Politics

Politics

There are 1,058 posts filed in Politics (this is page 42 of 106).

Neuse River Greenway Dedication

Neuse River Greenway Dedication, 25 Apr 2013

Neuse River Greenway Dedication, 25 Apr 2013

I had a great time speaking at yesterday’s Neuse River Greenway Dedication, where there were probably 200 people in attendance. I wore a suit because I was speaking, though I much rather would’ve preferred to be there in bike clothes as was Wake Commissioner Joe Bryan. I was second-to-last on the speaker’s list, behind Mayor Nancy McFarlane, Eugene Weeks, John Odom, Joe Bryan, Tony Tata, Wake Forest Mayor Vivian Jones, and Charles Meeker. Greenway planner Vic Lebsock batted clean-up before the ribbon was cut.

The suit wound up acting like a heat blanket, soaking up the sun on what was supposed to have been a cool, breezy day. Afterward I kept my jacket on too long and then went from the park to the hot gymnasium at Conn Elementary where I joined my family for the school’s Pizza and Pizzaz PTA event. By the time the show ended and I was stacking chairs I felt a bit dizzy and my muscles were cramping.

Yesterday’s greenway was one of the last major dedications I’ll speak at before my term as Parks board chair is over. It has been wonderful public speaking practice! I got lots of compliments on yesterday’s speech, too. After my term is over I’m not sure what I will do but the Parks board sure has been a lot of fun.

Seaboard slipping away

I learned last night that the bank that financed Seaboard Station was successful in flipping it from Chapter 11 bankruptcy to Chapter 7 bankruptcy. This means it will soon change hands, and William Peace University could certainly buy it, over the objections of the surrounding neighborhoods. Peace claims it has no plans to demolish it. Anytime soon, at least.

Citing “internal deadlines,” Peace president Debra Townsley said yesterday that Peace would not seek council approval again for municipal bonds. I think the university knows it would be fighting an uphill battle against the neighbors, who are still smarting over the university’s closing of Franklin Street years ago. There is still a lot of fence-mending there that needs to take place.

I hope the tenants there are safe. I would personally love to see a development firm buy the property as the retail interest at the property has never been stronger. The neighborhood watches with interest.

Public service resume

Just for fun I decided to compile a list of my public service accomplishments. It was a bit surprising to me to see how much stuff I have been involved with!

(The earlier dates are approximate as I’m lazy and don’t feel like looking them up right now!)

  • 1999-2001 – Boardmember, North Carolina Museum of Art Contemporaries
  • 1999-2001 – Member, Garner Land Use Ordinance Rewrite Committee
  • 2001 – Graduate, Garner Citizens Police Academy
  • 2001-2002 – President, Garner Crimestoppers
  • 2005-2006 – Steering Committee, Triangle Linux Users Group (TriLUG)
  • 2008 – Valedictorian, Raleigh Neighborhood College
  • 2008-2011 – Chair, East Citizens Advisory Council (East CAC)
  • 2012 – Chair, Raleigh Citizens Advisory Council (Raleigh CAC)
  • 2008-2010 – Boardmember; Raleigh Parks, Recreation, and Greenway Advisory Board (PRGAB)
  • 2008-2012 – PRGAB Liaison; Mordecai Historic Park Advisory Board (MHBAB)
  • 2011-2012 – Vice-Chair, Mordecai Historic Park Advisory Board (MHPAB)
  • 2010-2011 – Vice-Chair; Raleigh Parks, Recreation, and Greenway Advisory Board (PRGAB)
  • 2011-Present – Chair; Raleigh Parks, Recreation, and Greenway Advisory Board (PRGAB)
  • 2010, 2011 – Assistant Coach, Salvation Army Youth Basketball
  • 2011, 2012 – Assistant Coach, City of Raleigh Youth Baseball
  • 2012 – Volunteer, Triangle Radio Reading Service
  • 2012-Present – Board Chair, Little Raleigh Radio
  • 2012-Present – Volunteer, Friends of World Music

Russell Allen

I was surprised and saddened to hear that Russell Allen had been let go by the Raleigh City Council. Russell was as responsive as you’d want any city manager to be; I can’t recall a single time I sent him an email and he did not respond. I know many others contacted him about issues and he would respond, often no matter how big or small the problem was.

Russell led the city through some of its biggest growth and through some of its greatest financial challenges. He’s always been a professional, and as even those who clashed with him will attest, you always knew where you stood with him.

He made some fantastic hires with the city’s other leaders, picking great police chiefs, planning staff, and other crucial roles. It doesn’t matter what else the city has going for it, Without a great staff it won’t deliver on its promise.

I expect Russell will soon be snatched up by another city looking for a great manager. I wish him well and look forward to learning more about the Council’s decision and points of view.

North Korea’s virtual war

As I groggily woke up before dawn this morning I had some insight on North Korea pop into my head. North Korea has been broadcasting bellicose statements to the world, escalating international concern much higher than in decades. Curiously, these threats have come in the middle of the night, Korea-time. The North Korean populace seems completely unaware.

The insight is that, no matter how large the North Korean army is, Kim Jong Un can’t win. If he nukes someone, he definitely loses, but it wouldn’t take a nuke to destroy his society.

