Recent Comments
Re: “The other side of town: Southeast Raleigh's problems and promise”
Despite "heavy police crackdowns", there is still obvious drug dealing in front of one of the few stores in the neighborhood? And you wonder why there are not are not more stores?
The second and third rings of Southeast Raleigh exist because "the community" gave up on the first ring. They pushed almost every SE Raleigh
(and by default, almost *all* of Raleigh) low income housing project into the first ring and wonder why there is a lack of investment? Really?
There was a Winn-Dixie on New Bern, but it was the first store to close when they pulled out of the area. There is a third Food Lion if you count Raleigh Blvd. near St. Augs. While north of New Bern Ave., it is still closer to SE Raleigh than the rest of the city.
As for the lack of retail (and the jobs and vitality that come with them), look to Garner and the New Bern corridor outside the beltline. The lack of investment in SE Raleigh during the Fetzer and Coble administrations pushed opportunities further out, and they are not going to magically come back.
The lack of youth at the South Central CAC meeting is a direct result of Danny Coleman maintaining control while not giving the CAC the attention it deserves. The city has long been a great partner to "old Southeast Raleigh", but when Mr. Coleman puts up roadblock after roadblock to potential investment he personally does not approve of, people stop offering to help.
Re: “John Tedesco has a job ... he's an education reformer”
How much 'education reform' will come from a group that gets "Forrest" as in "Spring Forest Road" wrong on their website?
Who will Tedesco represent -- Garner or the people signing his paychecks? At least Duke Power had Pat McCrory on their payroll *before* his run for deregulator, umm I mean govenor.
The fact that this group sprung up shortly after the charter school cap was removed is not a coincidence.
Re: “When NC drops to 49th in school funding, we'll still be ahead of —”
I hope in 2012 we can come together and assert "This is why you were not re-elected".
However, I fear a lot of campaign cash will convince too many voters that underfunding the "crap" (lower and middle income students) in public schools and handing money over to people who won't hire the future, less educated NC workforce magically "improves" the state.
I hope Judge Manning is successful in upholding the state constitution's guarantee of access to education to all of NC, since the General Assembly has proven it has no interest in it.
Re: “Councilor Mary-Ann Baldwin miffed over the branding of Southwest Raleigh”
Using twentyten, the default theme for a WordPress blog exemplifies the opposite of "creative".
The only thing creative in that part of the city is NC State (and Meredith College). Period. End of conversation. Even then, the 'creativity' is cut and pasted from wikipedia for "writing" assignments. Everything else actually creative -- art, culinary, music, etc. -- is in downtown. And downtown is downtown, not southwest.
The rest of Southwest Raleigh has treated the university as a cash machine -- gladly taking money from students for housing, food, entertainment, etc., cheap labor in retail and restaurants. But heaven forbid if the students want something.
Places to hang out on Hillsborough Street? Sorry, SW Raleigh worked to restrict ABC permits and eliminate non-resident on-street parking.
Brent Road and other parties? Nope, no multi-house parties at the start of school, and no parties during the rest of the year due to draconian, selective enforcement of 'noise/nusiance' ordances.
Southwest Raleigh is too spread out to unify via transit. Wolfline is well used by the NC State community, but the rest of the quadrant was built as a suburb, with the sole focus on low occupancy automobiles. A prime example of this is Western Blvd., starting at the sea of parking between the McKimmon Center and the street, and the lack of 'creativity' to 440 and beyond the K-Mart on the other side.
These kinds of proposals only benefit the consultants, not the people of Raleigh.
Re: “Budget cuts and Bev Perdue: How much is too much?”
How will the GOP justify their balking at the State Constitution's guaranteed access to education? Won't the Tea Party hold them to respecting the Constitution? Ok, we can stop laughing now.
If the Republican Party had bothered to pay any attention over the last 20+ years, the UNC system has been the primary job creation engine for the state, from the mountains to the coast. Unfortunately, their desire for an idiocracy will lead to the immediate loss of tens of thousands of jobs in the university system and tens of thousands more in county school systems.
Then when knowelege-based industries leave when our state's competitive edge -- education -- has been killed, then those jobs will go elsewhere. Is it true Stam can see South Carolina (minus the BMW plant) from his house?
Re: “Election 2010: Missed chances, dim hopes”
Why won't it end in another Republican meltdown?
The bums deserve to be thrown out in 2012. Every one of their failed policies, on a local, state, and national level, should be exposed. The only problem is will the media grant that the same coverage the ME party has received? Probably not.
Re: “N.C. State reaffirms position as Triangle's leading college for general bigotry”
12% is nowhere near "general." What would make NC State less bigoted? Let me guess -- offering no-meeting classes in African-American studies, offered to members of various athletic teams?
If that is your criteria, so be it.