On a June morning in 2009, an explosion tore through a Slim Jim manufacturing plant in Garner, killing four people and injuring 38 others. After the accident, ConAgraowner of Slim Jimpacked up and shipped out of Garner for Ohio, leaving the factory abandoned and hundreds of people out of work. Fast forward four and a […]
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.
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Updated: Raleigh City Council Ok’s temp. food distribution site
Raleigh’s city council approved a recommendation by the council’s Law and Public Safety Committee to open an indoor temporary food distribution facility across the street from Moore Square Park at a meeting this afternoon. Other short term goals connected with the project include establishing care points for people in need around the city, implementing an […]
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Funeral Services Board fee increases under review at General Assembly
The North Carolina Board of Funeral Service’s proposal to increase fees on licensees was up for discussion today at an Administrative Procedures Oversight Committee meeting at the General Assembly. The Joint Legislative Administrative Procedure Oversight Committee is the overseeing body for all occupational licensing boards in the state. Former funeral board member and funeral home […]
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Emails show Hofmann Forest nearly wasn’t sold
The controversial sale of the Hofmann Forest to Illinois agribusinessman Jerry Walker almost didn’t happen, according to emails provided to the INDY by N.C. State University in a public records request. Emails between Tom Percival, the Lumberton-based consultant for Walker’s group Hofmann Forest LLC, and Dean Mary Watzin and David Ashcraft, of N.C. State’s College […]
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Hofmann Forest sale nearly derailed
The controversial sale of the Hofmann Forest to Illinois agri-businessman Jerry Walker almost didn’t happen according to emails provided to the INDY by N.C. State University in a public records request. Emails between Tom Percival, the Lumberton-based consultant for Walker’s group Hofmann Forest, LLC and Dean Mary Watzin and David Ashcraft of N.C. State’s College […]
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Dueling stories surround N.C. State’s Hofmann Forest deal
The sale of Hofmann Forest is so radioactive that both the prospective buyerIllinois agribusinessman Jerry Walkerand the sellerNorth Carolina State Universityare claiming that a controversial prospectus showing the property could be commercially developed is the other party’s doing. University officials have asserted that they had never seen the leaked prospectus outlining 9,000 acres of commercial […]
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Update: Spokesperson for Hofmann buyer says no plans to develop
Update: A spokesperson for the potential buyer of Hofmann Forest released a statement saying the documents were prepared in early 2013 for Hofmann Forest, LLC for use by Jerry Walker and other members of the company. He maintains Walker does not intend to develop the property. “The document in question was specifically put together for […]
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Judge denies motion to block sale of Hofmann Forest
A Wake County judge denied a motion for a preliminary injunction Tuesday to block the sale of the Hofmann Forest. However, the sale cannot go forward until a separate lawsuit is resolved. The forest’s owners, N.C. State University’s Board of Trustees of the Endowment Fund and the North Carolina State Natural Resources Foundation, Inc., filed […]
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Service industry wages bad for North Carolina’s economy
Willetta Dukes has worked in the fast food industry for more than 16 years, at McDonald’s, Church’s Chicken and now, at Burger King. She lives in a spare room in her son’s house and questions why she must resort to government assistance to survive. Dukes is one of 66,000 fast food workers in North Carolina […]
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Group still suing to block sale of Hofmann Forest
A $150 million deal to sell N.C. State’s Hofmann Forest to an Illinois farming empire is nearly completebut an injunction hearing to block the sale is still scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 12. The forest owners, N.C. State University’s Board of Trustees of the Endowment Fund and the North Carolina State Natural Resources Foundation, Inc., plan […]