Raleigh
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Erskine Bowles announced today that he won’t run for governor.
The former UNC-system president who served as chief of staff in the Clinton Administration and twice ran for U.S. Senate and said there are other ways besides serving in Raleigh to make a difference.
Bowles’s name recognition and status as a successful investment banker and co-chairman of a President Obama’s bipartisan budget deficit commission made him an obvious choice for the position once Gov. Bev Perdue made her announcement last week that she won’t seek a second term.
In a poll released earlier this week, Public Policy Polling found Bowles as the most likely Democrat to defeat Republican hopeful Pat McCrory, a former Charlotte mayor who Perdue beat in 2008.
N.C. House Rep. Bill Faison, D-Caswell, Orange, and Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton are the only two candidates to jump in the raise so far, though a gaggle of contenders were waiting to see what Bowles would do before making their intentions known.
Dalton released a statement offering his respect and admiration for Bowles.
“We’ve worked together throughout the years on many issues and he’s a true public servant,” it reads. “I feel confident he will remain an influential voice in state and national policy.”
Monday, December 5, 2011
New faces on Triangle boards & councils starting tonight
This blog entry and headline have been updated since they were originally posted.
The Durham City Council will swear in Mayor Bill Bell and three recently elected members tonight, beginning with a 6 p.m. reception outside the council chambers. Incumbents Bell, Eugene Brown and Diane Catotti were re-elected on Nov. 8 and will each begin new terms today. Newcomer Steve Schewel, who is the majority owner of the Independent Weekly, will also take his seat at the 7 p.m. meeting, replacing Farad Ali, who chose not to run for re-election after one term.
In Chapel Hill, Mark Kleinschmidt will be sworn in for his second term as mayor at 7 p.m. at Town Hall. Town council incumbents Donna Bell, Matt Czajkowski and Jim Ward were all re-elected last month and will take the oath of office tonight, as well as Lee Storrow, who at 22 will be the council's youngest member, and the youngest elected leader in North Carolina.
In Raleigh, the City Council will also hold a swearing in at 7 p.m. Mayor-Elect Nancy McFarlane will replace outgoing Mayor Charles Meeker. The eight-member council has one new face, Randy Stagner, who replaces McFarlane in District A. The remaining members being sworn in are all incumbents: John Odom, Eugene Weeks, Thomas Crowder, Bonner Gaylord, Russ Stephenson and Mary-Ann Baldwin.
In Carrboro, Mayor Mark Chilton will be sworn into his fourth and final term at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Board of Aldermen incumbents Dan Coleman and Lydia Lavelle and newcomer Michelle Johnson will also take the oath. Johnson replaces Joal Hall Broun, who opted not to run for re-election after serving three terms.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
From Intern Jason Lee
The People of Faith Against the Death Penalty will begin a new major grassroots campaign Friday aimed at getting hundreds of resolutions in support from religious, business, community groups and local governments.
The Kairos Campaign, named after the Greek word meaning “special time,” will begin at 10 a.m. at Martin Street Baptist Church, 1001 E. Martin St., Raleigh. Eleven religious leaders from around the state will speak in support of ending the death penalty in North Carolina.
PFADP’s first major campaign began in 1999, and fought for a moratorium on the death penalty. The 10 year effort saw a number of reforms — including the Racial Justice Act, repealed by the legislature on Monday — but was ultimately unsuccessful in a moratorium. Now, says PFADP executive director Stephen Dear, the “tide is turning,” both nationally and in-state, against the death penalty, enough to call for its outright repeal.
Monday, November 14, 2011
State considers five new Triangle charter schools
- Matty Symons/ Dreamstime.com
State education officials are reviewing 27 applications for new charter schools across the state, including two in Durham County, two in Wake County and one in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district.
A new state law passed this year raised the limit on charter schools in North Carolina, which previously had been capped at 100. The applications were due last Thursday, and will be reviewed by the N.C. Public Charter School Advisory Council (CSAC) before being submitted to the State Board of Education.
The applicants are aiming to have their schools up and running in August 2012. This first group of applicants is a special, "fast-tracked," pool because they have a previous relationship or record with the state, according to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction website. For instance, several of the applicants had been interviewed by the state before, but were not granted a charter because of the previous statewide cap.
