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Families Gather in Durham to Fly Kites and Call for Ceasefire in Gaza
More than 200 people calling for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas gathered in Durham Central Park on Saturday to sing, march, and fly kites in honor of Palestinian youth, who in 2011 broke the world record for the most number of kites flown simultaneously. The demonstration...
Custody Decision Delayed in Durham Father’s Case
This story originally published online by The Assembly and WBTV. Garnell Hill said he used to be angry about how the child welfare system had treated him and his 9-year-old son over the last three years. But ahead of a hearing to determine his son’s future on Thursday, he said he felt “empowered.”
North Carolina Museum of Art’s First Picasso Now On Display
The North Carolina Museum of Art’s first Pablo Picasso painting—”Seated Woman, Red and Yellow Background”—is now on display in the museum’s West Building. The 1952 portrait of Picasso’s muse and lover, French artist Françoise Gilot, employs the cubist techniques Picasso was known for. Alongside four other paintings donated to the museum that now hang in the museum’s 20th Century Art gallery, the Picasso piece is a “transformational” donation, the press release states, that will “significantly grow and strengthen the NCMA’s modern art holdings.”
Lee Roberts Named Interim Chancellor at UNC-Chapel Hill
This story originally published online at The Assembly. Lee Roberts was named UNC-Chapel Hill’s interim chancellor on Friday morning, a widely anticipated move that sets up leadership at the flagship state university until a national search for a permanent leader is conducted. Roberts is the co-founder of North Carolina-based...
Congressman Wiley Nickel Bows Out of 2024 Election
This story originally published online at NC Newsline. Democratic Congressman Wiley Nickel announced Thursday he will run for the U.S. Senate rather than seek a second term in the U.S. House after redistricting this year left him with a heavily Republican district. Family, friends, campaign supporters, and local politicians gathered...
Wake Rep. Julie von Haefen Attends White House Gun Violence Prevention Event
This story originally published online at NC Newsline. North Carolina State Rep. Julie von Haefen of Wake County was at the White House on Wednesday along with nearly 100 Democratic state legislators from around the country as part of an effort to reduce gun violence. The meeting was organized as...
UNC Could Name Interim Chancellor Today
This story originally published online at NC Newsline. A new, interim chancellor for UNC-Chapel Hill could be announced as soon as Friday, according to sources within the UNC System, on the UNC System Board of Governors and on the campus board of trustees. Those sources, who asked not to be...
Reasons to Love the Triangle
Because The Legendary Can Opener Bridge Begat a Food Truck Park. Durham’s low-riding Norfolk Southern–Gregson bridge, which has claimed the tops of many a tall truck, has a Wikipedia page and YouTube compilation; soon, it will also have a nearby food truck park—the Can Opener, a permanent station for five food trucks, plus a bar located inside the old American Postal Workers Union building—named after it.
Scott Avett Reflects on More Than Two Decades of Making Music
The Avett Brothers | PNC Arena, Raleigh | Sunday, Dec. 31, 8 p.m. The arc of The Avett Brothers’ career is a bit like their 2009 song “Laundry Room.”. Scott Avett begins the song with a simple plea—“Don’t push me out”—crooned over his banjo and Seth Avett’s guitar. Seth layers harmonies over his older brother’s voice, and then starts echoing lines (“Teach me how to use the love that people say you made”). It’s easy to imagine the brothers in the late 1990s, mailing recordings to each other across North Carolina, back when Scott was in college and Seth was at home in Concord.
How Durham Gets Hype for Municipal Government Business
First-time viewers of Durham’s city council meetings may find their jaws on the floor when they see the epic introduction video that calls the Bull City’s sessions to order. When the clock strikes the hour, the screens behind the council members flash the colors of Durham’s flag. A...
Voices: I Met Jesus on a Farm
Farm Church operates on a precious plot of land around the corner from my house. I always pass it on walks. Their front lawn is where I got my “We Support Fair Wages for City Workers’’ sign, and their Instagram advertises mutual aid opportunities before pleading congregation numbers. All an indication that something radical might be happening, I follow my curiosity.
