Raleighwood, NC: Fighting Resegregation

Planned Parenthood: Say NO to Wake Co. Abortion Coverage Ban

Say NO to Wake Co. Abortion Coverage Ban:

"On Monday, February 15, the Wake County Board of Commissioners will vote on whether to eliminate insurance coverage for abortion from all county employees' benefit plans. We need you to add your voice to growing public outcry about this politically-motivated attack on women's healthcare."

"THE FACT REMAINS: Abortion care is part of a comprehensive a health insurance plan, which is why more than 80 percent of private insurance plans already cover abortion."

"The politicization of women's personal reproductive lives definitely didn't stop with the Stupak amendment – which would limit abortion coverage at the federal level – and now we have found it at our own back door."

Raleigh Downtowner Magazine Steps Up Its Game!

I don't actually have a big problem with Raleigh Downtowner Magazine. They serve a specific niche that just happens to mostly be about white people with some cash, so I've tended to lump them in with Raleigh's ongoing campaign to "Get White People Downtown," which seems to be going pretty well.

But it's not like they don't care about people of color or poor people per se. In fact, a recent print issue that is also available in .pdf form is a pleasant surprise with a cover story focused on "9 for the Needy" plus stories about some of the cooler businesses around the area.

Oh, snap, it's the return of Peter Eichenberger (as RD's "Senior Writer") who provides the intro to an article by Chris Moutos focused on the following local service organizations:

Alliance Medical Ministry

Pretty in Pink Foundation

Wee Care Children's Enrichment Program

Loaves and Fishes Ministry, Inc.

SAFEchild

Haven House

Raleigh Rescue Mission

Meals on Wheels of Wake County

Warmth for Wake

They also have an additional list of worthy organizations at the end of the article. If you think that's a good thing, as do I, I'd encourage you to contact them in support of creating a dedicated directory page on their website:

Telephone: 919.821.9000
Email: office@raleighdowntowner.com

In addition to 9 for the Needy, this issue promoted a number of businesses which make Raleigh cooler than not, from NoFo Cafe to a Hillsborough assortment to Five Star.

Since I'm focusing quite a bit on racial issues in my writing at Raleighwood, NC, I'd like to make a special note that, beyond what may well be a great restaurant, Five Star has a great nightclub at which I've spent my last two New Year's Eve celebrations. Both times Five Star had the most interesting and comfortable mix of races and ethnicities that I've experienced in Raleigh.

In the past, Five Star has hosted Blacklisted every First Friday with no cover and no dress code. I haven't been on those nights but I imagine it's quite a bit of fun and I've been very impressed by their dj's in the past. Blacklisted's various web points of presence are currently outdated but I imagine the party continues.

Credit where credit's due:
Publisher Crash Gregg interviews Robert Weiss, Artistic Director for the Carolina Ballet. I'm not the biggest fan of ballet but you can't have a real city without a real ballet and they've done pretty darn well for themselves.

Surprise find:
Melissa Santos profiles Krav Maga Raleigh. I don't know Ken Richstad and I never assume a teacher is good based on their own abilities since teaching is an art of it's own but, if he's good, it's well worth a look.  Krav Maga is the real deal, i.e., it's not about the belts, it's about the abilities.

I've been looking for a martial arts teacher and I'll let you know if I take the free intro class. Check his site's links page for some other solid looking local schools. It's always a good sign when people link out.

Cool.  I did not realize Peter had returned to the fray but I'm thinking this might work. RD's approach has the potential to rein in Peter's wilding out tendencies while they get a good writer who has something to say and gives a damn.  Plus, Peter's love of Raleigh and the people of Raleigh is sincere, in case you've wondered in the past.

That might be a surprisingly nice fit and this would be a fine issue even without Peter's contributions. Guess I'll have to break down and go check out some more recent issues of Raleigh Downtowner Magazine since I'm now at least a couple behind!

