newsobserver.com blogs -- bullseye

Eight file on Durham's opening day

jaydub — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:31:15 -0500

Eight candidates listed themselves on Durham's first day of filing for 2012 elections today.

Incumbent state Reps. Larry Hall and Paul Luebke, and Register of Deeds Willie L. Covington filed for re-election, along with School Board Chairwoman Minnie Forte-Brown and board members Heidi Carter and Leigh Bordley.

Former Durham Planning Commissioners Wendy Jacobs and Will Wilson, chairman of the Open Space and Trails Commission, filed for seats on the Board of County Commissioners.

Neither Jacobs nor Wilson have run for elective office in Durham previously, but both applied to serve out the term of retired County Commissioner Becky Heron. The remaining commissioners elected Pam Karriker to fill Heron's seat until after this year's election.

Jacobs, Wilson and Luebke had earlier announced their intentions of running this year.

Filing remains open until noon Feb. 29. One-stop voting in the partisan primary and School Board elections begins April 13, with election day on May 8.

Durham PA opposes fracking permission

jaydub — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 04:01:01 -0500

The People's Alliance, one of Durham's three major political-action groups, has taken a stand against fracking.

In a resolution released Friday, the PA calls on the General Assembly to take no action on legalizing the process "at least until" the federal Environmental Protection Agency finishes research on hydraulic fracking's effects on "the full water life cycle" is finished "and then, only if new regulations, agency funding and enforcement policies and procedures fully protect our waters, land, people, and local economies."

The resolution also asks that the Durham City Council and Board of County Commissioners take similar positions.

Durham budgets: 'Something's got to give'

jaydub — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:19:45 -0500

City administrators and council members came away from a Friday meeting on next year's budget with some good news and a good many questions.

The good news was that the city appears poised to finish the current fiscal year on budget, with no need for the sort of last-minute cost-cutting there has been in recent years past.

Most of the questions pertained to dealing with a 2012-13 budget shortfall projected at $2.6 million, and how to fund the "dedicated revenue stream" for low-cost housing that Mayor Bill Bell called for in his State of the City address last Monday.

"Something's going to give," said City Manager Tom Bonfield. "We haven't determined (what) yet." Durham's current budget is $362.5 million.

Budget Director Bertha Johnson (right) said city department heads have been told to cut their next year's budget requests by 3 percent from 2011-12 appropriations. She also said the 2012-13 shortfall would be reduced if there turns out to be money left over from the current fiscal year.

Other "challenges" remain, though. Johnson said the projection is based on the current property-tax rate and assumes no new programs or services, including no public-transit improvements, and no funding to make up for cuts in federal-grant money that has come to the city in the past.

Federal cuts directly affect the city's housing programs such as the Rolling Hills/Southside revitalization and funding for nonprofits that build and rehabilitate dwellings.

The city government is discussing collaboration with the independent Durham Housing Authority, but Community Development Director Reginald Johnson said DHA is facing federal cuts as well.

"They're in some tough spots," he said.

Councilman Eugene Brown said the city has in the past talked of adding a penny to the tax rate specifically for housing. One penny, though, would produce only about $2 million a year, he said.

"One penny isn't going to go far," said Brown.

Mayor Pro Tem Cora Cole-McFadden said she was "not ready yet to talk about a tax increase.

"Maybe a reordering of priorities," she said.

Before talking about the source of a dedicated stream, several council members said they want to know just what the city is already doing for low-cost housing, what it has committed itself to do, where money is already going and where the money is coming from.

"We've really got to be able to explain it to people," said Councilman Steve Schewel.

They were echoing resident Lanier Blum, a board member of the nonprofit Community Land Trustees, who asked for a clear breakdown of "the city's housing projects that are now in progress.

"Right now, our plans are inscrutable," Blum said.

Johnson and Bonfield assured the council members that they would have an accounting before their next budget meeting, March 2.

Anita Bennett still troubling Durham

jaydub — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:01:01 -0500

Anita Bennett, protagonist in Durham's small-business loan scandal of few years back, has been in court again, and she's still in a heap of trouble.

Not to mention causing it. To wit, Bennett hasn't been paying her court-ordered restitution for bilking the city out of $828,000 while running its small-business loan program, Senior Assistant City Attorney Sherri Zann Rosenthal told the City Council Thursday.

She was recently sentenced to 200 hours of community service and two weekends in jail for willfully violating her probation terms.

"The judge said that he, as a personal matter does not believe people should be sent back to prison solely for nonpayment of restitution," Rosenthal said, "but he instructed her very sternly that he believed other judges would not have that personal value or constraint."

