Ten years ago, a woman I barely knew saw the look of adoration on my face while I played with my dogs, and pegged me as a sucker for canines. She was right. So when she asked me to become a “foster mom” for Independent Animal Rescue, an organization she had recently founded, I said […]
Jennifer Strom
Email: [email protected]
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Growth rules!
A few weeks ago, Frank Tursi came upon a typical summer scene: four or five young children frolicking happily in shallow wading pools fed by a stream of water making its way down the sand at Atlantic Beach. Tursi was furious–at the town, not at the children. As the Cape Lookout Coastkeeper for the N.C. […]
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‘We know our way around government’
An investigation by The Independent reveals that most members of the Rules Review Commission have professional, political and personal ties to individuals and corporations with vested private interests in the state’s rule-making process. While rarely drawing a direct line between individual commission members and the potential for personal financial gain, the board’s composition does ensure […]
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Profiles in vested interests
E. Graham BellResidential real estate and golf course developer; former member of the N.C. General Assembly Cramerton Bell says as a developer and as a legislator, he “wasn’t opposed to rules and regulations” but sought to improve the process to make it easier for people in the field trying to obey them. His background as […]
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In the shadow of the U.S. Open
The lobby of Pinehurst’s Carolina hotel oozes Old South elegance and indulgence in the leisure that accompanies ample disposable income. Porters wearing trousers tucked into knee-high argyle socks greet new arrivals from the airport and golfers fresh off the links. Guests navigate among the silky, striped wing chairs, rolling clubs sheathed in creamy leather and […]
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Lottery proponents turn up winners
Everyone else is doing it, why shouldn’t we? You can’t legislate morals anyway, might as well generate revenue off gambling. It’s voluntary; we’re not forcing people to buy tickets. It’s our only option for raising money for schools. These were the arguments lobbed across the floor of the N.C. House on April 6, in support […]
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Durham real estate agent charged
A real estate agent and property manager has been accused of bilking clients out of about $22,000 in rental proceeds on low-income rental properties he managed in central Durham. Booker Tate of AT&G Associates is charged with four felony counts of obtaining property by false pretenses, according to the Durham County Sheriff’s Office. Detective Sgt. […]
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Sprawl envelops northeast Chatham
Everyone, please, a moment of silence around the Triangle to honor the passing of northeastern Chatham County’s way of life. Bye-bye, 1,600 acres of mostly undisturbed woodlands and pastures. Bye-bye, any plan to get out of second gear on U.S. 15-501 during rush hour. Bye-bye, the hope that the Triangle’s bucolic southwestern neighbor had any […]
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Chatham water plant under scrutiny
While a steady flow of new development proposals rolls through Chatham County’s public process and county leaders pursue plans to expand the public water system to accommodate growth, the treatment plant that currently provides drinking water to 9,000 county residents is a source of continuing concern for state regulators. The plant, which treats and distributes […]
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Why do people keep giving James Webb their money?
James Webb sure looks and sounds like he’s all that. He drives a Bentley, a Hummer and a Mercedes. He’s been known to supervise his construction crews draped in a full-length mink, a Rolex glittering on his wrist. Over the last decade, the 42-year-old Brunswick County native and former N.C. Central University student body president […]
