Last March, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Debbie Crane created a major flap when she disclosed that Gov. Mike Easley’s press chiefs had routinely instructed agency flacks to delete e-mail correspondence to his office. The point, Crane charged, was to shield Easley from scrutiny by eliminating public records. In the flurry of […]
lonleetrkr1zp4xogcb
Posted inNews
Orange County airport: Flying under the radar
In the current wrangle over a proposed Orange County airport to replace Chapel Hill’s Horace Williams, facts have been buried under a mountain of speculation, assumption and rumor. That’s inevitable given the intense passions that new airports tend to spawn, and this one, which has been studied and debated for a decade, is no exception. […]
Posted inNews
Orange County ponders Buckhorn Village—and its own future
On the job satisfaction index, Orange County economic developer ranks pretty low, alongside Cary welfare administrator and the lonely Maytag repairman. High-profile retail projects and corporate recruiting coups in Orange County are scarce, limited by a combination of land use restrictions, competition from aggressive neighbors, a lack of infrastructure, the county’s historical resistance to business […]
Posted inNews
Property rights: a license to squeal
In the ideological world, it’s tough to be consistent. Liberal defenders of the right to free speech have historically been willing to carve away exceptions when confronting ideas with which they disagree, particularly in the area of so-called “hate speech.” Conservative abhorrence for government intrusion in private life has often ended at the bedroom door. […]
Posted inNews
UNC coach Butch Davis: The $2 million man
The laments that accompanied the handwringing had a familiar ring. It’s bad public policy and demonstrates a skewed sense of priorities, critics said. A regrettable circumstance, high-ranking officials agreed, but everyone else is doing it and we have to follow suit if we’re to remain competitive in the marketplace. No, these were not the standard […]
Posted inNews
Lawn lovers, local officials ignore drought
It’s tempting to feel bad for those poor Triangle denizens whose identities are inextricably tied to their perfectly manicured, uniformly green lawns. In the midst of the region’s worst drought since 1933 and constrained by partial bans on the use of irrigation systems and even sprinklers to maintain the grass, lawn freaks must be accessing […]
Posted inNews
Incentives: Down the slippery slope
The state’s delusional economic development policy headed for the rubber room recently, as the legislature and Gov. Mike Easley clashed, then compromised, over a bill to give Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. up to $40 million to keep its Fayetteville plant open and stay in North Carolina. Easley vetoed the giveaway bill, aimed exclusively at […]
Posted inNews
Duke and Durham: The Blue Devil is in the details
By any objective standard, Duke University has been more than generous when it comes to funding the proposed performing arts center in downtown Durham. Duke initially committed $5.5 million to the project, a tidy sum considering that the university will have only limited access to the facility. When city officials recently turned to Duke once […]
Posted inNews
Breaking the code
The invitation to attend a recent service at Durham’s Liberty Baptist Church noted nothing special about the program beyond the plan to honor a group of judicial leaders for their work. Seated in the pews was a collection of jurists and court personnel, including state Supreme Court Chief Justice Sarah Parker; each in turn was […]
Posted inUncategorized
Apex fire: The rush to wait and see
The frenzy surrounding the Apex chemical fire provided as much excitement as the smoke and flames. A swarm of reporters, regulators, lawyers and politicians descended on the scene and provided breathless, non-stop coverage for the masses. In the information age, it’s volume that counts. The scene had its surreal moments. In an effort to keep […]
