Community-focused posts
There are 773 posts filed in Raleigh (this is page 51 of 78).
Wake County Schools superintendent Del Burns put in his resignation yesterday. This is the best thing to happen to Durham in a long time.
The N&O’s long slide towards the right is bearing fruit. I hope John Drescher is happy when growth in the county screeches to a halt.
Today Google announced that it will be stringing fiber around a few lucky cities to study how ultra-high-speed Internet service might be used. Speeds of up to 1Gb will be offered and competitively-priced with fiber being deployed directly to the home.
I think the Triangle would be ideal with its concentration of networking companies (Cisco), storage companies (EMC, NetApp), software companies (IBM), and pharmaceutical companies. Raleigh was one of the North Carolina municipalities to oppose Time Warner’s efforts to close off competition, so I would hope the city would be looked upon favorably.
Google expects interested municipalities to respond to the RFI via the web, but you don’t have to be a city official to express interest. Google provides a link for interested residents to nominate their city.
Let the jockeying begin!
Word has it that Wake county library officials are considering closing the Southeast Regional Library in Garner due to budget cuts. What a shame that would be. When Kelly and I lived in Garner the library was one of our favorite places to go. It was and is the only library close enough that we could bike to it. With no bookstores in Garner (at the time, anyway), the library was one of the few things that kept Kelly and me sane.
I sure hope the county comes up with another way of saving money because closing that library would be a huge blow to the people of Garner and surrounding areas.
I’m conflicted about Raleigh’s proposed Clarence E. Lightner Public Safety Center. On one hand, it’s always irked me that Raleigh always seems to settle for mediocre, to go for the practical or least controversial option rather than aim for greatness. Raleigh loves to hedge its bets. Raleigh’s habit is to look only at the short-term. Putting aside the current economy, I like that the Lightner Center has been designed to be the home for our police and fire departments for many decades. I can think of very few things Raleigh has ever discussed that had that long an outlook.
There should be no doubt that our police department desperately needs a new home. The current police headquarters is an embarrassing ratrap that should have been demolished twenty years ago. The current 911 center is also a travesty. On a slow day the basement call center seems cramped and chaotic. I’d hate to see what it looks like during a major event like a hurricane. Pandemonium, probably.
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Wow. I just saw Tom Fetzer on TV and boy is he not looking well. I know it’s been a long time since Fetzer wreaked havoc on Raleigh as its mayor but, damn, the years have not been kind to him.
I hope his serving as the state GOP head still lets him get in some tennis because it looks to me like his health may be suffering.
Photo by Oleg Volk, www.olegvolk.net
It’s a busy week for me, with many after-hours meetings taking place. Yesterday, I met with the CEO of a local hospital. Tonight I went to an important City Council/Planning Commission meeting. Tomorrow I have my Raleigh CAC meeting. Thursday I have my Parks Board meeting. Few of these allow much blogging time afterwards, and the ones that do don’t leave me much time to rest. I actually fell asleep at 9:30 last night!
It’s all good, though. The work is its own reward, and doing good things for our city and community is something I love doing. It’s energizing to be around people who feel the same way.
I haven’t done much blogging lately, which is usually (but not always) a sign that things have gotten busy for me. Such is the case this time around. At $WORK, I have been asked to pitch in for a sick coworker who’s out for the week. This entails learning the stuff he does from the ground up, and that has kept me busy. On the other hand, time at work flies by when I’m deep into solving a problem. I don’t consider being busy to be a bad thing.
Outside of work, there is also a round of meetings coming up. I’ve been planning my CAC meetings like normal but there was also a weekend Parks and Rec meeting. Tonight I had the Mordecai board meeting and next week it’s RCAC and the Parks Board. Then the following Monday I conduct my East CAC meeting. While it’s fun to get stuff done, I have to say that the holiday break spoiled me a bit. It was nice to relax for a change and spend some time with the family. Still, it’s all good.
Next up for my “Where I’ve Worked” series is my stint in the Navy. I have to admit I’m a bit intimidated at the thought of having to distill four years of twenty-four-hours-a-day-seven-days-a-week Navy life into a post, or two. The old ad campaign is true: the Navy isn’t just a job, it’s an adventure. It will probably take me a few weeks to hammer out a post on it. Stay tuned.
I was nominated Tuesday for a seat on Raleigh’s Planning Commission. For those of you who don’t know, the Planning Commission is a volunteer board that makes major decisions on the city’s growth, including rezoning changes and development code. It’s a very important board. Our city councilors consider these appointments very, very carefully as the Commission works very closely with city leaders, city staff, developers, and community leaders. It may not quite be the major leagues in the realm of city politics, but it’s definitely triple-A ball.
Getting a seat on the Planning Commission has been my goal for quite some time. Lately, though, I’ve been totally focused on my work with the East CAC and the Parks Board. I wasn’t aware of this recent vacancy until I was encouraged to apply. It’s a huge responsibility and one that I do not take lightly. After some serious thought I put my hat in the ring.
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I was reading through the comments on this story about the Wake School Board when I came across this one:
“Our taxes are low! ”
We have some of the highest taxes in the nation! What are you talking about?
Timbo
GOLO member since September 19, 2008
January 6, 2010 8:59 a.m.
Highest taxes in the nation? This was news to me. I decided to check the facts.
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It makes me laugh when I think of my coworkers seeing me rush to take a call during the day. They have no clue that I’m often talking with city councilors, police officials, company bigwigs, or reporters. That was the case in 2009: another banner year for me for public service. I did things this year that I’d never done before and those challenges paid handsome dividends.
I began to really come into my own as chair of the East Citizens Advisory Council (East CAC). The presentations were interesting, the fedback was glowing, and people began to take notice. Several of my initiatives resulted in the largest attendance ever at the CAC. I created CAC business cards, started a CAC blog, ordered signs for putting out days before our meetings, and even dabbled in streaming video of the meetings on the Internet. I even held a “history night.” I believe these were all firsts for a CAC.
The chairpersons of other CACs began to take notes on what I was doing. It’s becoming a leader of leaders. And it seems now our area earns more respect from city leaders. Plans are being drawn up right now to completely revitalize East Raleigh’s major thoroughfares. It’s an exciting time to be in East Raleigh.
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