Morons In Chapel Hill Have Reading Comprehension Difficulties, Spread Lies About Resegregationist 5 Post

1/23/10 UPDATE: Links to lynching photos removed. Full analysis of first week of Resegregationist 5 Campaign coming soon.

The fools are crawling out of the woodwork and they're spreading lies about your boy. Check out this nonsense:

"It's a sure bet that the individuals pictured in the blog post below will be in 'wanted' posters, or even worse, being lynched. You heard it here first. The implication is that the board members should be hanged even in the postings. If you click the links of the photos of the board members you will get photos of lynch mobs and lynching victims."

Unfortunately they couldn't make it to the end of the post which reads:

"BONUS CONTENT:
Click on the photos to reveal the inner thoughts of a resegregationist."

But then, disingenuous comments and outright lies are par for the course for such losers who, no doubt, have exceptionally low IQ scores. Good thing I didn't try being subtle. No telling what I would have been accused of!

Look, kids, leave the "implications" for people with adequate reading comprehension skills.  This is Adult Swim and you need to get back in the kiddie pool.

Related Raleighwood, NC Coverage:
The Resegregationist 5: Wanted for Crimes Against Wake County School Children

Raleigh School Board: NAACP Meeting Today & the Incredible Frustration of Being Late to the Game

If you're familiar with the Raleigh School Board and their new resegregationist members, this post will make sense to you.

If you're not, you may still get something out of it but, despite the fact that lots of people are working on this issue, I don't even have a website to send you to for more information.*  There probably is something out there but the newsletter I currently receive doesn't even identify the organization with which it's associated!

Raleigh, what's up?!?

There is an NAACP meeting tonight that looks worth attending.  Here's what I received:

"The NAACP will hold a meeting this Sunday at 5:00 PM at the Martin St. Baptist Church, 1001 E. Martin St., Raleigh. The meeting is titled "WE WILL NEVER GO BACK" and the subject is "What is the nature of the threat of re-segregation raised by 5 out of 9 Wake School Board members? Developing Coordinated Actions.""

I'd send you to the NAACP website but, though the national site does list the local organizations, the only listed website is incredibly out-of-date and neglected.

Now, this is the kind of thing I could be helping folks with, not so much building full-fledged websites, but helping put together simple web tools that can provide the core web communication that this campaign lacks.

Unfortunately I'm not going to be doing that anytime soon because it's 2010 and I need real work that pays a real wage and I'm not going to make that happen without stepping back from things that aren't crucial to my survival.

This deeply frustrates me because if folks had told me what was up before the election, I could have helped a lot in different ways including setting up web outlets for information that wouldn't require ongoing tech skills.  And we could have worked a lot more efficiently before the election.  The game now is much tougher.

It's doubly weird that a man without children who has no plans on having any is my key source of information on the ground.  None of the parents I know mentioned any of this until after the fact and then they just sat around and sadly shook their heads!

For the record I have been talking to folks to see where they're at and gathering information, which is more of a starting point than a course of action.  And I also recently spoke at a School Board meeting on the effects of resegregation on Raleigh's brand.

I may try to start doing some things here or elsewhere as a minor media intervention but this campaign needs much more and, though I see the forces building on the ground, their apparent overreliance on old media is really holding them back.

And the fact that nobody really needs me or any other mildly technical human to set up a strong web presence just heightens that absence.

Note: If you do have a related website up, hit me up for help with Search Engine Optimization and other ways of getting your site seen.  I've had a lot of success, especially with Google, though you can't tell from this blog!  I've never really put in the work here that's necessary for people to easily find me but if you need some evidence, I can send you a list of terms for which many of my other sites have had top listings for a number of years on Google.

*Note 2: I realize there are lots of individual articles and blog posts and so forth out there but which should I send folks to?  We need some basic information resources and a consistent spot for gathering links to all these dispersed bits and pieces that are so easily lost online.

