2 minute read
A Week in the Life
from INDY Week 2.26.20
by Indy Week
(Here’s what’s happened since the INDY went to press last week)
RALEIGH MAYOR MARY-ANN BALDWIN, along with former mayors Nancy McFarlane and Charles Meeker, endorsed Michael Bloomberg for president. The INDY reported that, on February 11, DURHAM COUNTY MANAGER WENDELL DAVIS sent a letter to Commissioner Heidi Carter alleging that she has “an inherent bias that you harbor not merely towards me, but people of color in general.” Facebook took down NORTH CAROLINA BREAKING NEWS, a proTrump fake-news page operated by a Russian bot and/or N.C. State students conducting a social-media experiment. The Raleigh City Council joined the Wake County Board of Commissioners in approving $193 MILLION in tourism taxes to fund a sports complex in Cary.
Durham County school board chairman MIKE LEE cast doubt on Wendell Davis’s accusations that Carter was racist, saying Davis was interfering in the upcoming primary to protect his own position. The N&O reported that Wake commissioners are exploring leasing 151 ACRES OF RDU LAND for mountain biking. As part of RDU’s quarry lease with Wake Stone, the mining company had committed to help Wake County with the lease, but that was delayed as the Umstead Coalition’s lawsuit to block the quarry played out. With RDU considering spending $2 million to fence off the land, the county might move ahead anyway.
It SNOWED. JUDGE ALLEN BADDOUR ruled that the Sons of Confederate Veterans has 45 days to give Silent Sam back to the UNC System, along with the $2.5 million the UNC Board of Governors gave the group. The SCV had already spent $52,000 on legal fees. A Raleigh City Council committee drafted SHORT-TERM RENTAL regulations that would allow homeowners to rent out their properties, including their whole houses, for up to 30 days at a time with a permit. The Durham City Council voted to give the Durham Housing Authority $1.4 MILLION to purchase electric, rather than gas, stoves for homes in McDougald Terrace, which was evacuated last month following concerns about elevated carbon monoxide levels.
UNC’S BOARD OF GOVERNORS said that figuring out what to do with Silent Sam won’t be a top priority. The Hill reported that the Republican-aligned Faith and Power PAC that is bankrolling ads on behalf of underdog Democratic Senate candidate Erica Smith is itself being funded by MITCH MCCONNELL’S SUPER PAC.
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a lawsuit over whether the Appalachian Trail should effectively block the ATLANTIC COAST PIPELINE.
