I’m a little surprised by the dust-up that has occurred because of Carrboro’s taco wagons.

They haven’t come from out of nowhere. These sorts of food stands have been around forever. I don’t know the specifics of Carrboro’s licensing laws, but I feel certain that these people are paying payroll and sales taxes and that they have had to buy some sorts of business permits. As a chef in Orange County (I’m just across your eastern border), I have every confidence that our health department is as strict on them as they are on everyone else. True, they don’t have hood fans and bathrooms, but they don’t need them. More »

In your “Town’s taco trucks in jeopardy” article on Jan. 24 article, Mayor Mark Chilton and Board of Aldermen member Jacquie Gist [said they] don’t understand why a complaint was filed against trucks selling prepared food from parking lots.

Gist writes, “I am worried by the real possibility that hard working entrepreneurs who are adding to our community could be put out of business and have their livelihood threatened. It is un-American and certainly un-Carrboro. If Carrboro cannot offer a welcoming home to immigrants trying to achieve the American Dream, then maybe I don’t know Carrboro as well as I think I do.” More »

Editor’s note: following is an open letter to the board of county commissioners.

Congratulations for reversing your earlier decision to unilaterally select the Eubanks Road area as the site for the new waste transfer station. That change of heart was a step in the right direction.

You are now embarking on a critical phase in the history of Orange County — the selection of the next waste-handling site. The future of this system is in your hands. The history of environmental racism regarding this issue is well established. It is time for you to break this cycle. More »

Chaining wrong
In response to Mr. Stern’s letter of December 12, I am outraged that he thinks that a chained dog might be perceived as “spoiled.” There is no difference between his dog and the hunting dogs that he claims are the ones who are being abused. This issue is not due to the transgressions of a few. More »

Immigration flip-flop
I noted that in last week’s Citizen, Sen. Ellie Kinnaird singled out Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee as saying, “We’re a better country than to punish children for what their parents did.

We’re a better country than that.” However, by the time the Citizen went to press, Huckabee had changed his mind on illegal immigration, and thus Kinnaird’s praise was already out of date. More »