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May
08

WakeUP Sponsors School Growth Panel

On Tuesday (May 12) WakeUP will co-sponsor a free session entitled “ Achieving Educational Excellence in Times of Challenge and Change ”. The session will be at McKimmon Center and goes from 7:00pm to 9:30pm. Featured panelists include:

  • Tom Oxholm, Co-author of "A School District’s Journey to Excellence"
  • Ann Denlinger, Wake Education Partnership
  • Johnna Rogers, Deputy Wake County Manager
  • John Dornan, NC Public School Forum
  • Stan Norwalk, Wake County Commissioner
  • Nelson Dollar, NC House of Reps
  • Beverley Clark, Wake Board of Education
  • Charlotte Turpin, NCAE
  • Jim Blackburn, NC Assoc of County Commissioners
Feb
28

Horner Foundation Honors Roads Less Taken

paul flyer picture 1987 Sanderson graduate Paul Horner was killed seven years ago while paddling the Oyacachi River in Ecuador. From American Whitewater Magazine:

In all regards Paul was a tough act to follow, and leaves behind a soulful legacy of discernment. He despised television and fast food, never listened to commercial radio, and was generally suspicious of the corporate world, but was never self-righteous or prudish. He basically loved to challenge himself, and found every aspect of life worth examining. Descending rivers with close friends became a spiritual calling and a pursuit that he found to be true.  His death is not to be compared with those of the inexperienced or the foolish, nor was it the result of a dreadful miscalculation brought on by a driving ego. Paul was simply pursuing his dream and it delivered him to this place, a beautiful jungle river in rural South America and the company of friends. A hero’s death.

Sanderson students the mid 80’s knew and liked Paul, though he really came out of his shell at UNC. Just before beginning college, I got to know Paul through family friends. Before long it seemed that everywhere I turned, a friend of mine knew him. He had a funny dichotomy of a quiet manner, yet very talkative when the right button got pushed.

Paul’s family and friends have started the Paul Horner Foundation . It aims to further the spirit of Paul by identifying and nurturing a Wake County public school student  each year who wishes to engage in an unusual endeavor which might not necessarily be encouraged by his peers or the society around him. The Foundation believes it important to support young people who pursue uncommon goals in a spirit of kindness and individuality. The Foundation will fund a full scholarship to allow this young person, via a summer experience, to pursue an uncommon dream and thereby inspire those around him.

Feb
25

Raleigh Prepares Stimulus Wish List

The City of Raleigh has prepared its Wish List for Economic Stimulus Funding (.pdf). The list includes about $250,000,000 worth of public works and other infrastructure projects.

While these projects all have their own merits, is this the spirit of federal economic stimulus money? Are projects like curb and gutter improvements between Meredith and Whole Foods and new fencing for Walnut Creek Softball park really going to turn around our system of free enterprise? This is what has been holding us as a country back?

Jan
24

Solving RBC Center Ingress Problems (Part I)

Ever since the RBC Center’s opening in 1999 the traffic scheme in and out of the parking lots has been an enigma. Each year the traffic plan is changed, but a true solution is never found. While the plan for egress and ingress are different, hard game times make the ingress plan more important to the experience of the RBC Center’s customers.

I’m not sure if the traffic plan is different for NCSU games than it is for Carolina Hurricanes games, but the parking designation for the events is definitely different. The Hurricanes largely sell the lot spaces as day-of-event general admission while the basketball games get reserved section parking.

The arena has six paved lots surrounding its North, West, and South sides and has two small VIP lots outside its main entrance. The west side of the arena is served largely by access from the variable direction, five-lane Edwards Mill Road while the east side is served from a three-lane Westchase Blvd. All perimeter roads around the arena on the property have three lanes.

There are a few caveats to planning traffic ingress. There must be a lane reserved on each road for emergency vehicle egress. Thus, the 3-lane roads can only use two lanes in any particular direction. Additionally, it seems that the City of Raleigh insists that at least one lane on Edwards Mill Road be marked for upstream traffic.

RBC_traffic1

Regardless, there are two easy answers for creating smooth ingress for events. Using the existing roads, simple lane assignments should solve all problems. Because there are three parking lots on the building’s West side (Lots 4, 5, and 6), one lane should be designated for each lot from Wade Avenue inward. The illustration above show the first solution, and is a detail view of this area . read more…

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