Durham Dispatch

Residential rooftop solar project in rural Vermont. Image credit: NYT [ 1 ] The renowned Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and the University of Texas-Austin (UTA) each have new studies showing that using clean energy resources at the local level can save customers millions, protect against power outages and avoid building costly and climate-wrecking fossil fuel power plants and transmission infrastructure. The studies further boost NC WARN’s new " Sharing Solar" proposal  to state regulators that will expand local solar-plus-storage (SPS) by paying for new installations on roofs, parking lots and more through the rate system – the way we’re now all forced to pay for dirty power [ 2 ]. The Sharing Solar approach will benefit all Duke Energy customers as the fastest, cheapest and fairest way to tackle the climate crisis and soaring power bills. Rooftop solar is more expensive than utility-scale, but that gap is driven by the "soft costs" of a niche business that has to spend most of its money on advertising and sales. Under NC WARN's Sharing Solar proposal, economies of scale would heavily erode that gap. Image credit: National Renewable Energy Laboratory [ 3 ] With evidentiary hearings over Duke Energy’s carbon plan set to begin Monday at two o'clock at the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC), it’s likely that both utility and regulator will keep trying to avoid debating SPS, as they have since NC WARN  first proposed it in 2017 [ 4 ] Duke Energy continues to  suppress rooftop solar  and other climate solutions in favor of high-risk, high-dollar fossil fuel and failure-prone nuclear gambles [ 5 ]. With few exceptions, Duke Energy maintains successful pressure on media bosses to keep alternatives to its plans out of the public eye despite good journalists trying to do their jobs. The new  RMI study  describes how Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) are scaling up among many utilities nationally and can quickly offset the need for new gas-fired power plants and save huge amounts of money [ 6 ]. VPPs are where utilities pay residential and business customer for the right to draw from their SPS batteries and sometimes even electric vehicles during periods of high system-wide demand. VPPs are part of our Sharing Solar proposal. NC WARN recently cited earlier work by RMI and others promoting the enormous benefits of generating and storing electricity where it’s being used instead of going along with a prodigious national public relations campaign by Duke and others pressing to spend decades and trillions of dollars gambling on massive and controversial transmission projects [ 7 ]. “The cheapest, most reliable power can be produced renewably and produced at or near the customers…”  - Amory Lovins, clean energy expert at the Rocky Mountain Institute [ 8 ] The deceptive utility campaign also claims SPS can’t help slow the climate crisis, but NC WARN has proven that North Carolina has over twice as much space for solar on roofs, parking lots and other local areas as needed to meet state climate goals [ 9 ]. Image credit: NC WARN [ 9, pg. 4 ] As reported by  Inside Climate News , the Texas researchers found that “batteries matched with rooftop solar can lead to 40 percent savings for all customers of a utility" [ 10 ]. And that reducing demand for electricity reduces the need to add new wires and grid equipment. “It lowers the cost for everybody,” said the lead UTA author, a conclusion also reached in a  2021 report from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory [ 11 ]. Inside Climate News journalist Dan Gearino reported that SPS isn’t embraced yet by more utilities because they don’t like reducing demand “because utilities make money by selling electricity and building infrastructure.” That’s long been the case with Duke Energy. While projecting nearly zero rooftop solar for years to come, thanks largely to its gutting of solar net metering, Duke Energy’s carbon plan proposes to gamble some $10 billion on controversial transmission projects that wouldn't be complete for many years, if they're ever built at all. Duke Energy’s current game is to keep our state’s best climate approach totally off the NCUC’s table and out of the news. It will be tragic and outrageous if the corporate behemoth remains successful with its anti-democratic strategy. This article was first published by NC WARN . Work Cited   Cardwell, Diane. “Utility Helps Wean Vermonters From the Electric Grid.” New York Times , 29 July 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/07/29/business/energy-environment/vermont-green-mountain-power-grid.html . “Sharing Solar: A Sweeping Climate Proposal. NC WARN , 5 July 2024, www.ncwarn.org/our-work/sharing-solar . “New Reports From NREL Document Continuing PV and PV-Plus-Storage Cost Declines.” National Renewable Energy Laboratory , www.nrel.gov/news/program/2021/new-reports-from-nrel-document-continuing-pv-and-pv-plus-storage-cost-declines.html . Powers, Bill. “North Carolina Clean Path 2025: Achieving an Economical Clean Energy Future.” NC WARN , Aug. 2017, www.ncwarn.org/wp-content/uploads/NC-CLEAN-PATH-2025-FINAL-8-9-17.pdf . "Duke Energy on Defense at NC Court of Appeals Over Regulators’ Agreement to Slash Solar Incentives.” NC WARN , 13 Feb. 2024, www.ncwarn.org/2024/02/duke-energy-on-defense-at-nc-court-of-appeals-over-regulators-agreement-to-slash-solar-incentives-news-release-from-nc-warn-ewg . Brehm, Kevin, et al. “Meeting Summer Peaks: The Need for Virtual Power Plants”. Rocky Mountain Institute . July 2024, rmi.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2024/06/VPP_reliability_brief.pdf . “Lovins, Experts Support Solar-Plus-Storage as NC WARN Proposes.” NC WARN , 3 July 2024, www.ncwarn.org/2024/05/lovins-experts-support-solar-plus-storage-as-nc-warn-proposes-nc-warn-news-release . Damiani, Bailey. “Podcast 082: Amory Lovins – Local Energy Was Born 20 Years Ago With the Book Small Is Profitable. Where Will It Go From Here?” Freeing Energy , 1 May 2022, www.freeingenergy.com/podcast-amory-lovins-local-energy-book-small-is-profitable . “Moving North Carolina Forward: The Case for Local Solar-Plus-Storage.” NC WARN , 26 June 2023, www.ncwarn.org/wp-content/uploads/MovingNC-Forward.pdf . Harrison, Derek. “Batteries and Rooftop Solar Can Lead to Huge Savings for the Entire Grid. A New Study Shows How—and How Much.” Inside Climate News , 28 June 2024, insideclimatenews.org/news/27062024/inside-clean-energy-rooftop-solar-grid-benefits . “Value of Distributed Energy Resources Largely Depends on Three Things: Location, Location, Location.” Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 12 Feb. 2021, emp.lbl.gov/news/value-distributed-energy-resources .

