#the indy

[captain-dad]

Indy but not Jones

My next car shall be called the Indy So when my friends ask where we´re going I can just point my right wrist out which will have “Indefatigable” spelled and say we´re going to invade France.

[dr-archeville]

INDY Daily: N.C. Bill Would Ban Local Governments From Regulating Tree Removal

It’s Tuesday, May 11

Good morning, readers.

I've gotten a few emails from you all about a bill that would prohibit cities and counties from adopting and enforcing ordinances regulating tree removal from private property. And the bill just so happens to be on the House calendar today for its third reading.

House Bill 496 is as bad as it sounds. It gives developers free license to cut down trees on any site unless a local government approaches the General Assembly to ask state lawmakers to put a stop to it.

Trees serve important purposes related to preventing soil erosion and keeping local water supplies clean. I don't need to tell you that they also make towns and cities more beautiful. This bill represents yet another attack on local governments and the environment that we've come to expect from lawmakers (mostly from Republicans, but this bill has co-sponsors who are Democrats) in recent years.

There's a website through which you can send a letter to lawmakers to ask them not to pursue this bill. I'll keep you updated on its progress.

Thanks for reading and have a great Tuesday!

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Orange County

Orange County manager Bonnie Hammersley released a $279 million budget proposal last week. It includes a three-cent property tax hike. Chapel Hill's proposed budget also included a three-cent property tax increase. Residents in Orange County's historically Black neighborhoods Northside (pictured in map above) and Pine Knolls are concerned after their property taxes spiked in revaluations this spring. Both the town and county budgets will go to work sessions and public hearing later this week.

Club Nova, a nonprofit that serves people in Orange County with serious mental illnesses, broke ground on a new clubhouse in Carrboro earlier this month.

Durham County

The Durham County manager's $730 million budget raises the property tax rate by one cent and recommends an additional $10.1 million, a 6.6 percent increase, for Durham public schools.

Durham's emergency communications center was completely empty Saturday night due to unplanned staff absences. Calls were routed through the Raleigh-Wake Emergency Communications Center. The city is investigating what happened.

The Durham Bulls play a season opener at their home field tonight.

Wake County

Marye Ann Fox, N.C. State University's first woman chancellor, died at age 73 following a long illness. Fox was appointed chancellor in 1998 and helped raise the university's profile and guide it into the 21st century.

Activists and family members of those who have died at the hands of police in Raleigh built a makeshift memorial on Fayetteville Street outside the old Kimbrell's furniture building entitled "Do You Know the George Floyds of Raleigh?"

A Henderson man used racial slurs in an email to Brian Burnett, owner of Raleigh's Glenwood South Tailors and Alterations, over a land deal gone bad.

Elsewhere

A bipartisan push in the state Senate would allow family members of people killed by law enforcement to view body camera footage within five days of the incident. The bill is likely to pass in the full Senate this week. Meanwhile, the family of Andrew Brown Jr. will be allowed to view more body camera footage from his shooting death at the hands of deputies last month.

A cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline, which transports 45 percent of fuel to the East Coast, could cause gas prices to spike as the supply chain is shut down. Gas prices are climbing and Gov. Cooper has declared a state of emergency.

Amazon will build a distribution center in Johnston County, bringing 500 jobs to the area.

The FDA approved use of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 12 to 15.

Statewide COVID-19 by the numbers: Monday, May 8

974 New lab-confirmed cases (984,251 total; seven-day average leveling)

951 Current hospitalizations reported (seven-day average trending down; 12,790 total deaths, +10 over Monday)

18,737 Completed tests (12.72 million total; most recent positive rate was 5.7 percent)

7,619,411 Total vaccinations administered (State data not updated daily)

Today's weather

Cloudy and overcast with a chance of rain. Highs in the upper 60s.

Song of the day

Rush–The Trees Listen while you send that letter to state lawmakers.

— Jane Porter— Send me an email | Find me on Twitter

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[dr-archeville]

INDY Daily: A Black Man Was Killed By Police In Elizabeth City, N.C.

It’s Thursday, April 22

  Just one week left to nominate your favorite local businesses in the INDY's Best of the Triangle for 2021!  Where’s the best pizza?  Who’s the best OBGYN? What’s the best reason to live in the Triangle?

Nominate your favorites now! Top four finalists make it to the finals.

