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Durham private schools where 26 students, teachers tested positive for the...
For nine consecutive weeks, Liberty Christian School, a private school in Durham, held in-person classes without a single teacher, student or staffer contracting the coronavirus. But two weeks ago, 20...
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Greensboro, Durham and Orange County all pass LGBTQ-inclusive...
The city councils in two of North Carolina’s largest cities unanimously passed LGBTQ-inclusive non-discrimination policies Tuesday, the latest in a series of municipalities to do so since a statewide...
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White teachers urged to use privilege responsibly in fight to keep Durham...
Ronda Bullock In Durham, plans to reopen schools for in-person instruction continues to play out in dramatic fashion. This week, Ronda Bullock, chair of education committee of the Durham Committee on...
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ICYMI: A conversation about race, mass incarceration and criminal justice...
By all indications, North Carolina and the nation at-large have entered a critical and, perhaps, hopeful phase in their centuries-old conversations about race, crime, punishment and the undeniable...
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Durham Department of Social Services sued for institutionalizing disabled...
The Durham County Department of Social Services violated the rights of a toddler by sending the 16-month old to a treatment facility more than 100 miles away from home, alleges a lawsuit filed in the...
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Right-wing legislators want to inspect Durham’s voting machines. Election...
A group of right-wing North Carolina House members calling themselves the Freedom Caucus want to crack open Durham County’s voting machines to check for vote manipulation despite no evidence of...
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Garner becomes latest NC town to adopt LGBTQ-inclusive non-discrimination...
The Garner Town Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to adopt Wake County’s LGBTQ-inclusive non-discrimination ordinance, joining dozens of communities around the state in broadening protections...
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666 houses and townhomes proposed for sensitive land near Falls Lake, major...
This map shows the location of a proposed 280-acre development in Durham. Falls Lake is north of the site. Lick Creek, which runs through the property, feeds the lake, a major drinking water supply for...
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North Carolina communities making LGBTQ equality gains, according to annual...
North Carolina towns and cities are largely scoring higher on LGBTQ equality measures, according to a new study from The Human Rights Campaign. The national LGBTQ advocacy organization released its...
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Durham District Attorney Satana DeBerry discusses improving public safety,...
Learn more in the District Attorney’s annual report. The post Durham District Attorney Satana DeBerry discusses improving public safety, gun violence and restorative justice appeared first on NC...
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State Senator Mike Woodard discusses the latest on redistricting and the...
The post State Senator Mike Woodard discusses the latest on redistricting and the possibility of Medicaid expansion appeared first on NC Newsline.
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Vice President’s visit to NC highlights administration’s impressive...
The post Vice President’s visit to NC highlights administration’s impressive accomplishments appeared first on NC Newsline.
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Report shows contaminated groundwater is migrating toward Teer Quarry, site...
Teer Quarry can hold 1.58 billon gallons of water. (Screen shot: City of Durham, Bull City Today) High levels of several toxic chemicals have been detected in groundwater near Teer Quarry, storage site...
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Durham City Council rejects huge housing development proposal in Falls Lake...
Left: Dirt-laden water discharges from a stormwater pipe at a property under development in the Falls Lake watershed. Right: Excessive sediment from runoff in southeastern Durham County is polluting...
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Durham probing work history of new solid waste director James Lyons, who once...
Lyons was introduced as Durham's new director of the Solid Waste Management Department earlier this month. (Photo: DurhamNC.gov) This is a developing story. It was updated at 2:55 pm with the cost of...
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“A serious environmental justice problem”: Duke U didn’t inform public about...
In the mid-20th century, the federal Home Owners' Loan Corporation graded neighborhoods A through D based on their mortgage risks. D neighborhoods were deemed "hazardous" because of number of Black...
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Durham fire dept burned Duke heiress’s house for training. Lead paint blew...
As part of a training exercise, Durham firefighters burned down a house that contained lead paint. Wind carried contaminated chips to homes a quarter-mile away. There is no federal, state or local...
