The streets were nearly empty on a cold Sunday evening at sunset. I was wandering through downtown Durham, clearing my head before the vigil for Jesus Huerta at Immaculate Conception Church, when I happened upon a cardboard box sitting on the concrete windowsill at the Center for Responsible Lending at Market and Main streets. Wrapped […]
Lisa Sorg
Bio: Lisa Sorg is the editor of INDY Week.Email: [email protected]: http://twitter.com/lisasorg
Posted inSoapboxer
HKonJ: Tens of thousands converge on Raleigh for a day of solidarity
On a sidewalk near the McDonald’s on South Wilmington Street, I overheard three people discussing the HKonJ march. I have no idea about their political persuasion, but considering their use of the term “they,” instead of “we,” I’m guessing the trio were not participating in the march. “They’re protesting everything,” one person said. “Look, there’s […]
Posted inSoapboxer
Smile, you’re on Aqueti camera
When I saw the enormous contraption—two people had rigged a camera about the size of a banker’s box with wires and cables extending from the back— at the corner of Corcoran and Main streets this morning, I immediately thought, “surveillance.” NSA. Google Street View. A spy satellite fallen to Earth. But it was none of […]
Posted inSoapboxer
Characters of downtown Durham: The man with 17 children
“Hey, I got a story.” Willie got up from a bench and swaggered across the pocket park at Mangum and Main streets in Durham. He wore a coat embossed with yellow, red and green outlines of Africa. He smiled as he approached me at the corner, where I had been chatting with another man, Larry, […]
Posted inNews
Poverty: our problem
During the State of the City address Monday night, a video highlighting the accomplishments of 2013 showed Durham Mayor Bill Bell resuscitating a mannequin during a CPR class. If the mannequin represents downtown Durham and parts of the South Side, then for sure, Bell, city leaders, private companies and nonprofits have revived those areas. But, […]
Posted inNews
Research Triangle Park plans for the biggest changes in 50 years
Research Triangle Park is half the size of Manhattan, but you can’t get a cup of coffee or a sandwich there. But that is going to change, RTP Foundation president Bob Geolas said today—in an announcement of the largest shakeup in the park’s 50-year history as a suburban technology and bioscience hub. The RTP Foundation […]
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Unearthed: a 1930s photo of the Liberty Cafe
A reader passed along a link to a photo of the former Liberty Cafe, located inside Liberty Warehouse. It’s in the public domain, having been shot by Marion Wolcott Post in circa 1939 for the U.S. Farm Security Administration. The original nitrate negative is at the Library of Congress. Apparently the cafe was a 24-hour […]
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The most important person in the MLK parade
The most important person in yesterday’s MLK parade was also the last. A man named Pernell had the unenviable job of cleaning up after the horses, who, not coincidentally, are usually next to last in the parade. Pernell is an incredibly nice and good-humored guy, someone who does the unseen work most of us take […]
Posted inSoapboxer
A child’s drum kit in the hazy shade of winter
I first saw this child’s drum kit last summer, in a nearby front yard, although I never heard anyone play it or even sit on the throne. I always carry a small notebook to jot down ideas, future photographs and random (and often kooky) thoughts. At some point I wrote: “Photograph drum kit if it […]