Good morning, readers.

Since Derek Chauvin's conviction Tuesday evening, we've lost two more Black Americans to police shootings: one was a 16-year-old child, Ma'Khia Bryant, from Columbus, Ohio. The other, Andrew Brown, was shot in nearby Elizabeth City, N.C., while he was driving away.

Yesterday, I received this email from the ACLU of North Carolina. I'm pasting it here in full.

ACLU of NC Statement on the Police Murder of Andrew Brown in Elizabeth City, North Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C. - According to multiple news reports Andrew Brown was shot and killed by police in Elizabeth City, N.C., as he drove away. The police killing occurred less than 24 hours after Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd.

Yesterday, sixteen-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant was shot and killed by police in Columbus, Ohio. Ms. Bryant was a Black child.

Anthony J. Thompson Jr., 17, was shot and killed by police at his school in Knoxville, Tenn., on April 12, 2021. Mr. Thompson was a Black child.

Daunte Wright, 20, was shot and killed by police in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on April 11, 2021. Mr. Wright was a Black man.

James Alexander, 24, was shot and killed by police during a traffic stop in Logan, Pa., on April 7, 2021. Mr. Alexander was a Black man.

Larry Jenkins, 52, was shot and killed by police in Winter Haven, Fla., on April 17, 2021. Mr. Jenkins was a Black man.

Donovon Lynch, 25, of Virginia Beach, Va., was shot and killed by police on March 26, 2021. Mr. Lynch was a Black man.

Ivan Cuevas, 27, was shot and killed by police in Visalia, Calif., on March 31, 2021. Mr. Cuevas was a Hispanic man.

Michael Leon Hughes, 32, was shot and killed by police in Jacksonville, Fla, on March 30, 2021. Mr. Hughes was a Black man.

Adam Toledo, 13, was shot and killed by police in Chicago, Ill., on March 29, 2021. Adam Toledo was a Black child.

Matthew Blaylock, 38, was shot and killed by police in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 29, 2021. Mr. Blaylock was a Black man.

Krys Ruiz, 26, was shot and killed by police in Lompoc, Calif., on March 28, 2021. Mr. Ruiz was a Hispanic man.

Eduardo Parra, 24, was shot and killed by police in Sylvania Township, Ohio, on March 21, 2021. Mr. Parra was a Hispanic man.

Daryl Jordan, 50, was shot and killed by police in Miami, Fla., on March 18, 2021. Mr. Jordan was a Black man.

David Suarez, 44, was shot and killed by police during a traffic stop in Devils Lake, N.D., on March 17, 2021. Mr. Suarez was a Native American man.

Angel Degollado, 21, was shot and killed by police in Laredo, Texas, on March 14, 2021. Mr. Degollado was a Hispanic man.

David Ordaz, 34, was shot and killed by police in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 14, 2021. Mr. Ordaz was a Hispanix man.

Ryan White Mountain-Soft, 30, was shot and killed by police in McLaughlin, S.D., on March 14, 2021. Mr. Mountain-Soft was a Native American man.

Christopher Ruffin, 28, was shot and killed by police in Palm Bay, Fla., on March 14, 2021. Mr. Ruffin was a Black man.

Nika Holbert, 31, was shot and killed by police in Memphis, Tenn., on March 12, 2021. Ms. Holbert was a Black woman.

Tyrell Wilson, 32, was shot and killed by police in Danville, Calif., on March 11, 2021. Mr. Wilson was a Black man.

Tyshon Jones, 29, was shot and killed by police in Rochester, N.Y., on March 10, 2021. Mr. Jones was a Black man.

Howayne Gayle, 35, was shot and killed by police in Lakeland, Fla., on March 7, 2021. Mr. Gayle was a Black man.

Andrew Teague, 43, was shot and killed by police in Columbus, Ohio, on March 5, 2021. Mr. Teague was a Black man.

Dwight Brown, 41, was shot and killed by police in Abbeville, La., on March 3, 2021. Mr. Brown was a Black man.

Rudy Duvivier, 32, was shot and killed by police in Clay County, Fla., on February 27, 2021. Mr. Duvivier was a Black man.

Juan Hernandez, 33, was shot and killed by police in New Wilmington, Pa., on February 25. Mr. Hernandez was a Hispanic man.

