Smoke-free air
Your Jan. 1 article "The effects of the smoking ban" was balanced and timely as we prepare to celebrate the second anniversary of North Carolina's smoke-free restaurant and bars law. I suspect there will always be a small number of people who continue to defend their right to smoke, but the majority of North Carolinians support the law and the right to breathe smoke-free air in public places.
With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about to weigh in on the impact of smoking bans, we should celebrate the increased attention to this issue. A recent addition to the mounting evidence that cigarette smoke kills, The North Carolina Smoke Free Restaurants and Bars Law and Emergency Department Admissions for Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI), revealed that visits to N.C. emergency rooms by residents declined 21 percent since the smoke-free law went into effect. Applying the 21 percent reduction rate to North Carolina's historical AMI statistics, the law helped lower AMI hospital discharges by over 4,000 a year, AMI deaths by over 1,500 a year, and probably lowered out-of-hospital cardiac deaths by over 2,500 a year.
The surgeon general has made it abundantly clear that there is no safe level of exposure to cigarette smoke, and our smoking ban is a responsible reaction to that. There are myriad health risks in our modern lives that we can do nothing about. This one we can, and we did. Yes, let us celebrate.
DR. DAVID GOFF
PRESIDENT OF THE MID-ATLANTIC AFFILIATE OF THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION
Winston-Salem
A positive situation
As a Reynolds High School graduate, current aunt of a student, and mother of future students, I have been excited to follow the possibility of an on-site stadium ("Stadium foes fear traffic, parking, noise," Jan. 11). What a great location and a positive situation for both Wiley Middle School and Reynolds.
I am concerned over some of the opposition. There are basketball games in Reynolds gymnasium, which hundreds attend already, and access to the main buildings through the tunnel. Is parking truly going to change drastically? I believe not. Also, many of those in opposition supported the baseball stadium, where much more noise and lights are involved. Yes, the stadium also has houses nearby. In other areas, citizens pay a premium to live where they can walk and attend high-school football games. Visit Hershey, Pa., to get a taste.
This will add to the downtown allure. The look of the park will be altered, but this is school land, and there is still plenty of room for Hanes Park. A stadium would mean an open environment, and the old eyesore gym would be gone. Press on, Kathryn Spanos!
CHERRYEL SCURRY
Winston-Salem
Opposition to bikes
I was surprised by the opposition to bicycle amenities expressed in the letter "A small percentage" (Jan. 9). That writer may be unaware of the benefits of active transportation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that Americans are becoming less fit — partly due to a lack of exercise. Bicycling and walking can replace driving for short errands and trips to school, resulting in healthier people and a better environment. The writer of "A small percentage" might improve his own health and the health of our environment by joining that "small percentage" who use our trails, greenways and bike lanes.
CHARLES E. WILSON
Winston-Salem
Leadership and compassion
Thank you, Journal, for your investigative series on the state's aggressive 45-year forced-sterilization program, for your admission of support for that cruel and shameful effort, and for your apology to the victims ("Help for sterilization victims past due," Jan. 6). The Journal's insistence on monetary compensation from the state to the fast-dwindling group of surviving victims is admirable. As you have written, an apology is not enough. North Carolina needs to show leadership and compassion by stepping up and doing the right thing.
It is very sobering to think that so many intelligent, well-meaning citizens thought that this program was a good idea, and that they thought so for more than four decades. I hope we have learned something from this horrendous experience, and that when we consider cutting programs that help those in need, we will remember what cost-cutting efforts by the state can lead to.
ANNE N. PAISLEY
Winston-Salem
Finish the Thought
Welcome to our new feature. Briefly complete the sentence below and send it to us atletters@wsjournal.com. We'll print some of the results in a few days. Only signed entries, please, no anonymous ones.
"A president should only dump his vice president in favor of a new running mate if ..."
"Edwards was charged in June in a six-count federal indictment alleging that he was complicit in an illegal scheme to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars from two wealthy supporters to help support and seclude his pregnant mistress, Rielle Hunter, during the 2008 presidential campaign.Edwards was charged in June in a six-count federal indictment alleging that he was complicit in an illegal scheme to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars from two wealthy supporters to help support and seclude his pregnant mistress, Rielle Hunter, during the 2008 presidential campaign."
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Johnny was doing all this while his wife was battling cancer.
The Democrats in North Carolina have a long history of corruption in this state. Johnny is just one of many of them.
Frankie Avalon(Rush) belly surfs with a surf board trailing behind him at La Jolla, and he wants us to believe he is another Kelly Slater. What a nitwit!
ReplyDeleteIt just NEVER stops!
At least two Democratic governors have vetoed voter I.D. laws, Bev being one of them. People were able to get dead peoples' ballots to potentially vote in the recent New Hampshire primary.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for allowing corruption Democrats!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-uVhhIlPk0&feature=player_embedded
"But going forward, the proposal would prohibit same-sex marriages and instead permit civil unions for gay couples -- which is what the state allowed before the 2009 law."
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New Hampshire voters to get chance for same sex 'unions' instead of marriage? Which is precisely what old 'Bucky' has suggested as appropriate.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/14/same-sex-marriage-faces-test-in-new-hampshire-as-lawmakers-consider-repeal/#ixzz1jSt1Gyht
"We have no problem with a history class talking about historical injustices. It becomes problematic though when you take every historic event and you interpret it in racial terms, in a radical context and you use that to inflame a low income Hispanic minority against a white Caucasian majority. Then you're not talking about injustice. You're not talking about how each of us has individual rights and responsibilities for a better future. Now you're talking about getting even."
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Diversity classes in Tucson spiral out of control. You gotta love liberals, they're always up to something no-good.