One suspects that as of this writing, State Superintendent of Education June Atkinson and her public affairs staff are huddled somewhere writing a response to a recent Winston-Salem Journal editorial that says her duties are so light, she “goes to work every day, maintaining her trademark cheerful and positive attitude about life, while the deputy […]
Kirk Ross
Bio: Kirk Ross is a freelance columnist for INDY Week and founded the online news and feature publication The Carolina Mercury. He lives in Chapel Hill.Link: http://www.exileonjonesstreet.comEmail: [email protected]: http://twitter.com/ExJS
Posted inNews
Edwardses want to build a community online–as well as a campaign
It should not be surprising that the announcement by former U.S. Sen. John Edwards that he was joining the field of declared contenders for the presidency was preceded by the release of Edwards talking about what he was going to talk about on YouTube. If there has been anything that has marked a difference between […]
Posted inArt
Dr. Powell’s opus
Recent history for William Powell has involved interviewsa lot of them. “Almost constantly” was his two word answer when asked how often he’s on the phone talking about the latest work he’s edited, the 7-pound, 2-ounce Encyclopedia of North Carolina. The book sold out its first run of 15,000 copies Nov. 22, less than two […]
Posted inNews
The top 10 strangest political tales of 2006
Counting them down in order, here’s the official Exile on Jones Street Top 10 Strangest Political Stories of the Year. 1. Vernon Robinson Can there be anything stranger than a sex-obsessed candidate who sends out fund-raising letters implying that his opponent is having a gay affair with a famed San Francisco blogger while inviting aliens […]
Posted inNews
Price likely to spearhead oversight of DHS
Last weekend, 13 weary travelers made their way back home for the holidays after representing roughly a half-million North Carolinians in a Congress now infamous for doing less than its “do-nothing” counterpart of 1947. With the GOP leadership apparently curled up in a fetal position somewhere, there were no last hurrahs for the era that […]
Posted inUncategorized
Carrboro case rends family; supporters rally
In a town as close-knit as Carrboro, it was not hard to notice Sima Fallahi. For five years, she and her daughter Leila were regulars at town celebrations. Fallahi’s watercolorslike the landscapes that last year were on display at Town Hallwere becoming well-known. But Fallahi held a secret. She was defying a deportation order and […]
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Touch-screen machines get a big ‘No’ vote
Touch-screen voting machines suck, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. While I’m paraphrasing a bit, the federal agency has compiled a draft report that says touch-screen machines without a verifiable paper trail “in practical terms cannot be secure.” The report, headed to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, also says that it is […]
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Workers at Smithfield: Like hogs to slaughter
If you needed any evidence that we are at a moral, economic and political impasse over immigration, just review this month’s walkout by more than 1,000 workers at Smithfield Packing’s hog slaughtering plant in Tar Heel. It’s the latest collision between an industry built on cheap labor, a dysfunctional immigration system, and homeland security policies […]
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Taxing trees
Opening up the tax code to revision is less like getting under the hood than it is opening Pandora’s Box, but occasionally, bravely, legislators have to pop open the lid on that sucker to fix something gone awry. Take the example of Vicki and Lee Phillips, who own a 93-acre farm in Chatham County. Because […]
Posted inUncategorized
UNC-Chapel Hill’s PAC is tops in the state; leaders say they aren’t buying influence in doling out big dollars to legislators
The UNC Board of Governors last week approved its first budget request drafted under President Erskine Bowles. Such a moment is a time for unity, but there are always the carefully worded comments that underline the disparate needs and clout of a 17-campus system and the long-running tensions yet to be resolved. Foremost among the […]