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Durham firefighting foul-up should serve as a wake-up call
As part of a training exercise, Durham firefighters burned down a house that contained lead paint. Wind carried contaminated chips to homes a quarter-mile away. There is no federal, state or local...
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After lead found in several city parks, Durham offers free blood tests for...
After lead was detected in several city parks, Durham will offer free blood tests for kids and pregnant people. (Photo: Getty Images) People who are pregnant and young children can have their blood...
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North Carolina cities and towns score high in LGBTQ equality, despite state laws
(Image: Adobe Stock)Despite a legislative session that featured several broad assaults on LGBTQ people, their visibility and their allies, most North Carolina cities and towns scored high for LGBTQ...
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DEQ will intervene to help clean up lead in Durham city parks
Soil testing for lead in five Durham parks was conducted last summer. This site is at East Durham Park, 2500 E. Main St., near many homes. (Photo: Lisa Sorg)The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality...
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NCCU chancellor to step down at end of academic year
Johnson Akinleye, chancellor of N.C. Central University. (Photo: N.C. Central University)North Carolina Central University Chancellor Johnson Akinleye will step down from the university’s top...
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Here’s how to file a complaint with the Utilities Commission over Duke...
(Adobe Stock)Duke Energy customers can file a formal complaint with the state Utilities Commission over the recent blackout in east Durham, but will have to pursue monetary damages in court, according...
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Durham closing off 35 additional areas of five city parks after EPA...
Soil testing for lead in five Durham parks was conducted last summer. This site is at East Durham Park, 2500 E. Main St., near many homes. (Photo: Lisa Sorg)The City of Durham is fencing off 35...
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Chitlik would bring interests in caregivers, maternal health, and affordable...
Sophia Chitlik of Durham (Source: Sophia for NC Senate.)Though Democrats can’t count on many victories in the North Carolina legislature these days, Sophia Chitlik of Durham said it’s important to...
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Report: Districts prepare for mass teacher protests May 16
Forsyth Co. teachers Frankie Santoro and Sara Thompson UPDATE: The Durham Board of Education voted Wednesday evening to close schools on May 16th to accommodate the more than 1,000 educators expected...
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Feeding the Bull City: How Durham is ‘In This Together’ on May 16 and beyond...
The YMCA of the Triangle opened its doors on Monday night to approximately 150 volunteers, who packed over 4,000 meal bags. (Brian Kennedy and Jessica Burroughs contributed to this post.) — North...
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Lawsuit tries to muzzle opponents of Durham charter school in environmentally...
Discovery Charter School would be built on 58 acres over three parcels: 501, 505 and 717 Orange Factory Road. Many neighbors oppose the siting because of the school’s proximity to the Little River, a...
View ArticleJudge condemns Silent Sam, doesn’t punish man who punched protester
In a bizarre turn of events earlier this week, an Orange County district court judge condemned the “Silent Sam” Confederate statue and UNC-Chapel Hill for displaying it…but declined to punish a man for...
View ArticleDurham, development and gentrification
Worth your time today: an interesting long-read in the News & Observer about Durham’s boom – and whether minority-owned businesses have benefited. (Spoiler: It does not appear that they have.) From...
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Duke University is killing regional light rail, while air pollution from cars...
Archival photo of the Personal Rapid Transit, a tram line at Duke Medical Center, from Duke Today. The PRT operated from 1979 to 2009. The irony is not lost on me, or many people, that the heart of...
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Julian Castro joins “Fight for 15” rally in Durham
Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro marches with workers in Durham who rallied Thursday for a $15 minimum wage and the right to unionize. Photo by Aditi Kharod Democratic presidential...
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Durham prosecutors no longer seeking cash bail in most cases
The Durham County District Attorney’s Office has stopped seeking cash bail in most cases, it announced in a statement Tuesday afternoon. Durham County District Attorney Satana Deberry “Research shows...
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After “A Decade Without a Raise” workers, elected officials call for raising...
