The Raleigh Tribune

Artist rendering of proposed C.E. Lightner Safety Center

The Raleigh City Council today remained deadlocked on the planned Clarence E.  Lightner Public Safety Center. Council members voted 4-4 on a proposal to fund the project. The proposal failed as at least five votes are needed for approval.

Voting in favor of the project were Mayor Charles Meeker and Council Members Mary-Ann Baldwin, Nancy McFarlane and James West. Voting against were Council Members Thomas Crowder, Bonner Gaylord, John Odom and Russ Stephenson.

As proposed, the Clarence E. Lightner Public Safety Center would be a state-of-the-art facility of 16 stories and approximately 302,000 square feet on the corner of Hargett and McDowell streets. Sitting on what is currently the site of the City of Raleigh Police Department headquarters, the public safety center would consolidate the City’s public safety operations and other local government offices and functions in one location. The public safety center would be named in honor of the late Clarence E. Lightner, who served as mayor of Raleigh from 1973-75.

Popularity: 15%

Listen to Pat Buchanan and others speak on the “new world order,” what they believe is going on with “big money.”

Apparently it is not what the founding fathers intended.

I will comment on this in the near future, as soon as I get a break from school.

Bookmark this article and check back soon.

Popularity: 9%

The global economic down turn is being felt in Raleigh. That is why the City needs to respond with action and courage.  That was the message delivered in Mayor Charles Meeker’s 2010 state-of-the-City address in the Raleigh Convention Center.

Now is the time to lead, he said, not stagnate in the sluggish wake of this recession. Now is the time to move on the $140 million Clarence Lightner Public Safety Center, he continued, to take advantage of lower interest rates and construction cost, while making certain that the Capital City has the public safety facilities it needs to maintain Raleigh’s status as a leading U.S. city well into the 21^st century.      A vote by the Raleigh City Council on the proposed public safety center at its Tuesday meeting is anticipated.

Mayor Meeker said that the current fiscal year’s operating budget reduced spending by nearly $2 million and cut 85 positions. Most importantly, he said, the budget does not reduce public safety spending and it maintains the City’s high standards of fiscal planning, management, control and reserves expected from the AAA quality credit rating Raleigh has.

The City’s current Capital Improvement Program is 18 percent less than the previous year’s program. However, the mayor pointed out, that reduction does not mean the City is standing still on necessary improvements.  He pointed to the May ground breaking for the Hillsborough Street Roundabouts Project. The $9.22 million is designed to revitalize the corridor and improve pedestrian access for the street that runs along North Carolina State University’s main campus. The improvements are on schedule to be completed in September. Mayor Meeker also referred to the $21 million transit operations center the City broke ground on in October.  The project is receiving $11.6 million from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act and will help to improve transit service throughout Raleigh for decades to come, he said.

Popularity: 6%

Approximately, 160 summer jobs will be made available for local youth through the City of Raleigh’s Summer Youth Employment Program.

The program, administered by the City’s Community Services Department, is designed for young people between the ages of 14 and 18 who live in the Raleigh City limits. The program seeks to develop good work habits and to stress both education and job experience as a prerequisite to a successful future. Youth selected for summer jobs will work between 20 and 35 hours each week. First and second-year participants in the program will earn $7.25 per hour.  Personal and career development workshops are conducted during the summer.

Interested youth can go to any one of 10 designated City locations to complete an application and prepare to be interviewed.  Applicants must have a clear photocopy of their Social Security card and any one of the following documents:

v North Carolina State-Issued Driver’s License (with photo)

v North Carolina State-Issued Learner’s Permit (with photo)

v Military Identification (with photo)

v North Carolina Identification Card (with photo)

Because of changes made by the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles effective last Sept. 3, applicants should allow more time when obtaining original and renewed driver’s licenses, learner’s permits and identification cards. These documents are now produced at a central location and mailed to the applicant within 5 to 10 days. They are no longer issued to the applicant on the same day. Applicants who do not have the required documents will not be considered for summer employment with the City of Raleigh.

Applications for the City of Raleigh’s Summer Youth Program can be completed at the following locations during the listed dates and times:

Monday, March 1 Monday, March 15

3:30-5:30 p.m.                                                                           3:30-5:30 p.m.

Millbrook Exchange Park                                                           Chavis Community Center

Wednesday, March 3 Wednesday, March 17

3:30-5:30 p.m.                                                                           3:30-5:30 p.m.

Biltmore Hills Community Center                                                Tarboro Road Community Center

Friday, March 5 Friday, March 19

3:30-5:30 p.m.                                                                           3:30-5:30 p.m.

Lake Lynn Community Center                                                     Worthdale Community Center

Tuesday, March 9 Monday, March 22

3:30-5:30 p.m.                                                                           3:30-5:30 p.m.

Green Road Community Center                                                  Lions Park Community Center

Thursday, March 11 Thursday, March 25

3:30-5:30 p.m.                                                                           3:30-5:30 p.m.

Roberts Park Community Center                                                 Method Community Center

For more information, contact Linda G. Jones at the City of Raleigh Community Services Department, 996-5730, or email linda.jones@ci.raleigh.nc.us.

Popularity: 66%

Lack of confidence in economic recovery led employers to lose up to 85,000 net jobs last month.

The drop in the workforce shows that more of the jobless are giving up. Once people stop looking for jobs then they’re no longer counted among the unemployed, according to the AP.

The participation in the labor force – the portion of adults either working or looking for work – fell in December to 64.6 percent, the lowest since August 1985.

But, speculators or on both sides of the aisle in Washington suggest things could get better or worse.

Some economist suggests that the stimulus is solely keeping the unemployment rate holding steady at 10 percent, and there has not been enough support for main street business, which employees nearly half or more of the American workforce.

Other economist remain optimistic that the Obama administrations stimulus program will work, but warn that the jobless rate could reach as high as 11 to 11.5 percent before waning, according to MSNBC.

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Popularity: 25%