Archive for October 2006
GOP Family Values, Foley Style
In the final weeks of the 1994 campaign, smelling a rout, Newt Gingrich blamed Democrats for the moral climate that he said led a South Carolina woman to drown her two children. So Republicans can hardly complain about Democrats hammering away at the Mark Foley affair. Maybe this is the sign that 2006 will be…
Read MoreMcCorkle Again
The Governor just rewarded political advisor, Mac McCorkle (who’s pet line, especially when it comes to the lottery scandal, is ‘I don’t discuss my conversations with the Governor with the press’) with a new appointment. Governor Easley has named Mr. McCorkle Chairman of the North Carolina Progress Board, the state commission Governor Hunt founded to…
Read MoreThe Rest of Raleigih
Raleigh’s North, Northeast and Northwest planning districts accounted for 58% of the city’s growth over the last six years. Compare that to the Central District (downtown): its share was 2.5%. The Mayor’s spokesman, City Manager Russell Allen, says North Raleigh hasn’t been forgotten when it comes to city spending – and adds, as an example,…
Read MoreLivable Streets and Traffic Jams
Last Wednesday the City’s “Livable Streets” newsletter came out boasting about the groundbreaking of the new RBC Centura Plaza downtown, another huge new mixed use project downtown, four new parking garages downtown – and taxi fares going up everywhere. The next morning I talked to a friend who got stuck in traffic on Glenwood Avenue…
Read MoreTaking out the Trash
It’s hard to tell who’s in charge at Raleigh’s City Hall when it comes to the sanitation workers’ protests. But it sure looks like City Manager Russell Allen has lost the City Council’s confidence. In fact, it looks like the Council – not Allen – made the decision to fire the city’s top sanitation managers.…
Read More