After several hours of testimony Thursday, Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson seemed to finally be getting annoyed. U.S. Department of Justice attorney Michael Songer questioned Johnson’s 30-year career with the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation prior to his election as Alamance sheriff, bringing particular attention to his apparently ignominious end as a top coordinator for […]
Billy Ball
Bio: Billy Ball is an INDY Week staff writer.Email: [email protected]: http://twitter.com/billy_k_ball
Posted inNews
The Department of Justice lays out its case against the Alamance County sheriff
Clad in a dark suit and a blue shirt, Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson seems relaxed as he makes small talk with the security guards at the courthouse door. “I appreciate what you do,” he says to one guard. Minutes later, someone in his entourage mumbles something that makes the sheriff guffaw as he boards […]
Posted inUncategorized
Saving the Colonial Inn in Hillsborough
Judging by the flaking white paint, broken, grimy windows, thigh-high grass and faded sign, it would seem there is more history to Hillsborough’s Colonial Inn than there is future. Two signs adorn the 175-year-old inn’s façade. One denotes the building, a former burnished dining and lodging destination on West King Street, a “best of” winner […]
Posted inNews
Colonial Inn saved, for now
For the moment, Hillsborough’s historic Colonial Inn has been saved. Members of the town’s Historic District Commission unanimously voted Wednesday to reject a request to demolish the decaying structure on King Street. The inn’s owner, Francis Henry, hasn’t spoken to media about his request, but his demolition application to the town indicated he wanted to […]
Posted inUncategorized
Vacancies at Chapel Hill High approach almost 20 percent of staff
Two months after a teacher survey revealed low morale at Chapel Hill High School, a state listing of vacated jobs show a large number of open positions there. As of Tuesday, the N.C. Department of Instruction reports that of the 78 positions open in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, 19 of the vacancies are at Chapel […]
Posted inNews
DOJ to would-be Meadowmont and Durham frackers: Cease and desist
It would appear the Pennsylvania company behind a number of bizarre mineral rights leasing offers in Durham and Chapel Hill has gotten on N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper’s bad side. In a sharply worded letter mailed Monday, Cooper’s office ordered Crimson Holdings Corporation—and its affiliated real estate firm Campbell Development LLC—to stop offering oil and […]
Posted inNews
DENR investigating landman behind Triangle fracking bids
Reps for the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) say they are investigating the Pennsylvania agent behind a handful of likely doomed offers to buy mineral rights in the Triangle. As the Indy reported Wednesday, state law requires representatives for gas and oil companies, otherwise known as “landmen,” to register with DENR or […]
Posted inNews
Driller apparently wants to frack Meadowmont in Chapel Hill
It appears the relatively unknown Crimson Holdings Corporation wants to frack more than a handful of nature preserves in Durham, as reported in today’s Indy. Documents obtained by the Indy Wednesday show the company, which appears to be a small operation in Pittsburgh, made a similar request for mineral rights to the Chapel Hill Town […]
Posted inNews
Fracking company makes offers in Durham
Almost two months after fracking was legalized in North Carolina, a Pennsylvania company is offering to buy mineral rights from landowners in Durham. And since the company’s agent has not registered with state officials, he could be breaking the law. Leaders of the Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association, a conservationist nonprofit in Durham, say they recently […]
Posted inNews
Lawmakers readying vote on coal ash cleanup
With the N.C. General Assembly poised to approve coal ash cleanup legislation as soon as this week, questions about who pays for the cleanup continued to dog lawmakers during Tuesday’s session of the House Environment Committee. Democrats on the panel, which was debating Senate Bill 729, called for legislators to mandate that Duke Energy be […]
