With one caucus and a primary behind us, we think we know what wildcards could influence the 2008 elections: the unaffiliated, undecideds and under-30s. Yet, there is another unknown: the voting machines. It’s true that North Carolina has made strides toward preserving the integrity of our vote. After a snafu in Carteret County where 4,400 […]
Lisa Sorg
Bio: Lisa Sorg is the editor of INDY Week.Email: [email protected]: http://twitter.com/lisasorg
Posted inNews
Water wars
“Whisky is for drinking, water is for fighting over.” Mark Twain It’s Sunday, shortly after noon, too early for whisky. It’s raining, but I’m not fooled by the torrents pouring from the sky; even if we get the 2 inches our quixotic local meteorologists forecast, the Triangle will be down more than a half-foot of […]
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Sarwat Husain, editor of Al-Ittihaad
In the days following the assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, much has been written and broadcast about how she symbolized the promise of a democratic, liberal Pakistan. However, Sarwat Husain has a viewpoint not widely heard in American media: “Bhutto was America’s puppet,” she says, adding that there was no guarantee that […]
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Finally, a way to dispose of yogurt containers
The bane of local recycling: There’s no place to take your leaning tower of yogurt containers or sacks of plastic drink pouches. But a new statewide reuse program is encouraging schools and community groups to collect those items for fundraising. After signing up at www.terracycle.net/brigades, organizations can earn 1 cent for every drink pouch or […]
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Two more strikes vs. NBAF
Within the same week, the Stem and Creedmoor town councils each voted 4-1 to oppose the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, a federal laboratory that would study the world’s deadliest animal and human diseases. Nearby Butner, which is 30 miles north of Raleigh and even closer to Durham, is one of five possible sites for […]
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Huckabee: quite a character
This holiday season, as the Republican candidates try to out-holier-than-thou one another before the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary, consider which would be the scarier scenario: President Mitt Romney, defender of Mormonism, a faith embedded with a long and recent history of racism. Or President Mike Huckabee, exiler of AIDS victims, discriminator of gays […]
Posted inArt
Bootleg turn
The irony was not lost on history buffsat least the small universe of those fluent in the lore of liquor, North Carolina and NASCARthat Junior Johnson, once busted by the feds for bootlegging, was touring state-owned package stores, selling spirits based on his daddy’s recipethe copper-kettle concoction that required the King of the Speedway to […]
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Banned books, blank minds
In Fahrenheit 451, author Ray Bradbury imagined a future in which books were illegal, citizens watched TV on ginormous sets and listened to “Seashell Radio” attached to their ears. Fifty-four years after the novel was published, we have the 63-inch plasma television, which, in a typical American household, is on an average of eight hours […]
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State strikes deal with shelter
About 350 animals will be surrendered to humane societies and rescue groups as part of a consent order between the N.C. Department of Agriculture and no-kill shelter All Creatures Great and Small. The order went into effect Dec. 6. However, there is no start date for animals to be removed. The state has cited the […]
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Pesticide-free trees
Chestnuts are roasting. Cider is mulling. The holiday tree is twinkling with tinsel, bulbs, garlandand disulfoton? That lovely Frasier fir in your living room was likely sprayed with unhealthy fungicides, insecticides and herbicides that sport such names as Arrest, Pilot and Warhawk. Peace on earth, indeed. This season, try an organic tree; not only do […]