A bill that would ban Internet sweepstakes cafés in North Carolina is closer to becoming lawand if it does, the video gaming industry plans to sue the state. On Monday night, the State Senate passed House Bill 80 by a 47-1 margin. Julia Boseman, a Democrat from Wilmington, cast the opposing vote. “It’s incumbent upon […]
Lisa Sorg
Bio: Lisa Sorg is the editor of INDY Week.Email: [email protected]: http://twitter.com/lisasorg
Posted inNews
House committee approves offshore energy bill
U.S. Coast Guard The House Judiciary I Committee today unanimously passed a bill that essentially removes the caps on costs that must be paid in the event of an oil or natural gas spill in North Carolina’s coastal fishing waters. According to SB 836, any person or company that leaked, discharged or spilled oil natural […]
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Internet sweepstakes legislation languishing
This post was updated Thursday at noon. Just when you thought Internet sweepstakes was dead this session, House Bill 80, which would ban them, is scheduled to be voted on in the Senate Monday night. Here’s the text of the bill: HouseBill80.pdf The bill runs counter to one filed by State Rep. Kelly Alexander, a […]
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Mel Watt one of eight lawmakers under ethics scrutiny
North Carolina Congressman Mel Watt is one of eight House members under investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics, The New York Times reports today, over whether they improperly shifted their positions on a bill to overhaul financial regulations in return for campaign contributions. All eight House members are on the Financial Services or Ways […]
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N.C. could divest from Massey Energy
Four state representatives have introduced a bill into the General Assembly that would require the state to strip its investments from Massey Energy. According to a press release issued today, state Reps. Pricey Harrison and Earl Jones, both Guilford Democrats, Paul Luebke, D-Durham and Susan Fisher, D-Buncombe sponsored the measure, House Bill 2010. North Carolina […]
Posted inFood & Drink
In search of free mulberries
If you can beat the birds to them, public mulberry trees—those growing in right-of-ways or whose branches extend into a public space—are one of the early summer pleasures of strolling near downtown Durham. There used to be a mulberry tree along Pettigrew Street near the Durham County Jail, but it is gone, likely a casualty […]
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BP prohibited workers from speaking with media
Several journalists from UNC-Chapel Hill have obtained BP’s agreement with at least one of its contractors that show workers were forbidden to speak with the media until the company reversed its policy last week. BP required workers employed in the Vessels of Opportunity program to sign a contract that included a clause prohibiting them and […]
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UNC pays $16,000 fine; answers questions from feds
UNC has paid a $16,000 fine levied by the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources related to the Bingham Facility’s illegal discharge of treated wastewater into Collins Creek last fall. Read the letter from UNC to DENR: UNC_response_to_DENR_penalty.pdf. Meanwhile, the National Institutes of Health, which awarded UNC a $14.5 million construction grant for an […]
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Icarus employees receive overdue paychecks
Icarus Studios, which laid off three-quarters of its workforce April 30, has paid the back wages of its employees. As the Indyreported two weeks ago, at the time of the layoff employees received only one-third of one paycheck and were still owed another week’s pay.Several employees have contacted the Indy to say they have been […]
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UNC gets hit with $16,000 fine
UNC’s Bingham Facility has been fined $16,612.48 by the N.C. Department of Environmental and Natural Resources related to last fall’s illegal discharge of 630 gallons of treated wastewater from a storage pond into Collins Creek. The discharge continued for more than a month until UNC conducted a dye trace and discovered the source and path […]
