On Tuesday afternoon, the News & Observer blogs will be moving to a new system and a new server. This change will make getting to our blogs quicker and easier. Most of the blogs will change their appearance, while blogs like Taking Stock and Under the Dome will remain the same.

This change requires nothing from the reader. There will be a link to the older posts, and you won't need to change your bookmarks. If you have trouble finding your favorite blog or you have a comment, please email feedback@newsobserver.com.

— Rachel Carter

Read my Monday column, with more troubling news about the behavior of some Wakefield teens, here. On Tuesday morning, I received an anonymous message from a reader about a big party that ended in a number of teens being arrested, including several teens from Wakefield, last weekend. That tip turned out to be true (see 1a story by Thomasi McDonald) Apparently, the partying hasn't slowed down in the aftermath of the Jan. 14 accident that claimed Sadiki Young's life. Neither do the arrests following that accident seem to have put the fear of God in either the teens, or their parents. How many kids need to die before parents no longer allow their 16, 17 or 18 year old kids to party into the wee hours?
One reader put it so well: Nothing good happens after midnight.

Ack. Sorry for the delayed posting. Read my column of Monday, Feb. 26 here about children and parents losing their "guaranteed" year-round status.

Helpful hints from one parent:

"I’ve had what I consider mind blowing to some when I’ve shared with other school parents my track record engaging with our school and county leaders. Both my school board representative and County Commissioner have returned phone calls and/or emails. Better yet, I personally met with Growth and Management staff at Central Office over an issue regarding student assignment late last year. I look back on my whole ordeal/experience, and if I had a parent looking for advice on how it was I somehow managed to be heard by G&P staff, my BoE rep, and my County Commissioner, here’s what I would say:

1) Persistence. I was persistent - in fact VERY persistent - with the issue I had and was determined to be heard. I knew darn well it would take more than 1 phone call attempt or email attempt to get a call returned. Never give up!
2) Professionalism – these local leaders or school admin staff are human beings who live a life full of challenges and hectic schedules just like you and I. They deserve to be treated with decency and civility, despite our grievances or disagreement with the policies they set forth in our schools. If we confront them out of anger/hostility, they will not give us the time of day and who can blame them for that.
3) Timing. “timing is everything”. If a parent wants to be heard, waiting until the last day before an open comment period ends or trying to make a change after a policy decision change has already been implemented is probably a useless endeavor. This requires us as parents to be informed and take proactive action when possible rather than wait and simply react out of anger/frustration/etc. The school system typically allows public meetings, open comment periods, hardship application periods, etc. Take advantage of all of the above and still try to get your opinion heard in the meantime by persistently asking for returned phone calls.
4) Help offer alternatives. From my experience, the G&P staff is really trying hard to make exceptions for those families who have specific hardships with scheduling, etc. Same with school board members if one is lucky enough to get them to engage in an individual issue – although I think their unwritten rule is to first allow WCPSS administration to handle any individual case. They don’t have all the answers, and how could they given their enormous challenge to find space for 7,000 new students a year in a school system that educates over 100,000 students.

It may be a free education for the students, but for us parents there’s nothing free about it when it comes to our time and energy. You wouldn’t believe all the manhours and energy I expended to have my concerns heard and action taken for the better of my child and my community at large."

for KC Johnson's take on the Campus Cultural Initiative's report, which makes recommendations to the Duke administration following the lacrosse fiasco. The Duke Chronicle obtained a copy of the report for its story Friday.

Another reader, in response to my column about the chiropractors, warns that I sounded almost sympathetic to poor ol' pitiful Blue Cross.

"Please Ruth . . . you almost make BCBSNC sound like victims, when they are as big crooks as Jim Black! Of course, as you pointed out, we're the ultimate victims because BCBS is forced to pass along the increased costs to the policy holders. OK, if the new law is revoked, will BCBS be issuing refunds to policy holders, or will they decrease premiums for next year? I think not . . . that may cut into the billions they hold in reserve. And by the way, what other non-profit holds billions in reserve?"

From a local chiropractor, reaction to my column Thursday about how Jim Black's $29.000 "gratuity" from three chiropractors ended up costing all of us with insurance $8 million.

This chiro didn't respond to my request to use his name, so here it is, without attribution:
"I've always been impressed by your social consciousness, until now. You always seem to have researched both sides of the issue before you write a story. I am not sure what happened here.

