Right Of Way Decision

Residents keep asking me what I plan to do about Judge Alford's dismissal of my complaint against the Town.

All I can say is, I don't know. I haven't seen the draft of the Judge's order. So, although I know what I heard during the hearing, I don't know what the written order will say.

So I'm holding off on a decision until I read the order.

I'll let everyone know as soon as the order is entered.

NC: Remove All Ferry Tolls

Local resident Greg Piner, who used the Minnesott ferry for decades to commute to work at the Marine Corps Air Station, has a creative and rational idea about ferry tolls.

Piner, who has argued against adding tolls to the previously free ferries used mostly by Pamlico County workers, has figured out that North Carolina would be better off without ferry tolls.  He disclosed his idea here on Town Dock.net.

Local Real Estate Developer Larry Gwaltney has expressed similar ideas on his Facebook page:

"I fear that our economy will be impacted as day trippers who travel and shop at our businesses and eat in our restaurants will be less likely to take the ferry. The ferries have been a drawing card for tourists for many years. Baby boo...mers, looking for a retirement destination, will not be as likely to see the beauty of coastal NC and will elect to choose homes and properties in other destinations.

Most of all, our infrastructure that provides the working people a reasonable route to work, will be impacted. The expense of a pass will again burden the family trying to make ends meet in an already troubled economy. Perhaps, we need to take a closer look
to see how Virginia and Texas continue to operate their state maintained ferry systems with no tolls."

 Maybe reason will out.

Is The Pope Italian?

It is by now an old joke. For much of my life, a response to an obvious question (one to which the answer might be: "duh?") would be, instead, "is the Pope Catholic?" The joke was modified after the first Polish Pope, to: "Is the Pope Italian?" To which, of course, the right answer was no longer "yes!" That continued to be the case after Cardinal Ratzinger was elected to the Papacy.

Now things are a bit more complicated. Pope Francis I (nee Bergoglio) is the son of Italian immigrants to Argentina. In at least the sense of ethnicity, the Pope is Italian.

More worthy of concern is that the Pope is Argentine. Remember the "disappeared" and Argentina's "dirty war" of kidnapping, torture and murder of leftists? There has long been information that the hands of Argentina's Catholic hierarchy were not clean in this matter. How about Bergoglio?

Today, Pope Francis I is being described as more concerned than many of his predecessors about poverty and injustice. Let us hope this is so.

The brutal Argentine military dictatorship ended thirty years ago. Many Argentine institutions were compromised by their actions during that period, not least the Argentine Navy. Maybe Francis I can lead Argentines in a final refutation of that period. That would be a good thing.

Here are a few links to articles about Argentine Catholics, including Bergoglio, during the dictatorship:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/jan/04/argenitina-videla-bergoglio-repentance

http://gregmitchellwriter.blogspot.com/2013/03/new-pope-and-shame-of-argentina.html

http://en.mercopress.com/2012/07/24/argentine-military-dictator-confirms-catholic-church-hierarchy-was-well-aware-of-the-disappeared

http://americasouthandnorth.wordpress.com/2013/03/13/on-the-selection-of-jorge-mario-bergoglio-as-pope-francisco/

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/pope-francis-is-known-for-simplicity-and-humility.php

NOVA - Earth From Space

Just spent two illuminating hours watching a PBS video: "Earth From Space." The graphics and the explanations are spectacular and illuminating.

Not many of us have enough knowledge of the earth sciences to carry this information around in our heads. The program needs to be seen again and again.

And we all need to know what an explosion of knowledge about earth has resulted from our space programs.

Europe - Not Looking Good

Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, has brought the Eurozone back from the brink. He accomplished this by measures not unlike quantitative easing. Countries with troubled economies are at least not under so much pressure right now over sovereign debt.

But levels of unemployment in Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal are much too high (on the order of 25%) and the economies of other Eurozone countries, including the Netherlands aren't much better. The economic distress is leading to a rise of extremist political parties.

