Raleigh

Community-focused posts

There are 773 posts filed in Raleigh (this is page 37 of 78).

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.

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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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.

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.

It’s about quality of life


I attended this morning’s official announcement that Red Hat is moving to downtown Raleigh. While that’s a welcome announcement, it isn’t itself news. What CEO Jim Whitehurst joked was “worst-kept secret in town” has been known for months. What did capture my atention was one of the reasons Whitehurst mentioned to another open-source company as a reason to move here: quality of life.

Quality of life is one of the most important “incentives” a company looks for in a new location. If your employees aren’t happy where they are they’re more likely to go elsewhere. A good job market, a city with the right amenities, good government, and good schools are all important ingredients to an attractive business environment.

Raleigh has had the foresight to keep investing in itself so that it remains one of the best places to live and work. That strategy continues to pay dividends.

More ink in the N&O

An alert reader pointed me to today’s edition of the Midtown Raleigh News, where an abbreviated version of my RCAC press release ran in the Notables section on page 2M:

Turner to lead citizens council

Mark Turner, outgoing chairman of the East Citizens Advisory Council, has been elected to lead the Raleigh Citizens Advisory Council. The RCAC is made up of the chairmen and other leaders of each of the 18 geographically based Citizens Advisory Councils in Raleigh. It provides a forum for the leaders to discuss citywide issues.

Turner, who lives in the Bennett Woods neighborhood, became involved in the East Citizens Advisory Council after he attended the Raleigh Neighborhood College in 2008. The series of classes is sponsored by the Community Services Department to inform residents about the work of city government and how they can have a role.

Turner also serves as chairman of the City of Raleigh Parks, Recreation and Greenway Advisory Board.

I’m glad they mentioned Raleigh Neighborhood College, too. Hopefully other folks will be encouraged to step up and do great things for the city.

Raleigh CAC chair

Oh, by the way, I won another election last night when I was elected chair of the Raleigh Citizens Advisory Council. As far as I know, it’s the first time a soon-to-be-former CAC chair will lead the council since it’s inception in 1974.

One thing that is up for discussion is the fact that the bylaws have no provision for an ex-CAC chair to vote. Thus I will preside over the meetings but have no vote. The group could amend the bylaws to change this, of course, and it might be helpful to do so. With 18 CACs, getting a tie vote on a matter is a possibility, remote as the chance may be. Getting the opportunity to vote in a tie might be useful at the very least.

Anyhow, I’m looking forward to serving in this new role and making Raleigh’s neighborhoods stronger!

Sniffling

Been a busy, fun weekend but I’m beat. I’ve had a cold for the past few weeks and it’s really starting to become a drag.

I spent some time Saturday working on my satellite dish. I also helped host a playdate for my son and his friend. Then I leaf-blowed the leaves in the back yard.

Later, we went to Raleigh’s Winterfest celebrations last evening. We had fun, even the kids. Today we went for a hike at Falls Lake. It was a short-ish hike but Kelly and I felt worn out afterwards. It seemed much more vigorous than we expected.

I’m on my way to bed soon in the hopes that tonight’s sleep refreshes me. It’s going to be a busy week with the city council swearing-in ceremony, a dentist appointment, a planning meeting, a park dedication, and a Raleigh CAC holiday party – all this week. Oh, and I have some work mixed in there as well!