Kelly’s volunteer duties with the March of Dimes involve inviting the area team mascots to appear at the WalkAmerica walk in April. She wound up exchanging emails with Jason Ray, who protrays UNC’s mascot, Rameses.

Kelly was shocked to hear that Jason was hit by a car Friday and critically injured. He’s now in a coma and showing few signs of life.

Please keep Jason and his family in your thoughts and prayers, y’all.

[Update (3/26):] Jason Ray passed away this morning. Sad. See the link above for memorial information.

After sending the DOT a polite email about the litter on the Beltline:

Sent By: Mark Turner Date/Time: 2/5/2007 1:38:12 PM
Comment:
I’d like to report excessive litter on the west side of the Raleigh Beltline in the vicinity of the pedestrian bridge and Wade Avenue. A large amount of trash has accumulated in the median near the pedestrian bridge and other nearby areas. This does not reflect well on the city of Raleigh nor the state government based here.

Thanks for your attention!

Regards,
Mark Turner

…I got this response this morning:

Sent By: Contact Us Administrator Date/Time: 2/7/2007 8:24:02 AM
Comment:
Mr. Turner,

Thank you for your concern about the litter on the beltline. I have a crew going out to this location today to pickup all of the litter. We also use inmate crews to pickup trash on the beltline on a regular schedule. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks,
Jason Holmes

There you go. Boom, its taken care of. Hurray for the DOT!

Maybe the trash problem isn’t the DOT but simply a shortage of concerned citizens?

Two years ago saw the grand opening of an unusual addition to our highways: a pedestrian bridge which crosses the Beltline. My family and I ventured out that day to take a stroll over this new bridge; a bridge which provides a nice, safe connection from the city’s greenways to the parks outside of the Beltline.

The view from the bridge could be improved, however. From that vantage point you can not only see six lanes of traffic zooming under you, you can view the trashiest spot in Raleigh. From the pedestrian bridge south to the Hillsborough street overpass is the messiest, trashiest stretch of road you’ll find in the entire city. A bridge overlooking trash is probably not what the N.C. Museum of Art had in mind when it offered its land for the project. I would venture to guess the trash from two years ago is not only still there, it has grown ever since.

That small stretch isn’t the only trashy spot on the Beltline. Keep an eye out and you’ll begin to notice spare tires here, busted drywall there. Plastic bottles are everywhere. This morning I narrowly missed a pair of steel chairs standing in the median just outside of the travel lanes. Judging by their mangled state I was not the first to encounter them. This doesn’t even consider all the trash too small to see from 65 MPH, like the thousands of cigarette butts that litter the roads.

What can Raleigh do about this trash? Not much: it’s a state-maintained road.

Raleigh is home to our state government. Our governor, legislators, and department heads all work here. Raleigh’s Beltline is its de facto Main Street (the new Fayetteville Road revitalization notwithstanding), and yet its constantly trashed. How can we let this happen? On top of the recent study showing that the Triangle contributes in transportation taxes far more than it receives from the DOT, it can make one wonder if our state government really cares about us.

Granted, the DOT is sponsoring a Litter Sweep in April where concerned citizens can “pitch in,” but should that really be necessary? Why can’t the state keep Raleigh’s Beltline clean?

Two days does not a trend make, but I’m really encouraged by the difference I’m seeing in my commute since the new stretch of I-540 opened from Capital Boulevard to U.S. 264. Today I cruised down Capital Boulevard, getting to work in fourteen minutes, half the time it normally takes! I was amazed to make such good time. My evening commute is just as dramatically better.

The big difference is the drastic drop in truck traffic. Trucks heading east to Knightdale (or as the truckers called it, “Nightmaredale”) and U.S. 64 used to pile onto Capital for a slow crawl down to 401 or the Beltline, where they would inevitably be in the far right lane and need to merge left to get on the inner Beltline. The Beltline end of Capital was always a mess as a result.

Now trucks heading east roll right past Capital, making it driveable again. In fact, traffic moves better for commuter traffic than weekend traffic does, since the traffic lights aren’t apparently synched on the weekends.

Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so I expected smooth traffic then. Tuesday must have been Stupid Driving Day, where in spite of the I-540 opening there were multiple accidents all down Capital. Today is the first real test of the new traffic and so far it looks good. I thought I’d be the last one to crow about a new slab of concrete but this one was obviously long overdue.

[Update:] Welcome News and Observer readers!

Looks like the mystery is now solved about the Google plane being spotted at RDU last year. Google has bought a Chapel Hill start-up called Skia.

It’s amazing how quiet this acquisition has been in the year since it occured. I guess when you’re a search engine company, you are well aware that what you say and write gets archived somewhere.

Kudos to Fred Stutzman for his work in putting the final pieces together. Continue reading →

Watch your speed on the Outer Loop this afternoon. I counted at least 6 Raleigh Police cruisers pulling people over left and right on the westbound lanes west of U.S. 70. There were at least four unlucky drivers being ticketed as I drove by.

Buckle up and drive safely, y’all.

I thought that the light at the end of the tunnel was seen when troubled Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong dropped rape charges in the Duke Lacrosse case. I was going to give him credit for gaining some sense. Instead I learned he was forced to when his alleged victim, ,

Today Nifong was sworn in again as Durham DA, only the weasel did it behind closed doors before the courthouse opened. When I heard that, I couldn’t help but think this is Nifong thumbing his nose at the public he serves.

Take a look at his reasoning why:

“This was not a media event. This was an event that is required for us to do our jobs,” Nifong said. “The message we’re trying to send is: This is 2007. We’re here to do our jobs. We’re not here to help you guys sell newspapers or get press coverage.”

Oh, really? Gee, Mikey, you sure didn’t mind the publicity when you were dragging these students’ names through the mud. You sure didn’t mind it when the New York Times came calling when you told the local media – the eyes and ears of your constituents – you weren’t doing any interviews. I’m starting to wonder if your apparent dishonesty in the case is just par for the course. Do you lie all the time, sir?

What’s more, he still doesn’t own up to the disaster that’s largely his own making:

“I don’t feel I’m part of the problem. I feel that I have assisted in revealing the problem,” he said, referring to the community outrage the case has stoked. “Durham has some healing to do, and I need to be part of that healing process.”

You want to start the healing process, Mike? Either step aside on this case or dismiss it.

Otherwise the State Bar will begin the healing process for you.

Troubled Durham district attorney Mike Nifong has dropped rape charges against the Duke Lacrosse suspects after the accuser, Crystal Gail Mangum, changed her story yet again. Mangum reportedly told Nifong that she “couldn’t be sure” she was raped.

Hmm. Maybe she also “couldn’t be sure” she was sexually assaulted and/or kidnapped, which are the remaining charges these accused Duke students face thanks to overzealous Durham prosecutors.

Drop it, Nifong. Drop it all right now. Then save what’s left of your dignity by apologizing to these young men and the citizens of Durham. Continue reading →

It appears the accuser in the Duke Lacrosse rape case will soon give birth to a baby. Being that it was recently disclosed that none of the DNA sampled from her body matched any of the players, doesn’t this last revelation pretty-much torpedo any chance of Mike Nifong’s case succeeding?

How is this still going on? What is Mike Nifong smoking? What will it take for him to finally drop this case? Can anyone donate a clue to Durham’s district attorney? Continue reading →