Lisa Sorg ·
9 Mar 2010, 3:23 PM ·
Comment
Ahh, the first signs of spring as the snow melts away: Daffodils, crocuses—and trash.
According to a recent survey, Durham has fewer “extremely littered” streets than it used to, but more of its streets are “littered.”
The annual survey, known as the Litter Index (28kb, pdf) [litter-index-2009-graph] is sponsored by Keep Durham Beautiful.
Last month, volunteers surveyed select streets within a one-mile radius of City Hall and gauged the amount and type of trash on them.
The percentage of littered streets rose from roughly 7 percent last year to 20 percent this year. And the percentage of streets that had no litter dipped from 39 percent last year to just one-quarter in 2010.
Dorothea Pierce, executive director of Keep Durham Beautiful, said there could be several reasons for the increase in littered streets, including this year’s wet and windy winter weather.
“Bad weather that moves things around,” Pierce said. “Flooding and wind: Wind is a horrendous litter mover.”
The good news: There were virtually no “extremely littered” streets—the amount of litter that would require a truck to haul it away.
Durham, environment, news Keep Durham Beautiful, Litter Index
Bob Geary ·
8 Mar 2010, 10:26 AM ·
Comment
Isn’t it amazing that the the U.S. Supreme Court decision equating free speech with corporate money, the one that allows corporations to spend unlimited sums on candidates and causes they like (or, more often, dislike), came in a case known as “Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission.”
That’s “Citizens” as in “Corporations Hiding Behind a Made-Up Name that Makes Us Look Like We’re Just Folks.”
The ramifications of this, and what we in North Carolina should do about it, will be discussed at a forum, “The Future of Campaign Financing in North Carolina,” on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Beyu Caffe in Durham.
From the Facebook listing:
Panelists:
Damon Circosta, Executive Director of N.C. Center for Voter Education.
Chase Foster, Director of NC Voters for Clean Elections
Representative Henry M. Michaux, Jr., North Carolina House of Representatives – District 31
Moderated by: Laura Leslie, WUNC’s Capitol Bureau Chief
Beyu Caffé is located at 335 W. Main St., Durham, NC 27701
In the January 21st 5-4 ruling of United v. FEC, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned restrictions against corporate spending in American elections. Corporations are no longer viewed separately from individuals and are not limited to spending through Political Action Committees. They can now directly support or not support their choice of candidates.
So what does this mean for North Carolina, cities and counties in the Triangle, and you? Will we see corporations spending more on candidates or is public financing of campaigns in our future?
Durham, North Carolina, politics Citizens United
Samiha Khanna ·
5 Mar 2010, 1:52 PM ·
Comment
Folks, this is even bigger than the “We Want Oprah!” sign that used to occupy the windows of a converted motel on Corcoran Street downtown.
Durham wants Google. Specifically, Durham residents, businesses, elected leaders and creatives are hoping to lure Google Fiber, an project that Google is embarking on to bring broadband fiber and high-speed Internet access to one or more lucky cities in the U.S. Google has opened the application process to the entire country, and like many cities across the country have demonstrated in recent days, Durham wants in.
To demonstrate Durham’s engagement, a committee has organized an effort to spell the words “We want Google” on the field of the Durham Bulls Athletic Park on Thursday, March 18, said Sam Poley, a spokesman on Durham’s application for Google Fiber. An aerial photographer will take photos of the display that day and submit them to Google when the application is due, March 26. Continue reading »
Durham, Durham County, North Carolina, business, national, news City of Durham, DBAP, Durham Bulls, Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau, Google Fiber, Internet, technology
Joe Schwartz ·
5 Mar 2010, 12:09 PM ·
Comment
Dan Pollitt, who dedicated his life to fighting for civil rights in courts and academia, died this morning at age 88, according to the Carrboro Citizen, which first reported the story.
Dan Pollitt and his wife, N.C. Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, with President Barack Obama at a campaign event.
Pollitt, who married State Sen. Ellie Kinnaird in 2009, is a past chairman of the faculty at UNC and helped lead the charge against the speaker ban in 1963.
He will be remembered as a champion for equality and justice, especially in liberal circles.
Rob Schofield, director of research at the progressive think tank N.C. Policy Watch, called Pollitt a “brilliant attorney who used his intellect and commitment to fight for the underdog.
“Throughout the last half decade, there was scarcely an important civil rights or social justice cause in our state that Dan didn’t impact for the better,” Schofield wrote at the N.C. Policy Watch blog. “He will be missed tremendously.”
