Comment Archives: Stories
Re: “Bottle shops”
Thanks for the note, mccjeff. It's been added to the list.
Re: “Bar Lusconi: downtown Durham's new hotspot”
Wow incredibly expensive drinks in what sounds like an unfinished location. Totally worth it to talk to some bartender who is apparently cool.
Re: “Law enforcement and drug users embrace needle bill”
This legislation helps address an important workplace safety issue for law enforcement and should reduce morbidity and mortality due to infectious disease in our community.
Re: “Law enforcement and drug users embrace needle bill”
I love this article. This bill could go a long way to reduce transmission of hepatitis and HIV by encouraging people to use clean needles, and this article does a great job covering the scope of this issue.
Re: “Toast the Triangle: New brewpubs, distilleries and bars”
Michael, thanks for catching that. The online text should have been changed from print; it has been now. This is the introduction to our DISH cover package; the "following pages" are the Related Stories linked here.
Re: “Law enforcement and drug users embrace needle bill”
Thanks so much for covering this issue! This law is a huge step forward for public health in North Carolina and this legislature should be commended for their work related to drug use and drug overdose during this session. I hope this is only the beginning for efforts to improve public health across North Carolina and across the country.
Re: “Bottle shops”
Re: Dish Bottle Shops
Nearly a comprehensive list of Raleigh bottle shops with one glaring exception.
Ridgewood Wine & Beer, 1214 Ridge Rd, 919-832-5232, www.ridgewoodwineandbeer.com
In the spirit of disclosure I am not affiliated with Ridgewood although I could be considered a regular. Thanks for your attention to this unintentional oversight.
Re: “Toast the Triangle: New brewpubs, distilleries and bars”
Is there more to the article? It talks about "following pages", but there aren't any.
Re: “What New Orleans can teach North Carolina”
Mr. Geary;
Thank you for this insightful and intelligent piece. Two brief comments - while it is true that Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster, in point of fact, the flooding here (80% of the city) was the result of catastrophic levee breaches and was the result of a failed system built by the Army Corps of Engineers. You can learn more about this at www.levees.org.
With regard to the Lower Ninth Ward, where I have the privilege of both living and working, you write "A few people live here. Those with a choice have moved." Nothing could be farther from the truth. In a neighborhood in which 100% of residential properties were rendered uninhabitable in 2005, the population return as of the 2010 census was 24% (significantly lower than the city average). Many were told the City of New Orleans would not provide infrastructure to support their return (sewerage and water, electricity) well into 2006.
We have battled black mold, toxic FEMA trailers, discriminatory recovery programs, Chinese sheetrock, and a catastrophic oil spill here in Louisiana, and still families who lived here in 2005 return and rebuild. They work incredibly hard to do so, and we do, too. It is a privilege to live in the Lower Ninth Ward, and in all our city's beautiful neighborhoods.
Laura Paul
www.lowernine.org
Re: “School voucher program could face legal challenge”
Actually, when considering the net state and local fiscal impact, there is an expected savings. Other states with similar programs have seen substantial savings - in Indiana the state is expected to save around $5 million this year. These savings are then redistributed to the public schools. Also, there are other state supreme courts that have upheld school choice as constitutional. Indiana's constitution calls for a uniform system of common schools (similar to North Carolina's uniformity clause) and it has a Blaine Amendment, yet the Supreme Court there found that its school choice program was constitutional.
Re: “Law enforcement and drug users embrace needle bill”
Thanks for this great article, Indy Week! It's remarkable that in this legislative climate a bill like this could pass the legislature with such overwhelming bi-partisan support. It might be only a small step, but it's definitely a step forward. It takes about 30 seconds for a law enforcement officer and a community member to have a conversation about syringe or sharps possession. By taking the pressure off of that interaction, this law helps both people in that situation avoid a number of unnecessary and negative outcomes.
Re: “Is the future of the North Carolina film industry actually television?”
If they didn't get one single dime of tax revenue from the film and TV companies, they drop huge sums of money into the local economy for every service imaginable. Beyond that it's just cool to be the place this gets done. Increasing any and all productions is a total win-win for NC.
Re: “Triangle music mainstay Rusty Sutton moves west, with fond memories of a decade well spent”
We'll miss you, Rusty!!! (and Theresa!)
