All posts tagged: blog post

Blog post: NCDHHS late with new report on Durham jail. Why?

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By Monica Chen The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services conducts semi-annual inspections of all county jails in North Carolina. That means the newest inspection report for Durham County Jail, which was last inspected in September, was due in March. It’s now May. Where is it? In April, Sara Maleski, a paralegal at DHHS, sent me the September report. On the newest inspection, she wrote: “An inspection was just conducted but is not yet complete.” OK. That was almost a month ago. How long does it take to finish a report? “The semiannual surveys are unannounced,” said spokeswoman Summer Tonizzo last week when I checked back. You don’t say. But, wasn’t the inspection already conducted and we’re just waiting on the report? What’s the hold up? To give readers an idea of how simple these reports are, this was all the substance the September report had: “This inspection found no deficiencies, no corrective action is necessary, and no further action on your part is required.” The Durham County Jail has been in COVID lockdown, …

Blog post: The N.C. Justice Center and Legal Aid are both officially useless

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By Monica Chen Oh boy, I did not know how much the N.C. Justice Center and Legal Aid NC have changed, and not in good ways at all. The N.C. Justice Center used to be a better-equipped version of Legal Aid. The kind of organization that could help with legal matters beyond the local level. At least that was my impression. Not so much anymore. Same goes for Legal Aid, which is supposed to help poor and vulnerable residents. Both organizations seem to have changed their missions. The former, to serving illegal immigrants only, and the latter to helping with very, very stereotypical problems. Neither seems to be interested in helping Triangle residents with real problems that we do have. I contacted both organizations this week seeking help with harassment from Durham city government. I know that other people are having problems with the same department. At the N.C. Justice Center, there’s a Housing department. Oh wait, it’s not to help with municipal government and utility abuses of residents like everyone is experiencing. It’s this: …

Blog post: New restaurant for Elmo’s space in Carrboro

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When Elmo’s Diner closed during COVID-19 last March, Carrboro residents wondered when the restaurant would reopen. The months passed, lockdown orders came and went, and still the restaurant remained closed.   Then came word in September that they had decided to close permanently, although Elmo’s ownership seemed to leave the possibility open that they would return. “We have not sold to anyone, so we do not know the future of the space,” the last post on their Facebook page said. But since then, that prime spot in Carr Mill Mall has changed hands. There is definitely a new tenant now. Grata Café, which will focus on Italian cuisine, is currently sprucing it up and getting ready to open. “Eat with gratitude,” is the slogan displayed on its web site (www.gratacafe.com), which also states that “grata” is Italian for “gratitude.” The owner is Jay Radford, founder of the Not So Normal 5K races in Carrboro some years back that raised money for a variety of causes. Radford is also the man who is behind the “Mom …

Blog post: A look back at Bush-Gore

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It’s hard to say who Americans wanted in the White House in the year 2000, Bush or Gore? On the morning of Nov. 8, when everyone woke up to the news the presidential race had not been called, there was an air of chagrin, shock, a little humor. But then everyone went about their business. Over the following month, the nation would be treated to the spectacle of the Florida recount, “hanging chads,” court decisions at every level, teams of lawyers and a complete media frenzy. In the end, on Dec. 13, Gore, clearly disappointed but not defeated, conceded to George W. Bush. The race had been won by just 537 votes in Florida. In 2020, the situation is much more desperate. The nation is more divided. Both sides are more angry. There is more at stake. Here are some ways 2000 differed from 2020: Florida did a statewide machine recount immediately the day after the election and it was completed Nov. 10. Apparently this can be done. So why hasn’t it been done in …

Blog post: Did Chapel Hill just change the definition of retail for the entire town?

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Local government wonks, where are you? Among Chapel Hill Town Council’s recent votes on covid, police brutality and climate change was the kind of small local government change that could have huge ramifications down the road. In February, Mayor Pam Hemminger petitioned to allow flex office and “experiential retail” to help 140 West sign an escape room. (What are escape rooms? I haven’t been to one, but they look like those mobile games that are kind of boring but creep me out, and I stop playing.) Hemminger petitioned to make this change in downtown. But by June, when the new ordinance was approved, the change was much bigger and seemed to apply to the entire town. Wait, the entire town? Is that true? I checked in with Anya Grahn, the planner who drafted the new ordinance. The answer was: Yes. “We amended our definition of Business, General to include all commercial establishments that provide retail sales and services,” Grahn said over e-mail. “This allows experiential retail to be permitted in all areas where Business, General …

Led Zeppelin in August

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A few years ago, I found I liked listening to Led Zeppelin in August. Today, I caught this feeling of listening to Led Zeppelin again as I drove around in the late afternoon after work. North Carolina’s August. That time when it’s like summer can’t take any more of itself. The active, joyful months of June and July are done, and the heat and humidity builds while the sunlight starts to slant. There is a feeling of falling and growing darkness. And rot and decay. For me, the work of summer is often not done by August, but I don’t have the natural impetus for it anymore. But from the best years that I remember, I wonder if August is when the beauty of summer, if you have risen up to it and worked for it, rewards you. Listening to Led Zeppelin’s lyricism in the heat of August is amazing. But that’s not really fair to a band, is it? Who says that a band can only be listened to during one month out of …