Supporting Asheville and Western North Carolina’s Recovery from Hurricane Helene through Music
Hurricane Helene may have passed, but its impact on Asheville and the surrounding regions of Western North Carolina is still felt deeply. Attending upcoming concerts and music events not only provides entertainment but also contributes to the local economy and fosters community spirit. Here’s how you can get involved and help Asheville and Western North Carolina bounce back from the storm.
Rewriting America’s Tax Code
What a mess. The US needs to rewrite its tax code from scratch in order to root out all the loopholes enabling the ultra wealthy to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. #NotHoldingMyBreath
Jesus takes back seat to Easter Bunny?
The pervasiveness of hypocrisy seems greatest at Christmas and Easter, when Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny vie for importance with Jesus Christ and the integrity of Christianity.
#My Ten Cents: Amazon’s Shipping Advantage
Our county’s shipping services should be in the hands of our federal government, not Amazon.
Who Pays for Schools?
This article was published by the News and Observer on July 21, 2010. In 2017, Orange County lost the ability to charge impact fees on new development; notably, Chatham County still charges school impact fees. A NC Senate bill enabling NC cities and counties to collect impact fees on new development for schools and other required infrastructure was filed in March 2021, but it appears to have gone nowhere since then (no surprise).
Hurricanes, (Re)Construction, Rip Tides, and Drowning- When Will We Learn?
In the wake of Hurricane Florence, one question plagues me (again): Are we going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in FEMA and other public emergency funds to rebuild homes along the hurricane-battered coast, only so we can do it all over again when the next hurricane/tornado hits? Or will we…
A Blueprint for Finding & Using Arts Funding (and the encouragement it brings)
My webpage redesign is finally complete, and I LOVE it! As promised, I am typing up a summary of how I obtained grant funding to bring this about, so that other local artists (literary and otherwise) can follow suit and get their own webpages, search-engine-optimized and all.
Thank You, Durham Arts Council!
After receiving a grant from the Durham Arts Council to hire a web-designer to rebuild my author homepage to maximize outreach and marketing, I wrote this blog article to thank the DAC and to share my (often anxious) process.
Grant Opportunities for Educators (April deadlines)
To make grant opportunities I know about available to more than just who I know, this article summarizes the educator grant opportunities I have successfully applied for. The word "grant" is intimidating, but often these grants are quite easy to apply for. Don't let the fear of bureaucracy stop you from at least skimming over what's required.
Ukraine, Green Tea, Saving Young, and the Return to Live Theater
This is what I would have posted on Facebook today if I were not weening myself off Facebook. From facilitating your teenagers’ contributions to their Roth IRA’s (incredibly important if they are ever to have retirement savings) to naturally controlling high blood pressure (or not), this post has several informative nuggets you’ll be happy you consumed.
The Willow (Seamus Rooney) plus Berklee Update
Among the four Berklee Music Production grads that Seamus and I had the good fortunate to talk with (thanks Watts Hospital Hillandale Neighborhood List Serve!), the consensus is that Berklee’s pretty awesome... with these caveats…
Is Berklee Worth it? Weighing College Options for Child #2
We are still waiting for my son’s financial package from Berklee, but our online research indicates that it will cost >4 times what UNC-Asheville has offered him. We know UNC-A is a great value. This year, U.S. News & World Report ranked it the seventh-best public liberal arts university in the United States, Forbes magazine ranked it #21 in the country for "Best College Value", and the Princeton Review ranked it within the top 13% of America's four-year colleges…
Regarding Roth IRA's
If you and/or your working kids haven't contributed to your own Roth IRAs yet, you should absolutely start this year. From the start, you should see it as a retirement investment account, not just a retirement savings account. Roth IRA contributions are taxed going in but not coming out, and you can take these out at any time.
Everyday Addiction
I have been off Facebook (for personal posts) for 10 weeks now. Most interesting has been the diminishing absence of the sporadic jab of anxiety that accompanies each impulse to check my notifications or post a new thought or photo…
Regarding the County Manager's Contract and Upcoming Renewal
Below is the email I sent the Durham County Commissioners regarding the current County Manager's excessive contract. If you feel remotely inclined, please send your own concerns to your elected officials and feel free to cut and paste my letter (or any part thereof). Thanks for caring and sharing, Melissa
Durham Elementary Students to Return to In-person Learning 4 Days/Week (!)
My last post concerned the debate over whether Durham Public Schools should resume in-person learning in order to accommodate state legislation mandating a return to in-person instruction within 15 days (of the legislation's passing). Discussion on the topic has become heated and personal, which I find sad and incredibly frustrating. The simple question is this: After doing remote learning for nearly 12 months, why are we forcing teachers and staff back into classrooms mere weeks ahead of ensuring they are administered the vaccination we've all been waiting for?
The Champs, Semiconductor Stocks, and The Voice in My Head Today
… Above all, you mustn’t be sedentary. Bend down and touch the floor while you are waiting for your coffee to heat, do a yoga chair position while removing laundry from the washing machine …
Mac Miller, Shorting Stocks, and Population Growth
"You can love it, you can leave it
They'll say you're nothing without it
Don't let them keep you down"
16 Jan 2021: Weaning Off Facebook, Day 5 (Hamilton, the NRA, Aliens, and Psychedelics)
My theme song today is my 17-year-old son's favorite song from Hamilton (he likes all the Aaron Burr songs). It seems fitting as we wait for the inauguration of the new American President and its hopeful after math. In fact, it seems fitting for most days…
Why I'm Moving from Facebook to Blog
From this day forward, rather than posting my thoughts, concerns, and daily theme song on Facebook, I will now post them on my blog. My reasons are outlined below. It’s time I take back ownership of my thoughts, my history, and my “newsfeed”…