Construction is Starting on the Bus Rapid Transit Line Along New Bern Avenue, But Some Raleigh Residents Worry It Will do More Harm Than Good
Stepping up to the podium to talk to Raleigh City Council members, lifelong resident Octavia Rainey is visibly angry. “I am here to talk about the TOD [Transit Overlay District],” she says, snapping out every syllable. “As I look at New Bern Avenue, I am not happy. You have no right to change our zoning.”
The INDY’s Most Impactful Reporting of 2023
It’s hard to believe that another year is almost in the books. The year 2023 has seen day-to-day life return to mostly normal for many of us as we’ve become better armed against the COVID-19 pandemic with widespread vaccine availability. The majority of Triangle residents are back to their daily routines of work, school, and play. Restaurants are fully open again—those that haven’t closed permanently, anyway—as are music venues and theaters. And our parks and greenways are still as busy as ever: opting to spend time outside is a message we seem to have taken to heart during those many, many months of quarantine.
A Father Relocated to NC to Care For His Son Who Has been with Foster Families for Five Years. Now Durham County Wants to Put the Boy Up for Adoption.
This is the final installment in a three-part investigation published as a partnership between The Assembly and WBTV in Charlotte. Read part 1 in our November 29 print edition or online. Read part 2 here. Christopher was nervous when he arrived at Raleigh’s Pullen Park to meet his biological father...
A Mother Lost Both Her Children to Durham’s Department of Social Services. She Didn’t Stand a Chance Against NC’s Child Welfare System.
This is the second in a three-part investigation published as a partnership between The Assembly and WBTV in Charlotte. Read parts 1 and 3. Elizabeth Simpson vividly recalls her first day in Durham’s abuse, neglect, and dependency court, which decides child welfare cases. While she’d represented prisoners and immigrants, and recently started working for the civil rights group Emancipate NC, she had no background in the field back in January 2020.
Backtalk: Grape farm gripes
Back in November, we published a story by freelance writer Ted Vaden about the Chapel Hill venture capitalist Greg Bohlen and his plans for growing muscadine grapes at Union Grove (formerly Maple View) Farm in Orange County. Readers were intrigued to discover what’s happening on the farm, where regenerative farming practices are contributing to growing a new strain of grape that’s being marketed as a superfood. But there were some gripes about the report as well, including this long letter from reader Mark Oglesby sent to us via email:
A Look Ahead: Five Questions for Durham’s New City Council
December 4 marked the end of a tumultuous era for Durham City Council. Elaine O’Neal, who served just a single two-year term, officially retired as mayor of Durham. Her council colleagues Jillian Johnson and Monique Holsey-Hyman also had their last evening on the dais. Each of them gave final remarks before walking out of city hall to raucous applause and back into life as private citizens. Moments later, hundreds of people watched as mayor-elect Leonardo Williams and three of his future city council colleagues—Nate Baker, Javiera Caballero, and Carl Rist—were sworn into public office, ushering in the next chapter in Durham politics.
Workers at Durham Starbucks Land Union Victory
Workers at a Starbucks location in Durham voted overwhelmingly in favor of forming a union yesterday, making their store the first unionized Starbucks in the Triangle and the third in the state. The 16-2 victory at the store comes during an eventful two years for the corporate behemoth, after a...
Towing Complaints Damage Consumer-Business Relationship in Chapel Hill, Carrboro
This story originally published online at UNC Media Hub. Jimmy Jackson, 76, has been a regular at the McDonald’s on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill for years along with his group of friends. He says the lot is notorious for its frequent visits by Barnes Towing, which has increasingly come under fire for excessive and predatory towing practices.
Facing Rising Costs, Durham Public Schools May Delay Some Renovations
This story originally published online at the 9th Street Journal. Eight Durham Public Schools construction projects were to be funded with money from the 2022 Durham County bond referendum. But due to increased construction costs, only four will likely be undertaken before the end of 2024, according to school officials.
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