Raleighwood, NC Supports Raleigh's Muslim Community

I've been away from this blog for a minute but I hope to return soon on a regular basis.  However, I feel that it's crucial to express my support for Raleigh's Muslim community at a time of great stress.

Whatever the situation with those accused of terrorist plots by the FBI, an organization itself known for terrorizing American citizens with unpopular views, I want to make it clear that I support religious freedom and diverse points of view including those of Muslim citizens and guests in Raleigh.

Freedom of religion is said to be one of the basic principles of American society.  Let's prove that true by living that principle on a daily basis.

Peace,
Clyde Smith
Raleighwood, NC Blogger in Chief

Barrel Monster Artist Busted

• N.C. State student accused of creating a 'monster' :: WRAL.com

Related Raleighwood, NC Coverage:
The Return of uliveandyouburn ["Barrel Monster" post]

Hillsborough St.: From Tragedy to Travesty [Update: I Could Well Be Wrong]

I'm trying to keep a relatively light tone here at Raleighwood, NC so I won't have much to say about the Travesty in Progress that our city planners, and we the people, are currently foisting on Hillsborough St.

Roundabout?

That's some idiot nonsense, imho.

Raleigh Boy says he's "(cautiously) optimistic" about Hillsborough St.

Well, optimism is good for your health!

Indyweek's Bob Geary talks to a bunch of people and you've got your pros and you got your cons.

But this statement from Bob pretty much reveals the damage done:

"Consider, too, that many of the street's needed ingredients are hidden in plain view, like the old Varsity, a marquee movie house back in the day that later showed porn flicks and then was turned into a McDonald's restaurant....now, it's a stripped-down student bookstore that, like many other locations, awaits its new life as part of a new main street for Raleigh."

No, Bob, it doesn't await anything. Walk around back. Do you see the missing part of the building that used to hold the stage?

They destroyed that a long time ago and that's how I feel about Hillsborough St.

I'm not saying it won't come back or that things can't improve or that businesses won't find a way to make things work. I just can't feel good about a future engineered by city planners that don't get the concept of mass transit and only care about getting white people downtown.

I just don't trust good old boys that love white bread, even if they're Yankees with PhD's. Know what I mean?

Note:
Comments are welcome. I could be wrong about the theater but that's how it looks to me. "Yankees w/PhD's" is a metaphor. I won't attack you for disagreeing with me. I look forward to thousands of flowers blooming in the rubble of those roundabouts!

Update:
Here are some positive points that contradict me.

I remain unconvinced!

2010 Update:
I've been talking to some folks I know who have convinced me that the turnabouts may well be a good thing.  And, though Hillsborough St. will never be what it was, maybe something great for our time is emerging.  I would like that because, at heart, I'm an optimist.

Wilson Greenlights the Future as Time Warner Tries to Force Us to Live in the Past

As Time Warner fights to ensure lousy service, Wilson demonstrates the way forward with Greenlight municipal broadband, way faster than RoadTrudger.

Update via Indyweek:
Netroots activism blocks effort to ban municipal Internet services

For future news keep an eye on Brian Bowman, my man in Wilson:
Save NC Broadband.com

Support The Helping Hand Mission Band!

Helping Hand Mission Band at Close Range

The Helping Hand Mission Band needs your donations for uniforms for kids that can't afford them as well as for new drums.

Pleasing the Crowd at the '08 Raleigh Christmas Parade

These kids do a great job and are a crowd favorite in Raleigh parades. They deserve your support even more as our current economic crisis factors into worsening conditions in Southeast Raleigh and other economically challenged communities.

Mikey's Adventures: The Helping Hand Mission Band

Check Mikey's Adventures for a full dose of Sylvia Wiggins, founder of The Helping Hand Mission.

Elizabeth Nieve shares photos from Raleigh's Helping Hand Mission's 2008 Thanksgiving Dinner.

Donations are requested by May 2nd for uniforms and new drums.

Official Site:
The Helping Hand Mission