Re: “Law enforcement and drug users embrace needle bill”
Some people may wonder why non-needles are discussed and that is because hepatitis B & C and HIV live on other sharp drug paraphernalia including pipes and cookers. Law Enforcement Officers get cut on them quite a bit and this leads them to disease exposures and costly post exposure profalaxis. It is important to include sharps to improve the safety and health of officers and the public health of the community. No officer should have to get HIV or viral hepatitis, they are preventable diseases. This bill ensures we greatly reduce officer risks, without hurting the taxpayers wallet.
Re: “An 11th-hour move restores some arts funding in the House budget”
It is a testament to the value of the arts in economic development and community identity that members of the current legislature are willing to defend these arts grants to local communities. These dollars turn into arts education opportunities for kids, music on the town square, exhibits of crafts and folk art, preservation of our precious culture history, visiting performers in dance, community theater performances, and an overall sense of creativity and imagination that will guide our future as a state. Our kids deserve these amenities.
Thanks to Representatives Turner and Torbett and other committee members who believe that North Carolina still can be The Creative State. Let's hope the governor, who oversaw Charlotte's arts boom, will remember that what worked so well in a big city is absolutely critical to the smaller rural townships all across the state. Arts are often a lifeline.
Re: “Boycott Wal-Mart”
My friend has had nothing but trouble with the pharmacist's at Wal-Mart repeatedly over the last couple of years. Today I went to get her script filled, as she has an open surgical wound which needs packing twice a day, and is very painful, and the pharmacist's refused to fill her script as they have done before. I had to go to another pharmacy which took time as she was waiting in pain for me to return. The pharmacist was questioning the signature of the surgeon on the script, and said they called the hospital it came from to get confirmation. My friend also called the hospital and spoke to the person who Wal-Mart's pharmacist's said they called, and come to find out the pharmacist lied having never called the surgeons assistant at all! So we have decided to boycott Wal-Mart's pharmacy by using another smaller more friendly (mom & pop), helpful one.
Re: “A good death: Like Sue Otterbourg, more people are taking control of the end”
This article brough back so many memories. I didn't know the Otterbourgs, but I did know Bob and Mary. Bob and Mary were the elderly couple who our young family moved in next door to. We got to know them slowly, as it was clear there were things we both needed from one another. My children's Grandparents were in Pennsylvania, and Mary's story telling was just what they needed. Bob taught them the beauty of a gorgeous yard in a modest neighborhood and the work you need to put into it. Mary had terminal cancer, and Bob refused to leave her alone. At times, we would go sit with her while he went to pick up meds, or other times, we piggybacked their grocery shopping with ours. Their romance was something for Nicholas Sparks and they were beautiful beautiful people. One night, the ambulance arrived. We knew Mary would be leaving us any day. And, knowing what was likely happening next door, I went over to lend any help I could, in any way that Bob needed me. A ride, a conversation, coffee, someone to just sit and grieve with, or simply a hug and go home. I got there, and was amazed that it was Bob in the ambulance. He'd had a heart attack, and Mary had somehow mustered the strength to call 911. This was a lady who hadn't stood in months, or further, hadn't even been able to hold the book when she read to my daughter. Bob was taken to the hospital 20 minutes away, and was a handful because they wouldn't let him go home. Mary passed 2 days later. Bob stayed in the hospital terrorizing the staff for 2 weeks before he was taken to a nursing home. I was there visting Bob when his son came and told him that Mary had passed away- I hadn't had the heart to do it. I want a love like that. My dear friend Bob is gone as well now, and I know he and Mary are living the happy healthy lifes they were missing. Mr. Bob Otterbourg, I'm sure you and your lady Sue touched so many hearts, that you'll never even realize how many people drew strength and inspiration from you. Please think of her with a smile - even if there is a tear in your eye :) I know I did today.
Re: “More on Randy Voller: Raleigh's Nina Szlosberg-Landis, 1st vice chair, resigns in protest”
Over the past 100 years in North Carolina we have had 12 years of GOP Governors and 88 years of Democratic Governors. Democrats made this state a great place, but Randy Voller is single handedly putting an end to that history. If the NCDP doesn’t find a way to get rid of Randy Voller soon, plan on at least 88 years of GOP Governors in the next 100 years.
Re: “Bulls rally falls short, lose to Indians in extras”
What's up? This is from a game played a couple of days ago, June 14.
Re: “Vittles Video: Cook School”
This was a great short. I can tell all of those men are proud of the changes they're making in their lives. Great reporting, Indy Week.