Wendell News Outlet

Informational News of interest for the citizens in and around Wendell, North Carolina. Postings on this site are the property of Glenn Harris and cannot be copied without express written permission. Archives are listed at the bottom of the home page.

Monday, August 25, 2008

WakeUp Wake County Update

Transit seems to be on everyone minds, with local buses reporting record ridership, and school buses expected to be full this school year. The Capital Group of the Sierra Club is sponsoring a public education campaign on transit, beginning with the film, "Taken for a Ride," airing Wednesday, August 27, 7-9 pm. Free admission at the Colony Theater, corner Six Forks and Millbrook in Raleigh. A discussion about local and national transit will follow the film. Film overview: Why does America have the worst public transit in the industrialized world, and the most freeways? Taken for a Ride reveals the tragic and little known story of an auto and oil industry campaign to buy and dismantle streetcar lines. Across the nation, tracks were torn up, sometimes overnight, and diesel buses placed on city streets.

Realtors Speak Out Against their NCAR Organization

Since the NC Association of Realtors (NCAR) notified all realtors that they must pay a special fee to fill NCAR's lobbying fund, many individual realtors are speaking out against what they see as tactics tantamount to blackmail. Why? If realtors do not pay, they risk losing access to the real estate multiple listing service, which is essential to their job. NCAR is already the largest political action committee in the state, and they recently announced they intend to spend $10 million to defeat local governments' options to use a transfer tax to pay for growth needs. See a recently published op-ed written by two realtors frustrated with NCAR.

Wake County Growth Issues Task Forces Meets

Building on previous work on Wake's 2003 Growth Management Plan, county leaders are convening to make progress on key growth issues for Wake County. Wake's Board of Commissioners and representatives of all local municipalities are meeting June through January to develop recommendations for action on top growth challenges. The Growth Issues Task Forces' first effort was to identify and vote on 3 priority issues for Wake County, and the winners were:

1. High quality education system
2. Increased transit opportunities
3. Local government joint planning and cooperation

At the August meeting, county leaders focused discussion on transit, and this will continue at the next meeting, Sept. 18, 6 pm in the Wake County Office Building, Salisbury St., Raleigh. Meetings are open to the public. WakeUP will be following developments of the task force. To learn more, click here.

posted by Administrator # 9:58 PM

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