Let’s say he’s dumb enough to send troops to invade South Korea. This is an army, while formidable in numbers, doesn’t trust its soldiers at the DMZ to go sprinting across to the South. If they get to South Korea, what will keep them from not returning?
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Remote control death

I read about the death of 8-year-old Martin Richard in Monday’s Boston Marathon bombings and it brought a tear to my eye. Here’s this innocent little kid who never hurt anyone, waiting to give his dad a hug and he gets killed by a bomb blast. Whomever would do this to an innocent kid is a coward.

Then MT.Net reader Aetius points out that this is what happens when U.S. military pilots, flying drones from miles away, fire rockets meant for terrorists into foreign homes. If I were a Pakistani father whose innocent 8-year-old son was just murdered by a man sitting safely miles away, would I feel any less outraged than we do with the Boston attacks? Would I consider the killer any less cowardly than the perpetrator of the Boston attacks?

Does our President have the right to express outrage about the Boston attacks when he knows full well that he has approved the killings of potentially hundreds (if not thousands) of innocent people through secret drone strikes? At what point did we Americans acquiesce to our President becoming judge, jury, and executioner without any oversight whatsoever?

Any innocent death is one death too many. Does it really matter whether that death comes from a jury-rigged pressure cooker bomb or on the tip of a Hellfire missile? The Defense Department is withdrawing its plans to award medals to drone pilots. What does it say when even the DoD has doubts about the bravery of its remote control killers?

Is remote control death the business America really wants to be in?

Is Peace University plotting to demolish Seaboard Station?

The neighbors are up in arms about rumors that William Peace University (formerly Peace College) is interested in buying the popular Shops at Seaboard Station. The retail space has finally turned a corner with a thriving mix of shops and restaurants, becoming a community focal point in the process. The rumors allege that Peace wants to purchase the property and slowly drain it of its tenants, after which it will demolish the complex to provide space for expanding its campus.

Here’s what the Mordecai CAC had to say:

MCAC Community:

You may be hearing about some changes in the works for the Shops at Seaboard and the possibility that William Peace University is interested in buying that property. We’d like to tell you what we know, what we don’t know, and what we’re trying to find out!

1. First, WPU is requesting permission from the City Council to seek financing through the issuance of tax-exempt bonds to be issued by the Public Finance Authority located in the State of Wisconsin. As part of the process, City Council will hold a public hearing on the bonds at 2 p.m. tomorrow (Apr 16) at City Hall. According to the attorney’s memo, the educational facilities revenue bonds would not exceed $16 million, and would be used to refinance existing loans at lower interest rates, to renovate Finley and Ross Residence Halls, construct a new residence hall on campus, construct Delway Street adjacent to the campus, and other projects. (See attached memo.) These bonds, if approved, MUST be used for the purposes as stated.
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How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing

I hate Intuit already for their horrible customer service when I was a QuickBooks customer. Now it seems I have a new reason to hate them: they lobby against the IRS offering simple tax filing.

The idea, known as “return-free filing,” would be a voluntary alternative to hiring a tax preparer or using commercial tax software. The concept has been around for decades and has been endorsed by both President Ronald Reagan and a campaigning President Obama.

“This is not some pie-in-the-sky that’s never been done before,” said William Gale, co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. “It’s doable, feasible, implementable, and at a relatively low cost.”

So why hasn’t it become a reality?

Well, for one thing, it doesn’t help that it’s been opposed for years by the company behind the most popular consumer tax software — Intuit, maker of TurboTax. Conservative tax activist Grover Norquist and an influential computer industry group also have fought return-free filing.

via How the Maker of TurboTax Fought Free, Simple Tax Filing – ProPublica.

Solar tax credits safe … for now

Kelly and I were concerned that the current shenanigans in the North Carolina General Assembly might put the kibosh on our claiming tax credits for our impending solar PV installation. Southern Energy suggested we reach out to Randy Lucas of Lucas Tax and Energy for his take.

Randy responded with this:

I can say as a licensed CPA with 20 years of tax experience, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the NC Sustainable Energy Association, despite the current activities in the NCGA, it is highly unlikely that any potential changes to the NC renewable energy investment tax credit would have any impact on any activity/transactions made by NC -based taxpayers in calendar year 2013. It would be unprecedented for the tax laws to change within the active tax year and would cause an administrative catastrophe for the NC Dept of Revenue to carryout the tax law change mid-year. That said, if you are making a purchase of renewable energy property in 2013, and have plans/intent to complete the install in 2013, you should be safe to claim both the Federal (30%) and North Carolina (35%) investment tax credits on your 2013 income tax return.
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North Carolina Is Going Out Of Its Mind – Esquire

Esquire takes a look at the craziness that has been the North Carolina General Assembly under GOP rule.

I have a number of very close friends in North Carolina whom I love dearly, so I ask this in all Christian charity.

WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE LIVING, BREATHING, TATTOOED GOD IS GOING ON DOWN THERE?

Whom did you people elect? The people with the brightest bulbs for a nose? The people with the biggest, floppiest shoes? Does every member of the Republican majority in your legislature all arrive at work every morning in the same tiny car? First, we had the We-Can-Establish-A-State-Religion bill, and then we had the Tax-Yo-Mama-If-You-Vote-Obama bill. Caligula would be ashamed to bring his horse before these people for a vote. And now, because everybody went back to the big steaming bowl of stupid for seconds — and thirds — they have decided to put the force of law and the power of the state behind The Palmer Method.

via North Carolina Cursive Writing Bill – North Carolina Is Going Out Of Its Mind – Esquire.