White supremacists, rumors and demonstrators in Durham
Back in August, after demonstrators brought down a Confederate statue outside the Old Durham County Courthouse, a rumor spread that the Sons of Confederate Veterans — or was it the Klu Klux Klan? —...
View ArticleLow levels of perfluorinated compounds detected in Durham drinking water; new...
In early spring, Lake Michie stirs to life, with fishers and the Duke University women’s rowing team taking to the water at dawn. The 480-acre reservoir near Bahama is not only a source of largemouth...
View ArticleReport: Districts prepare for mass teacher protests May 16
UPDATE: The Durham Board of Education voted Wednesday evening to close schools on May 16th to accommodate the more than 1,000 educators expected to take the day off to lobby the legislature for better...
View ArticleFeeding the Bull City: How Durham is ‘In This Together’ on May 16 and beyond...
(Brian Kennedy and Jessica Burroughs contributed to this post.) — North Carolina is the 10th hungriest state in the nation, and everyday schools and teachers play a vital role in making sure that...
View ArticleLawsuit tries to muzzle opponents of Durham charter school in environmentally...
Note: This is one of two legal cases involving the siting of Discovery Charter School. A summary of the second case will be posted tomorrow. A major developer of charter schools, Steve Hubrich claims...
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...
View ArticleDuke University is killing regional light rail, while air pollution from cars...
The irony is not lost on me, or many people, that the heart of the Duke Medical Center district — a congested stretch of Erwin Road, between Fulton and Trent streets — is hazardous to public health....
View ArticleJulian Castro joins “Fight for 15” rally in Durham
Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro addressed a large crowd outside the McDonald’s restaurant on Morgan Avenue in Durham Thursday morning. “One of the first things I noticed, because I...
View ArticleDurham 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. “Research shows the cash bail system disproportionately impacts...
View ArticleAfter “A Decade Without a Raise” workers, elected officials call for raising...
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 difficult to afford on the $7.25...
View ArticleDurham DA to speak at Black August in the Park’s BOND*ference event
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 already seen in the first six months. This...
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...
View ArticleDurham immigrant workers paid back more than $13,000 in stolen wages
For the third time this year a group of largely undocumented Latinx immigrant workers in the Triangle has successfully pressured an employer to repay stolen wages through a combination of protests,...
View ArticleDurham tragedy shows why we need to end the cycle of under-investment in...
The tragedies at McDougald Terrace, Durham’s largest and oldest public housing complex, have shaken the community. Authorities evacuated hundreds of families from their homes into hotel rooms after...
View ArticleAnnual report documents continuing progressive changes in Durham DA’s office
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 bail in most cases. The changes seemed to...
View ArticleThis 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...
View ArticleNC’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...
View ArticleHere’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...
View ArticleNCDOT, Dominion excluded top Durham officials from discussions on proposed...
The NC Department of Transportation failed to inform top Durham officials of a controversial natural gas pipeline that would parallel part of the American Tobacco Trail, one of the city’s — and the...
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