(This is an editorial by Capital Broadcasting Company, WRAL-TV) How can a responsible senator vote for legislation knowing it will take health care from those who now have it, need it and wouldn’t have it otherwise? The answer seems obvious: Party-line politics. Like many in the nation’s capital, North Carolina’s two senators seem more concerned with what it will take to get 51 votes to pass a new health care plan than what it takes to make sure all Americans can afford health care. Sen. Richard Burr had hardly let the ink dry on the Senate’s tax-cut disguised as a health-care package before he announced support for it. North Carolina’s other Republican in the Senate, Thom Tillis, says he’ll back anything that will get 51 votes. Tillis led the N.C. House of Representatives when the legislature, in mean and blindly partisan anti-Obama stubbornness, refused to take billions in federal funds to expand Medicaid to half-a

The Wake Forest Renaissance Centre for the Arts welcomes the return of the “Neck of the Woods” performance series on Friday, July 21, at 7:30 p.m. Presented and sponsored by Wake Forest ARTS, Neck of the Woods is a variety performance series featuring emerging local artists. The July 21 Neck of the Woods will feature professional concert dance performer and dance educator Mariya Dashkina Maddux; jazz and gospel artist Ronald Williams; Wake Forest storyteller Drew Bridges; and comedy improv group Free, Loose, and Naked. Mariya Dashkina Maddux is a professional concert dance performer and a dance educator. A native of Kiev, Ukraine, she was first introduced to dance through the classical Vaganova ballet technique. After moving to United States, she studied under the direction of Ruth Weisen at the Thomas Armour Youth Ballet of Miami, Florida and ultimately graduated summa cum laude with her BFA from New World School of the Arts

A reader asked what is going into the old Winn-Dixie building at 931 Durham Road which was previously the Wakefield High School Ninth Grade Center, and we are happy to tell her it is the Wake County North Wake College and Career Academy that will open in August. One of several new career and technical education (CTE) high schools, it is a partnership between the county school system and Wake Technical Community College. Students will be able to graduate with both a high school diploma and a certificate in one of five career areas: culinary arts, early childhood education, emergency medical science, hospitality management and IT – technical support. Graduates can take the college credit they’ve earned to pursue a degree at Wake Tech or another post-secondary institution. The five programs were chosen based on labor market data showing what fields are expected to have job openings and a survey

Friday Night on White, downtown Wake Forest’s popular outdoor music series, continues with Big Love on Friday, July 14. Presented by White Street Brewing Co., Friday Night on White takes place along South White Street in downtown Wake Forest from 6 to 9 p.m. on the second Friday night of each month April through September. Food and refreshments will be available for purchase at several downtown restaurants during every Friday Night on White. A variety of food and dessert trucks will also be on site in the parking lot behind Fidelity Bank, 231 South White Street, and along Owen Avenue. Food and dessert trucks scheduled to participate on July 14 include Big Al’s BBQ, Charlie’s Kabob Grill on Wheels, Cousins Maine Lobster, King’s Authentic Philly Cheesesteak, Kona Ice, Lumpy’s Ice Cream, Not Just Icing, Sarge’s Chef on Wheels, Spanglish, VFW Chuckwagon, and Virgil’s Jamaica. Event organizers urge anyone planning to attend Friday Night on

Each Monday at 10 a.m. at the Wake County North Regional Center, 350 East Holding Avenue, there is a presentation about the tuition-free opportunities for young adults ages 16 to 24, opportunities which can open horizons and doors leading to a satisfying career and life. The Job Corps, a residential training and education program, connects those young adults with the opportunity to learn skills through industry-recognized certifications and to further their education by obtaining a high school diploma or its equivalent or attending college in order to build real careers. For more information, send an email to Dorothy Sidberry at sidberry.dorothy@jobcorps.org.