Image credit: Our State The 2023 city council races in Durham were won by Nate Baker, Javiera Caballero, and Carl Rist. Each of the winners was supported by at least one of two political machines, the People’s Alliance (PA) or the Durham Committee for the Affairs of Black People (DCABP). Election turnout was 19 percent and no candidate was supported by more than 12 percent of eligible voters [ 1 ].   According to a recent article in Bull City Public Investigator , “Two PACs have dominated Durham politics recently: the People’s Alliance (PA) and Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People (DCABP). In the past decade, every winning candidate in local races has been endorsed by at least one of these two PACs” [ 2 ].   Two other groups, the Friends of Durham (FOD) and the Durham Association of Educators (DAE), were discussed as well. The article said, “It is common for less than 650 people to decide [the four] PAC endorsements in a community of more than 330,000 residents.”   Baker became the first democratic socialist ever elected to Durham's city council. Despite his criticism of the “pro-developer” consensus, Baker was endorsed by DCABP and IndyWeek .  Aside from Baker, “pro-benefits” candidates like Dr. Monique Holsey-Hyman and Sherri Zann Rosenthal were routed.   The PA showed itself to be the city's strongest and most cohesive faction during the 2023 elections. Its candidates won second, third and fourth place. The PA also fielded an overlapping network of high-dollar donors who gave generously to Caballero, Rist, and Karim. Since winning seats in the election, Caballero and Rist have been a part of the pro-developer majority on city council. Source: 35-Day and Pre-Primary Reports from NC Board of Elections [ 3 ] Source: 35-Day, Pre-Primary, and Pre-Election Reports from NC Board of Elections [ 3 ] Nate Baker was the top vote-getter in both the primary and general elections.   He had a low average donation, $124, and the least generous main donor of any major candidate. However, Baker also raised a decent amount of money. It's difficult to conclude that this data means he was popular among less affluent residents of Durham due to complicating factors like low turnout and influential endorsements.   In victory, Baker became the first democratic socialist elected to city council. He was endorsed by the Triangle chapter of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), whose members provided Baker with a small army of door-knockers and poll workers. Image credit: Sunrise Movement Durham Hub The city’s political powerbrokers offered Baker a good deal of support, shown through his endorsement by DCABP and IndyWeek. However, the newspaper has cautioned its readers on Baker, noting that some found him “ too friendly with problematic people” who “spread groundless or disproven conspiracy theories” [ 4 ]. All political sides include people who enjoy speculative gossip, so it's likely that IndyWeek's real objection was to Baker working with activists who oppose many projects put forward by property developers.   Since his election, Baker has joined the pro-benefits faction of city council, which often votes against annexations and rezonings that do not align with city guidelines like the Comprehensive Plan or offer public benefits such as affordable housing. The other members of the pro-benefits group are Chelsea Cook and DeDreana Freeman.   Since the 2023 elections, Baker supported a major pay raise for city workers, which passed in June 2024 [ 5 ]. He was also the first councilor to call for a Gaza ceasefire resolution, which passed in February 2024.   Baker is also involved in a new campaign called Duke Respect Durham, which calls on Duke University to be a more democratic partner to the city and county by making payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT). As a nonprofit, Duke University  is exempt from paying property taxes on non-commercial holdings that would amount to tens of millions of dollars. According to Duke Respect Durham, the prestigious university owns 11 percent of the city’s land. ---   Javiera Caballero was re-elected to city council, placing second in the race.   She had a high average donation, largely due to huge donations from leaders in the PA. Caballero won endorsements from the PA and IndyWeek . If her donations from prominent PA members were removed, her average donation would have been about $140, not much higher than Rist or Baker.   Caballero received $6,400 from former city councilor Charlie Reece and $4,400 from Laura Reece. Mrs. Reece is the CEO of pharmaceutical company Rho Inc. and Mr. R eece is general counsel. Mrs. Reece inherited the company from her parents [ 6 ]. Rho Inc. had “more than 400 employees” in 2017 and public estimates of its revenues vary widely [ 7 ]. Image credit: Triangle Business Journal Durham county commissioner Nida Allam donated $3,500 to Caballero’s campaign. Former mayor Steve Schewel and former city councilor Jillian Johnson gave $1,000 apiece. Allam, Johnson, Reece, and Schewel have all been at some point endorsed by the People’s Alliance.   Since her re-election, Caballero has maintained a pro-developer stance on development issues. She supported the Virgil Road Annexation in May 2024, a project for single-family "sprawl” that passed by a vote of 4-3. The Virgil Road project had been unanimously opposed by the Planning Commission, which gives non-binding advice to city council [ 8 ]. That override and other issues led a prominent commissioner, Duke professor Antony Sease, to resign in June 2024 [ 9 ].   When IndyWeek  endorsed Caballero, the newspaper praised her position on development issues. It wrote that she  “understands the limits of what the city can legally do and  the constraints imposed upon local governments by the state , and she’s adept at explaining those realities to constituents” [ 10 ].   State government constrains local housing policy, especially through laws that ban the use of rent control and construction of public housing that competes with the private sector [ 11 ][ 12 ]. However, there are available options that pro-developer members have not pursued, such as a requirement for mixed use developments, sustainable building design, public park dedication, stronger negotiations with developers, and more.   According to UE Local 150, Caballero has a mixed record on labor issues important to city workers. With reservations, she has supported the union’s demand to reclassify Solid Waste workers. However, Caballero has declined to support city workers in their demand for $25 dollar per hour.   