Margaret Helen Cheek was a loving, yet troubled mother who spent the prime of her life in mental institution. Two of Cheek’s daughters, Australia Clay and Dolores Marks, told a task force Wednesday that Cheek had been sterilized against her will at Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro, where she was a patient for 11 years. “It […]
Lisa Sorg
Bio: Lisa Sorg is the editor of INDY Week.Email: [email protected]: http://twitter.com/lisasorg
Posted inNews
Fracking study bill passes House Finance Committee
House Bill 242, which calls for a study of the environmental and financial impacts of fracking, passed the House Finance Committee today. However, there was substantial discussion about the lack of legal protections for landowners who sign leasing agreements with drilling companies. As the Indy reported this week, although fracking is still illegal in North […]
Posted inNews
N.C. landowners signing one-sided agreements with fracking companies
This is the second story in our series about fracking in North Carolina. Read the first article about how the controversial drilling method can damage water and air quality—and the N.C. Legislature’s efforts to legalize the practice. Before you sign • What is your environmental liability? For example, if fracking contaminates your neighbor’s well or […]
Posted inNews
A victory for the right to know
Here’s a headline we rarely get to use: Something good happened in state government this month. Score this event in the win column for people who value access to the free flow of informationjournalists, scholars and, hopefully, you. As recently as nine years ago, thousands of pages of North Carolina’s eugenics board records were publicly […]
Posted inNews
Despite the dangers of fracking, North Carolina lawmakers want to legalize it
This is the first of a two-part series on fracking. In the second story, the Indy will explore the problems landowners can encounter when signing lease agreements with drilling companies and brokers. Take action Drill your legislators on fracking View documents A Duke study released this week linking high levels of methane in drinking water […]
Posted inNews
Drill bill: SB 709 passes, focuses on oil and gas
Call it by its proper name, the Energy Jobs Act; call it the Drilling Bill, call it birdcage liner, but Senate Bill 709 passed the Senate Tuesday 38-12. The bill now goes to the House. Its passage marks a significant shift in state lawmakers’ attitudes toward energy and mirrors a national push by conservatives to […]
Posted inNews
Duke study: High levels of methane in drinking water wells linked to fracking
A study released Monday by five Duke University scientists found that drinking water wells near gas extraction sites had on average, 17 times higher levels of methane gas than wells that weren’t. Some of these wells, the study concluded, had concentrations of methane far above the “immediate action” hazard level. fracking_study.pdf The scientists tested 60 […]
Posted inGuides
The Loving Story is Full Frame founder Nancy Buirski’s documentary about a landmark in marriage equality and civil rights
In 1958, Mildred and Richard Loving did something that millions of Americans did that year: They got married. But Mildred was black and Native American and Richard was white. And they lived in Virginia, where it was a felony for blacks and whites “to leave the state in order to marry.” One night, they awoke […]
Posted inUncategorized
Court documents allege Joe Rowand used Somerhill Gallery as his personal ATM
Somerhill Gallery’s president, Joe Rowand, allegedly unlawfully diverted funds from his Durham-based business, essentially using it as a personal bank account to support a high-flying lifestyle. These allegationsplus accusations of misconduct, mismanagement, breach of financial duty and corporate wastewere recently unveiled in court documents as attorney Sara Conti is seeking damages on behalf of artists […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Bull City Burger and Brewery: It’s love in a bun
If you have $15 in your pocket, you cannot starve in Downtown Durham: Within a seven-block radius you can find chicken and waffles, paninis and po’boys, venison and veal, salads, scallops and sausage, plus tortas, crepes, pork—and even rabbit liver. But until this week, one of the foodiest downtowns in America did not have a […]
