The Journal noted Democrat Ted Kaplan’s election to the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners. Kaplan’s seat will narrow the commission’s Republican majority to four seats on the seven-member board.
But the partisan makeup of the board really doesn’t matter when only one commissioner — Bill Whiteheart — voted against the county’s plan to preserve thousands of acres of open space at a cost of $77 million.
Government at both the state and local level continue to panic over the supposed loss of open space. Gov. Easley has said that the state is going to acquire land at every opportunity. Then there’s Land for Tomorrow, which is still clinging to its hope for $1 billion in state money to conserve natural areas. So everybody’s looking to buy land. When I say everybody, I mean everybody– the taxpayers.
The problem is, our country, our state, is pretty much nothing but open space. Only 5 percent of the lower 48 states are developed; when you add Alaska, that percentage drops to 3 percent.
Betsy Hart recommends looking out the window next time you’re on an airplane. I recommend jumping in the car and driving across the country. Hell, jump in the car and drive across North Carolina, for that matter. Believe me, you’ll see how much open space there is.
