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Parents Describe Growing Pains for Durham Schools’ ‘Growing Together’ Plan
This story originally published online at the 9th Street Journal. At a school board meeting in early March, a group of administrators shared updates on Growing Together, a reassignment plan going into effect in elementary schools in the fall. When the slide presentation ended, board member Millicent Rogers asked what seemed like a simple question.
Durham Bike Community Remembers Fallen Cyclists With Ride of Silence
Days of rain and cloud cover cast a gloominess over Durham throughout the week. But as dozens of cyclists gathered at CCB Plaza on Wednesday for the annual Ride of Silence, the sun pierced through the clearing sky just in time to offer a ray of hopefulness to an otherwise somber event.
Durham County Budget Proposal Falls Short of School System Request
This story originally published online at the 9th Street Journal. Durham County Manager Kimberly Sowell presented a recommended $955 million budget to county commissioners on Monday. And while the budget includes $201 million for Durham Public Schools—a $13 million increase—the proposal is still about $14 million short of the school board’s request.
Durham School Leaders Discuss Plans to Tackle Building Repairs
This story originally published online at the 9th Street Journal. Durham school leaders will catalogue the district’s most pressing building maintenance needs and spend more than $2 million in federal funds for HVAC and other building repairs, the interim superintendent said Thursday. However, district leaders said more money will...
Durham Leaders Hope 2024 Will Be Different for Local Workforce Housing Legislation
This story originally published online at NC Newsline. Durham officials are hoping for the best this legislative short session—knowing the worst is likely to come—regarding a bill to allow the Board of Education and the county to build workforce housing on public land for teachers, law enforcement officers, and first responders.
15 Minutes: Serena Kaylor, Author and Physician’s Assistant
This neurodiverse high schooler—her name is Marlon Meadows. She’s going into her senior year of high school. Right before summer break, her boyfriend of two years broke up with her and she feels even more lost. She built her high school identity around the guy, and his main complaint was that he didn’t think she was romantic enough. She’s autistic, so that resonated with her in a terrible way.
Bonnie Hauser Reelected to Orange County Schools Board of Education
On a rainy Tuesday, voters turned out to give incumbent Bonnie Hauser another four-year term on the Orange County Schools Board of Education. Preliminary results show that Hauser received a decisive 64 percent of the nearly 4,000 votes cast in the runoff election between her and Jennifer Moore, another incumbent.
Tenants of Derelict Properties in East Durham Are Mired in a Legal Dispute with the Son of the Patriarch of a Prominent Local Family
The foundations are crumbling. The floors are sinking. There’s no air conditioning. There’s no heat. The windows don’t shut. The pipes are broken. Rats, mice, and cockroaches are nesting in open cavities in the walls and ceilings. People living in four East Durham properties that Leonzo and...
Local Restaurant Owners Feel the Strain of Inflation
Restaurant owners in Chapel Hill are feeling the strain as they grapple with higher prices on food and supplies in the wake of a high inflation period. Despite efforts by the Federal Reserve Bank, inflation has been slow to drop to pre-pandemic levels. For Vimala Rajendran, owner of Vimala’s Curryblossom...
Backtalk: “Our lives are in your hands”
For the web two weeks ago, we republished a story from our partners at the 9th Street Journal about planned improvements for Roxboro Street in downtown Durham. We got a lot of responses from Durham readers about the story. From reader Chris Perelstein, who was interviewed for the story:. I...
Voices: How a Powwow in Raleigh Honors My Roots in Hollister, NC
My hometown of Hollister will again be on my mind when the annual Dix Park Inter-Tribal Pow Wow rolls out on May 18-19 in Raleigh. As one of the organizers, I work closely with Native American communities and others to make the event happen. And through all the hubbub, it always brings me back to my proud roots and what I learned there.
Trustees Strike DEI Funding from UNC Budget, Funds Go to Public Safety
This story originally published online at NC Newsline. Days after the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s graduation, the university’s Board of Trustees held a special meeting Monday to vote to remove $2.3 million in next year’s budget allocated for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Despite an Unusual Series of Events Leading Up to Orange County Schools Runoff, the Board Seems Poised to Continue on a Trajectory of Finding Consensus
Incumbent member Bonnie Hauser is the only candidate running in Tuesday’s runoff election for the Orange County Schools Board of Education’s seventh seat—kind of. Her opponent, Jennifer Moore, dropped out of the race and resigned from the school board in April after the News & Observer reported that she lied about having a doctoral degree.
Protests, Passion, and Pride Mark Graduation Weekend at UNC-Chapel Hill
This story originally published online at NC Newsline. After days of campus turmoil, interim Chancellor Lee Roberts told students on Saturday that every graduating class deserves a day of celebration and reflection. Roberts acknowledged that many in the Class of 2024 missed their high school graduation due to the pandemic...
Raleigh City Council Approves $5 Million for New Pilot Program to Address Homelessness
This story originally published online at NC Newsline. The Raleigh City Council has approved spending $5 million on a new pilot program that includes a component to provide direct rent assistance to unsheltered individuals. The council approved funding for the “Unsheltered Homelessness Response Program” on Tuesday during its regular business...
On “All Infinite,” Kooley High Leans Into Cosmic Themes and Reaches New Heights
Alongside the peace and wisdom, it’s fair to wonder if the elevated, higher plane from which Kooley High approached their new album, All Infinite, might have brought a certain amount of clairvoyance, too. How else to explain the precise historical moment in rap music that their spiritually minded sixth...
Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Josh Stein Kicks Off Teacher Appreciation Week With Stop in Durham
As a storm crept into the skyline overhead, dozens of Durham residents and public officials huddled into Zweli’s in Brightleaf Square on Monday evening. The crowd waited anxiously for North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein, who was in town to celebrate teacher appreciation week and galvanize voters around education, a topic his campaign thinks is a winning issue for the state’s Democratic slate in this fall’s election.
Development Pressures, Higher Taxes Threaten to Displace Black Homeowners in Southeast Raleigh
This story originally published online at NC Newsline. On a near-perfect spring afternoon, a crowd of mostly Black retirees and senior citizens poured into Martin Street Baptist Church in Southeast Raleigh to learn about strategies to lower property taxes through Wake County’s appeals process. In their neighborhoods, higher property values have brought higher property taxes. That, in turn, has made it difficult for residents on fixed incomes to make ends meet.
“This Will Take Her Home”: Talking With Colm Tóibín About His ‘Brooklyn’ Sequel
Colm Tóibín | Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh | May 10, 7 p.m. The Irish author Colm Tóibín will come to North Carolina for the very first time this month on a tour for his latest novel, Long Island, a sequel to 2009’s beloved blockbuster Brooklyn. The first of the two books—of the many that Tóibín, a literature professor at Columbia University and prolific critic and journalist, has written—follows Eilis Lacey, a young immigrant in the 1950s torn between Ireland and her new (titular) home.
Hundreds of Faculty and Staff Members Call on UNC to Dismiss Charges Against Student Protesters
This story originally published online at NC Newsline. More than 750 faculty and staff members at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have signed onto a letter calling on administrators to dismiss the charges against college students involved in the April 30th protest at Polk Place. In an...
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