Former state Sen. Howard Lee, a Democrat, who is also former chair of the N.C. Board of Education (also, former chair of the N.C. Utilities Commission and, back in the day, former mayor of Chapel Hill), moderated the debate today between DPI Superintendent June Atkinson, a Democrat seeking re-election, and John Tedesco, a Wake County […]
Bob Geary
Posted inNews
(Updated) Will Utilities Commission crack Duke for sacking Bill Johnson?
photo by Bob GearyOusted CEO Bill Johnson (right) with lawyer Wade Smith in foreground [Update, 3:50 pm: Phase one of the case is over. Chairman Finley announced that the Commission is following the evidence where it leads, and where it leads is a next phase that will be more “traditional” and “evidentiary.” Meaning it’s going […]
Posted inGuides
Sarah Powers organizes and expands the arts in Raleigh
At 32 years of age, the Visual Art Exchange (VAE) is one of Raleigh’s oldest arts groups. Which explains why people use the word amazing so much when they’re describing its youthful vigor and executive director, Sarah Powers. The story they tell: VAE has reinvented itself as a home for artists and a catalyst for […]
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Move to Amend: Overturn Citizens United
Editor’s note: The text of this article has been corrected; see below. How does a movement start? Thursday evening, about two dozen people gathered in Raleigh in support of the “Move to Amend,” a nationwide effort to overturn the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. A bumper sticker said it best: “If corporations are people, democracy […]
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(Update x 2) 2nd primary results: Tedesco wins; Gurley, Gardner beaten
Watching the returns in runoff primaries. (That’s right, today was the day. Were you among the 98 97 percent of registered voters who forgot?) Here’s a link to the State Board of Elections’ returns. [Update x 2: At 9:17 pm, with 87 percent of precincts in, on the Republican side John Tedesco is solidly ahead, […]
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Big Sparkcon news: It’s moving. (To the Warehouse District.)
This will be in the Indy tomorrow. (Look for a piece about the Visual Art Exchange.) But the VAE has a press release out, so no need to wait. I love Sparkcon. Moving it to the Warehouse District should make it even better — as a spark for the new downtown arts hub. And the […]
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Corporations aren’t people, Mitt: Meeting tonight in Raleigh (and Raleigh City Council is pro-amendment too)
Ah, Mitt. You know as well as anyone that the whole point of a corporation is to shield the people who run it from personal liability — while letting them reap the profits, of course. So, yes, there are people in corporations. And these people are entitled to their rights (free speech, political activity). They’re […]
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UNC: Local governments can offer domestic partner benefits
Voter approval of Amendment 1, which bars the state from recognizing same-sex marriages and civil unions, doesn’t prohibit local governments from offering their employees domestic partner benefits. That’s the conclusion of a bulletin issued last week by the University of North Carolina School of Government, which provides legal and policy guidance to local municipalities. Prior […]
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How the Supreme Court’s ruling on Obamacare reinforces corporate power
“The private sector is doing fine.” So said President Obama in a June 8 press conference. Every day since, in TV ads paid for by Mitt Romney and a phalanx of political committees purporting, falsely, to be independent, he’s been pilloried for saying so, and for being out of touch with our economic troubles. But […]
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Amendment One no bar to local governments offering domestic partner benefits: UNC School of Gov’t
When there’s a thorny legal question staring them in the face, local officials in North Carolina look to the UNC School of Government for guidance. It’s not that UNC is the last word; the courts are. But it helps, when you’re considering whether something’s a good idea, to know that the experts at UNC are […]
