Raleigh

Community-focused posts

There are 776 posts filed in Raleigh (this is page 23 of 78).

Getting the zombie band back together

As a family we’ve participated in some fun events over the last few years. I’ve mentioned our musical performances as “The Highlanders,” where we’ve played at a few recitals. That’s been fun and I’ve kinda missed the chance to play. I’ve been kicking around the idea of just inviting my neighbors over for regular jam sessions.

This week, Travis’s piano teacher told us that she was working on another gig for the Highlanders, this time playing at some event. I don’t have the details but I think it’s fun to think about!

Yesterday, we got contacted by our friends over at Mordecai Historic Park. They’re lining up zombies already for their Haunted Mordecai Trolley and wondered if we as a zombie family would be willing to perform again. One of the chosen dates is Halloween and another is Travis’s birthday, which would be hard to pull off, but the other, the 19th, at least would work for us. Both kids were enthusiastic about the idea.

I’m so glad we have these quirky opportunities to be total hams together.

N&O unfairly portrays Russ Stephenson

Speaking of the N&O, I’m perplexed at the N&O’s portrayal of Russ Stephenson in recent stories, all written by municipal reporter Colin Campbell.

I like Colin. He and I both volunteer for Little Raleigh Radio, bringing an LPFM station to downtown Raleigh. He’s also interviewed me on occasion on Parks board matters and does a good job in his reporting. Still, his reporting on Russ has raised some questions.
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Wrapping up as Parks Board chair

CASL synthetic field dedication

CASL synthetic field dedication


Sunday afternoon I gave a speech at my last park dedication before I hand the Raleigh Parks Board gavel to another boardmember. For over three years (two as chair, one as vice chair) I’ve been representing the board at ribbon cuttings, dedications, groundbreakings, and other events. It’s been wonderful practice in public speaking, including how to research, write and deliver a speech. As Parks chair, I’ve attended more of these events than any single city councilor and even the mayor herself so I’ve had quite a bit of practice.

Sunday’s event was the dedication of new synthetic fields at CASL’s WRAL Soccer Complex. There were more staff, friends, and family there (including Kelly, the kids, and my parents) than there were members of the public but that was fine. I was glad that my parents could get a chance to see me speak while I was still chair.

Someone who’s heard my speeches before told me he liked my speeches because I usually have some numbers in them. My kids said they like how I include some humor. I think including some facts and jokes can help make a speech memorable.

The Board chair election is next month, so September will be the last official meeting I’ll lead. I’ve got one more year left to serve on the board but I’ll do so as a regular member. After that, who knows that the future will bring? It’s sure been fun being chair, though, and I appreciate the tremendous opportunity it’s provided to lead.

Wake County manager to retire :: WRAL.com

David Cooke is retiring as Wake County Manager after a 17 year career there. I couldn’t help but think what Cooke might do after he retires, since I happen to know of a local opening for city manager.

Hmm … I wonder if Cooke has any plans?

Wake County Manager David Cooke announced Thursday that he plans to retire at the end of November.Cooke has worked for the county for 17 years, the last 13 as county manager."The past 13 years have been truly wonderful and gratifying," Cooke said in a statement. "I have been very fortunate to work with very capable and dedicated elected officials, smart and talented county employees and an innovative management team. Our collective efforts are what make Wake County a great place to live, work and play."

via Wake County manager to retire :: WRAL.com.

Science museum scavenger hunt champions!

Scavenger hunt champions!

Scavenger hunt champions!


Thursday evening the family and I signed up for the first ever scavenger hunt in the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. The Natural Science museum has been our favorite family museum ever since we had kids. We know it very, very well, so when the opportunity came up to participate in a scavenger hunt we were ready!

A couple dozen families showed up for the hunt, each one given a small booklet with the clues in it. The teams had one hour to complete the hunt, with the organizer saying he would be surprised if anyone did complete the hunt.

But the Turners, competing as the “Absolute Zeros,” did complete the hunt, getting most (if not all) of the answers correct (we were not allowed to keep our booklet so that the answers might be used again in a future hunt). At the end, we were awarded a prize for one of the most creative team names (we wanted the coolest name we could think of) and the grand prize for being scavenger hunt champions! That included museum water bottles, free tickets to the Dinosaurs in Motion exhibit, tote bags, and a sweet backpack donated by Great Outdoor Provision Company (which retails for $100).