In 2007, Bennett pled guilty to issuing loans to fake or ineligible businesses from 1999 until 2001 when a federal audit found discrepancies in the program's books. She spent 21/2 years in prison and was ordered to pay the city restitution of $180,000, at $5,000 a month.

She still owes Durham $130,000, Rosenthal said. Bennett did make a payment in February, of $25.

Bennett does not have a job but is in a business-administration training program, said Rosenthal.

"The judge said she should make some money mowing grass or anything else she could get," Rosenthal said. "The level of restitution she was making was not adequate."

Water-sewer for 751 South on Durham council's next agenda

jaydub — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:10:05 -0500

The City Council decided this afternoon to put Southern Durham Development's utility extension for 751 South on its Feb. 20 agenda.

City Attorney Patrick Baker informed Southern Durham attorney Cal Cunningham of the decision by voicemail after a closed session with the council, and followed with a letter.

“We are grateful that the City Council will take up the utility application," Southern Durham President Alex Mitchell said.

"751 South has been raising tempers in south Durham for far too long," said Steve Bocckino, a south-Durham resident who opposes the subdivision project. "It's time for a vote."

In the letter (link below), Baker said the extension will not be subject of a public hearing and it will be up to the mayor whether to allow public comment.

Southern Durham requested the extension for its proposed subdivision, 751 South, in 2010. Last summer, the council deferred any action on the request until a lawsuit over the project was concluded.

The suit was dismissed in January, but since the plaintiffs have appealed, Baker said in his letter, the city does not consider it to be concluded.

Bocckino said the appeal is in process but he had no idea when it might come up for a judicial hearing.

Opponents have claimed the project, with up to 1,300 homes and 300,000 square feet of commercial space on a 167-acre tract, threatens water quality in nearby Jordan Lake.

The company, though, claims its design will protect water quality and that the project will create as many as 3,100 jobs.

Bob Wilson on DPS's charter school challenge

mschultz — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0500

Here is an early look at Bob Wilson's column in Sunday' Durham News. Tell us what you think below (with your name, so we may publish your comments in the paper) or at editor@nando.com

By Bob Wilson

The prospect of a charter high school in Research Triangle Park has the Durham School Board in a lather, and that's good. The board and Superintendent Eric Becoats are getting an education in market-driven schools.

In other words, Durham Public Schools must learn to compete. The public schools in this city are losing their monopoly. Durham's existing charter schools already account for almost 9 percent of the city's elementary students, the highest market share in the state, according to a Feb. 1 N&O report published in last Sunday’s Durham News.

Predictably, the school board is fighting the RTP charter school tooth and claw, warning that the school will be yet another draw-down on local education funding.

Moreover, the board has thrown a hoary specter into the mix: resegregation.
That's a curious tack, considering that minorities comprise 73 percent of the student population in Durham's public schools. If that's not resegregation, what is?

Instead of fussing and whining, the school board and Becoats ought to be asking themselves why charter schools – Durham already has eight – are gaining favor with so many parents. Would a charter high school plant itself in RTP if parents were satisfied with the quality of Durham Public Schools?

There may be more to come. The Republican-dominated General Assembly lifted the 100-charter cap, opening the way to a formidable alternative to North Carolina's public schools.

Still, it's important to remember that charter schools, which are not bound by many of the rules and regulations afflicting the public schools, receive the same level of state funding as their public counterparts. So in that respect, the Durham school board and Superintendent Becoats can argue that charters are eating too much of the public schools' pie.

Actually, that weak argument is about all the opponents of more charter schools can muster.

The upside of all this should be obvious to the Durham education establishment. The public schools need competition to improve their quality. Durham's per-pupil spending is among the highest in the state, yet the schools remain mediocre at best.
Worse, more than 60 percent of Durham school children receive free or reduced-price lunches, a strong marker of poverty among the city's black and Hispanic minorities.

This is the raw material that the public schools must work with, and it isn't easy. But it is vital because our public schools are the entry way to civil society, and for that the public schools should be celebrated.

The RTP high school would do that too for its 425 students, but with an indomitable emphasis on mathematics, science, technology and engineering. The Durham school board wants to reinvent Southern High School as a similar program, and thus considers the RTP school a mortal threat.

That's an overblown fear. Most RTP charter students will come from families on the perimeter of the research campus. And because the charter is a public school in different livery, its founders say they will aggressively recruit minority students to ensure a diverse student body.

