Editor’s note: The INDY has contacted the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press regarding the actions of Sen. Rick Gunn. Fracking isn’t legal in North Carolina yet, but already legislation is moving through the Senate that would criminalize anyone who discloses trade secrets “received in connection with permitted oil and gas activities.” This afternoon […]
Jane Porter
Jane Porter is Wake County editor of the INDY, covering Raleigh and other communities across Wake County. She first joined the staff in 2013 and is a former INDY intern, staff writer, and editor-in-chief, first joining the staff in 2013.
Posted inNews
N.C. lawmakers must release voting law emails; McCrory failing at transparency
North Carolina lawmakers seem to be under the impression that the Freedom of Information Act doesn’t apply to them. But they can’t ignore subpoenas for the release of communications related to the state’s new voting law, a U.S. District Court Judge ruled yesterday. The League of Women Voters of North Carolina brought the lawsuit against […]
Posted inUncategorized
Watching the environment: Trees, water could be in trouble after this session
With the Dan River coal ash spill, the looming threat of fracking and the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources stripped of resources, the General Assembly short session is adding up to be a volatile one for environmental issues. The short session typically deals with budget. Last year, money was allocated for worthy environmental […]
Posted inUncategorized
Food desert zone
The House Study Committee on Food Desert Zones The committee made several recommendations and a legislative proposal following three meetings and presentations from more than 30 stakeholders in anticipation of the short legislative session. Recommendations include the Committee submitting its findings on the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) to the FDA, encouraging local education agencies […]
Posted inNews
Confusion over coal ash in Kerr Lake
Last week Tom Reeder, the director of DENR’s Division of Water Resources, emphatically told lawmakers that no coal ash deposits have been found to date in Kerr Lake. “There’s been a lot of anecdotal reporting about ash in Kerr Lake,” Reeder said at an Environmental Review Commission meeting. He added that the EPA sampled 20 […]
Posted inNews
Many regulators charged with answering that question have ties to utility industry
Duke Energy customers will likely pay most of the cost to clean up the utility’s 14 coal ash ponds in North Carolina. That means electric rates would increase to cover the $2 billion to $10 billion price tag. The utility says it will pay for the coal ash spill that occurred at the Dan River […]
Posted inNews
Teacher Turnover Increasing in Wake County Schools, Statewide
Dr. Jacqueline Jordan is the principal of Underwood Elementary in Wake County Public Schools System. At a press conference in her school’s media center this afternoon, she put a face on the issues troubling teachers in North Carolina. Two of her school’s teachers had their homes go into foreclosure. One teacher who moved here from […]
Posted inNews
Downtown Raleigh’s Second Renaissance
Downtown Raleigh is experiencing a a new wave of growth and revitalization, according to a panel of Raleigh-based entrepreneurs and city officials, including planning director Mitchell Silver in his last public presentation before he heads home to New York City. At a gathering hosted by the Downtown Raleigh Alliance at Memorial Auditorium this morning, Silver, […]
Posted inUncategorized
Durham businessmen say state board stalling on permits for their funeral home
Randy Graham and Kenneth Johnson have the building. And considering people die every day, they probably would have the business. But for six months, all these funeral home owners-to-be have had to show for it is an empty space on the wall in the office awaiting a certificate of inspection from the N.C. Board of […]
Posted inUncategorized
“Extremely high” levels of PCBs, lead at Raleigh scrap recycling business
For seven years, the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources has known Raleigh Metal Recycling’s property is contaminated with PCBs and other pollutants. And after seven years, DENR and the company have yet to clean up the contamination, which is now discharging into a local stream that empties into the Neuse River Basin. DENR’s […]