Dayosha Davis of Durham. Dayosha Davis works in fast food, lives in public housing in Durham and struggles to provide for her two children. Child care starts at $250 a week, she said, which is...
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Durham DA to speak at Black August in the Park’s BOND*ference event
Durham District Attorney Satana Deberry. Last week NC Policy Watch spoke with Durham District Attorney Satana Deberry about the progressive changes she’s brought to her office and the results she’s...
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Plastic is not fantastic: Durham considers 10-cent fee on single-use bags
Photo by Lisa Sorg They clutter the gutters and girdle the turtles. They snag in the trees and float in the seas. Plastic bags are strangling the planet. To reduce the amount of plastic waste in...
View ArticleFight for 15 movement to host weekend “Worker Power Summit”
North Carolina’s low wage workers continue their campaign for a living wage and union representation this weekend with a “Worker Power Summit” in Durham. More than 100 workers are expected to...
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Durham immigrant workers paid back more than $13,000 in stolen wages
Durham immigrant workers hold their checks repaying them more than $13,000 in stolen wages. (Photo courtesy of Siembra NC) For the third time this year a group of largely undocumented Latinx immigrant...
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Annual report documents continuing progressive changes in Durham DA’s office
Durham District Attorney Satana Deberry Last year Policy Watch reported on Durham District Attorney Satana Deberry’s progressive overhaul of that office’s policies, including the choice not to seek...
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This weekend: Greensboro Event explores impact of court fines and fees
This weekend the The North Carolina Fines and Fees Coalition and the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program are holding an event in Greensboro examining the impact of court fines, fees and...
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NC’s first elected Muslim woman overcame challenges, faces new ones with...
Nida Allam made history last month, becoming the first Muslim woman elected to public office in North Carolina. But the job — indeed, the world — will be very different from the one she imagined when...
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Here’s another unexpected fallout from COVID-19: More trash, recyclables and...
The broken coffee pot. The mound of take-out containers. The lawn chair with the missing leg. As more North Carolinians are forced to stay at home to prevent the spread of COVID-19, they are also...
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NCDOT, Dominion excluded top Durham officials from discussions on proposed...
The large green dot on the left panel shows the beginning of the proposed natural gas pipeline, along the American Tobacco Trail near Herndon Park on Scott King Road in Durham — roughly Mile Marker...
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Death of George Floyd hits home for Durham County commissioner
The death of George Floyd after a former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck has revived painful memories for Durham County Commissioner Brenda Howerton. “My heart is heavy,”...
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Dominion backs off plan to build natural gas pipeline along part of American...
This was the proposed route of a Dominion natural gas pipeline along the American Tobacco Trail. On left, the green dot represents Herndon Park near Scott King Road in Durham. The pipeline would have...
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NCDOT apologizes to Durham leaders for failing to inform them about proposed...
NCDOT Chief Deputy Secretary David Howard (Photo: DOT) Yet a mid-level Durham employee knew about the proposal in 2018 but never informed city leaders. The state Department of Transportation...
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Berger claims Durham Public Schools’ fee for “learning centers” is...
Phil Berger Senate leader Phil Berger has accused Durham Public Schools of levying an unconstitutional tax on parents by charging for children to attend the district’s “learning centers,” which are...
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COVID-19 quarantine creates record amounts of trash
Graphic: Claire Willmschen Dan Parker wants to talk trash. Actually, he’s been talking trash for more than six years. Parker’s job at Durham’s Solid Waste Management Department brings him up close to...
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Maintaining affordability has become a growing challenge in addressing...
Laura Phoenix's new Habitat for Humanity home in Durham (Photo: Greg Childress)Surrounded by friends and Habitat Humanity of Durham staff, Laura Phoenix grew emotional Thursday during the dedication of...
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Tim Walz to hold campaign event in North Carolina on Thursday
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks at a Biden-Harris campaign and DNC press conference on July 17, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Walz will be traveling to Durham, NC on Thursday October 17 -- the first day...
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