As if parking in downtown Durham wasn’t already the bane of your existence, monthly parking rates are about to go up. Effective July 1, monthly rates for most customers at city surface lots and decks will go up by $15. Residents who live within the downtown loop will see a more modest increase. According to […]
Sarah Willets
Posted inNews
U.S. Supreme Court: North Carolina Can’t Block Lester Packingham from Facebook
In 2010, a Durham man named Lester Gerard Packingham got a traffic ticket dismissed. As one does, he went on Facebook to celebrate: “Man God is Good!” he wrote under his profile name, J.r. Gerrard. “How about I got so much favor they dismissed the ticket before court even started. No fine. No court cost, […]
Posted inUncategorized
The Durham County Sheriff’s Office Says It Doesn’t Participate in ICE’s Secure Communities Program. Tell That to Jairo Garcia del Cid.
They came after me because they knew I didn’t mix with anyone and I went to church and to study. It was as if they saw that I was concentrated on doing something good with my life. My family is Christian and we follow the things of God. … My mother had left for the […]
Posted inHousing
Durham’s Budget Raises Taxes, Funds Affordable Housing
The Durham City Council on Monday approved a $429.4 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year that invests in affordable housing, public safety, and infrastructure. The budget includes a tax hike of 1.79 cents to dedicate a second penny to affordable housing and hire thirty new firefighters, among other investments. The property tax rate will […]
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HUD: Orange County Housing Authority Is “Troubled”
The Orange County Housing Authority’s Section 8 housing program has been listed as “troubled” by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for nearly nine months. The designation was made on September 30, 2016, after the housing authority received a score of less than 60 percent from the Section 8 Management Assessment Program, or […]
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Update: All Four Escaped Red Wolf Pups Recaptured at Museum of Life and Science
Three (adorable) red wolf pups who had escaped from their enclosure at the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science have been “safely recaptured and reintroduced the red wolf pups with their parents,” the museum said in a statement this morning. Four of the seven-week-old pups, who were born at the museum, escaped their enclosure […]
Posted inCulture
Study: Durham’s Arts and Culture Industry Generates $154 Million in Economic Activity a Year
Durham County’s nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $154 million in annual economic activity, according to a new study administered by the Durham Arts Council. The Americans for the Arts economic impact study was conducted in 341 communities nationwide and looked at spending by nonprofit arts organizations and art consumers. Nationally, nonprofit arts and culture […]
Posted inNews, Housing
Durham’s $429 Million Budget Raises Taxes to Fund Affordable Housing, Additional Firefighters
The Durham City Council on Monday night approved a $429.4 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year that invests in affordable housing, public safety, and infrastructure. The budget includes a property tax rate increase of 1.79 cents in order to dedicate a second penny of the tax rate to affordable housing and hire thirty new […]
Posted inNews
Does the Durham County Sheriff’s Office Participate in ICE’s Secure Communities Program? It Says No. The Facts Say … Probably.
On March 16, just six days after his eighteenth birthday, Jairo Garcia del Cid was arrested by Durham police and charged with stealing a 2005 Ford Escape. He was jailed at the Durham County Detention Facility. His grandmother, Maria, got together money to buy the freedom of her grandson, who came to the U.S. from […]
Posted inNews
FADE Coalition on Frank Clark: “We Want Answers. We Want Justice.”
After the Durham Police Department cleared three officers involved in the November shooting death of Frank Clark, the Durham FADE Coalition is asking for more transparency, cooperation, and accountability from the city. “All too often, victims of police shootings are blamed, shamed, and framed as if they would still be alive if they had acted […]
