Raleigh

Community-focused posts

There are 773 posts filed in Raleigh (this is page 29 of 78).

Taking to the stage?

One of the many things on my bucket list is to play a role in a musical. A friend let me know about upcoming auditions for Theatre in the Park’s production of A Christmas Carol. With encouragement from Kelly, yesterday I made an appointment to audition for a spot in the ensemble.

My last audition was over 25 years ago, at South Mecklenburg High School for a role in the musical South Pacific. I think I did well because there was discussion about me playing the lead role of Lieutenant Cable. Ultimately I opted not to be in the play because drama was the realm of my brother, Allen, and I didn’t want to crowd him. Probably more accurate, though, was that I was still extremely shy and had little self-confidence.

The kids were excited when I mentioned the play and now they want to audition, too! Picking out good audition songs for them is proving to be difficult but they sure have no problem performing before crowds.

While Kelly is sitting this one out, she has enthusiastically agreed to join the kids and I as we reprise our roles as zombies for the Haunted Mordecai trolley ride again this year. Boo!

Chief Dolan retiring

The first time I met retiring Chief Harry Dolan was the night of December 4th, 2007. The 32nd Raleigh City Council had just been sworn in at Memorial Auditorium and a young Travis and I were there. After the short ceremony, we both wandered through the hall only to come across a police officer as friendly as he was tall. Dolan warmly introduced himself to me and to Travis, kneeling down to talk to my son at his level.

Those two minutes told me all I needed to know about Raleigh’s new police chief: Dolan was going to engage the public, and kids mean a lot to him.
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“Net-zero” homes coming to East Raleigh?

One of KB Home’s net-zero homes in Tampa, FL


Wow. I’m stunned. I just figured out what KB Home means by the “environmental features” that they hope to build on the Weatherford property next door. KB Home builds “net-zero” homes: that is, homes that produce as much energy as they consume. They call their hyper-energy-efficient home the “ZeroHouse 2.0.” The company describes it this way:

Imagine a home that can save nearly 50,000 gallons of water a year, has an electric bill that could be next to nothing and can be monitored and controlled from your iPhone. No need to just imagine this home of the future, you can now purchase one of your very own . . .

In addition to being designed as a net-zero energy home, the home is ENERGY STAR qualified and WaterSense labeled. By combining an efficient building envelope, energy-conserving lighting, appliances and fixtures with a renewable energy source in the form of solar power system, the home is designed to produce as much energy as it consumes, allowing for a homeowner’s electric bill to be nearly zero. As such, it is estimated to save homeowners’ nearly $6,000 in energy costs annually, when compared to a typical resale home.

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Trunk full of cans

Remember the recycling theft ordinance that Raleigh passed at my prodding? Well, I’ve been looking the other way when I see obviously homeless people walking away with cans but there was one instance Friday that I could not let go.

A baby blue Cadillac was driving through the neighborhood with a handicap placard on the rear-view, a number of people inside, and the trunk open wide and stuffed from floor to lid with bags full of aluminum cans. I just couldn’t let this one go and called the cops. I don’t know if an officer didn’t find the car, wrote them a ticket, or simply let them go with a warning. I just know that what I saw was ridiculous.

Hopscotch weekend


Way back at Christmas, my lovely wife Kelly got me two Hopscotch tickets for my present. This weekend we cashed them in during Hopscotch 2012.

It was everything I’d hoped it would be. We saw many, many bands from the start of Hopscotch Thursday evening until our last show around midnight last night. Kelly’s parents stayed with us and took care of kid duty while Kelly and I got out to see the shows.

We’ve had a busy day today and so I have not had time to properly blog about my experience but I hope to catch up a bit tomorrow. As for tonight, I’ve got a lot of sleep to catch up on and won’t be describing my incredible Hopscotch experience tonight (yes, it sucks getting old).

Good night, y’all!

Why High-Tech Companies Are Moving to the City – WSJ.com

Downtown’s where it’s at. Just ask Red Hat and Citrix!

For as long as many of us can remember, high-tech industries have flourished in the suburban office parks that are so ubiquitous in Silicon Valley, North Carolina’s Research Triangle and other "nerdistans." But in recent years, high-tech has been taking a decidedly urban turn.

Silicon Valley remains the world’s pre-eminent center of high-tech industry, of course. But even in the Valley, denser, more mixed-use and walkable places, like downtown Palo Alto, are becoming the preferred locations for start-ups and smaller firms. And many other start-ups—Pinterest, Zynga, Yelp, Square and Salesforce.com, to name just a notable few—are taking up residence in downtown San Francisco.

via Why High-Tech Companies Are Moving to the City – WSJ.com.

Wake schools bus driver: ‘This is the worst I’ve ever seen it’

Wait, isn’t General Tata supposed to be “Mr. Logistics?”

More than 900 Wake County school buses transport 75,000 to 80,000 students per day and make about 25,000 stops. Dozens of buses were taken out of service this year to cut costs, maintain efficiency and keep state funding, according to school officials.

But complaints about service began pouring in Monday, the first day of school for traditional-calendar students. Superintendent Tony Tata said Tuesday that the school system is doing everything it can to listen to parents, address the issues and smooth bus service problems.

via Wake schools bus driver: “This is the worst I’ve ever seen it” :: WRAL.com.

Little Raleigh Radio attracts a crowd

Little Raleigh Radio

Last night a volunteer open house was held at Kings Barcade for Little Raleigh Radio. It seems the publicity the station got from the recent write-up in the News and Observer drew a crowd of over 75 potential volunteers, ranging from radio newbies to grizzled radio veterans.

It was inspiring to see all the support. I could hardly sleep afterward, I was buzzing from all the energy!
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Missing: Joshua Clay Inscoe

Joshua Clay Inscoe


Have you seen Joshua “Josh” Clay Inscoe? Josh went missing from Carlbrook school in Virginia and was last seen in Durham. He is believed to be in Raleigh.

Josh is a white male, age 16 years, height 5’7″ and 145 pounds. He has short, light brown hair; a medium build; green eyes, and a medium complexion. He was last seen near the Durham Bulls stadium on Friday, August 24th, wearing a blue plaid shirt with collar, khaki pants, and a black backpack.

If you see Josh, please call the Halifax (VA) police department at 434-476-3334.

A flier with Josh’s information may be downloaded here.

More pictures below the fold.
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My local urban woods to become subdivision

Urban deer


I received confirmation yesterday that the Weatherford property, the beautiful 10+ acre woods beside my neighborhood, is under contract by KB Homes. I believe their plans call for a 40-home subdivision with upscale homes similar to the ones in my neighborhood.

Checking KB Homes’s map of its other subdivisions in the Triangle area, this will be the first to be positioned so close to a downtown. That makes me wonder if we’ll see smaller, fancier, less car-centric homes to appeal to the new generation of homebuyers.

I will miss the nearby woods, though. I’ve grown used to mornings quiet enough to hear the call of barred owls, and the occasional encounter with urban deer grazing near my yard. I’m also expecting increased traffic as the dead-end street I live on gets extended to the new neighborhood, bringing more traffic through my neighborhood.
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