Some odds and ends this week. School starts Monday. That means the revival of a less-than-wonderful sight: the blocks-long line of idling vans and SUVs, each spewing tons of icecap-melting greenhouse gases as parents wait to pick up their kids each day.

This scene is most extreme at Creekside Elementary, but it's bad at many schools -- and it's mostly unnecessary.

I have a remedy: the bus. School buses are very safe, even for kindergartners and first-graders. Even for your little darlings. A bus can do the job of dozens of parent-driven vehicles. That reduces congestion and pollution. Your taxes pay for them, so why not use them?

Can't bear the thought of a bus? Then at least form a carpool.

Nearly everyone associated with the satellite-campus fiasco at N.C. Central University has now commented on the situation.

Who was responsible? The verdict is unanimous: Not Me!

As I mentioned last week, our latest round of cost cuts includes moving our Durham crew's base of operations to Chapel Hill. On Monday, we'll be in our new digs. Elsewhere on this page you'll find information on how to contact us.

I fought the move for months and won every round except the final one. But staying angry is for young people, so I'm focusing on making it work.

This may not be as bad as it would have been a few years ago. Laptops and cell phones make offices and desktop computers less necessary. I expect our reporters to be in Durham most of the time, and I'll try to be here a lot myself.