What do we want in a downtown Raleigh library? This was the question consultant Jill Gammon posed the other night on behalf of her client, Progress Energy, to a gathering of the interested public. “How can a downtown library make our community more vibrant, exciting and inviting to Wake County citizens?” A score of us […]
Bob Geary
Posted inNews
Meeker pushing licensing ‘lite’ for rental homes
How do the members of Raleigh’s Neighborhood Preservation and Housing Task Force feel about Mayor Charles Meeker’s proposal for “targeted licensing” (or, “licensing lite”) of absentee landlords? Elizabeth Byrd, a task force leader from the Avent West community, says she agrees with the note she got from a neighbor. “What is this? I don’t understand,” […]
Posted inNews
Bug’s life
A day in the life of Raleigh’s Cameron Park neighborhood, as told by the e-mails on our listserv, in the order I received them: 1. Long-haired white cat with black tail & large black spots, green eyes. Very friendly. Has been meowing pitifully & trying to get into our house since yesterday. Please claim him […]
Posted inNews
The General Assembly needs you
Those visiting the N.C. General Assembly for the first time find it a confusing place to get around. For starters, there’s a “legislative building” and a “legislative office building,” so named even though both have legislative offices and both have legislative committee rooms. Which building do you want? Worse, if you’re in the legislative building, […]
Posted inNews
Raleigh ROAR ready to rally for residents’ rights
The Raleigh branch, ROAR (Raleigh Organizing for Action and Results), started last year by walking the inner-city neighborhoods, listing the obvious problems–the unreadable street signs, for example, and the vacant lots that were so overgrown, prostitutes had made one of them their home office. ROAR turned the list over to city officials, who’ve jumped on […]
Posted inElections
On caucuses and standing up for what you believe in
First, the news. Janet Cowell voted for John Edwards. So did Jack Nichols. So did Carter Worthy. OK, nothing to choose from there.
Posted inNews
Roundabout way to a better Hillsborough Street
Whatever happened to the Hillsborough Street reconstruction project in Raleigh? It was the most ambitious community planning initiative Raleigh’s ever seen, with 500 people participating over the course of a week in the fall of 1999, drawn to the task by their high hopes for what Hillsborough Street could be, and broad recognition that it […]
Posted inNews
Most oppose same-sex marriage ban, poll says
How do Raleigh voters feel about gay rights and same-sex marriage? From Public Policy Polling, Dean Debnam’s firm, we have these poll results: Question: Do you favor amending the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriages in every state?
Posted inNews
The value of listening to people against gay rights
A couple of weeks ago now, about 60 black men–all members of the same conservative church–crashed a meeting in Raleigh about the same-sex marriage issue. The meeting, at St. John’s Metropolitan Community Church, was called by the leading gay and lesbian groups with the goal of organizing a unified campaign around the state (and in […]
Posted inNews
What’s Dennis Kucinich really trying to do?
Why was Dennis Kucinich here last weekend, still campaigning for president? Short answer: North Carolina’s Democrats vote for delegates to the national convention on Saturday, April 17, and the Ohio congressman would like to win one or two. To do so, he’ll need at least 15 percent of the votes. If this seems unlikely, remember–extremely […]
You must be logged in to post a comment.