Ah, what a beautiful weekend. You had your choice of both kinds of North Carolina winter weather: icy cold (Saturday) and rainy-yet-still-pretty-cold (Sunday). On the bright side, highs will approach 60 degrees on Monday -- just in time for the work week to begin. Oh, joyous.
In local news:
Protest Petitioners Take County to Court: Their protest petition ruled invalid by City/County Planning before the county reversed that call -- but not the vote in favor of moving a critical watershed boundary -- four of the signers of that position have filed suit against the County arguing that its watershed vote should be invalidated. The Haw River Assy. and Southern Environmental Law Center helped prep the suit, sez the Indy and the N&O, but aren't parties to it. No court date is likely to be assigned for a couple of months.
Transit Plan Trimmed: Recessionary cuts in taxes are impacting the breadth of the long-range transit plan for the Triangle as recommended by the STAC commission. Among the pieces moving, and well documented by the N&O in a Sunday feature: the work by the NC Railroad to study high-frequency commuter rail as an intraregional alternative for light rail, which still might exist in strips of the corridor like Alston Ave.-to-Patterson Place and the NC54 corridor, though RTP's low density creates problems for high-frequency interconnections. Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker likes the compromise; Durham's Bill Bell worries about putting regional light rail on hold. (N&O)
Duke Looks to China Expansion: A story initially broken by the Chronicle makes it to the Herald-Sun today, with a look at a proposal brought to university trustees last month to open a satellite campus in Kunshan for the Fuqua School of Business, a start on what could be a much larger entree to the nation. (Herald-Sun)
Old Bull "May" Go to Auction Again: We scratched our head when we saw Monica Chen's article on the forthcoming Old Bull building foreclosure auction made the lead story in Saturday's Herald-Sun. Not because it was in any way a bad article, mind you, but simply because this is at least the, what, third time this has happened this year? Chances are the whole thing gets settled before the auction happens, if history is any guide. The only really even-maybe-newsworthy bit? DDI's Bill Kalkhof telling the Herald-Sun he hopes that "something gets worked out before then with very good new ownership." New ownership? That would be newsworthy. (Herald-Sun)
School Suspensions Scrutinized: The N&O's Sunday special is a feature by former Durham/Orange education reporter Sadia Latifi, now moved to the Cary News but wrapping up her education beat with a look at NC's school suspension policies, which rank fourth in the nation, and with African-American students disproportionately impacted throughout the Triangle. A Hillside student struggling with suspensions and his mother are featured; the story's highlight is seeing the racist-as-usual comments from the same old voices met with the stereotype-defying response of an obviously loving mother in the one-hundred-plus reader contributions on the story. (N&O)
NCCU Mid-Years Graduate: NCCU December graduates enjoyed a rousing speech by their commencement speaker, herself the first female bishop elected in the A.M.E. Church's history; 500 students heard the words of inspiration and challenge from Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie. (Herald-Sun)
Central Launches Fundraising Blitz: Speaking of NC Central, Saturday's The Durham News has an excellent article by N&O higher ed reporter Eric Ferreri on Central's in-sourcing of their alumni fundraising activities, which last year brought in only $217k from a private firm. The theory? The use of current students working phone-a-thons (a common tactic at other schools) can provide an effective method to spur interest in NCCU's new $50 million fundraising effort. (The Durham News)
Domestic Violence on Rise: Six have died this year in domestic violence-related deaths, the City's Yvonne Peña tells the H-S, and points to the economy as contributing to the always-painful issue. (Herald-Sun)
More on School Nutrition: Locavore experiments draw buzz and attention, but kudos to the H-S for a deeper look at school nutrition issues and their links to childhood obesity, including what steps DPS has already taken to try to address the issue. (Herald-Sun)
Bahama Rd. at Lake Michie Closes for a Week: If you're driving Bahama Rd. in northern Durham County, you'll need to find a new way around Lake Michie for a week or so starting today to accommodate preventative maintenance. The TBJ has your detours -- though if you live up there, you probably know it already. (Triangle Business Journal)
DATA Goes Hybrid: The first of a fleet of twenty new hybrid diesel-electric buses goes into service this week on a range of routes; federal and state sources picked up 90% of the $10.7m pricetag. (The Durham News)
School House Profiled: We looked here at Rachel Weeks' School House ethical college fashion recently; the N&O has a nice look in today's paper at the collection and its launch. (N&O)
Durham, Chapel Hill Red Crosses Merge: It's not really clear why there were two chapters of the Red Cross in the area, one for Orange County and another for the rest of the Durham MSA plus Vance County. That changes with Orange County merging in -- though no facilities or staff will be cut back. (Herald-Sun)
Local Companies Pitch In for UMD: Urban Ministries' main oven for preparing meals finally broke in full over Thanksgiving -- but found $11k in support for a new one from local law firm Twiggs, Beskind, Strickland & Rabenau, along with new tables; the James Scott Farrin law firm chipped in for new trays, and ad agency McKinney for new chairs and drinking mugs. (Herald-Sun)
Rescue Mission Needs Volunteers, Donations: Speaking of ways to help around the holiday, the Durham Rescue Mission will hold its annual Christmas party (including carnival games for kids and hot food) on Dec. 23 for the working poor in the Bull City. Donations of warm clothing, toys, and money for meals are appreciated. (Herald-Sun)
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