Regardless of whether we won or lost, though, we had a blast exploring our favorite museum in Raleigh. We hope to participate again in the future!

Weaver’s waste

In a recent city council session, Mayor McFarlane asked then-city manager Russell Allen for an estimate of how much the ongoing Moral Monday protests were costing the city. Allen replied there’s an interagency agreement where the Raleigh Police Department cooperates with the General Assembly Police and vice-versa. “We could ask,” he replied when the mayor asked if the GA Police could reimburse the city.

This interagency arrangement seems a bit one-sided if you ask me. There’s what, probably a dozen or GA officers at most, compared to over 700 Raleigh police officers? What does Raleigh get in return from this arrangement? A dozen officers wouldn’t even cover a shift in one Raleigh police district.

General Assembly Police Chief Jeff Weaver could hand out citations to these protesters rather than put them through the booking process but he chooses to so he could “disperse the protesters.” That sure is easy for him to say, with RPD muscle doing all the work, the City of Raleigh paying overtime for their cops, Wake County doing the booking, and Colin Willoughby having to schedule court time. It seems to me that Jeff Weaver is happily spending other peoples’ money when he could be taking a more sensible approach by handing out tickets.
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Coyotes!

Looks like you can add another urban critter to the list of critters seen in my East Raleigh neighborhood: coyotes! A neighbor reported an encounter with one this morning in the Woodcrest neighborhood:

This morning at about 6:30 AM I saw a coyote walking across Dennis down towards Banks Street. I also saw a couple of foxes around Lions Park late Wednesday night.

Keep an eye on your pets when you let them out. There seems to be several predators living in or around the neighborhood.

Last week, a friend told me of an encounter he had last month on the Middle Crabtree Creek greenway. I described it to my friend John Connors who works at the Nature Research Center:
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A person in your neighborhood

Speaking of neighborhood boundaries, last month I had a spirited discussion on Facebook regarding the neighborhood email list and who should be allowed to subscribe. I’m one of two moderators of the list, where basically I help people subscribe and unsubscribe. Generally I sign up anyone who politely asks, though I do try to weed out spammers and the like.

Unlike other nearby neighborhood lists, I don’t try to enforce a residency requirement. This was put to the test when I got a friendly request to subscribe from one of the postal carriers who works our neighborhood. He doesn’t really live here, so do I sign him up?
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Nextdoor and neighbors

My friend Reid Serozi wrote a blog post in support of Nextdoor.

Almost one year ago, I started questioning the value of using Google Groups and started to wonder if there was a better way to communicate with my neighbors. I discovered Nextdoor in early 2012 and immediately recognized the value and how it could address the pains I found with using Google Group for a neighborhood/community communication tool.

He makes some good points, but doesn’t address the issue of how poorly Nextdoor deals with neighborhood boundaries. Reid ran into this issue himself this week, as this post to the Oakwood mailing list shows:

I am trying to reach the Historic Oakwood Nextdoor lead.

It appears we have a boundary issue, since the Mordecai CAC overlaps your neighborhood boundary near East Franklin.

Boundaries, boundaries, boundaries. All these boundaries. Virtual gated communities is what it is. Even with Nextdoor’s announcement that they’re reenabling their Nearby Neighborhoods feature doesn’t give me a warm fuzzy feeling.

Maybe I’m a geezer (okay, maybe the question should be how much of a geezer I am), but I’m all about open, open, open. Let everyone participate, don’t put up barriers (i.e., membership). Let people own their own data.

Then again, I didn’t see the value of Facebook but now I visit it constantly. You kids get off my lawn!

via Nextdoor Explosion | Reid Serozi – Civic Geek.

Moral Mondays and angry voters

I’ve been watching the foolishness taking place in the General Assembly building. No, not the Moral Monday protests, I’m talking about the damage Republican legislators are doing to the state. Yet, for every outrageous far-right bill telling folks how to live and every cut to vital safety-net programs in a down economy, there are legions of Democrats who become rightfully outraged and motivated.
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