Yes, I am a local chiropractor, and I am probably more outraged than you about this situation. I practice in a profession, that while I see miracles every day, the public perception is always a bit "jaded". Your story has that tone of a chiropractor being "less than". But, this is not an "Oh Poor Me" letter, so I'll get to the point.

Our health "care" system has been the leading cause of death in this country since the turn of the century. Outdistancing heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Yet our insurance system encourages us, and in some cases demands that we entrust our health to this system. The American people have spoken, they are "pissed". There have been more visits to alternative health care providers than to medical providers for over the past 10 years. The majority of these patients/clients are female, wit at least a college education, and have been willing to pay for it out of there own pockets.

Studies, like the one conducted by Dr. Timothy Leary at UNC, showed that while GP's. Orthopedic Surgeons, and Chiropractors all were effective options in the treatment of back pain, the patients in the chiropractic group were more satisfied with their care, returned to work sooner,and had lower relapse rates. This means that Chiropractic care is cheaper in the long run. So BC/BS may be paying out more now, but will pay out less over time. And please don't feel sorry for them, they nailed everyone with a 20% increase across the board, even with a $60,000,00 profit in 2005.

By the way, as a chiropractor, I don't claim to be able to "fix" anything, but your body has the wisdom to correct anything. I just help your body work better. I invite you to come to my office and let me check your nervous system. Then write a commentary on whether chiropractic is good or bad. But I agree the methods used were deplorable and not reflective of our group, just a few greedy individuals."

Consider This…

IT’S THE SYSTEM, STUPID

What do the Duke lacrosse case and the Jim Black scandal have in common?

In talking about both cases, too many people are focusing on one bad actor and missing the larger, systemic problems.

Instead of blaming all the woes of the justice system on Mike Nifong, try taking a closer look at prosecutorial misconduct in other cases (the ones without million-dollar attorneys). You may come to the conclusion that the justice system needs more checks and balances on the power of prosecutors on the local level.

Similarly, Jim Black is a regrettable example of what happens when too much power gets concentrated in the hands of one man. Leadership term limits are essential. And why is everyone so much more outraged when Black’s bribes were revealed to be explicit rather than implicit? Don’t we all know what big-time campaign fundraising is all about by now?

The General Assembly needs public campaign financing today, so we can bring policy creation out of the restaurant bathrooms and onto the floor of the legislature, where it belongs.

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Consider This is brought to you each week by the Common Sense Foundation.

All editions of Consider This are available from a link on the first page of our website, http://www.common-sense.org .

Read my Thursday Feb. 22 column, about the hidden cost behind former House Speaker Jim Black's $29,000 cash payments from three chiropractors here

I hate to brag, but I won a Media Award from my friends at Johnsville. Check it out here

Last week I wrote about how my own beloved husband is the father of the late Anna Nicole Smith's baby. Most folks got the joke. Some were offended. But this reader was my favorite:

"Were you joking about your husband being the father of Anna's baby?  If you were not joking, I cannot tell you how inappropriate it was to bare your soul to the public.  Where is your pride and why do we have to know?  When is it going to be safe in this world to make mistakes because of the human condition.  If your statement was all true, this is only your business not the worlds.  I see it as a extreme show of disrespect to everyone, including the baby."

In an exclusive interview with ABC News' Good Morning America, two members of the grand jury responsible for indicting the Duke lacrosse players speak out on the case for the first time. Speak out, anonymously.
Says one juror: "Knowing what I know now and all that's been broadcast on the news and in media, I think I would have definitely … made a different decision."

Check out the case against the Kentucky mom who bought her 15-year-old daughter and friends booze for a slumber party. Visit the Smoking Gun .

With all the teens deaths related to impaired driving, recklessness or pure carelessness over the last few years here in the Triangle, it's time we saw a few parents held accountable. The key, you'll notice from the Smoking Gun account, is that a parent whose daughter was drinking CALLED THE COPS when she learned that a parent was present. This wasn't just teenage shenanigans. This was parent-sanctioned.

Re: the Duke Lacrosse case

From "North Carolina’s African-American community, and anyone else who believes true justice comes from the gavel of a judge, not the demands of a mob; or slick, race-baiting defense attorneys."

Read it here

Check out my Thursday column about Wakefield teens, continuing to party after the death of their friend Sadiki Young. (He died in a crash a week and a half ago -- following a party. His friend has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and driving while impaired, among others.) To get a taste for the party culture, visit Young's deathpage . Even there, it is evident.

Orin Starns, a Duke professor of cultural anthropology, gives it back to his critics in the blogosphere in a guest column in the Herald-Sun.