The analysts over at Democracy North Carolina crunched voter numbers for the 2014 elections and came to a chilling conclusion: More than 2,000 ballots in the general election alone were cast but not counted, either because voters went to the wrong precinct or tried to register during early voting. In 2013, Republican lawmakers eliminated same-day […]
Lisa Sorg
Bio: Lisa Sorg is the editor of INDY Week.Email: [email protected]: http://twitter.com/lisasorg
Posted inFilm & Television
Full Frame: Local filmmaker Chad Stevens offers a nuanced look at mountaintop removal in Overburden premiere
In the earliest stage of spring, Occoneechee Mountain near Hillsborough is still largely brown, its hillsides dotted by daffodils and perfumed by the faint scent of new life. “I started this project because I wanted to be in places like this,” says director Chad Stevens, whose film OVERBURDEN premieres at Full Frame (April 10, 10:20 […]
Posted inNews
We’re better than the death penalty
At least 30 people have been murdered in Durham County over the past year and a half, and in all manner of brutality: stabbed, beaten, strangled, decapitated, shot. The victims included innocent children, feuding roommates, scorned lovers, gang rivals and an Anglican priest. Yet so far, none of these murderers, accused or convicted, faces the […]
Posted inUncategorized
Against the odds, the Durham Co-op opens, adds new life to a neighborhood
DURHAM CO-OP MARKET 1111 W. Chapel Hill St., Durham 919-973-1707 | www.durham.coop Open daily 7 a.m.–8 p.m. Grand opening Saturday, April 11, 7 a.m.–8 p.m. Music at 2 p.m. by Blue Star Travelers; food by local vendors including Fullsteam Brewery, Mystery Brewing Company, Bull City Burger and Brewery, Firsthand Foods, Locopops, Two Chicks Farms After […]
Posted inNews
Feels like the third time: Lawmakers try to overturn Durham billboard ordinance
They tried in 2012—and failed. They tried again in 2013—and failed again. Now, like Chucky the Doll, the billboard legislation is back, refusing to die.Senate Bill 320 would overturn Durham’s strict billboard ordinance, which regulates where outdoor advertising can be placed, and most important, it prohibits digital billboards. The legislation would expand the power of […]
Posted inSoapboxer
With the Loop going around in circles, Durham has a song but no melody
In general, the mood of Mayor Bill Bell, publicly at least, rarely runs higher than room temperature. Even-keeled, even poker-faced, he’s a hard guy to read. But at yesterday’s final presentation of ideas to reconfigure the Loop, Bell, well, I wouldn’t call him excited, but he did seem animated, possibly intrigued by the idea. “I […]
Posted inNews
Protest petitions closer to becoming outlawed
North Carolina citizens are closer to losing another right, after the House voted Tuesday to eliminate protest petitions. The tally on House Bill 201 was 81–31. However, four Wake County Republicans voting against the measure: Marilyn Avila, Nelson Dollar, Chris Malone and Gary Pendleton. All but one local Democrat also opposed it. Darren Jackson, a […]
Posted inNews
The Loop is a badlands. We should get rid of it.
I know where Hell is. One mile and one-way, the Downtown Loop in Durham is where bad urban planners spend eternity. Unsure of where to turn and unable to safely do so, they are condemned to forever circle the Central Business District, forbidden from partaking in the pleasures of the living: browsing the bookstore and […]
Posted inNews
Ready to go down the rabbit hole? Even more maps, data on Durham Neighborhood Compass
There is good news out of Southeast-Central Durham. The area near N.C. Central University has among the highest percentage per capita of four-star and five-star child care centers in the city. One hundred percent of these centers have attained that ranking, well above the county average of 59 percent. Move farther east, though near Liberty […]
Posted inNews
Reminder: Important light-rail meeting tonight in Durham
Tonight is a watershed moment for the planned light-rail system, a 17-mile route between UNC Hospitals and Alston Avenue in East Durham. Triangle Transit is hosting an open house from 4–7 p.m. at the Durham Station Transportation Center (aka the bus terminal) at 515 W. Pettigrew St. You can learn more about the western part […]