Pollitt was also an occasional contributor to the Indy. You can read his work here.
North Carolina, Orange County, politics Carrboro Citizen, civil rights, Dan Pollitt, Ellie Kinnaird, NC Policy Watch, speaker ban
Samiha Khanna ·
3 Mar 2010, 4:43 PM ·
1 Comment
After a meeting of city and county elected officials, it doesn’t appear that the City Council or County Commissioners will be reconsidering the Durham’s 26-page ordinance on signage any time soon. When asked by Durham’s planning department whether it’s time to revisit the ordinance, Durham leaders vehemently answered, “No.”
“I personally am not in favor of opening the sign ordinance,” said City Councilwoman Diane Catotti, at Wednesday’s meeting of Durham’s Joint City-County Planning Committee, for which she is chairwoman. “I think it’s a lot cleaner in terms of litigation to support the sign ordinance in place. I do fear litigation. It’s a lengthy and costly process and I don’t think I have to remind any of you that the city has significant litigation still pending. I’ll just say ‘lacrosse.’”
Catotti commented that sign litigation is a prominent form of action taken against governments, and that Durham itself went through a nearly 10-year battle over a signage lawsuit from the 1980s and 1990s that cost the city nearly $1.5 million. Continue reading »
Durham, Durham County, North Carolina, news, politics campaign contributions, City of Durham, Diane Catotti, Durham City Council, Durham County Commissioners, Durham JCCPC, Durham Planning Commission, Durham planning department, Durham politics, electronic billboards, Ellen Reckhow, Fairway, litigation, Patrick Byker, Steve Medlin, Unified Development Ordinance
Joe Schwartz ·
3 Mar 2010, 4:21 PM ·
Comment
Topeka municipal leaders renamed the town Google, Kansas. Others across the country are forming Facebook groups and bringing tech gurus together hoping to be selected for Google’s high-speed Internet project.
Chapel Hill, Carrboro and UNC are forming a joint task force, holding a forum and inviting residents to complete a survey.
The group is geared toward becoming a pilot community for Google Fiber, a program announced last month that seeks to build and test Internet service that’s one gigabit per second — 100 times faster than what’s available today.
To qualify, towns of 50,000 to 500,000 people must apply by March 26 and demonstrate that they have adequate resources and infrastructure to make the partnership successful.
The forum is set for 7 p.m. March 15 at Chapel Hill Town Hall.
Read next week’s Independent for a story on what else local municipalities are doing to try to woo Google.
Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Orange County Add new tag, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Durham, fiber, Google, UNC
Joe Schwartz ·
1 Mar 2010, 5:57 PM ·
1 Comment
Twenty-eight candidates are vying for 16 seats tied to Orange County this election season. This cycle, which centers on a May 4 primary and climaxes during the Nov. 2 election, features a crowded race for a spot on the Orange County Board of Education and experienced contenders competing both in the sheriff and county commissioner at-large races.
Lindy Pendergrass, who won his first term as Orange County sheriff back when Michael Jordan hit the shot to down Georgetown, is seeking his eight term and will square off against Hillsborough Police Chief Clarence Birkhead in the democratic primary. Republican Buddy Parker, who lost to Pendergrass in 2006 and earned just 19 percent of the vote, awaits the winner in the general election.
Meanwhile, the Board of County Commissioners race will see three-term incumbent Barry Jacobs face a challenge from former Hillsborough Mayor Joe Phelps and current Carrboro Alderman Joal Hall Broun in contest for the at-large seat. Long-time incumbent Alice Gordon doesn’t face competition for the District 1 seat and three newcomers, Earl McKee and Renee Price on the Democratic side and Greg Andrews on the Republican end, are seeking the District 2 slot.
District 1 consists of Chapel Hill and Carrboro and two-thirds of the Chapel Hill Township, while District 2 makes up the northern parts of the county.
Candidates have a one-in-two shot to gain a seat on the Orange County Board of Education with eight hopefuls eyeing one of four seats. Two incumbents, Chairwoman Anne Medenblik and second-term hopeful Debbie Piscitelli, face Will Atherton, Brenda Stephens, Laura Nicholson, Donna Coffey, Keith Cook and Charles Williams.