UE Local 150 has claimed that if Durham’s universal living wage ordinance were calculated with current data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), rather than data from four years ago, city workers would be guaranteed a minimum wage of $27 per hour [ 13 ]. ---   Carl Rist won election to city council with a third-place finish, right above the cutoff to earn a seat.   He raised $40,000 more than any other candidate. However, Rist’s average donation of $126 was quite low, showing an impressive base of support among small-dollar donors. Given that fact, it’s surprising that he wasn’t the top vote-getter in the election. Rist’s cost per vote was much higher than any other candidate, reaching $7.44 per vote in the primary.    The PA and IndyWeek both endorsed Rist . Although to a lesser extent than for Caballero, the PA endorsement was backed up by significant donations. Jillian Johnson and Charlie Reece both donated about $1,000 to his campaign. The endorsements of political PACs like the PA, DCABP, FOD, DAE and others are influential for reasons that include long-established name recognition, various kinds of advertising like glossy mailers, and their employment of workers who hand out literature or sample ballots at polling locations.   Once elected, Rist joined the pro-developer majority on city council made up of Caballero, mayor pro tempore Mark-Antony Middleton, and mayor Leonardo Williams. During the debate over the Virgil Road Annexation, IndyWeek wrote that Rist “ said nutrient pollution and algal blooms are a ‘serious issue for Falls Lake’  and seemed to suggest that clear-cutting hundreds of acres of trees and vegetation would alleviate the issue”  [ 9 ]. Sound Rivers, an environmental group, has disputed that claim. Falls Lake. Image credit: UNC Rist voted in favor of the Gaza ceasefire resolution in February 2024. During that meeting, he made a rare, temporary departure from the pro-developer faction.   Before the ceasefire vote, there was a debate on the Sagebrook Annexation. The Planning Commission had voted 12-0 to recommend against the project. Hundreds of anti-war protestors repeatedly cheered for residents who opposed to the Sagebrook Annexation for its inconsistency with the city’s Place Type Map, the developer's plans for mass grading of the land, fears of watershed damage, and a few other issues [ 1:01:15 ] [ 1:04:00 ][ 1:07:00 ].   During the vote, Rist joined the pro-benefits members and the Sagebrook Annexation was postponed for further review by a vote of 4-3. His behavior in that case suggests that greater public awareness of development issues could benefit the pro-benefits faction of city council.   ---   Khalilah Karim came in fourth place, one spot too low to win a seat on city council.   The PA endorsed Karim, who performed the best of any candidate with only one "Big Three" endorsement. The network of PA donors who backed Caballero and Rist also offered massive support to Karim. Nida Allam gave $8,900 to her campaign, with a portion routed through the Brighter Future PAC. Charlie Reece and Steve Schewel both donated $1,000. Caballero and school board chair Millicent Rogers chipped in lesser amounts.   Karim was the only candidate in the race who’d spent time as a union organizer. After working for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), she took a position with the NC League of Conservation Voters, an environmental organization. Image credit: PBS Durham Dispatch recently published an article about Dr. Monique Holsey-Hyman , who placed fifth in the race [ x ].   Holsey-Hyman was accused of extortion by property developer Jarrod Edens in March 2023. No evidence was ever provided to support the allegation. Edens may have made the charge to retaliate after Holsey-Hyman voted against the Carpenter Falls Annexation, which the developer needed for a large project.   The local press and pro-developer members of city council spent months repeating Edens' accusation against Holsey-Hyman, ruining her public reputation. She was exonerated by the NC State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) in September 2023, less than two months before the general election. Property developer Jarrod Edens. Image credit: Triangle Business Journal Sheila Huggins suspended her campaign after the primary election and placed sixth in the general.   Her average donation of $270 was much higher than any other candidate, although her cost per vote was lower than Rist and Karim. Huggins was the only candidate to take money directly from a real estate group. The NC Realtors PAC donated $4,000 to her campaign. Many other candidates took donations from people involved in the real estate and construction sectors.   Along with most US cities, Durham is facing crises of housing costs and homelessness. Due to the city council's role in regulating the real estate sector through the power of zoning, it can be seen as a conflict of interest for a candidate to take donations from the industry. Major investors of NC Realtors PAC. Image credit: NC Realtors PAC Sherri Zann Rosenthal placed seventh in the 2023 elections. Her campaign was the most noteworthy of those that did not advance to the general election.   Although Rosenthal won only three thousand votes, that was the highest tally for any candidate without a "Big Three" endorsement. Recall that over the past decade, no candidate in Durham has been elected without the support of either the PA or DCABP.   Rosenthal was outside the orbit of the “ less than 650 people” who tend to pick the winners of Durham elections. She drew on a network of activists from groups like the InterNeighborhood Council, Preserve Rural Durham, Sound Rivers, Sunrise Movement Durham Hub, and city employees she’d worked with for decades.   A former deputy city attorney, Rosenthal focused her campaign on issues like high vacancies in city departments, low pay for city workers, and the risks of privatizing government functions into the hands of contractors. Members of Preserve Rural Durham raise environmental concerns about the Griffin Annexation. Image credit. News and Observer Close   The 2023 campaign for city council was defined by the traditional dominance of Durham's two political machines and extremely low voter turnout. The main consequence of the race was the continuation of a 4-3 split on city council between pro-developer and pro-benefits members.   The pro-benefits minority lost Dr. Monique Holsey-Hyman but gained Nate Baker, a democratic socialist who won more votes than any other candidate. In office, Baker has provided support for city workers, taxation of Duke University, residents who question many projects of property developers, and a ceasefire in Gaza.   The People’s Alliance flexed its muscles by fielding three high-quality candidates who won second, third, and fourth place. A network of donors affiliated with the PAC poured tens of thousands of dollars into the campaigns of Javiera Caballero, Carl Rist, and Khalilah Karim. The re-election of Caballero maintained one member of the pro-developer majority on city council. Rist also joined that voting bloc, replacing Jillian Johnson.   