused to speak with CMPD and refused to show them the video.

Is this supposed to be good journalism? I’ll answer that for you – it is not!

I am an increasingly disappointed reader of the Observer.

Merlin Villar, Huntersville

Police officers must be held accountable

Some conservatives are against holding police officers accountable for shooting fatalities, claiming it was up to the deceased to comply with whatever commands the officer(s) supposedly issued before discharging their firearms.

The Constitution demands that our government, including its enforcement arm, act in very specific ways when dealing with “we the people.”

Police officers must be held accountable for their actions. If they are not, the vital social contract America has prospered under for centuries would dissolve and we might slip into a state where justice is to be bought and sold like fruit at a roadside produce stand.

Michael A. Clark, Charlotte

Don’t miss larger point on Trump taxes

Folks are missing the point of Donald Trump not paying any income taxes.

You don’t have to pay taxes if you lost almost a billion dollars.

I do not want him running my business.

L.C. Coonse, Granite Falls

Greater issue is Clinton transparency

In response to “What Trump’s taxes tell us about him” (Oct. 4 Observer Editorial):

Almost every presidential candidate for the last 40 years has released his/her tax returns in the interest of transparency. Other than that, no one cares.

Any conclusion that Trump is hiding something is an assumption on Hillary Clinton’s part.

I don’t want a president who thinks some Americans are deplorable. And I don’t want a president who can’t be transparent before she enters office.

Martin Miller, Yadkinville

Trump sets a bad example on taxes

Now everybody in the United States will want to pay zero on their federal income tax, like Trump may have. This makes America great again?

Jim Hinkle, Charlotte

Burr ad doesn’t tell truth about Ross

Sen. Richard Burr must be following Donald Trump’s playbook.

His recent ad falsely claims Deborah Ross opposed a sex offender registry when in fact she worked with the authors to make it better and voted more than once to strengthen it.

Having worked with Deborah while executive director of the N.C. Council for Women, I can attest to her support for laws that protect the safety and rights of women and families.

I fear that a new high bar for lying is being set in this campaign season.

Jill Dinwiddie, Charlotte

When will ‘Carolina comeback’ start?

In response to “CIAA basketball tournaments to stay in Charlotte” (Oct. 1):

Saturday’s front-page article rightly celebrates a major tournament staying in Charlotte and we welcome the important CIAA tournaments to our city.

But it is interesting that with so many performers and large sporting events fleeing North Carolina over HB2, the big stories now are about who is staying.

So, I ask Gov. Pat McCrory and the state legislature, “Is this your idea of a Carolina comeback?”

Allen Crawford, Charlotte

This story was originally published October 5, 2016 at 6:50 AM with the headline "Legislature should help Spellings bring change at UNC."