Donald Hairston, 44, was shot and killed by police in Culpepper, Va., on February 25, 2021. Mr. Hairston was a Black man.

The Washington Post reports that at least 984 people have been shot and killed by police in the United States in the past year, averaging 2.7 people per day. Many of the people killed by police are white. However, The Washington Post’s data analysis notes that Black Americans account for "less than 13 percent of the U.S. population, but are killed by police at more than twice the rate of white Americans."

Kristie Puckett-Williams, Statewide Campaign for Smart Justice Manager for the ACLU of North Carolina, issued the following statement after the police killing of Andrew Brown in Elizebeth City, N.C., on April 21, 2021:

"This is what happens in America."

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Orange County

The Orange County Health Department is transitioning to walkup COVID vaccination clinics. 

First-year students are particularly susceptible to the toll the past year has taken on students' mental health.

Durham County

Durham school leaders tell county leaders that public schools facilities need updating and replacing.  

Wake County

Towns in eastern Wake County are experiencing a development boom.

Maybe the City of Raleigh should update its infrastructure: in a second spill this week, 20,000 gallons of sewage spilled in northeast Raleigh overnight after a pipe was blocked. The spill occurred on Great Laurel Drive, close to where a spill over the weekend released 31,000 gallons of raw sewage, and sewage reached a storm drainage channel in the Neuse Basin.

Elsewhere

Gov. Roy Cooper says North Carolina is on track to having a normal summer if COVID metrics remain stable and at least a third of the population gets a least one dose of the vaccine by June 1. And by "normal summer," we mean he'll lift restrictions on capacity, mass gatherings, and social distancing. Get the shots, folks!

A sweeping package of bills in the North Carolina General Assembly, collectively known as the "Momnibus Act," aims to combat disproportionately high rates of maternal mortality among Black mothers planning to give birth.

A 66-year-old librarian is suing the Salisbury Police Department and Rowan County Sheriff's office for grabbing her by the hair after pulling her over for speeding and approaching her vehicle with guns drawn.

A bill would allow law enforcement to track cellphone data in an emergency without a warrant.

Alamance County Rep. Ricky Hurtado bucked Democratic strategists to run a different kind of campaign. This profile asks if he's the vanguard of Latinx electoral power and millennial campaigning in North Carolina.

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is reporting a surge in black bear sightings this spring. 

Here is coverage of protests in Elizabeth City following the police shooting of Andrew Brown: 

Protesters rally after Black man is killed by N.C. deputies with search warrant Who was Andrew Brown? Here's what we know 

Scenes from Elizabeth City following the shooting 

Protestors gather in downtown Elizabeth City after deputies shoot man as they execute search warrant   

Statewide COVID-19 by the numbers: Wednesday, April 20

1,963 New lab-confirmed cases (952,529 total; seven-day average leveling)

1,168 Current hospitalizations reported (seven-day average going up; 12,480 total deaths, +43 over Wednesday)

21,895 Completed tests (12.02 million total; most recent positive rate was 7.0 percent)

6,594,886 Total vaccinations administered (State data not updated daily)

Today's weather Sunny in the morning with clouds in the afternoon. Much cooler with a high of 60 degrees.

Song of the day The Veldt-Soul In a Jar From the 1994 album Afrodisiac. The Veldt was one of the Chapel Hill indie bands that swept up in the alt-rock gold rush of the early nineties.

— Jane Porter— Send me an email | Find me on Twitter

If you’d like to advertise your business to the Daily's 33,000-plus subscribers, please contact John Hurld at [email protected].

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[dr-archeville]

INDY Daily: Peaceful Demonstrations In Raleigh

It’s Monday, April 19

Just one week left to nominate your favorite local businesses in the INDY's Best of the Triangle for 2021!  Where’s the best pizza?  Who’s the best OBGYN? What’s the best reason to live in the Triangle?

Nominate your favorites now! Top four finalists make it to the finals.

Good morning, readers.

You’ll hear or read about demonstrations that took place in downtown Raleigh last night and this weekend, following vigils honoring the memories of young people recently killed by police in Brooklyn Center, near Minneapolis, and Chicago (Daunte Wright, 20, and Adam Toledo, 13, respectively).

I live in downtown Raleigh and saw some of the marches. On Sunday, the demonstration of around 100 people or so ended before 9:30 p.m.

I was not reporting in any kind of capacity for my job.

