BCR's Daily Fishwrap Report for April 3, 2009

• The H-S' Ray Gronberg follows up on his Wed. article on uncollected landlord penalties; elected officials note that these may be hard to collect, as a lien on a property could take years to monetize, but expressed their support for collecting the monies even given their dedicated use by schools. City Councilman Eugene Brown also acknowledged there had been some level of awareness about the issue, and its relative priority, by elected officials. Look for city manager Tom Bonfield to raise the item as part of negotiations with DPS supt. Carl Harris over parks & rec matters. (H-S)
• Chatham Co. is weighing in on the Jordan Lake boundaries, asking the state's Environmental Review Commission to think twice about its decision to accept a developer-funded survey of the lake's border on the developer's land. The move parallels an action already taken by planning commission chair George Brine. (H-S, Indy Triangulator)
• Cree, the LED lighting source company with a Durham HQ, is floating around the rumor mill as a possible acquisition target -- though the N&O notes that Cree, like fellow speculated target Red Hat (based in Raleigh), has been the subject of such rumors before. (N&O)
• Environmental activists and elected officials continue to differ on the Council's attempt to find some compromise over the Jordan Lake Rules that would require significant changes in development and stormwater practices, and -- according to the City's analysis -- could require massive and expensive retrofits to existing subdivisions to the tune of almost $600 million. Environmental groups claim that Durham is overstating the need for such retrofits; City elected officials, including Mayor Bell and Mike Woodard, have stood beside their claim that the city will support most of the rules but wants to avoid any retrofits of existing neighborhoods. (H-S)
• The Anthropologie store coming to Southpoint is now set to bow on April 24. Meanwhile, the mega-big-box store Lowe's is set for an opening by the end-of-June. (N&O)
• The Indy has a feature story this week following up on the possibility of a Wal-Mart being developed at the site of Kentington Heights -- including a detailed look at the property ownership of Anita Keith-Foust, some of whose properties have been transferred to a branch of the Universal Life Church that she herself set up. (Indy)

Comments

[NoCameraGrafted To MYArm]

I am horrified that Keith-Foust is now wrapping herself in pastor robes to avoid paying taxes on the land she owns in Kentington heights -- especially after the despicable ways she obtained it. Her church needs to be reported to the tax authorities now so they can block any attempt by her to capitalize on her ill-gotten gains tax-free.

I'd also be very interested in knowing who acted as her lawyer in setting up that "church."

Thank you Indy for your reporting!

[SteveG]

I just loved this comment from Councilman Brown on the 1.2 mil in uncollected fines:

"When we heard all the money goes to the schools we sort of shrugged our shoulders and said, 'Why?' " Brown said. "We were not creative, as our new manager is trying to be."

Um, Eugene, creativity has nothing to do with it. You chose not to do your job and as a result undermined whatever feeble efforts this city has taken to rein in slumlords. As a result of your inaction, slumlords such as Fireball continue to thumb their noses at the city, and you just sit there and take it.

It's too bad that we still have two more years of dealing with this clown.