Moving forward from the 2023 races, Durham activists should look for opportunities to support and encourage new democratic movements, especially trade unions, in order to bring forward interest and energy from the 80 percent of the population which currently plays no formal role in community decisions.   The divide between the pro-developer and pro-benefits groups seems likely to continue. The housing issue draws endless fuel from the anger of hundreds of thousands who cannot bear the rising cost of rent. It can never be allowed to rest as long as a single person in Durham remains homeless, disgracefully forgotten by our wealthy society, abandoned at night to the winds and rains of heaven. Work Cited   1.     NC SBE Contest Results . er.ncsbe.gov/?election_dt=11/07/2023&county_id=32&office=ALL&contest=0 . 2.     “Do PAC Endorsements Matter in Durham Politics?” Bull City Public Investigators , 1 Mar. 2024, bcpi.substack.com/p/do-pac-endorsements-matter-in-durham . 3.   “Index for Candidate Committees”. NC Board of Elections . https://dcoftp.net/boe-ftp/Campaign%20Finance/Open%20Committees/Candidate%20Committees . 4.     Hartman, Matt. “The Running of the Bulls.” INDY Week , 22 Sept. 2023, www.indyweek.com/news/durham/the-running-of-the-bulls . 5.     “Durham City Workers Win Largest Wage Increases in Many Years but Fight for Fair Pay Continues.” Durham Dispatch , 23 June 2024, www.durhamdispatch.com/post/durham-city-workers-win-largest-wage-increases-in-many-years-but-fight-for-fair-pay-continues . 6.      “Laura Helms Reece of Rho.” Rare Revolution , 23 Nov. 2022, www.rarerevolutionmagazine.com/peopleofrare/laura-helms-reece-of-rho . 7.     Eanes, Zachary. “Chapel Hill-based Company Rho Moving Its Headquarters to Research Triangle Park.” Durham Herald-Sun , 1 Nov. 2017, www.heraldsun.com/news/business/article181967821.html . 8.     Moore, Mary Helen. “Durham Approves Over 800 New Homes and Apartments Despite Sprawl Concerns.” News and Observer , 23 May 2024, www.newsobserver.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article288619505.html . 9.     Geller, Lena. “Durham Planning Commissioner Resigns in Protest.” INDY Week , 24 June 2024, www.indyweek.com/news/durham/durham-planning-commissioner-resigns-in-protest . 10.     Editorial Board. “2023 Endorsements: Durham Municipal Election.” INDY Week , 30 Oct. 2023, www.indyweek.com/news/durham/2023-endorsements-durham-municipal-primary . 11.  “GS 42-14.1” NC Legislature , www.ncleg.gov/enactedlegislation/statutes/pdf/bysection/chapter_42/gs_42-14.1.pdf . 12.  Childress, Greg. “Durham Leaders Hope 2024 Will Be Different for Local Workforce Housing Legislation.” NC Newsline , 15 May 2024, www.ncnewsline.com/2024/05/15/durham-leaders-hope-2024-will-be-different-for-local-workforce-housing-legislation . 13.  “Durham City Workers’ Union Demands $25/Hour.” UE Local 150 , https://www.ueunion.org/ue-news/2024/durham-city-workers%E2%80%99-union-demands-25hour . 14.  “Durham City Council Feb 19 2024.” City of Durham NC.  20 Feb. 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwgMfJf8bp4 . 15.  “How to Destroy a Councilwoman - the Attack on Dr. Monique Holsey-Hyman.” Durham Dispatch , 23 June 2024, www.durhamdispatch.com/post/how-to-destroy-a-councilwoman-the-attack-on-dr-monique-holsey-hyman .

Location and map of Virgil Road Assemblage. Image credit: N&O On May 20th, City Council approved 202 acres of "single-family sprawl" on Virgil Road. In a controversial 4-3 vote, Durham city government ignored the recommendation of their Planning Commission, which voted 10-0 against the developer’s proposal.   Monday’s debate hinged on whether 531 homes should be built on a plot of land in southeast Durham called the Virgil Road Assemblage. The development company, Taylor Morrison, estimated that the new homes would sell for $350,000 and $450,000 [ 1 ]. Council member Cook pointed out that similar homes nearby built by the same developer were selling for over $600,000 [ 2, timestamp 4:19:00 ].   Council members Javiera Caballero, Mark-Antony Middleton, Carl Rist and Mayor Leonardo Williams voted to approve the Virgil Road proposal. Nate Baker, Chelsea Cook, DeDreana Freeman voted against. For development votes, the 4-3 split is typical for the current City Council. The Caballero-Middleton-Rist-Williams group tends to rubber-stamp requests from property developers, even in "horrendous" cases like the Virgil Road proposal. The Baker-Cook-Freeman group usually pushes back against developer projects that don’t offer affordability, innovative design, or community benefits.   The Planning Commission, three City Council members, and many community members objected to the Virgil Road proposal because it lacked any aspect of smart, high-quality development. The future neighborhoods would not be walkable or bike-able. The houses would be cookie-cutter and the vast majority (94 percent) would be market-rate [ 1 ]. The Taylor Morrison company also failed to offer mixed-use features like parks, shops, or greenways.   “Building a bedroom community for Raleigh just feels like trash, if I’m being blatantly honest”, council member Freeman said about the Virgil Road proposal [ 2, timestamp 4:11:30 ]. Council member DeDreana Freeman. Image credit: WaterNow Alliance Council members that voted for the Virgil Road proposal sought to downplay environmental concerns. The plot is mostly forested land and low hills that would be clear-cut and leveled by the private developer. The sediment pollution from the construction would run into Lick Creek and ultimately Falls Lake.   “I want to say on the issue of lake impacts, this issue of nutrients and algal blooms are a serious issue for Falls Lake,” said council member Rist, “I’ll call your attention council members to the presentation that we had last work session from Michelle Woolfork… what she talked about were these two nitrates that we’re tracking all the time in Falls Lake, one is nitrogen… 56 percent of the nitrogen that gets in Falls Lake comes from forest and agriculture… For phosphorus, the other nutrient we measure closely, 54 percent comes from forest and agriculture.” Council member Carl Rist. Image credit: City of Durham Council member Rist’s remark implied that clear-cutting the forested land would improve the health of Falls Lake. That is misleading according to a UNC study about Falls Lake, which states that forests act as a natural shield for lake, stopping 81 percent of the nutrient pollution that would otherwise occur [ 3, pg. 30 ]. The UNC study recommends that 70 percent of land around Falls Lake should be forested to protect the body of water, which is a major source of clean drinking water for Raleigh.   