Raleigh

Not long ago the American dream was to own a home with a yard on a tree lined street in the suburbs. Now that’s called ‘sprawl’ and Mayor Meeker and the urban correctness crowds have a solution. It’s called – glowingly – density. What it, in fact, means is high-rises crammed with apartments and condominiums.…

Carter and I started Talking About Politics when we become intrigued by how blogs create an alternative form of political communication. It’s happening on our own site right now – without either of us lifting a finger. Click here to read a post that somebody (we don’t know who) put on our site about ElectriCities…

As if Robert Escamilla – the ‘Mr. Peepers’ of Enloe High School – didn’t have enough problems after being demoted and publicly tarred and feathered by School Superintendent Del Burns, now, School Board Chairman Rosa Gill, lowering her head, has charged right over him too. Mrs. Gill feels that the students and parents questioning Superintendent…

Just about everything people read and hear about growth in Raleigh is bad: The School Board can’t cope with growth, the Water Company can’t cope with growth, the streets are clogged, the politicians say they have to keep raising taxes and borrowing money to pay for growth. Growth has caused such a myriad of problems…

Raleigh’s developer community is already looking for a political savior. Looking overseas, in fact. They’re talking up Jim Cain, currently U.S. Ambassador to Denmark. Their scenario is that Cain returns from his pressing foreign-policy duties in Copenhagen, runs for mayor and restores what developers call “moderation” to City Hall. Not so fast. Cain would have…

There’s been a debate raging in Raleigh for over three years about developers: Are they responsible citizens or greedy villains? But, so far, only one side has been debating: Mayor Meeker and his allies who say developers are villains. The developers have a story to tell: They build shops, offices, homes, provide jobs and have…

Raleigh’s election this year recycles the results from 30 years ago. In 1977, a pro-neighborhood, anti-developer grassroots rebellion elected little-old-lady-in-tennis-shoes Isabella Cannon over the incumbent mayor, Jyles Coggins, a builder known as “bomber Jack.” Two years later, Smedes York rode to the rescue of the real estate industry. He ran against Cannon and won. Then,…

The Mayor or, rather, his allies second theme this election was that their opponents, Tommy Craven and Jessie Taliaferro, were pawns of developers. Because they voted against higher Impact Fees. Last year, Craven and Taliaferro voted to raise Impact Fees 72%. But the Mayor said at the time he wanted more and during the election…