New Year’s Resolutions for the Durham City Council

View This Email In Your Browser

Good morning, readers.

We don’t like to admit it, but Durham City Council members have a hard job. We pick on them when they screw up but rarely praise them for getting things right. It’s thankless work, but as President Roosevelt said, “the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood.”

Still, it’s our job as constituents to hold those in power accountable, because with limited power still comes great responsibility, and our city leaders have an obligation to steward our community with virtue.

So as 2024 comes to a close, I offered a gift to our seven councilors—a few New Year’s resolutions to share as they contemplate how to make 2025 a banner year for Durham. The four big ticket items include: shortening the meeting times, livening up the meetings, expanding the Neighborhood College program, and finishing the unified development ordinance. I got greedy and added a handful of honorable mentions at the end.

Spoiler alert: We might need to upgrade a couple of the honorable mentions to the primary list after the end to Monday’s perplexing city council meeting where the council selected a new city manager.

For now, let’s see if we can get the city council off of Santa’s naughty list by adopting these New Year’s resolutions, which you can read here.

Have a good Wednesday. 

—Justin

---

---

Durham

Orrin Pilkey, the outspoken coastal geologist and Duke professor, died earlier this month at age 90. 

The Wheels Durham roller skating rink is nearing completion.

Wake

Capitol Special Police, the security company in charge of patrolling the Hedingham neighborhood when the 2022 mass shooting took place, has filed a countersuit against the Hedingham Community Association HOA. A group of survivors and family members of victims filed a lawsuit against Capitol Special Police, the HOA, and the accused shooter and his family in October. 

Wake County has launched a new behavioral health department to help people experiencing mental health and substance abuse challenges.

Orange

Hillsborough’s glittering annual solstice walk takes place this weekend. 

A Chapel Hill Transit bus crashed yesterday, sending one person to the hospital with injuries.

North Carolina

If you’re feeling like giving to a good cause this holiday season, the INDY has a list of Triangle nonprofits doing on-the-ground work to help local communities. 

Outgoing Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has asked to move his lawsuit against CNN back to state court.

---

If you’d like to advertise your business to the Daily’s 30,000-plus subscribers, please contact [email protected]

---