Turd Blossom is coming to Durham. Karl RoveNewsweek columnist, political mastermind, orchestrator of Republican dominance, and former deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bushwill speak at Duke University’s Page Auditorium Monday, Dec. 3. Duke political science professor Peter Feaver, who invited his former White House colleague to speak at the university, will moderate […]
Mosi Secret
Posted inGuides
Al McSurely
When longtime civil rights and NAACP lawyer Al McSurely argued to Wilson District Attorney Howard Boney that James Johnson shouldn’t spend another day in jail, he wasn’t in front of a judge or jury. He was in Boney’s office with a few black preachers and activists, applying the kind of behind-the-scenes pressure that’s rooted as […]
Posted inNews
The mind of Kenneth Maready
On the day psychiatrists were going to shoot electricity through his brain, Kenneth Maready did not eat breakfast. He’d taken a pill to relax, and he felt hopeful that the impending shock would mend his mind, because he was consumed with thoughts of suicide. An anesthesiologist put him to sleep and injected him with succinylcholine, […]
Posted inElections
Bell cleans up after Stith’s dirty campaign; Ali prevails over Harris
With most of the votes for the Durham elections tallied last night, Mayor Bill Bell entered the Durham County Commissioners’ chambers, where election results were broadcast, to hoots, hugs and hollers, as supporters congratulated him on his victory over Councilman Thomas Stith. Bell apparently only wanted to show his face, because he left for his […]
Posted inElections
Durham primary: And then there were six
Durham County election results (PDF) With most of the votes for the Durham City Council primary tallied last night, Farad Ali walked into Blue Coffee Cafe downtown, where his core campaign committeefewer than 10 peoplewaited around a platter of pretzels, cheese puffs and cream-filled doughnuts. The small celebration reflected the city’s poor voter turnout, which, […]
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Who is Thomas Stith?
Days after a city council showdown over whether Durham is a “sanctuary city” for undocumented immigrants, Mayor Bill Bell and Councilman Thomas Stith were on opposing sides of an issue again. They convened in a conference room at the Hilton Hotel on Hillsborough Road for a mayoral debate, mingling in separate circles, facing away from […]
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Stith’s immigration stance draws no support in Durham
Durham mayoral challenger Thomas Stith’s protracted attempt to rile up the electorate over the city’s immigration policy foundered when not one citizen, Durham City Council member or administration employee came to his support in a Sept. 20 work session. Instead, a predominantly Latino throng amassed in protest, filling the seats and lining the walls, and […]
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East End Connector uproots residents
Map Proposed location of the East End Connector Soon to be gone Photos of places in the East End Connector’s path David Hanson. John and Vida Tubiolo. Nina Parrish. Joshua and Deborah Milan. Their homes and businesses pepper this working-class East Durham neighborhood along and between N.C. 147 and U.S. 70. Hanson lives in a […]
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Century-old Durham home latest to face bulldozer
The two-story house has cracks in the foundation so big that daylight shines through to the basement. Filled with trash, it harbors “vermin and vagrants.” The back side sags, and according to an inspection report, the floors, ceilings and walls are riddled with holes. This 100-year-old house, at 501 Oakwood Ave. in Durham’s historic but […]
Posted inNews
Durham mayoral candidate Bill Bell
In the 2005 mayoral election, Durham Mayor Bill Bell coasted to a record third term, rolling over political newcomer Jonathan Alston, ex-convict Vincent Brown and firebrand Jackie Wagstaff, who failed to win over voters with her “gangsta” campaign. But this fall, Bell will face one of his own. Durham City Councilman Thomas Stith, who has […]