Mayor Williams didn’t bother with cherry-picked science. He said that Falls Lake has long been polluted and there is no issue making the problem worse .   “First of all, Falls Lake is a man-made lake. It was made back in 1981 and it was jacked up when it was created,” said Mayor Williams, “It was made then it can be made again, so I don’t think it’s going anywhere.” [ 2, timestamp 4:50:00 ]   Annexing and effectively approving "single-family sprawl" on 202 acres of land was a major decision for Durham, but few people know that the Virgil Road debate even took place. When it comes to the activities of property developers and their political allies, the Bull City is a news desert. Greater public education and activism on development issues would certainly be in the public interest, since it is the issue that City Council spends the most time on.   In the Virgil Road case and many others, the Baker-Cook-Freeman group on City Council deserve praise for their stance in favor of smart, high-quality development. The Caballero-Middleton-Rist-Williams group, which has acted as a rubber-stamp for property developers, should be pressured to change their approach. Falls Lake. Image credit: UNC Work Cited   1.        Moore, Mary Helen. “Durham Approves Over 800 New Homes and Apartments Despite Sprawl Concerns.”  News and Observer , 23 May 2024,  www.newsobserver.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article288619505.html . 2.        “Durham City Council May 20, 2024.”  YouTube , 21 May 2024,  www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYlIzuMeVI4 . 3.        The University of North Carolina. “Falls Lake Study.”  Final Report to the North Carolina General Assembly , 2023,  unrba.org/sites/default/files/Fall-Lake-Report-2023.pdf .

On Monday, a rally was held at Moore Square in Raleigh for the victims of the Mawasi massacre on July 13th that killed more than 90 people. Most of the rally’s organizers and speakers were unaffiliated, but some hailed from the Party for Socialism and Liberation Carolinas.   Between 50 and 100 protestors filled up a grassy corner of Moore Square by seven o'clock. As people waited for the event to start, Arabic music played from loudspeakers, an organizer strung up a dozen Palestinian flags in the trees by Hargett Street, and members of Triangle Democratic Socialists of America canvassed for a new campaign called “No Appetite for Apartheid”. The initiative aims to get local businesses to remove Israeli food products from their shelves.   The attendees stood up and gathered when the MC introduced the first speaker. Draped in a keffiyeh, a young activist gave a quiet speech, listing out Israeli crimes that drew either cries of “Shame!” or saddened silence.   “According to The Lancet , the genocide in Gaza has killed 180,000 people out of a population of 2.1 million people [ x ]. That is approximately nine percent of the population of Gaza. They are martyred. Shot by snipers, killed point-blank, starved, bombed to pieces, and some of them just died from being under thousands of pounds of rubble.”   Continuing, the speaker described the Mawasi massacre. Early in the war, Israel designated the Mawasi area as a safe zone, so hundreds of thousands of refugees fled to the area and set up a tent city. Israel has regularly bombed Mawasi since then.   An attack on Saturday, July 13th killed more than 90 people and wounded more than 300, according to Gaza health ministry. The New York Times said that 2,000-pound bombs were used during the massacre and noted that Israel bombed two emergency vehicles that arrived shortly afterward. [ x ].   A second speaker stepped up to address the attendees at Moore Square. She talked about the responsibility of Americans to oppose Israel’s war on Gaza, which benefits from decisive US military, diplomatic, and ideological support.   “I’ve said this a million times since October, but it’s our moral responsibility to stand clearly and firmly against the illegal settler colonial state of Israel, especially when it commits these horrific crimes. Whether it is 5,000 of us or it’s five of us, we must continue to show up.”   The world's governments are almost unanimous on how to respond to Israeli settler colonialism – accept its conquests of 1948 but reject those of 1967. More than 140 countries supported a two-state solution at a United Nations (UN) vote in 2024. The Palestinian Authority cannot vote at the UN but implored states to vote “yes”. The United States and Israel voted “no”, their ironclad position for a half-century [ x ].   A wide swathe of the pro-Palestine movement appears to reject the international consensus, calling for a one-state solution through now-famous chants and slogans. Monday’s rally at Moore Square featured chants like “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” and “We don’t want two states, we want ’48!”.   At seven-thirty, the crowd prepared to march through central Raleigh. Organizers fanned out into the Hargett-Blount intersection and a police escort materialized. An older man gave away dozens of white hats with a watermelon logo and grasping hands emptied his plastic bag in 30 seconds. The crowd marched out into Hargett Street to chants of:   ·      “From the belly of the beast, hands off the Middle East!” ·      “1-2-3-4, occupation no more!” ·      “Gaza, Gaza, don’t you cry, Palestine will never die!”   Along the route, groups of teenagers joined the march. A few of them zoomed up and down the sidewalks on rental scooters, bobbing their heads to the call-and-response rhythm.   Among a small sea of flags and posters was a neatly printed sign from an organization called Shut It Down for Palestine that read “End All US Aid to Israel”. A home-made sign with block letters said, “Stop the Massacre of Khan Younis”. The sign had been hastily edited with blue sharpie to add the line, “US funded – that means me + you”.   The pro-Palestine movement in the Triangle has rallied and marched in Moore Square almost every week since October 2023. The crowds have fluctuated from few dozen to many thousands of people.   The durable, sustained movement for a ceasefire reflects an increased level of civilization in the US public since World War Two. In the 1950s, the Korean War killed three to four million people without much public opposition. Now, the government cannot even aid the war of a client state without an immediate eruption of fury from wide swathes of the public.   Everyone of good conscience in the Triangle will continue to hope and work for a ceasefire in Gaza. Across the US, the larger task is to pressure the owners of the country to put an end to their 400-year favorite pastime of continuous war.

