It may not matter much in the end, but Chatham County commissioners have unanimously adopted a resolution opposing Duke Energy’s plans to dump 3 million tons of potentially toxic coal ash in abandoned brick mines in Moncure and Sanford. Board members called on state lawmakers to act to suspend the energy giant’s proposal to dump […]
Billy Ball
Bio: Billy Ball is an INDY Week staff writer.Email: [email protected]: http://twitter.com/billy_k_ball
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Updated: EPA will not treat coal ash as a hazardous waste
In this week’s cover story for the Indy, we reported that a pending decision from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could be pivotal in determining who is legally responsible should Duke Energy’s plans for coal ash dumping in privately-owned mines in Sanford and Moncure go awry. Based on today’s ruling from the regulatory agency, it […]
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Alamance sheriff accused of racial profiling honored by Gov. McCrory
As the Burlington Times-News is reporting this week, no one in North Carolina has ever intentionally been a two-time recipient of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina’s highest civilian honor. At least not until this week, when Gov. Pat McCrory extended the prestigious award to Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson, even as […]
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A legal maneuver could absolve Duke Energy of its responsibility for coal ash dumps
In the television commercial, Paul Newton, North Carolina president of Duke Energy, strolls through a garden on a warm, spring day. A bee lands on a flower. Crickets chirp. A tree bathes in the sun. Newton wears no tie or coat; the sleeves of his sky-blue shirt are rolled just above his wrists. Duke wants […]
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From the archives: Charles Koch could be teaching history to your kids
Editor’s note: In light of the discussions about North Carolina’s AP U.S. History course, which Bob Geary covers in his Citizen column this week, we thought it would be a good time to revisit this story, which originally ran in the INDY on Feb. 27, 2013. Charles Koch: One of the most polarizing and pivotal […]
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Decker out at N.C. Department of Commerce, DENR Secretary Skvarla in
Earlier this year, it was rumored that N.C. Department of Commerce Secretary Sharon Decker was leaving. On Tuesday, Gov. Pat McCrory confirmed it, announcing that Decker would leave effective Dec. 31. Her replacement will be oft-criticized Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary John Skvarla. Decker, a former Duke Energy employee appointed by McCrory […]
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Duke Energy dumping 3 million tons of coal ash near Sanford trailer park
Until this week, residents of a small trailer park off Colon Road in Sanford didn’t know the old brick mine across the street could soon be a dump for millions of tons of potentially toxic coal ash. “All of us were totally blindsided,” says Debbie Hall, a Lee County resident with the Blue Ridge Environmental […]
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Chatham Park back for rezoning
After much back and forth, Chatham Park is back again. Once again, Pittsboro town leaders will hold a public hearing tonight on the future of Chatham Park, the long-planned development in the rural county that figures to increase the county’s population by a factor of twelve in the next three decades.Developers Chatham Park Investors LLC […]
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Jones out at Stanback; Hargrove in
The A.L. Stanback Middle School will have a new principal next month following the resignation of Gloria Jones, who is leaving Nov. 30, after parents and staff accused her of blocking the formation of a school Gay-Straight Alliance for more than two years. Orange County School Board hired veteran principal Jan Hargrove to replace Jones. […]
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After teen’s death in Raleigh, gun control advocates renew calls for reform
After an apparently stray bullet killed a Forsyth County teen in a Raleigh hotel room last week, North Carolina gun control advocates are renewing their calls for firearms reforms. According to ABC News, Nathan Andrew Clark, 13, of Lewisville, died after a bullet discharged in a neighboring hotel room. Police said the bullet passed through […]
