A former Hillsborough police officer has pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent liberties with a minor, following an internal investigation conducted by the Hillsborough Police Department in 2013. James Riley Jr., 62, of 708 Phelps Road in Hillsborough, was fired by the department days after its internal investigation—which included nine nights of surveillance—found “potential […]
Billy Ball
Bio: Billy Ball is an INDY Week staff writer.Email: [email protected]: http://twitter.com/billy_k_ball
Posted inUncategorized
Coal ash dump pits Chatham County versus Duke Energy
HAVE YOUR SAY Public comment is being accepted until 5 p.m., Saturday May 16. By email: [email protected] with “401” in the subject line By postal mail: Jennifer Burdette, DWR – 401 & Buffer Permitting Unit, 1617 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1617. People in Chatham County, as in neighboring Lee County, are furious over Duke […]
Posted inNews
State says wells near Duke coal ash ponds exceed state groundwater standards
Just a few hours after an Associated Press report already revealed the troubling news, the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is publicly acknowledging that most drinking wells sampled near Duke Energy’s coal ash ponds included contaminants exceeding state groundwater standards. Of 117 sample results, 87 surpassed the state’s standards, DENR said, although […]
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UNC Law, prison reformers: Stop solitary confinement in N.C. now
On Friday, UNC School of Law professor Deborah Weissman told a story about a prison inmate held in solitary confinement who struck up a friendship with a fly. “And when that fly left his cell, he broke down and wept,” she said. It was just one of a number of stories told as law school […]
Posted inNews
Pressure on to increase minimum wage in N.C.
North Carolina Republicans may not be too keen on raising the state’s $7.25 minimum wage, much less talking about it. But progressive groups, catching on to the political winds across the southeast, continue to hammer lawmakers on the issue. In its latest report, the progressive policy group, N.C. Justice Center, points out that boosting the […]
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Dynamic Community Charter School is rallying parents and lobbying lawmakers. But should its model of segregating special-needs kids even be allowed to exist?
Between classes at Dynamic Community Charter School in Northwest Raleigh, the hallway teems with studentssome chatting, some running, some drifting reluctantly to the next class. Dustin Britt, the school’s lead exceptional children teacher, stands in the center of the hallway, doling out high-fives as students pass. “This is what they were left out of,” he […]
Posted inNews
Revised prison records bill passes the state House
A revised version of House Bill 281, which orders prison officials to turn over all records to medical examiners in the event of an inmate’s death, has passed the N.C. House unanimously. It will now head to the state Senate. Read about it in the Indy here, near the bottom of the news roundup. The […]
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After inmate death, N.C. lawmakers consider clearing records restrictions
One year after a North Carolina inmate died of dehydration following a month-long stay in solitary confinement, state legislators want to nix bureaucratic restrictions that they say hindered the investigation of that prisoner’s death. House Democratic Leader Larry Hall, of Durham, has joined one Republican and two Democrats in co-sponsoring House Bill 281, which would […]
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Chapel Hill Councilman Lee Storrow begins re-election campaign
It’s early, but what’s expected to be a busy campaign season in Chapel Hill is underway. On Tuesday, incumbent Chapel Hill Town Councilman Lee Storrow announced the launch of his re-election campaign. At the age of 22, Storrow was the youngest person on the Council (and still is) upon his election in 2011. “Serving this […]
Posted inHousing
After 15 years, Chapel Hill is still trying to get a grip on its housing problem
Billy Hemmingway, a stout, heavy-lidded man wearing overalls, doesn’t care about the ACC Tournament, which fades in and out on his broken television. That’s just a game. Chapel Hill’s housing dilemma is not. It’s personal to him, he says, as he finishes his lunch: a burned hockey puck of a burger, onion rings and assorted […]