That said, I would characterize what I saw of the demonstrations as restrained and peaceful.

A network news helicopter buzzed over the building I live in for more than an hour last evening. There was a substantial law enforcement presence patrolling the streets from my view. There was disruption to essentially non-existent traffic by protesters. Damage to property looked to be minimal.

Our staff photographer, Jade Wilson, captured some images from the Sunday vigil and subsequent march. We’ll share their photos with you in the paper this week.

Thanks for reading.

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Orange County

UNC system schools won't require students to get vaccinated against COVID-19 before returning to campuses in the fall, according to Mimi Chapman, chairperson of the faculty.

"Chapman said there has been no specific public health guidance for requiring vaccines, and the System — as a state entity — does not believe it has the legal authority to do so. Current laws define which vaccines may be mandatory, and she said amending those laws would take too long.

Additionally, Chapman said there is concern that enrollment in System schools will decrease and "vaccine hesitancy" will rise if vaccinations become a requirement. But she said the Faculty Executive Committee will regularly meet over the summer and closely monitor the issue.

"Certainly as more and more campuses across the country move to require vaccines, and new guidance comes out, this conversation may change," Chapman said. "But that is what the position is at the moment."

Durham County

The State Bureau of Investigation is looking into the case of a man who died Thursday night while he was being booked into the Durham County jail. The man, whose identity has not been disclosed, is at least the third person to have died in custody since the outset of the COVID pandemic just over a year ago.

Wake County

Reports on the demonstrations in Raleigh this weekend:

Police arrest 11 in downtown Raleigh as social justice protests take combative turn

Raleigh vigil turns to street protest on third night of rallies against police violence

Elsewhere

A husband saved his wife from a bobcat.   

Statewide COVID-19 by the numbers: Friday, April 16

2,475 New lab-confirmed cases (941,218 total; seven-day average trending upwards)

1,064 Current hospitalizations reported (seven-day average going down; 12,359 total deaths, +28 over Friday)

36,240 Completed tests (11.83 million total; most recent positive rate was 5.5 percent)

6,270,157 Total vaccinations administered (State data not updated daily)

Today's weather Cloudy and cool in the morning, warming up to a high 70 degrees.

Song of the day Neil Young: Down by the River A classic.

— Jane Porter— Send me an email | Find me on Twitter

If you’d like to advertise your business to the Daily's 33,000-plus subscribers, please contact John Hurld at [email protected].

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[dr-archeville]

Sorry for the delay in getting this to you! Here are today's headlines from INDY Week.

View in browser ...

Here's the latest from INDY Week (2021-04-28)

Cooper Doesn't Want You to Worry About Mask Tan Lines, Relaxes COVID Guidelines A Little More       04/28/2021     Masks are still strongly encouraged in crowds and where social distancing is tough.       

Wake County Plans to Expand Pre-K to Three Year Olds Starting in 2022   04/28/2021     Once built out, the $20 million program will serve up to 1,700 income-eligible children.       

Triangle First: Stray Local's “Animal Shapes” Says Ditch Your Man and Grab a Paintbrush       04/28/2021     The latest track from the Raleigh singer-songwriter duo premieres on the INDY today.       

How Did the North Carolina Founders of This Modular Children's Couch Create a Phenomenon?       04/28/2021     Demand for Nuggets soared during the pandemic: At one point, there were more than 200,000 families on the waitlist.       

The Vintage Resell Market On the Rise in the Triangle       04/28/2021     Alison Matney and Hannah Spector are just two of the many vintage resellers who abandoned their day jobs to pursue their passions: giving antiquities new beginnings.       

A Duo No Longer, Bowerbirds Shows Both Its Bruises and Resilience on ‘becalmyounglovers,’ Its First Album in Nine Years       04/28/2021     The 12 meditations on the album, out April 30, center on wounds, healing, and transformation.       

On New EP, ‘Lazy Sunday,’ Kooley High Is Unbothered and Unmatched   04/28/2021     The aspiration here is to get us to remember when being at home was more of a reference point than a decree.      

The Pandemic Forced the Durham Savoyards to Reimagine a 19th-Century Satirical Opera in the Internet Age. All It Took Was a Little Patience.  04/28/2021     Gilbert and Sullivan made great fun of their culture’s foibles, artistic director Dombrowski says, “and those have not changed so much since then.”       

