Around Raleigh: Citizen, Indy Week

Raleigh cyclists, ho! BikeRaleigh's spring events 4 you

Bob Geary — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:36:00 -0400

Nice day to think about fun rides for cyclists — check the link below for a list.

Hey, nice job!…
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Why are they converging on Raleigh ... and when?

Bob Geary — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 11:38:00 -0400

Answer: Climate Convergence on Raleigh is coming next weekend, April 20-21. It's a major coming-together of the growing network of people and groups working on climate change and related issues (e.g., fracking) in North Carolina.…

Conscience, Raleigh: Protesters highlight Gitmo prisoners still in hell though "cleared"

Bob Geary — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 14:54:49 -0400

Jule Shanklin, Peggy Misch and Christina Cowger (in the picture below, from right to left) were part of the anti-Gitmo protest contingent at the federal building on New Bern Avenue in Raleigh today. Did you know that 80-some prisoners at Guantanamo have been "cleared for release" — i.e., they've never been charged with anything, because there's no evidence they were ever more than in the wrong place at the wrong time in the "War on Terror" — yet they continue to be held more than a decade later.…

Calling all Wake schools, Dix Park backers: Show-of-force time Monday at General Assembly

Bob Geary — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 06:24:00 -0400

The Wake County legislative delegation is meeting Monday at 4 pm in the General Assembly building on the first floor. It's an open forum and a chance to take a stand — with the county's Republican and Democratic legislators listening — on the inflamed issues surrounding the Wake school system and Dix Park.…

Oaks & Spokes: Our 10-day Raleigh bicycle fest starts with First Friday events

Bob Geary — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 13:52:00 -0500

March comes in tomorrow. March means spring.…

Should Wake County vote on transit funding in 2013?

Bob Geary — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:11:00 -0500

Capital Area Friends of Transit is an alliance of groups working for better bus and — eventually — light-rail transit offerings for Wake County. They've launched a petition drive in an effort to pressure/convince the Wake County Board of Commissioners to allow a public referendum on the 1/2-cent sales tax for transit which was authorized by the General Assembly four years ago — and which the Wake Commissioners, under Republican control, have blocked ever since.…

Thank you, New Raleigh: After five good years, NR blog says good-bye

Bob Geary — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 13:40:04 -0500

Thank You Readers! ra.ly/UIsNrz
— NewRaleigh (@NewRaleigh) January 2, 2013

New Raleigh lived up to its name.…

"Like" Dix Park? Be in the group photo, 9 a.m. Saturday

Bob Geary — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 15:49:59 -0500

The more the merrier. Mayor Nancy McFarlane will be there.…

Dorothea Dix park: A done deal for Raleigh? (Updated, as Perdue hits back at Republican critics.)

Bob Geary — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 10:34:00 -0500

[Update, 2:30 p.m.: In response to Tillis and Senate President Phil Berger's criticisms, Gov. Perdue hit back in a statement:

"During the last four years, in the worst economic climate since the great depression, North Carolina is one ofeight states that has retained its AAA bond rating. We have seen the largest number of our children graduate from high school.…
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Saturday night: 4th annual Couture for a Cause at Marbles

Bob Geary — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 14:26:00 -0500

I first encountered Amber Smith five or six years ago, not long after she started the nonprofit organization called ME-3 that, with a new name, has grown up to be the very excellent group called Activate Good. I wrote about Smith two years ago in the Indy when we gave her a 2010 Citizen Award.…

This weekend: Kids, paint, wall, Sparkcon! BESTRaleigh!

Bob Geary — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 15:18:21 -0400

Raleigh Children Invited to Paint Downtown Raleigh Mural this weekend. ow.ly/dDkJT
— BEST Raleigh (@BESTRaleigh) September 11, 2012

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Meeting tonight: The new Raleigh zoning code and the problem of accessory dwelling units

Bob Geary — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 08:57:59 -0400

Accessory dwelling units. They sound so benign, and in many cases they are — you put up a little cottage out back for grandma, or a college student, or as a place for your guests to stay if they're staying and, uh, staying.…

Saturday: Packapalooza is NCSU's 125th birthday extravaganza on Hillsborough Street

Bob Geary — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:38:00 -0400

Hey, the kids are back in town, and it's N.C. State's 125th birthday, so there's going to a blow-out on Hillsborough Street tomorrow. Number 1 fact: Hillsborough Street will closed to traffic from early morning to after midnight between the Pullen Road roundabout and Brooks Avenue.…

Police Chief Harry Dolan says bye, bye to Raleigh

Bob Geary — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:27:31 -0400

Harry Dolan's been in the news lately, at odds with a lot of his troops. is there a connection between that and his announcement today that he's out of here as police chief in a few weeks?

