Community-focused posts
There are 773 posts filed in Raleigh (this is page 60 of 78).
North Carolina legend James Taylor will play a free concert in Raleigh in support of Barack Obama’s campaign. According to what the N&O’s David Menconi has heard, JT will play Moore Square at noon Tuesday, October 21st.
My office’s WiFi signal just might reach that far. Or I’ll have a long lunch that day. Or something.
I just updated the Wikipedia entry for Raleigh with a sweet picture of downtown I took today. Knowing how the Wikipedia anarchy operates I’m under no illusion regarding how long the picture will last in Raleigh’s entry. The weather was just too perfect not to pop out for a quick picture or three. I only spent an hour tooling around taking pictures, though, as there was grass to be cut and neighborhood trash to be picked up.
I could’ve used a polarized filter on the lens to bring out more of the blue sky, but other than that I wouldn’t change a thing. I really like the view from the Western Boulevard overpass – better than the traditional South Saunders view, actually. I wonder why we don’t see more of it.
Just like my previous pictures, this shot is public domain. I look forward to seeing it pop up in various places.
Last week I got so sick of the trash littering the neighborhood streets that I decided to do something about it. So I sent out an email to neighbors announcing a day of picking up trash. While I heard from one or two people saying they would be there, I had no idea who would actually show. Six other neighbors showed up! When Kelly and the kids joined us we had a formidable team indeed.
Raleigh’s Community Services supplied us with vests, pick-up tongs, trash picks, and bags. They even arranged for Solid Waste Services to pick our bags up when we were done. If I seemed impressive when I passed all of this stuff out I have to give all the credit to Charlene and Community Services.
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I was walking in to work this morning when a woman in a blue minivan stopped in front of me.
“Excuse me,” she said. “Where is the library?”
I paused. We were at the corner of Hargett Street and Person Street and there isn’t a library for miles. I gave her convoluted directions to Cameron Village Regional Library but somehow doubted she would keep it all straight.
It sure would be nice if Raleigh had a showplace library downtown. It not like this area has a bunch of highly-educated, intelligent citizenry or anything.
Kelly and I took the kids up to Creedmoor Saturday to visit the Oakleys, the family of Travis’s best friend Carson. They were hosting an arts festival at their farm, known as Cedar Creek Gallery. I’m amazed this place has been here for forty years and I never knew about it until now.
We watched as Lisa Oakley did some glass blowing, creating a long string of glass which will be used to create beads for necklaces and bracelets. It was fascinating: I’d never seen glass blowing before. There were other artists around, too, including some very talented potters and sculptors. And the event attracted a crowd. At one point, their one cash register had no less than thirteen customers waiting. I was tempted to buy a few things myself.
The kind of studio where one can practice glass blowing, welding, and the like is what I’d like to see Raleigh Parks and Rec provide. Something like a Mythbusters or Techshop kind of place. Maybe some day I’ll be in a position to do something about it …
If you’re interested in some of the coolest pottery, sculpting, and whimsical handmade products around, take a morning drive up to Creedmoor and see the Cedar Creek Gallery. You’ll be glad you did.
Remember the Wachovia-Citigroup deal? That was sooooo yesterday.
The Charlotte Observer reports that Citigroup’s purchase of Wachovia’s was a panicked move by the FDIC to keep Wachovia solvent as nervous customers created a “silent” bank run. Customers began withdrawing their money on Friday and by Monday morning it was clear Wachovia had no liquidity left. In other words, Wachovia would’ve almost certainly failed this week had the FDIC not engineered the Citigroup deal.
Scary stuff, folks, and I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of it. I’m glad I’m a credit union member.
(h/t Suzzanne)
Walking around downtown this past Friday I came to a realization about the RBC Plaza. In essence, Raleigh’s tallest building comes up short in a few important ways.
As some have mentioned before, the setback from the street is far too narrow. Pedestrians never get a feel for how tall it is because from the street level it looks like any other dull building in downtown Raleigh. It might look unique from the top but it certainly doesn’t look unique from the bottom. You could walk right by and miss it.
Part of the problem is the lobby of the building. A large, open lobby would’ve conveyed the building’s grand height to those entering it. Instead the building has a modest lobby with modest ceilings. It doesn’t have the lobby of a 33-story building but the lobby of a five-story building.
One day downtown Raleigh will get the flash it needs to get noticed. The RBC Plaza misses the mark.
We lost power last night right after my last post. Tree branches wandered into the power lines on Glascock Street near Norris. I used the opportunity to visit neighbors.
Summertime power outages create impromptu block parties. I talked to more neighbors in 30 minutes than I could’ve in a year. They’re great people, too.
The power returned after 90 minutes but the friendships continue.
I cast my first vote as a member of the Parks board last night, approving the placement of Jim Gallucci’s Immigrant Gate sculpture at Millbrook Exchange Park. It was a no-brainer vote and a unanimous one, too. If only all my votes were that easy.
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