BCR's Daily Fishwrap Report for November 10, 2009

In today's local news:

Pfizer Cuts 70 RTP Jobs: Pfizer is realigning its research divisions after taking over Wyeth earlier this year, and a 70-person R&D site that's part of the 2006-acquired firm Embrex is shutting down. A similar number of jobs in a Sanford, NC R&D site are being lost, though a manufacturing facility there is staying open. (TBJ, NBC 17)

NCCU Officially in Tournament of Roses Parade: After a few days' rumors, the university made it official at a Monday press conference. NC Central's marching band will be performing in the Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena in 2011 -- giving the HBCU time to raise the $400,000 it will cost to send the NCCU Marching Sound Machine to California. (Herald-Sun)

BOCC Closes Session on 751: Monday night's Board of County Commissioners session got a bit tetchy, the N&O says, with Becky Heron asking the county attorney for a report on why the Haw River Assembly/Southern Environmental Law Center's protest petition on 751 was invalidated; the attorney called for a closed-session discussion, saying that he expected the matter would go to litigation. Heron complained that the matter should be discussed in public light after activists have complained about what they claim are incomplete explanations over why the County ruled there were problems with the petition's signatures. (N&O)

BOCC Gets Deal on School Site: The BOCC approved the purchase of a new elementary school site near the corner of S. Roxboro and MLK Jr. Pkwy. at the edge of the Hope Valley Farms subdivision. The 2007 bond-funded purchase rang in at $1 million less than the appraised value of the land, though BOCC's Joe Bowser raised concerns over site geology and over making this purchase in a recession. (Herald-Sun)

County Funds Trails/Parks, Club Blvd.: In other BOCC news, the commissioners okayed $3.5m in bond spending for Club Blvd. Elementary renovations, plus a number of parks/trails matching grants -- $56k towards a Little Lick Creek pedestrian bridge for the Mountains to the Sea Trail, $12,500 to Woodcroft's neighborhood association for a fitness trail, and $9k towards the Maplewood Park in the news yesterday. (Herald-Sun)

Zakaria at Duke: CNN talking-head and Newsweek International editor Fareed Zakaria set his GPS on Durham and spoke at Duke last night; he spoke on the decline in international conflict and the growth in relative peace and prosperity worldwide. (Herald-Sun)

Comments

[Kelly]

I agree with Becky Heron on the need for public discussion of the 751 / Haw River petition issue. The move to discuss this in closed session is, I think, a way for Michael Paige, Joe Bowser and Brenda Howerton (in absentia) to avoid having to defend their decision and face the public on it.

[Steve Bocckino]

Closed session is just another way to keep this process secret, the way the Planning Department and County Attorney have been operating for weeks.

"Because I said so" doesn't cut it. County Attorney Lowell Siler's admission in last night's BOCC meeting that the evaluation process is STILL not complete, even though he has already ruled the petition invalid, was a real shocker.

Siler and Planning Director Steve Medlin need to start telling the truth. This isn't going away.