Continue reading »
Orange County, politics 2010 election, Anne Medenblik, Barry Jacobs, Bill Faison, Board of County Commissioners, Brenda Stephens, Buddy Parker, Cathy Wright, Charles Williams, Clarence Birkhead, clerk of court, Debbie Piscitelli, Deborah Brooks, Donna Coffey, Earl McKee, Ellie Kinnaird, Greg Andrews, James Stanford, Joal Hall Broun, Joe Hackney, Joe Phelps, Jon Bass, Keith Cook, Laura Nicholson, Lindy Pendergrass, NC General Assembly, Orange County, Orange County Board of Education, Orange County sheriff, register of deeds, Renee Price, Rick Smith, Ryan Hilliard, Soil Conservation District Supervisor, Verla Insko, Will Atherton
Samiha Khanna ·
26 Feb 2010, 3:57 PM ·
Comment
Several local politicos waited until the last minute to throw their names into the hat in Durham’s local and state elections. Candidates had until noon today to declare their intentions to run.
Several previously uncontested races now boast challengers, and in three offices—Durham District Attorney, Clerk of Court and N.C. House District 29—incumbent Democrats Tracey Cline, Archie Smith and Rep. Larry Hall face no challengers.
The rundown of today’s filings:
- Republican Laney Funderburk, of Glenmore Drive, has filed for N.C. Senate District 20, challenging incumbent Democrat Sen. Floyd McKissick. Funderburk ran for Durham City Council in 2007.
- Republican Patricia Ladd of Shaw Road has filed against incumbent Democrat Rep. H.M. Mickey Michaux.
- Republican Larry Yarbrough of Duck Pointe Drive in Roxboro has filed for N.C. House District 55, facing incumbent Democrat Rep. Winkie Wilkins. Two other Democrats are also vying for Wilkins’ seat.
- Democrat Tony Butler of North Willowhaven Drive will face incumbent Durham County Sheriff Worth Hill in a Democratic primary. Roy Taylor, a Republican, also has filed for this office.
- In the Durham school board election, Regina Stanley-King of Wayne Circle has entered the race against Pastor Fredrick Davis for the District 2 seat. Stanley-King first ran for office in 2005, in an unsuccessful bid against veteran Howard Clement for a City Council seat.
For the full list, visit the Durham Board of Elections Web site.
Durham, Durham County, North Carolina, education, news, politics 2010 elections, Archie Smith, Durham Board of Elections, Durham City Council, Durham County Sheriff, Durham politics, Durham school board, Howard Clement, Laney Funderburk, N.C. House, N.C. legislature, NC Senate, Pastor Fredrick Davis, Patricia Ladd, Regina Stanley-King, Rep. Larry Hall, Rep. Mickey Michaux, Rep. Winkie Wilkins, Sen. Floyd McKissick, Tony Butler, Tracey Cline, Worth Hill
Samiha Khanna ·
26 Feb 2010, 11:10 AM ·
Comment
Michael Vick, the NFL player convicted in 2007 for running an illegal dogfighting ring in Virginia, is speaking to a group of Durham students this morning at New Horizons Academy of Excellence on Hunt Street.
Vick, who now plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, was sentenced to 23 months in prison for fighting and inhumanely killing pit bulls in the dogfighting ring. He has held other speaking events and made public apologies for his treatment of animals. He was scheduled to begin an assembly at New Horizons at 10 a.m. today.
New Horizons Academy of Excellence is an independent school that provides ongoing education and job training to middle and high school age students who have been long-term suspended, expelled, or have dropped out of Durham Public Schools.
Durham, Durham County, North Carolina, national, news dogfighting, Durham, Michael Vick, New Horizons, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles
Samiha Khanna ·
26 Feb 2010, 10:58 AM ·
Comment
Randall “Randy” Stewart, of Fox Run Court in Durham, filed Friday morning to challenge 10-term incumbent Rep. Paul Luebke for his seat in the state legislature. Stewart is the second Republican candidate to file for the N.C. House District 30 seat, prompting a primary race with newcomer Jason Chambers. Chambers filed late Thursday.
Mike Ashe, director of Durham’s Board of Elections, says this is the first Republican primary in Durham for N.C. House, at least in recent memory. Durham is a county where Democrats continue to make up a majority.
Candidates may file for office until noon today.
Durham, Durham County, news, politics 2010 elections, Durham, Durham Board of Elections, Durham politics, Jason Chambers, Mike Ashe, N.C. House, N.C. legislature, NC House District 30, Paul Luebke, Randy Stewart, Republican primaries
Ahh, the first signs of spring as the snow melts away: Daffodils, crocuses—and trash.
