January 2012

There were 60 posts published in January 2012 (this is page 4 of 6).

Highlights of 2011: Mordecai Historic Park

It was a bit unexpected that Mordecai Historic Park would become a milestone of the year 2011. I’ve served on this sleepy little board as the Parks Board liaison since I joined the Parks board but the last year was by far the most eventful.

Things really heated up in the spring when the board was presented with the location options for the Mordecai Historic Park Interpretive Center that’s been on the books for a number of years now. I’ve extensively covered on the blog the pros and cons and the thoughts behind my decision-making process, so I won’t do so again. Highlight entries are for reflection from a bit more distance, though, so from this perspective I see the growth opportunity this event provided me.
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The Rise Of The Mayor-Entrepreneur

Here’s an interesting take from TechCrunch about how mayors need to think like entrepreneurs. If Raleigh is gunning to be a city of innovation it might want to take this advice.

On stage at last month’s Le Web conference Shervin Pishevar, a Managing Director at Menlo Ventures, stated “The World is a Startup.” It’s an interesting perspective, and I think what’s true for the world is also true for countries, states and municipalities. With developments like last month’s announcement that Cornell was selected to build a new tech campus in New York City, it seems to follow that if “a city is a startup,” then the best mayors are the ones who are looking at their cities in much the same way as entrepreneurs look at the companies they have founded.

via A City Is A Startup: The Rise Of The Mayor-Entrepreneur | TechCrunch.

What’s up with 3:05 AM, besides me?

What is up with 3:05 AM that’s waking me up at 3:05 AM? Every single morning this week I’ve awakened at exactly 3:05 AM and I have no idea why.

It started the morning of my Zombiehead post. That night (Wednesday) I went around to all the computers in the house to put them on mute. It’s not the computers.

When I woke up anyway, I assumed that maybe Kelly has been shifting around and waking me. Last night she spent the night away for work, though, so that isn’t it.
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Big water bills coming due

I spent a little time this evening attending the inaugural meeting of the Midtown CAC. Among the presenters was the City of Raleigh’s Public Utilities Director, John Carman. Carman (as he’s known around the city) has been meeting with CACs and other civic groups on a speaking tour. He gave a similar talk to the East CAC back in April.

In his talk, Carman explains the many challenges of running his department, among which is the conflicting problem of water conservation. As you may remember, the city’s droughts have prompted many residents to drastically cut back on their water usage. This was good news to almost everyone but Carman, who has to fund his department through water bills. Thus when folks used less water, they actually get charged more because public utilities needs to make up the balance.
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Time for a new drug war strategy

I was surfing WRAL’s webpage the other day and, like many of their web visitors, got stuck in their gallery of arrest photos. Like the “rate me” sites like Am I Hot Or Not?, the parade of suspect photos pulls you in, making you want to click just one more time to see what’s next.

Anyway, I was clicking away one afternoon when I noticed a pattern. Of the suspects arrested for drug violations, the overwhelming majority of them were arrested for the possession or sale of marijuana. While there were some arrests for other drugs, marijuana was far and away the drug most often cited.

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Taking a u-turn on the one-way street

City of Raleigh Transportation guru Eric Lamb shared this story of one successful conversion of a one-way street to two-way in St. Catharines, Ontario. It provides hope that East Raleigh may also enjoy a renaissance once it banishes its one-way streets.

Two years ago, city crews went to St. Paul Street — the one-way spine of downtown St. Catharines, Ont. — took down the “no entry” signs, painted new lines and opened up the street to two-way traffic. According to planners, it would slow cars down, make the downtown more pedestrian friendly and spur retail development.

People, especially businesspeople, didn’t like it. And then they did.

“A prominent local businessman came up to me the other day and said, ‘I didn’t support it from the start, but this is the best thing you’ve ever done.’ ”

via Taking a u-turn on the one-way street | News | National Post.

Astronomers see more planets than stars in galaxy

The continuing discovery of exoplanets – planets outside of our solar system – is one of the most astonishing yet underreported advances in our understanding of the universe and our place in it. The number of known planets has more than doubled since 2008 to 700 and far more are waiting to be verified.

Astronomers are in agreement that at least 100 billion planets exist in our galaxy alone. That blows my mind. The universe is littered with planets, and life in one form or another is certain to exist on some.

“We’re finding an exciting potpourri of things we didn’t even think could exist,” said Harvard University astronomer Lisa Kaltenegger, including planets that mirror “Star Wars” Luke Skywalker’s home planet with twin suns and a mini-star system with a dwarf sun and shrunken planets.

“We’re awash in planets where 17 years ago we weren’t even sure there were planets” outside our solar system, said Kaltenegger, who wasn’t involved in the new research.

via Astronomers see more planets than stars in galaxy – Boston.com.

Pullen Park train, now with no waiting?

Pullen Park Train


There have been many positive news stories about the newly-remodeled Pullen Park and the plaudits are rightfully deserved. The renovations brought new life to the park and attracted huge crowds to what was already a popular park. There is one issue with the park that wasn’t addressed by the renovation. In fact, the renovation has made it a bigger problem than ever.

I’m talking about the line for the train. It’s often way too long, trapping families when they could be enjoying the park.

I’ve been pondering a solution to this and I think I’ve found one. It occurred to me that boarding the train is what it used to be like boarding a Southwest Airlines flight: you buy your ticket and wait in line for eventual “open seating” boarding.
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New Citizen Advisory Councils to kick off with first meetings

I was quoted in today’s Midtown Raleigh News, discussing the city’s new CAC boundaries.

Chelsea Kellner wrote a great, concise story which explains CACs perfectly. I love how this turned out!

“The new CACs provide one cohesive community organization for neighborhoods that were right on the boundary of the old CACs, to bring people together and focus more on the needs that are specific to that area,” said Mark Turner, chairman of the Raleigh Citizens Advisory Council.

via New Citizen Advisory Councils to kick off with first meetings – News – MidtownRaleighNews.com.