We hear stories all the time about unfair write ups and wrongful terminations from our coworkers, maybe you have experienced this yourself. A manager you’ve never met comes up to you to lecture you about making rate (maybe when you’re already doing them a favor by cross-training somewhere else), or the HR system glitches out. It has happened to everyone. But all of this would just be irritating if it didn’t mean people were being wrongfully terminated and then feel isolated and not sure how to fight a trillion dollar company. One RDU1 mom shared her son’s story with Voices of Empowerment about when he was wrongfully terminated while working at UPS. But unlike at Amazon, the difference was that the union had his back. His elected Union Representative got the write up thrown out, his job back and back pay for the time he missed from work. We need this at Amazon. You may have heard that North Carolina is an “at-will” employment state but what does this mean? Contrary to popular belief, this law does not ban unions or prevent you from joining one. At-will employment laws let your boss fire you at any time for any reason as long as it is not illegal (discrimination, retaliation, etc.). This lets your employer fire you even for what you would consider unfair reasons or for no reason at all. The only way we can change this dynamic is with a union and Just Cause Protections. Just Cause Protections means that when your boss disciplines or terminates you, they must do so for a just and fair reason, and they must have a union representative present to advise and advocate for you. It requires management fairly investigates, gives warnings before jumping to more serious discipline (like being fired), provide the employee with proof that they violated a reasonable rule, and treated them equally without discrimination. This is a major way a union at Amazon can make a difference in our lives. This article was first published by CAUSE (Newsletter Vol. 1, No. 12) .

Sign this petition on safe solutions for Po e Hall. The petition was put together by NCSU's Campus Community Alliance for Environmental Justice (CCAEJ), and co-signed by NCSU Graduate Workers Union and the NCSU chapter of American Association of University Professors (AAUP). The NC State Graduate Workers Union understands the university administration’s negligence of PCB chemicals in Poe Hall as a part of a larger pattern of negligence towards students, staff, and faculty. The presence of PCB chemicals in Poe Hall  has contributed to unsafe working conditions for students, graduate workers, housekeepers, faculty and staff alike, with concerns that these chemicals may be linked to a cluster of over 100 cases of cancer  in those who spent extensive time in the building. The silence from the university on its own role in this dangerous environment speaks volumes about its level of care for its employees. Though this news is unsurprising, given the historic lack of concern that NCSU has demonstrated in maintaining safe infrastructure, including exposure to dangerous chemicals in Dabney Hall due to ventilation issues that was not addressed until faculty, staff, and students demanded action  from the university. This most recent issue is just one of many infrastructural failings that the university has yet to address. Graduate workers have spent extensive time in Poe Hall as research and teaching assistants as we train the next generation of North Carolina’s teachers. Many of our colleagues in the College of Education spent years as undergraduates learning in Poe Hall before returning as graduate workers. We know that we are not alone in this experience: maintenance and cleaning staff have also spent years in this contaminated building. Thus far, students, faculty, and staff have not experienced adequate outreach or transparency from university administration. Because we know that solidarity in the face of unsafe working conditions is essential, and for this reason, we support our American Association of University Professors chapter’s pressure  on our university administration in their letter to the Chancellor, as well as their concern regarding the presence of PCBs in other buildings  on campus. After all, we know we all breathe the same air. Furthermore, we feel that the vote of ‘No Confidence’  in Chancellor Woodson, Provost Warwick Arden, and College of Education Dean Paola Sztajn from faculty in the College of Education is rightfully received following their mishandling of faculty’s concerns and failure to release test results in a timely manner. Furthermore, we condemn the decision to halt the CDC’s evaluation, and regardless of whether NC State attributes this decision to NIOSH or not, we recognize that NC State holds the ultimate responsibility  in advocating for this investigation and allowing it to continue. Through their decisions, the university administration, particularly the board of trustees, has shown their commitment to maintaining the institution’s prestigious image and the profit based interests of private industry rather than protecting the people who learn and work at NC State. The board of trustees and upper administration compose the governing body of the university, yet they are not elected by the university, but appointed by a series of third parties whose concerns do not reflect those of our campus community. Knowing this, we call on university administration and leadership to take actionable steps to rectify the harm that has come to those exposed to PCBs in Poe Hall and ensure safe working conditions for all NC State faculty, students, and staff. For these reasons and more, we demand that: NC State work with a neutral third party to identify and contact everyone who has had extensive exposure to PCB chemicals in Poe Hall, regardless of their current employment at the university; NC State conduct testing for PCBs and other health hazards in all other campus buildings; NC State communicates all findings about hazardous chemicals in all campus buildings to students, workers, and alumni; That NC State covers in full the medical expenses of any former students, faculty, or staff whose health was negatively impacted by their exposure to these chemicals. We stand in solidarity with all faculty, staff, and graduate workers who have been impacted by this issue. If you are in need of support, we extend an open invitation for you to reach out to us at ncsugradworkers@gmail.com  to get connected. This statement was first published by NCSU Graduate Workers Union .