City Manager Russell Allen heaps praise on Dolan, so much so that you wonder why he's leaving:

Raleigh’s Chief of Police to Retire

City Manager J. Russell Allen today announced the retirement of Chief of Police Harry P. Dolan, effective Oct. 1.…
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Sparkcon 2012: Filling Fayetteville Street once again

Bob Geary — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 15:24:39 -0400

So earlier, we reported that Sparkcon 2012 would be held, for the first time, in the tres-artsy Warehouse District. Great idea, but it turns out that getting all the necessary streets closed in order to have room for all the various "Sparks" wasn't possible ... or at least not this year.…

We're beggin' ya: If you meant to dial area code 9-1-9, and you dialed 9-1-1 by mistake, DO NOT HANG UP

Bob Geary — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 11:38:00 -0400

So here's the deal. You have to dial the area code now.…

Placemaking in Raleigh? Beehive Collective has a $25,000 grant for your group

Bob Geary — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 10:32:26 -0400

Coincidentally, I wrote about Stanhope for the Indy this week as a case study of attempted placemaking in Raleigh gone awry. (Here's the story link. ~~I'll add a link to it when it goes online~~.)…

Big Sparkcon news: It's moving. (To the Warehouse District.)

Bob Geary — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 15:30:00 -0400

This will be in the Indy tomorrow. (Look for a piece about the Visual Art Exchange.)…

Corporations aren't people, Mitt: Meeting tonight in Raleigh (and Raleigh City Council is pro-amendment too)

Bob Geary — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 09:10:30 -0400

Ah, Mitt. You know as well as anyone that the whole point of a corporation is to shield the people who run it from personal liability — while letting them reap the profits, of course.…

Raleigh 5th-graders rock a music video winner. About algebra.

Bob Geary — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 10:00:00 -0400

What's the secret sauce that'll lift our public schools to better results? I think the recipe contains getting kids on their feet more ... and encouraging them to work in groups, helping each other so everyone does better.…

In Martin Marietta quarry rezoning, the "big pile of overburden" gets Raleigh planning commission's blessing

Bob Geary — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 16:33:00 -0400

Catching up with our story from a week ago, "North Raleigh residents fight quarry expansion," the Raleigh planning commission voted 8-1 in favor of Martin Marietta Materials' rezoning application, finding that it's in the public interest to let the company use a 97-acre tract it owns as a dump site for its RDU quarry rather than be required to comply with the city's comprehensive plan and the residential-commercial zoning that MMM itself sought for the property in the '90s.

The case now goes to the Raleigh City Council, which will make the final decision.…

Travels with Carlie: Melbourne, Australia's street art

Bob Geary — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 10:42:00 -0400

Carlie Huberman, who grew up in Boylan Heights and graduated from American University last month, is now in Australia. She's on the first leg of a five-month backpacking adventure that will take her to enough different countries that, when she rattled them off, it made me dizzy.…

YWCA's future: Ex-staffers and board pledge to work together

Bob Geary — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 15:06:00 -0400

In time, it may be seen that the way the YWCA's closing was so bungled helped sound the alarm that led to the organization's resuscitation. If so, last night's get-together of board members and terminated staffers at Martin Street Baptist Church — a private meeting — will be seen as an important turning point.…

Finally: YWCA board will meet with staff Tuesday

Bob Geary — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:58:15 -0400

Updating this story from the Indy on Wednesday, the YWCA of the Greater Triangle's board did meet Thursday with Raleigh business and civic leaders, shutting ex-staffers and the press out of the proceedings. In fact, when some of us — staff and reporters — showed up at the meeting place (I went because Maria Spauding told me that board members would talk to the press afterward), we were informed it was private property and directed to leave the grounds.…

Damon Circosta: The Raleigh Goodmons sign another blue-chip recruit

Bob Geary — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 14:08:19 -0400

Damon Circosta rates as a strong defender and clever playmaker who should help the Raleigh Goodmons in a tough league — the N.C. Future Development League — dominated of late by the Carolina Wingers. The Wingers are led by their point man, Paul "Skip" Stam, and by owner-manager Art "His Holiness" Pope.…