It’s Friday, May 17.
The INDY’s Best of Durham’s Reader’s poll is open for nominations on May 8th! Take 5 minutes and nominate your favorite restaurant, home service, or local activity. Spread the word, anyone may vote and nominate a business.
Welcome to the weekend, readers.
On Wednesday, cyclist communities across the country participated in the annual Ride of Silence, a national event held to memorialize people who were killed or seriously injured while biking and bring awareness to the issue of traffic violence.
Local transportation nonprofit Bike Durham hosted this year’s 4.3-mile ride in Durham. The distance represents the 43 individuals killed while biking in North Carolina last year.
Transportation equity is a major issue in Durham. Residents have raised concerns about safety and access not just for cyclists but for people who walk or rely on the bus to get around. New sidewalks, bike lanes, and bus shelters are just a few of the line items residents have requested during the budget cycle in recent years.
In response, the Durham city council will likely include an infrastructure bond on the ballot in November to fund a number of projects related to improving the transportation network and parks system in different areas of the city. The infrastructure bond is in addition to Durham’s Capital Improvement Plan, which helps guide Durham’s more substantial infrastructure investments and is the principal planning tool that supports the city’s urban growth and development goals.
A week after the county manager presented her budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year, the city manager will share her budget recommendations to the city council at Monday’s regular council meeting.
Funding for infrastructure improvements and salary increases for city workers are likely to remain top priorities for residents. Folks will have another opportunity to voice their concerns at the next budget hearing on June 3.
Have a good Friday.
—Justin
Correction: In yesterday’s newsletter, we wrote that groups gathering signatures to get proposed Raleigh City Council election changes on the fall ballot have 30 days from May 7 (the day the council passed the election change ordinance) to collect the signatures. In fact, residents have 30 days from May 13th—when the city publicly posted notice of the election changes—to gather 5,000 signatures, or until June 11.
Durham
Durham leaders have filed bills to allow the county and school board to build workforce housing on publicly-owned properties.
Durham Public Schools will spend $2 million in federal funds to make HVAC and other repairs to school buildings, but more is needed for school maintenance.
Wake
A Raleigh firefighter and his wife were charged with trafficking illegal drugs along Glenwood South after ALE agents found more than 10,000 pills, a pound of cocaine, and nearly $70,000 in cash at their home.
Orange
At its final meeting of the academic year, UNC’s Board of Trustees discussed the university’s DEI policies, commencement, and how to punish protesters.
North Carolina
As the state grows more diverse, North Carolina’s public schools are becoming more segregated.
Today’s weather
Sunny with a high of 82 degrees, a chance of showers and storms.
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