The state will hold a separate, regular application process later this fall for other charter schools. Those applications will be due in April 2012. (More information on the application process)
The applicants in Triangle school districts are:
Chapel Hill-Carrboro
The Howard & Lillian Lee Scholars Charter School, Angela Lee
Durham County
Research Triangle High School, Pamela Blizzard
Quality Education Academy of Durham, Alethea Bell
Wake County
Widsom Academy, Craig James
Triangle Math and Science Academy, Kenan Gundogdu
Monday, October 17, 2011
Aaron Zalonis, who participated in the Occupy Raleigh Protest and March on Sunday, Oct. 16, shared the following photos with us.
To learn more:
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Raleigh decides food trucks aren't the boogeyman after all, passes new rules to allow vendors in city
Updated with additional reporting from Bob Geary
After a year of wrangling, the Raleigh City Council finally approved new food truck regulations today that will allow mobile vendors to operate on private property.
The vote was 6-2 with Councilmen John Odom and Thomas Crowder opposed.
The new ordinance, which will take effect Oct. 1, provides that food trucks must be at least 100 feet from the main entrance or outdoor dining area of any brick-and-mortar restaurant and at least 50 feet from any food vending cart such as a hot dog stand. The trucks can operate from 6 a.m. to 3 a.m., but they can only park within 150 feet of a single-family home or duplex between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.
Crowder's not a fan of food trucks setting up shop in a business district that borders a residential neighborhood — a commonplace in his District D, especially around N.C. State University — and being allowed to operate until 3 a.m., which is what the ordinance permits unless a house is located within 150 feet of the truck. In that case, the trucks must stop at 10 p.m.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Preliminary report offers four recommendations to compensate eugenics victims
The Governor’s Eugenics Compensation Task Force released today a preliminary recommendation to Gov. Bev Perdue stating clearly that “I’m sorry” is not nearly enough to compensate 7,600 North Carolinians who were sterilized without their consent.
- File photo by Adam David Kissick
- Elaine Riddick, a victim of forced sterilization, offers testimony at the task force's June 24 meeting.
“The state of North Carolina must move beyond just an apology,” the report states.
That includes, according to the report: lump sum financial damages and mental health services to the estimated 2,944 living victims, funding for a traveling N.C. Eugenics exhibit and the continuation and expansion of the N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation.
Monday, July 25, 2011
As criticism on the Republican drawn Congressional, N.C. House and N.C. Senate maps flowed forward, Senate Redistricting Committee Chairman Bob Rucho pointed out that he would entertain alternatives, but the Democrats had failed to submit them.
Well, until now.
As the General Assembly engages in a floor debate on the Republican proposal, the Democrats are offering maps of their own.
- Courtesy of N.C. Democratic Caucus
- The Democrats are offering this map as an alternative to the Republican Congressional plan.
Among other key changes, they include Asheville in the 11th District, and Brad Milller and David Price would not be double-bunked in the 4th District.
You can find the maps here:
Democratic Caucus — "Senate Fair and Legal"
Democratic Caucus — "Possible Senate Districts"
Legislative Black Caucus — "Congressional Fair and Legal"
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Kinnaird says Republican-proposed districts “re-segregating North Carolina,” hopes courts will overturn double-bunking with Atwater
Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, Person, one of 10 state senators drawn into the same district as another sitting senator under the redistricting proposal Republicans released Tuesday, says she would seek to hold onto her seat, but running against a colleague would be “a very difficult situation.”
- Photo courtesy of ncleg.net
“Bob is a very good senator in Chatham County and running against a friend and fellow senator is very disappointing to me,” she said. “It’s a stressful situation and we certainly are not looking forward to it.”
The situation is not new for Kinnaird who defeated colleague Howard Lee in 2002 when their districts were merged. She won a hard-fought, but respectful primary campaign by just 119 votes.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Wilmington couple continues legal fight to determine how much a pet's life is worth
Herb and Nancy Shera’s beloved Jack Russell Terrier, Laci, would have been 17 today.
Instead the retired Wilmington couple is still grieving and fighting for a change in state law after an N.C. State veterinarian misplaced a feeding tube, placing it in Laci’s lungs instead of her stomach, causing her death.
- Photo courtesy of the Sheras
- The Sheras commissioned this portrait of Laci, the Jack Russell Terrier who was irreplaceable to them.
“We all basically felt like their decision would be a ‘no shocker,’ but one can always hope that the right thing will be done,” the Sheras wrote in an e-mail. “We are on to the Appeals Court and pray to win.”
Michael Pollan,
Amen, Amen, Amen!! Your comment was excellently put. Thanks so much for writing in! …
by jwaters on Carrboro Commune occupies CVS building (Orange County)
Gannamede,
The building DOES belong to them and all of us, or at least it should. The people's labor …
by jwaters on Carrboro Commune occupies CVS building (Orange County)