Walltown Residents Fight to Preserve the Community’s Historic Legacy   04/28/2021     The Walltown Community Association and Walltown residents have ideas about how Northgate Mall should be redeveloped; Northwood Ravin, the firm that has plans of its own for the property, remains unmoved.       

From the Editor: The Killing of Andrew Brown Jr. Cannot Be Excused Away   04/28/2021     Excuses will be made to try to justify Brown's shooting death at the hands of sheriff's deputies. We must not let those excuses obscure the facts of what happened.       

How to Deck Out a 1970s Camper and Travel Across the Country   04/28/2021     For a North Carolina couple, the experience of rehabilitating a 1970s Airstream, and then living in it, was just part of the standard homeowner's experience.       

Experts Expect Demand and Enthusiasm for the COVID-19 Vaccine to Begin to Fade       04/28/2021     Nearly 4 million people in North Carolina have been vaccinated but experts expect the demand—and enthusiasm—for getting the shots will soon reach its tipping point.       

Photovoice: More Black Lives       04/28/2021     Scenes from a peaceful march in downtown Raleigh this weekend following more police killings, including the shooting of Andrew Brown by Pasquotank County sheriff's deputies.       

15 Minutes Sasha Kanarski, Owner of The Spot Studio       04/28/2021     “The hunt for the right pieces is absolutely worth it.”       

Backtalk: Dumbest Shit Ever       04/28/2021     And other things our readers told us this week.       

Many North Carolinians Are Living Without Nondiscrimination Protections, Report Finds       04/27/2021     It is one of 29 states lacking statewide LGBTQ discrimination policies.       

N.C. Democrats Want a Law Making It Easier to Get Body Camera Footage Released to the Public       04/27/2021     Bills in the General Assembly would require law enforcement to get a judge's approval to withhold body cam footage.       

North Carolina Picked Up A New Congressional Seat. It's Also at High Risk of Republican Gerrymandering.       04/26/2021     The General Assembly only needs a majority vote to approve new district maps, and lawmakers don't need the governor's approval.       

Triangle First: Tre. Charles’s “Stressin.” Announces a Bold New Local Talent   04/26/2021     His singing, slow as oil yet light as air, suffuses the arrangement with an atmosphere of weary resilience, as if Charles is casually carrying the weight of the world.       

In a $1 Billion Investment, Apple Is Coming to the Triangle       04/26/2021     The company will bring thousands of jobs to the region with a new campus and engineering hub located on nearly 300 acres in Research Triangle Park. 

[dr-archeville]

The INDY: Pride, Juneteenth, and What to Do on Saturday

It’s Friday, June 18

Thank you to our sponsor, EnoFest, the annual festival of the Eno River Association. We're excited to announce that Enofest will return July 3 and 4 with an immersive in-person experience with live music, a juried craft show, food and fun on the river. As a special bonus, we will kick off the weekend with a free virtual event streamed on Friday, July 2.

Good morning, readers.

It's officially a holiday weekend and there's a lot going on all over the Triangle, so allow me to direct you to our curated lists of some of the most fun and interesting events.

There's Juneteenth.  There's Pride.  There's art, bourbon, and beer.  Check out our lists at the links.

Juneteenth Events Around the Triangle

Pride Events Around the Triangle

Three Things to Do This Saturday

Look for things to do this Sunday on our website later today and if you're planning a laid-back Sunday, be sure to check out our Sunday Reading suggestion, which goes live on our website Sunday morning.

Have a great weekend! Thanks for reading and supporting the INDY.

Typos: Yesterday I misspelled the name of  N.C.'s former attorney general and 'Senator Sam Ervin's right hand man on the Watergate Committee that ousted Crooked Dick Nixon,' as pointed out by a reader. That was Rufus Edmisten, not Rufus Edmistein. Apologies for the error!

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[Rev. Michael A. Cousin (photo by Ellie Heffernan)]

Orange County

The Rev. Michael A. Cousin, pastor at St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, the oldest historically Black church in the Chapel-Hill-Carrboro area, spoke with us about Back Lives Matter, gentrification, policing, and Juneteenth.

On Saturday, Hillsborough will commemorate the 250th anniversary of Regulator Remembrance Day, when six men were accused of high treason against King George III following the Battle of Alamance. They were executed in the outskirts of Hillsborough after being denied a trial.