Support DGSU's demand for $50,000 per year by signing this petition . Dear Duke University Administration, Earlier this month, Duke's VP for Human Resources, Antwan Lofton, affirmed Duke's commitment to “supporting frontline staff who support this institution and its ability to deliver exceptional patient care, education, and research.” We, the graduate workers at Duke University, are proud to contribute to this mission every day. As integral members of the university community, we teach and mentor undergraduate students, staff key labs and programs, and enhance Duke's reputation through our quality research and scholarly contributions. However, these valuable contributions are not reflected in our wages . Graduate workers still earn less than a living wage in Durham County. According to the MIT living wage calculator, a living wage for a single adult with no dependents in Durham County is $49,531. Factoring in just one dependent brings this figure to $85,292. Graduate workers make only $38,600 annually, while facing housing and healthcare costs in Durham higher than the national average. Last year's historic raise, attained through the organizing efforts of graduate workers, was a measure too little, too late. Fair compensation for graduate workers is a matter of equity and justice, as well as an investment in the university's long-term success. In the last year, higher education institutions across the country have answered the call to recognize the labor of graduate workers with fair compensation. In December, Harvard and Yale raised annual stipends for graduate workers to $50,000 and $49,538 minimums, respectively. Duke's stipends now lag significantly behind its peer R1 institutions. Graduate workers are paid less at Duke than they are at Stanford, MIT, and all but one Ivy League university. Alongside its peers, Duke should recognize that competitive pay is crucial to fulfilling the goal of attracting and supporting a diverse group of talented graduate workers. Fair compensation is key to maintaining the quality of our academic programs and upholding Duke's reputation as a leading research institution. Duke University also plays a vital role in setting labor standards in our community. As the single largest employer in Durham, Duke sets a critical precedent for fair and equitable compensation practices. In January, the United Electrical Workers Union local 150 (UE150), which represents North Carolina Public Service Workers, launched a campaign to demand the dignified wage of $25 an hour, supported by the Durham Worker's Assembly. We join their fight to raise the minimum wage in Durham County to $50,000 per year. Organizations across the Triangle look to Duke to lead as a fair and equitable employer. By ensuring that graduate workers receive a living wage, Duke can lead by example and contribute to the economic well-being of our community. Duke graduate workers are professionals. We are parents and caretakers, responsible for providing for our families. Like all workers, we deserve security and the ability to plan for the future.  Therefore we, the undersigned, urge Duke University to agree to our proposed contract article and increase graduate worker pay to a minimum of the competitive rate of $50,000, with cost of living adjustments and a supplement for dependents. Doing so is a necessary step towards achieving its mission to create a campus accessible to all, where researchers and scholars from all socioeconomic backgrounds can live and thrive.  This article was published first by the Duke Graduate Student Union .

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NC DEQ) has found that sediment is, indeed, polluting streams surrounding Dominion Energy’s Moriah Energy Center liquified natural gas facility under construction in Person County. “This verifies the legitimate concerns of community members surrounding all sides of the construction site who have seen muddy water in the backyard creeks,” said Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop. NC DEQ’s Division of Water Resources conducted a site visit on May 30 after numerous complaints from Sound Rivers and community members who have observed sediment pollution entering local waterways. NC DEQ found two sediment basins on the site were impacting nearby surface waters. For one basin, Division of Water Resources staff recommended the company remove by hand sediment that has collected in a stream running adjacent to the basin. Evidence was also found that sediment was entering a pond adjacent to second sediment basin, and a third sediment basin was unable to be inspected because of ongoing blasting. Dominion Energy is required by state law to use practices defined by the Erosion and Sediment Control Program to prevent sediment pollution, and DWR has the ability to issue notices of violation if those standards are not being met. According to a DWR representative, the agency pointed out in its communication with Dominion that DWR specifically reserves the right to issue an NOV if these problems are not resolved. “We’ve been told by NCDEQ that Dominion has agreed to strengthen their Sediment and Erosion Control practices onsite, but we don’t know yet what the new protections will be,” Samantha said. The concern is not only muddied waters in the local streams, but potential impacts downstream in Deep Creek and Flat River, both home to endangered species such as the Neuse Waterdog. “We’re going to continue to work with local community members to monitor waters around the construction site and to hold Dominion, and state regulators, accountable for protecting waterways and the communities downstream,” Samantha said.

Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has allowed the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) to go in-service. This announcement arrives after a decade of community-led resistance to the pipeline project. MVP has doubled in cost and delayed completion for six years due to failures to comply with environmental protections and resulting legal challenges. Representatives from many of the groups fighting the pipeline issued the following statements: Russell Chisholm, co-director of the Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights Coalition (POWHR): “Let this travesty be a lesson to all financiers, government officials and regulators: Stop backing all fossil fuel projects immediately. Every system that claims to protect us has failed. We need real transparency and accountability for corrupt politicians and companies, and we demand a livable future amidst climate change. Our fight is not over: We have 303-miles of failing pipes — with at least 130 identified anomalies — pumping methane gas through our communities, and we are being targeted by new projects like Southgate and the Southeast Supply Enhancement Project. We deserve better and we are never going to stop demanding better.” Autumn Crowe, Interim Executive Director of West Virginia Rivers Coalition: “For a decade, community members have warned about the risks associated with the Mountain Valley Pipeline project, which far outweigh any benefits. This pipeline crossed thousands of rivers and streams, damaging our water resources in the process. The project is far from final restoration when hillsides continue to slip, people lack clean well water, agricultural lands are damaged and streams are clogged with sediment. These problems will persist long after gas is pumping through it. This pipeline snakes through steep, unstable terrain, and heaven forbid an incident occurs because schools, churches and community centers are within the blast zone. We will continue to advocate for the safety of impacted communities and the protection of our lands and waters in hopes that no other community experiences the unjust approval of a project like the Mountain Valley Pipeline.” Dr. Crystal Cavalier-Keck, Co-Founder & Director of 7 Directions of Service: “This shameful and deadly decision by our establishment leaders and regulatory agencies to put MVP into service only reinforces what we’ve known all along: They do not care about our safety. When a fracked gas pipeline fails testing, literally explodes, fails to meet the safety standards its developers agreed to, what are communities on the ground left with? We will continue to demand safety and accountability, while ramping up our efforts to bring down such horrific corruption and instill ethical laws and policies, like the Rights of Nature, to prevent more loss of life and the climate crises from spiraling out of control.” Jessica Sims, Virginia Field Coordinator of Appalachian Voices: “Since developers first proposed the ruinous Mountain Valley Pipeline, their disregard for community and environmental safety has been clear. Community members and environmental watchdogs have pointed out the flaws in this project for years, and these fundamental problems with the pipeline remain. By allowing MVP to advance despite all these serious hazards, the system meant to protect our communities, land and water has failed.” This article was first published by POWHR.

