Raleigh

Community-focused posts

There are 776 posts filed in Raleigh (this is page 60 of 78).

Strickland park

If I didn’t get my fill of excitement last night I’ve got more fun tonight. Tonight’s the night the Parks and Rec board votes on the master plan for Strickland Park.

I’m not happy with how the public process was handled here, though I think the park will be a welcome asset to the neighborhood, ultimately. There are a few changes that I would like to see – and that I will ask for – but I’m not optimistic that these will be accomplished. I think some people have made up their minds and little will change their positions.

The big chair

I attended my first Raleigh CAC meeting (as opposed to the East CAC ones that I lead). I sat at the City Council table for the first time and the meeting was televised on RTN channel 11.

The meeting was dull for the most part. Up until the end, that is, which came after the meeting stopped its scheduled airing on cable. That’s when some longtime CAC chairs unloaded about the perceived lack of cooperation they have been getting from the city’s community services department. Though I was missing half of the televised presidential debate I couldn’t pull myself away from the fireworks.

Yet another unexpectedly-exciting first meeting I’ve attended!

Trickle-down economics

A friend of my coworker works at a local homeless shelter. He says homelessness is up 30% now due to the economy. Urban Ministries of Durham is warning of the same increase in homeless people.

“The current economic condition of our country is pushing many people into homelessness, and Durham will be no exception,” said Greg Rowland, Urban Ministries’ vice-chair. “We are committed to increasing our capacity to provide food, clothing, shelter and recovery to everyone who walks through our door.”

It might hurt to lose pretend money in the stock market but its important to remember those for whom the economic stress is painfully tangible: our homeless.

Raleigh in high-rez

I just updated the Wikipedia entry for Raleigh with a sweet picture of downtown I took today. Knowing how the Wikipedia anarchy operates I’m under no illusion regarding how long the picture will last in Raleigh’s entry. The weather was just too perfect not to pop out for a quick picture or three. I only spent an hour tooling around taking pictures, though, as there was grass to be cut and neighborhood trash to be picked up.

I could’ve used a polarized filter on the lens to bring out more of the blue sky, but other than that I wouldn’t change a thing. I really like the view from the Western Boulevard overpass – better than the traditional South Saunders view, actually. I wonder why we don’t see more of it.

Just like my previous pictures, this shot is public domain. I look forward to seeing it pop up in various places.

Cleaning up the neighborhood

Last week I got so sick of the trash littering the neighborhood streets that I decided to do something about it. So I sent out an email to neighbors announcing a day of picking up trash. While I heard from one or two people saying they would be there, I had no idea who would actually show. Six other neighbors showed up! When Kelly and the kids joined us we had a formidable team indeed.

Raleigh’s Community Services supplied us with vests, pick-up tongs, trash picks, and bags. They even arranged for Solid Waste Services to pick our bags up when we were done. If I seemed impressive when I passed all of this stuff out I have to give all the credit to Charlene and Community Services.
Continue reading →

Downtown library

I was walking in to work this morning when a woman in a blue minivan stopped in front of me.

“Excuse me,” she said. “Where is the library?”

I paused. We were at the corner of Hargett Street and Person Street and there isn’t a library for miles. I gave her convoluted directions to Cameron Village Regional Library but somehow doubted she would keep it all straight.

It sure would be nice if Raleigh had a showplace library downtown. It not like this area has a bunch of highly-educated, intelligent citizenry or anything.

Cedar Creek Gallery


Kelly and I took the kids up to Creedmoor Saturday to visit the Oakleys, the family of Travis’s best friend Carson. They were hosting an arts festival at their farm, known as Cedar Creek Gallery. I’m amazed this place has been here for forty years and I never knew about it until now.

We watched as Lisa Oakley did some glass blowing, creating a long string of glass which will be used to create beads for necklaces and bracelets. It was fascinating: I’d never seen glass blowing before. There were other artists around, too, including some very talented potters and sculptors. And the event attracted a crowd. At one point, their one cash register had no less than thirteen customers waiting. I was tempted to buy a few things myself.

The kind of studio where one can practice glass blowing, welding, and the like is what I’d like to see Raleigh Parks and Rec provide. Something like a Mythbusters or Techshop kind of place. Maybe some day I’ll be in a position to do something about it …

If you’re interested in some of the coolest pottery, sculpting, and whimsical handmade products around, take a morning drive up to Creedmoor and see the Cedar Creek Gallery. You’ll be glad you did.

Wachovia and Citigroup: a shotgun marriage

The Charlotte Observer reports that Citigroup’s purchase of Wachovia’s was a panicked move by the FDIC to keep Wachovia solvent as nervous customers created a “silent” bank run. Customers began withdrawing their money on Friday and by Monday morning it was clear Wachovia had no liquidity left. In other words, Wachovia would’ve almost certainly failed this week had the FDIC not engineered the Citigroup deal.

Scary stuff, folks, and I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of it. I’m glad I’m a credit union member.

(h/t Suzzanne)