Durham County

Durham's Civilian Police Review Board is looking into the incident last year where police officers drew guns on two boys playing tag at an apartment complex. Fifteen-year-old Jaylin Harris was patted down and handcuffed; neither were charged with any crime. The goal of the review is to determine if Durham police department's internal investigation of the incident was sound and offer recommendations to the city manager about how to move forward.

A Duke study found that reparations made to Black Americans to ameliorate centuries old inequalities, including Jim Crow laws, hyper-incarceration, redlining, lethal policing and unfair housing and credit markets could have decreased COVID-19 transmission rates across the U.S.

[Estella Patterson, Raleigh's next police chief. (Photo courtesy of City of Raleigh)]

Wake County

Raleigh's new police chief has been chosen. Estella Patterson, Charlotte's deputy police chief, was selected to lead the Raleigh police department following a nationwide search. She will begin in her position August 1.

City of Raleigh workers are moving (but preserving) a three foot-tall stone wall that was built for the Carolina Pines Hotel, now a historic landmark, in 1933 along Tryon Road.

In development news, Raleigh's city council approved the East End Market project near Five Points, a mixed use project with buildings up to 11 stories tall at the corner of Wake Forest and East Whitaker Mill Roads.  

And Blue Ridge Realty has unveiled plans for a 12-story, multi-tower project at the corner of Glenwood Avenue and Johnston Street behind Mellow Mushroom.

Elsewhere

The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights announced Wednesday that it will extend Title IX protections to gay and transgender students.

A judge vacated the death sentence of Michael Wayne Sherrill, who was accused of the rape and murder of Cynthia Dotson in 1984, due to discovery of evidence that could have strengthened Sherrill's defense that wasn't shared with attorneys before his trial. Sherrill pleaded guilty to second degree rape and murder charges and received a new 20-year prison sentence.

An abortion bill banning the procedure based on sex, race, or Down Syndrome diagnosis is headed to Gov. Cooper's desk. Would the bill 'govern' conversations between doctors and their patients?

Statewide COVID-19 by the numbers: Thursday, June 17

362 New lab-confirmed cases (1,009,893 total; seven-day average trending down)

485 Current hospitalizations reported (seven-day average going down; 13,320 total deaths, +6 over Thursday)

20,567 Completed tests (13.58 million total; most recent positive rate was 1.9 percent)

8,647,235 Total vaccinations administered (State data not updated daily)

Eat. Drink. Do.

Get out and about in the Triangle today.

Eat Traveling this weekend? Check out La Farm Bakery's new location at RDU airport.

Drink Is it art or is it a margarita? Try the Elote margarita at Raleigh's William & Company.

Do Durham's Hayti Reborn Juneteenth event at the Hayti Heritage Center takes place today from 3 to 9 p.m.

Today's weather

Mostly sunny, hotter, and getting more humid. Temps in the high 80s, low 90s.

Song of the day

Rissi Palmer – Country Girl The Durham-based country singer was named to Rolling Stone's Future 25 List. 

— Jane Porter— Send me an email | Find me on Twitter

If you’d like to advertise your business to the Daily's 33,000-plus subscribers, please contact John Hurld at [email protected].

Love the INDY Daily? Support it by joining the INDY Press Club.

[dr-archeville]

INDY Week: UNC's Decision on Hannah-Jones Tenure Is Shameful and Embarrassing

It’s Thursday, May 20

The results are in and the final ballot is live for INDY Week's Best of the Triangle Readers' Poll 2021. Click here to find out who made it to the final four and vote for your favorites to win.

Good morning, readers.

It feels like, since I graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2008, my alma mater can't go six months at a time without doing something abjectly shameful or embarrassing. And here we go again.

Yesterday, our newsroom partner N.C. Policy Watch broke the story that UNC rescinded its offer of a tenured position as Knight chair to the Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, and noted alumna Nikole Hannah-Jones because some conservatives, some unnamed, took issue with The 1619 Project, which Hannah-Jones conceived of and helped write as a journalist at The New York Times.

Earlier this month, conservatives at an Art Pope-adjacent foundation wrote that UNC’s hiring of Hannah-Jones should be prevented by the campus’s politically appointed board of trustees. An unsigned letter from another conservative group associated with state Senate President Phil Berger piled on.

