At a public panel hosted by the Sierra Club in Durham Thursday evening, three former employees of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) wasted no breath in criticizing what DENR has become in the wake of McCrory’s budget and staffing cuts and under the leadership of the Department’s Secretary, John Skvarla. Amy Adams, […]
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 inUncategorized
Life in limbo
Louis Cherry’s $500,000 modernist home is 80 percent done, its bones and skin waiting for the final touches. But the City of Raleigh is expected to issue a stop-work order on the construction of the house within the next several days. On Monday, Raleigh’s Board of Adjustment upheld its February decision to reverse Cherry’s historical […]
Posted inNews
NAACP to launch own investigation into Dan River spill
The NC NAACP announced yesterday it will open a federal civil rights investigation into Governor Pat McCory’s and the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) handling of the Dan River coal ash spill last month. The Rev. William Barber told a crowd of more than 100 McCrory, DENR and Duke Energy protesters gathered […]
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Federal complaint alleges police in Wake County schools target black and disabled students
On his first day of eleventh grade in the fall of 2011, a young man identified in a federal complaint as T.W. arrived at Southeast Raleigh High School, eager to begin a productive, positive year. He greeted his new principal and waited in line with his classmates to pick up his schedule. While he waited, […]
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How DENR ran interference for Duke Energy and let the Dan River spill happen
The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources knew since at least last August that Duke Energy was illegally polluting the Dan River with coal ash, yet the agency did nothing about it. That inaction proved to be disastrous, when seven months later, Duke Energy employees discovered Duke Energy’s coal ash pond in Eden […]
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How DENR ran interference for Duke Energy and let the Dan River spill happen
The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) knew since at least last August that Duke Energy was illegally polluting the Dan River with coal ash, yet the agency did nothing about it. That inaction proved to be disastrous, when seven months later, Duke Energy employees discovered the utility’s coal ash pond in […]
Posted inNews
Skvarla on coal ash spill: Don’t blame DENR!
Update: A spokesperson from the Southern Environmental Law Center sent the Indy this statement clarifying Skvarla’s comments on DENR’s cooperation with citizens groups on the consent agreement with Duke Energy: DENR has resisted citizen conservation group participation every step of the way. DENR is legally barred from objecting to our intervention, but it refused to […]
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A contemporary home threatens to tear Oakwood apart
The modernist-style home under construction at 516 Euclid St. in the historic Oakwood neighborhood in Raleigh is about 80 percent done. But the owners can’t move in any time soon. Last week Raleigh’s Board of Adjustment a quasi-judicial governing body that deals with city zoning regulationsvoted 3-2 to overturn the historic certificate that Louis Cherry, […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Blind Pig underground supper club arrives in Raleigh
It takes a good bit of faith to drop $85 on a dinner ticket without knowing the menu or location, but the Blind Pig underground supper club has held two dinners in Raleigh in the past month and both sold out fast. The Blind Pig is an Asheville institution that brings together area chefs to […]
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Moral March unites politics and spirituality
Last Saturday, a crowd of thousands rallied in downtown Raleigh for the seventh annual Historic Thousands on Jones Street. The protestors showed up for a panoply of reasonsto rebut Gov. Pat McCrory and the General Assembly’s “Carolina Comeback,” setbacks to women’s rights, voting rights, gay rights, environmental protections and school and health care funding. This […]