Raleigh

Community-focused posts

There are 776 posts filed in Raleigh (this is page 51 of 78).

N&O forgets the other side of the aisle

The N&O’s Mark Johnson reported on state Senator R.C. Soles’s guilty plea to assault charges yesterday. I don’t know the true circumstances of what took place at Soles’s house, though when a homeowner shoots a stranger in their home it’s often in self-defense. Soles pled guilty and that’s that.

I do take issue with the way Johnson painted the picture that it’s almost always Democrats in trouble. Johnson seems to forget state Rep. Cary Allred, the Burlington Republican who was about to get ticketed for driving 102 MPH but pulled rank on the trooper and got off – at least until the news broke. He was also said to have showed up drunk to the General Assembly and gave what many witnesses considered to be an inappropriate hug to a female teenage page. Not exactly Boy Scout behavior, is it?

I’m just as upset as others are of the shenanigans taking place with state politicians. Unlike most politics lately, though, this truly is a bipartisan effort. Let’s not omit that, Mr. Johnson.

City email addresses are public records

My friend John Beimler decided to take advantage of the Public Records law and get a copy of all the email addresses from all the email lists the Town of Cary maintains. The following email went out to all the folks on those lists:

We want to let you know that a person has requested a copy of the e-mail addresses from all Town of Cary electronic mailing lists, and as a subscriber, your email address is included in this database. Therefore, you may begin receiving emails from others outside of our control. As a reminder, the database is a public record under North Carolina law (see our Public Records Policy and our Privacy Statement).
The email lists are being requested by:
John Beimler
1206 Castalia Dr
Cary, NC 27513
919-926-7264
jbeimler at radiomind dot com.
As always, we apologize for any inconvenience this may bring and hope that the actions of others will not result in your deciding to unsubscribe from the Town’s e-mail service. Please contact us if you have questions or need further information.
Susan Moran, APR
Town of Cary Public Information Officer
susan dot moran at townofcary dot org

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Week of meetings and sickness

It’s been a very busy week for us all. First is the weather, with this past weekend’s snow it’s been tough to get outside for any meaningful exercise. Plus it’s my meeting week, with the East CAC, RCAC, and Parks Board. To top it off, Hallie got sick this week, followed shortly by Travis (and our dog, Rocket, too). There have been a few nights with shallow sleeping, listening for the sound of kids in need of assistance.

The weekend’s approaching, though, and it might be a nice one with sun and temperatures close to 60. Just in time to save the day!

Google to offer 1Gb Internet service in trial program

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!

Garner library

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.

The Clarence E. Lightner Public Safety Center

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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Tom Fetzer’s not looking healthy

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.

Light blogging

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.

Chugging through things

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.