Editorials

• Alabama should go for gold with charter schools
IT'S A rare day when education interests in Alabama decline an opportunity to partake of a multi-billion-dollar pot of federal money. It's even rarer for those interests to say "no" when the schools are struggling, as they are now, with across-the-board state budget cuts.

• Computers an effective weapon against crime
FOR THE modern crimefighter, a computer may be a more effective weapon than a pistol or a patrol car.

• Endangered no more: The process worked
IN THE case of the brown pelican, the endangered species process has worked so well that the species isn't endangered anymore.

• Why Alabama, Mississippi aren't on the brink
HERE'S GOOD news, as far as it goes: Alabama and Mississippi aren't teetering on the brink of economic disaster.

• Regulators see the light on oysters
EVERY NOW and then, common sense prevails in Washington.

• Federal regulators should re-examine fishing limits
LEGITIMATE CONCERN about overfishing appears to have devolved into excessively strict federal regulation of recreational fishing in the Gulf and other offshore waters.

• GulfQuest a stimulus for Mobile
ON THE surface, a historic recession might not seem like the best time to start building a multimillion-dollar museum.

• Undefeated and looking like a hit
SOUTH ALABAMA should order some more of those T-shirts ? the ones that characterized the fledgling football team as "still undefeated" before it had played a game.

• If panels popped for Ida, what'll happen in a really big storm?
THE GULF State Park Pier should have held up better than it did this week, when Tropical Storm Ida put it out of commission just months after it opened.

• Obama should listen to the Blue Dog Democrats
AS PRESIDENT Obama and key Democrats in the U.S. Senate prepare their final push for health care reform, they need to listen to the objections of moderates in their own party, including the five Democratic members of the Alabama and Mississippi House delegations who voted against the health care bill approved by the House.

• Beautiful record, beautiful future for the Saints
WE HESITATE to even bring this up.

• State cuts may have big consequences for courts
THE CHIEF justice of the state Supreme Court recently reminded Alabamians that the state's budget woes are affecting critical services besides education.

• Can a nonpolitical panel save PACT?
IF THREE prominent politicians couldn't make any progress in convincing the Legislature to protect contract holders in the state's prepaid college tuition program, what are the chances that three nonpolitical figures will be able to persuade lawmakers to take action?

• If you're poor, look out for the Alabama taxman
DON'T TELL the poor, but Alabama has one of the lightest tax burdens in the nation.

• Weird Ida's reminder: The season isn't over
ADMIT IT. You relaxed.

• Next time, commissioner, go to the meeting
THE MOBILE Area Chamber of Commerce does not work for County Commissioner Stephen Nodine.