And so, sure enough, UNC-Chapel Hill's Board of Trustees, which reviews and approves tenure applications, decided to take no action on approving Hannah-Jones' tenure. Instead, she'll receive a fixed-term position at UNC's Hussman School of Media and Journalism with the opportunity to be approved for tenure after five years, a departure from the usual protocol for Knight Chairs at the university who are normally tenured.

UNC-Chapel Hill faculty members quickly came to Hannah-Jones' defense and released a statement demanding that the university tenure Nikole Hannah-Jones as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism. Susan King, the dean of the journalism school, who called Hannah-Jones "the best of our alumni and the best of the business," is worried about damage to the school's reputation and potential loss of national acclaim.

The whole episode is, as I said above, shameful and embarrassing, and, I'd add to that, racist, no matter how much conservatives want to cast is as "a political thing." UNC had a chance to tenure an internationally acclaimed journalist who happens to be one of its own; instead, its leaders are too petty, ignorant, and blinded by their own bias to do what's best for the school's students, their own legacies, and the university's reputation. 

Clarification: Pasquotank County DA Andrew Womble announced he is running for Superior Court Judge for the 1st Judicial District; yesterday, I wrote that his run for higher office was speculation.

Like the INDY Daily? Share it with your friends and ask them to subscribe!  For more information, resources, and promotional opportunities please contact [email protected]

Orange County

The Orange County Sheriff's Office is creating a new Mental Health Response Unit. It's an effort to "close the gap of opportunity and need" for people suffering from mental health concerns, says Sheriff Charles Blackwood. Following the near displacement of some 70 residents in the Tar Heel mobile home park in Chapel Hill, Carrboro mayor Lydia Lavelle wants to look at ways to protect her town's four mobile home parks that house more than 90 residents.

UNC's Board of Trustees approved more than $500,000 in renovations to the Kenan Football Center.

Durham County

Residents of the Old North Durham neighborhood started a petition to ask city and county officials to deny Durham Nativity School's request for lights on a soccer field that's under construction. As of Wednesday afternoon, 81 people had signed the petition.

Nina King (pictured) will replace Kevin White as Duke University's next athletics director. She's the first woman and the first Black person to hold the job. Read more about her here.

Wake County

The Raleigh Republicans Club is making a big deal over a local restaurant owner who is asking patrons to continue wearing masks or show some type of proof of vaccination. Hisine McNeill, who owns Alpha Dawgs restaurant in Southeast Raleigh, says his reasoning is simple: he can't afford to take on the liability if someone gets sick at his business and he wants to protect his employees who are teenagers and people with underlying health conditions.

The Wake County Board School Board will consider a new attendance policy governing Virtual Academy attendance intervention and giving the superintendent the authority to call remote learning days for emergencies.

Wake County school administrators also unveiled a draft equity policy that targets systemic biases in schools.

Elsewhere

Gov. Cooper announced his plans for spending $5.7 billion that's coming to the state in federal rescue money. Those plans include paying for grants for low-income families that need help, expanding high-speed internet, higher education scholarship grants, affordable housing, transforming rural downtowns, money for hospitality businesses, and more.

A new bill would allow N.C. municipalities to push back their fall elections to the spring if they need to draw new districts but can't in time due to the delayed release of census data. Current officials would see their terms extended under the bill.

Several people, including two journalists and the Raleigh activist Kerwin Pittman, were arrested in Elizabeth City Wednesday night during protests following the Pasquotank County DA's decision not to charge Andrew Brown Jr.

Here's an interactive look at the racial tensions that are roiling the Alamance County town of Graham, how those tensions have been shaped by the town's bloody past, and how they will shape its uncertain future.  

Statewide COVID-19 by the numbers: Wednesday, May 19

969 New lab-confirmed cases (993,547 total; seven-day average trending down)

820 Current hospitalizations reported (seven-day average trending down; 12,938 total deaths, +27 over Wednesday)

18,517 Completed tests (12.96 million total; most recent positive rate was 4.3 percent)

7,953,644 Total vaccinations administered (State data not updated daily)

Today's weather

Sunny and warm with highs in the upper 80s.

Song of the day

Khrysis – The Hour of Khrysis The new album from the Raleigh hip-hop producer who's on our cover this week.

— Jane Porter— Send me an email | Find me on Twitter

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