Brussels Eurocrats and German bankers seem oblivious to the consequences of their obsession with financial austerity. To date, the result of all this austerity is larger deficits. Which leads to predictable calls by the masters of the system for even more austerity. Which will lead to even larger deficits.

I fear we know where this story leads. It all depends on whether Europe makes good use of the time Draghi won for them. Right now, that doesn't appear likely.

Meanwhile, next door in Hungary, an authoritarian government is grabbing even more power.

New Schedule Of Boat Registration Fees

Our State Senator, Norman Sanderson, is sponsoring a bill to increase boat registration fees. If the bill passes, the new fee schedule will be as follows:

(a1)      Fees. – The fees for certificates of number are as set out in this subsection:

(1)        The fee for a certificate of number for a one‑year period is:

a.         Fifteen dollars ($15.00) for a vessel that is less than 14 feet in length.

b.         Twenty‑five dollars ($25.00) for a vessel that is 14 feet or more in length but less than 20 feet in length.

c.         Fifty dollars ($50.00) for a vessel that is 20 feet or more in length but less than 26 feet in length.

d.         One hundred dollars ($100.00) for a vessel that is 26 feet or more in length but less than 40 feet in length.

e.         One hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) for a vessel that is more than 40 feet in length.

(2)        The fee for a certificate of number for a three‑year period is:

a.         Forty‑five dollars ($45.00) for a vessel that is less than 14 feet in length.

b.         Seventy‑five dollars ($75.00) for a vessel that is 14 feet or more in length but less than 20 feet in length.

c.         One hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) for a vessel that is 20 feet or more in length but less than 26 feet in length.

d.         Three hundred dollars ($300.00) for a vessel that is 26 feet or more in length but less than 40 feet in length.

e.         Four hundred fifty dollars ($450.00) for a vessel that is more than 40 feet in length.

(b)        Reciprocity. – The owner of any vessel already covered by a number in full force and effect pursuant to federal law or a federally approved numbering system of another state shall record the identification number prior to operating the vessel on the waters of this State in excess of the 90‑day reciprocity period provided for in G.S. 75A‑7(a)(1). The recordation shall be made pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, except that no additional or substitute identification number shall be issued.

Languages Other Than English Spoken At Home

The Washington Post has an interesting article and link to a revealing map showing, county by county, where in the US languages other than English are spoken in the home.

One interesting revelation is that Spanish is spoken at home in almost every county in the United States. Other prevalent languages are German and French.



In all of the hullabaloo over immigrants learning English, we often forget about some of our history. A century ago, there was a thriving trade in newspapers printed for immigrants in foreign languages. There were newspapers and magazines printed in German, Yiddish, Spanish, Polish, Czech, Chinese, Russian, Cherokee and others. Headstones in Bethlehem and Lebanon, Pennsylvania and in Wythe County Virginia and Frederick County, Maryland are carved in German. The language of instruction in elementary school in Fredericksburg, Texas was German until about 1920. My high school Spanish teacher was raised in a German-speaking community in Wisconsin and spoke only German until she started in first grade. When Colorado achieved statehood, the record of state legislative proceedings was published in both Spanish and English. Новое русское слово (Novoye Russkoye Slovo or "New Russian Word") has been published in New York City since about 1920. It is still published.

We are a far more polyglot nation than most of us think.

Oriental Town Board Meeting For March

Town Dock has posted a very complete report of this month's Town Board meeting here. For those who were unable to attend, reading this report is a good way to keep up with what the Town is doing.

I don't know what the explanation is, but I have noticed the last two meetings were conducted in a businesslike fashion and were over pretty quickly. Not much more than an hour. This is good.

I did note that, once again, the board acted on a "non-agenda" item brought up after the published agenda was completed. I think that is a bad procedure. To be sure, there may be occasions when some urgent matter arises in the five days between the agenda meeting and the business meeting. These occasions should be rare. I think the Board should never act on a matter brought up by a commissioner at the end of the meeting that is not on the agenda. I would suggest that at the beginning of the meeting commissioners be asked if they have additional agenda items and that such items be formally added to the agenda by unanimous vote or to be tabled until the next meeting.