Finally, there is an issue opponents and proponents of a federal disease research lab can agree on: State or local governments should not pay for a utility plant required as part of the National Bio and Agro Defense Facility. Barrett Slenning, a leading member of the N.C. Consortium, which has petitioned the U.S. Department of […]
Lisa Sorg
Bio: Lisa Sorg is the editor of INDY Week.Email: [email protected]: http://twitter.com/lisasorg
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Students for a Democratic Society
Video of March 19 SDS walk out on UNC campus In late February, Students for a Democratic Society organized a mock recruiting station in UNC’s Pit, at which an Iraqi war veteran spoke about his combat experiences and protesters burned fake draft cards. Many onlookers seemed puzzled, as if a draft card were as quaint […]
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Mission not accomplished
On Sunday night, the 4,000th person died for a mistake. Four American soldiers were killed near Baghdad when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. Yet, five years after President George W. Bush declared war on Iraq, this milestone elicits neither shock nor awe: Only 28 percent of Americans recently surveyed knew the number […]
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They adopted the old name, but Students for a Democratic Society forge their own path
The man in the dark sunglasses snapping photographs at last week’s anti-war demonstration at UNC-Chapel Hill was working for the state-sponsored surveillance squad, ISAAC. And through his viewfinder, this dutiful employee of Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which operates out of the N.C. Attorney General’s office and the state’s Department of Crime Control and Public […]
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A history of violence
Earlier this month, I spoke to a group of teenagers and the conversation inevitably turned to video games. Among their favorites were Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4. While the rules and strategies vary, the objective is the same: Choose your weapon, pursue your target, and shoot to kill. At my Laundromat, to pass […]
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Wright ousted from House
As the vote clock wound down in the General Assembly Thursday afternoon, so did the timer on state Rep. Thomas Wrights legislative career. I could see the clock ticking from 10 to one. At four seconds [left], I voted to expel my colleague, said state Rep. Ty Harrell, one of 109 House members who voted […]
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Anatomy of a foreclosure
The numbers are staggering: More than 7 million families in the United States hold a subprime mortgage, and 14 percent of those homes are in default, according to the Center for Responsible Lending. In Cleveland, Ohio, homeless people are squatting in foreclosed homes; in some Charlotte, N.C., neighborhoods 40 percent of the houses are being […]
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Buyer beware
Unsuspecting borrowers are often suckered into unfavorable loans with promises of low monthly payments or interest rates. Here are several terms that signal you could be entering a bad deal: 228 ARM: An adjustable-rate mortgage that begins with a low “teaser” interest rate, which skyrockets after two years. After the initial period, the rate change […]
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The American (bad) Dream
Several times a month, someone from the county clerk’s office stands outside the first-floor elevator of the Durham County Courthouse and sells people’s dreams. Foreclosure sales happen in every county in the United States; they are public, and for the people being foreclosed on, humiliating, which is why they rarely, if ever, attend. On a […]
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Ain’t no sunshine
For a journalist, receiving a batch of documents requested under open records laws can be better than a birthday or holiday gift. We open those packages with the gusto of Ralphie ripping the wrapping paper to get at his Red Ryder BB Gun in A Christmas Story. And the information within those documents can be […]