On June 17, the Durham City Council voted to approve $28 million in raises for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2024. Full-time General Step Plan workers will receive an average raise of $8,136 - some more, some less. Workers with more years of service will receive a higher wage increase, some totaling over $15,000. This huge investment in wage increases would have never happened without the collective action of many Durham city workers over the last year, starting in spring 2023, including a six-day stand down by Solid Waste workers, and many rallies throughout 2024. While the minimum wage starting July 1, 2024 will be $19.58, all current city employees will be making a minimum of around $22 per hour. Many of the senior experienced workers in sanitation and public works will receive $12,000-14,000 raises annually. We are also strongly positioned going into next year's budget cycle to win even more structural changes to the pay plan design, including awarding low-wage workers the same annual increase as high-wage earners, as well as amendments to the city's Universal Living Wage ordinance. The city manager's budget included raises for the police, who account for 17 percent of the city workforce, that would be over 30 percent of the total amount spent on raises. Workers in Solid Waste and Public Works in the General Step Plan represent 42 percent of the total work force, but will only receive 34 percent of the salary increase. Management and Professional Staff in the Open Range pay scale continue to get more than front line workers. In early January, we had a difficult meeting with Mayor Leonardo Williams and Mayor Pro Tempore Mark Anthony Middleton. They denied the need for workers to make $25 per hour. When asked about city workers not being able to afford to live in Durham, Mayor Williams stated, "I never promised that city workers would be able to live in the city. It is out of my control." Union leaders met with Javiera Caballero and Carl Rist on January 9, where they vaguely committed to support us, but stated they wanted to wait until the Compensation Study was completed before making commitments. UE150 also met with DeDreana Freeman, Nate Baker and Chelsea Cook on January 23, where they firmly pledged support for our demands, but wanted to gather more information. In our second round of meetings with all of them, we felt that Williams, Middleton and city manager Page were blocking any ability to change the "pay plan design", but wanted to just move the current structure up by "market rates". This limited our ability to change the minimum wage or make the steps more fair. In the second meeting with Cabellero, she stated support for the idea of reclassifying solid waste workers, however she hinted at the need to get HR involved. She also refused to support the $25 per hour demand, stating she needed a "system". When asked about the Universal Living Wage ordinance language they ignored HUD housing data for 2024, she stated it could be looked at "next year" as this was a pay plan design change, and they were not considering plan design changes this year. In our final meeting with Freeman, Cook and Baker on May 13, they pledged to help find the $300,000 needed to reclassify solid waste, but we didn't find the 4th vote. We must continue our fight into the next budget cycle and hold City Council accountable to make the Pay Plan Design changes next year, as they suggested this year. Real lasting systemic change takes time to build. Through this process hundreds of city workers took action, spoke out for the first time, attended their first council meeting, and more. Many joined the union. Let's stay the course, build the union and we shall overcome! This article was published first by UE Local 150.

On Wednesday, June 12, more than 100 workers at the Corning Inc. manufacturing plant in Tarboro, North Carolina voted in a federal labor board election on whether to join the United Steelworkers. The union vote in Tarboro comes as part of a broader push by the USW to organize workers at multiple non-union plants that Corning operates across North Carolina. Corning manufactures, among other items, materials used in fiber optic cable and in solar panel installations. The company is currently experiencing a boom in demand, in part as a result of a federally-subsidized buildout of high-speed internet infrastructure, as well as an expansion of solar energy production. The company operates seven plants across North Carolina. Only one of these facilities is unionized. Workers at the company’s plant in Wilmington are proud members of USW Local 1025. Southern Workers Assembly (SWA) applauds the efforts of workers at the Corning facility in Tarboro to organize a union. We offer our solidarity during their upcoming union election. We hope this will be the first of many worker victories at non-union Corning facilities in this state. The working class of the South must build union power in order to win a better life for our class and advance the interests of workers everywhere. The South is currently experiencing a surge of capital investment in many segments of the manufacturing industry. Workers in this sector are strategically positioned to lead the way in the fight in opposition to exploitation by employers and the efforts of the ruling class to divide working people and pit us against one another. It is in the interest of the entire working class when workers — including our courageous siblings at Corning in Tarboro and beyond — stand up and fight for justice, dignity, and a better life for working people. Victory to Corning workers in North Carolina! This article was published first by Southern Workers Assembly.

Dominion Energy invited the community to an open house about the construction of the Moriah Energy Center last week, but few of their questions were answered, according to Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop. “It was very well attended and a demonstration of the passion and organization of local community members. They had created a plan to engage and had a list of over 20 questions they were prepared to ask,” said Krop. “Unfortunately, Dominion had it set up in a way that they weren’t engaging with everyone together, and when community members requested they have more of forum, Dominion representatives refused. It ended up being a very loud and noisy and chaotic space.” The liquified natural gas (LNG) facility in Person County has caused controversy from its start, when Person County Commissioners voted unanimously to approve rezoning for the facility in front of a large and very vocal NO MEC crowd. Since, clear-cutting 70 acres of land in the pre-construction phase has resulted in sediment pollution of creeks running off the property and through neighbors’ land. The creeks are tributaries of Deep Creek and Flat River, both home to some of North Carolina’s endangered species, including the Neuse Waterdog and several species of mussels. Community members concerned about harm to the creeks and aquatic species attended the open house to get answers. “It was definitely not useful in getting answers to our questions. There was a lot of deflecting. If we had questions about sediment pollution, the response was: ‘Everything on site is in compliance, and we have not been issued any notices of violation,’” said Krop. “If anything, it just further proved how unwilling they are to be accountable and to meaningfully engage with the concerns community members are bringing forth.” Krop said that Sound Rivers will continue to document impacts to creeks in the area. While she has been monitoring turbidity on two creeks since before construction started, this week, she met up with community members to identify more sample sites in the area surrounding the Moriah Energy Center. “We’re working with the community on the ground to keep an eye on the creeks. We’ve got a team of volunteers, and we’re going to continue to document the impacts of sediment runoff and keep sending those reports to the state Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources and the Division of Water Resources,” said Krop. This article was published first at Sound Rivers.