A western North Carolina charter school has lifted its temporary ban on clubs after some parents called for it to bar an LGBTQ support group last month. Leaders at the Lake Lure Classical Academy, a K-12 school in Rutherford County, responded to a strong warning letter from the ACLU of N.C. by voting Monday night […]
Billy Ball
Bio: Billy Ball is an INDY Week staff writer.Email: [email protected]: http://twitter.com/billy_k_ball
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North Carolina charter school, following complaints over LGBTQ club, to consider school club policy today
It should be noted anti-LGBTQ activists have tried this before. It doesn’t work. A group of parents who fear the consequences of allowing gay-friendly clubs in their schools have called on the leaders of a western North Carolina charter school, Lake Lure Classical Academy, to shut down a support club for LGBTQ students. This month, […]
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Durham beginning search for the next police chief
The search for Durham’s newest police chief will soon be underway. The city announced Tuesday that it has selected a Durham firm, Development Associates LLC, to lead the search process for outgoing Chief Jose Lopez’s replacement. By the city’s timetable, national and regional recruitment will stretch into January, with the first candidate recommendations coming late […]
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Durham Police Department hands out tickets for “good” behavior
After a really dismal couple of years, brimming with allegations of racial profiling, controversial shootings and a police chief being forced out, it seems the Durham Police Department is looking to put out a few good vibes for the moment. Per Durham Magazine, we learned that city police officers were handing out tickets for “good” […]
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Report touts benefits for workers and the economy in raising wages for public employees
When Orange County builder Mark Marcoplos told me earlier this month that it’s time for a living wage debate, he was on to something. Orange County’s Living Wage Campaign hit the ground running this month, enlisting more than 30 local businesses to agree upfront to pay their employees a “living wage,” or about $12.75 per […]
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Blue Cross, Bank of America shine in HRC’s LGBT workplace equality scores
Remarkably, someone, somewhere, has something nice to say about Duke Energy. The Human Rights Campaign released its annual Corporate Equality Index today, the leading scorecard for gauging employer protections for LGBT workers. And while it offers a limited snapshot of how North Carolina companies and law firms are performing—just 16 North Carolina entities are included, […]
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Rockingham, Lee counties move toward fracking moratoriums
How political winds change. Five years ago, hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking, was a godsend in recession-ravaged locales like Lee County. Yet on Monday, one election and a tidal wave of bad publicity later, two counties in the heart of North Carolina’s prospective drilling basins are moving to at least temporarily ban drilling within […]
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Lee County may vote next week to impose a temporary ban on fracking
The backlash against North Carolina’s fracking prospects continues, and in the state’s hottest drilling destination, no less. Commissioners in Lee County—where drilling leasing has already begun—may vote as soon as next week on a controversial, two-year moratorium on fracking, following up on neighboring Chatham County’s vote to do the same in August. Fracking permitting “without […]
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Judge promises ruling by Thanksgiving in Hallie Turner’s case against North Carolina
Hallie Turner sounds tired. Oral arguments are finished in the 13-year-old Raleigh girl’s climate change case against North Carolina, and Superior Court Judge Michael Morgan is promising a ruling by Thanksgiving. But Turner seems disappointed that she didn’t get a chance to speak during Friday’s hearing, even though the judge did acknowledge that he admired […]
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A 13-year-old takes North Carolina to court over climate change
Here’s the newest tactic in approaching errant policymakers: Use very, very smart children to shame them publicly. This Friday in the Wake County Courthouse, oral arguments are scheduled to begin in a lawsuit brought by a 13-year-old from Raleigh named Hallie Turner, a climate change activist since the fourth grade. The teen is asking the […]