That's what they did with Raleigh Charter High School, ranked with the best in the country.

The RTP high school will not lay waste to Durham Public Schools. If the Durham School Board will take off its ideological blinders, it will embrace competition as a refreshing tonic for the public schools, not the hemlock they fear.

With Orange backing, rail plan advances

jaydub — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:06:56 -0500

After some confusion on Orange County's position, plans for the light-rail line between Chapel Hill and Durham got unanimous approval this morning from a bi-county transportation committee.

Today's vote for a "Locally Preferred Alternative" route keeps the project on schedule to apply for a federal grant this year. It also moves the project along to another round of public hearings on environmental effects.

The approved route runs from UNC Hospitals to downtown Durham, and includes both the "C1" and "C2" alternatives for a segment between the Friday Center on N.C. 54 and a proposed development site on Farrington Road in Durham. The segment has generated considerable public comment due to its possible effects on a pristine bottomland.

In recent weeks, some Orange County officials had suggested a third route, avoiding N.C. 54 altogether and running the track through the U.S. 15-501 corridor.

Orange Commissioners discussed route options until late Tuesday night before agreeing to support sending both C1 and C2 forward for environmental research.

However, when the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization's Transportation Advisory Committee met this morning, neither Orange County representative Alice Gordon nor alternate Bernadette Pelissier were sure just what they and their fellow commissioners had decided.

"We were talking about this probably until 11 o'clock at night," Gordon said. "Forgive us."

After some telephone calls for clarification, Gordon said Orange County was in favor of advancing C2 alone, because of its anticipated lesser environmental effects. Chapel Hill's Town Council is also on record favoring C2, but supports leaving both alternates open for a later decision.

Patrick McDonough, lead planner with Triangle Transit, said leaving both alternatives under study might avoid some later difficulties, particularly in negotiations to cross Army Corps of Engineers property.

Gordon said the Orange Commissioners are still interested in the U.S. 15-501 routing, but did not want it incorporated in the plans voted on today.

Orange County moves ahead with transit recommendations

kferral — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:44:48 -0500

Orange County commissioners approved preliminary plans to bring more bus service and light rail to the county, giving the local transit authority the go-ahead to apply for federal funding for the project.

Commissioners voted 5-2 Tuesday night to approve a "locally preferred alternative" for a rail and bus plan that would connect Orange County to Durham County.

The preliminary plan includes a rail line that would run along N.C. 54, connecting UNC Hospitals to Alston Avenue near Duke University and downtown Durham.

The commissioners' vote will inform the the transportation committee of the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization during their meeting Wednesday morning.

Commissioner Alice Gordon will represent Orange County commissioners at that meeting, and was advised to inform transit advisers on the vote and express a preference for a route that would not go through Meadowmont on N.C. 54.

Commissioners Earl McKee and Steve Yuhasz voted against moving ahead with the rail and bus options, both saying light rail would not benefit the whole county.

"My no vote is not again transit, it is a no vote against this particular technology in this particular corridor," Yuhasz said,

McKee said affirming preliminary plans would bring commissions down a slippery slope of including light rail in transit improvements, and putting a permanent half-cent tax on the ballot.

"I have to look for what is good for Orange County as a whole and while I understand that light rail will be good for the two end portions and for a certain segment of the population, it's not of a tangible benefit to the majority of the county."

About four people spoke about the light rail plans, the majority were for the plans.

Commissioners Chairwoman Bernadette Pelissier said the commissioners still have questions about the plan and clarified that the vote did not been unequivocal support.

"I hope that the MPO also understand that our approval of the LPA is not interpreted that we have approved the plan... we still need to have some time to disuse the plan," she said.

The MPO needs to have a preferred plan from the counties and municipalities solidified, so they can apply for federal funding by an August deadline.

Commissioners and County Manager Frank Clifton had considered whether Triangle Transit could re-examine a U.S. 15-501 route. A route along that road is not included in the current plans that would be submitted the federal government for funding.

The commissioner's vote Wednesday allows them to vote differently on the transit bus and rail plan when it returns to them. They can also choose to study the feasibility of more transit alternatives along N.C. 15-501 that would spur economic development there.

Orange commissioners could complicate light-rail plan

jaydub — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:51:07 -0500

Transportation advisers expect to vote Wednesday morning on their favored route for a light-rail line between Chapel Hill and Durham, but the Orange County commissioners could throw in a complication with vote of their own tonight.

Triangle Transit and elected officials in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Durham favor a route that follows N.C. 54 part of the way east from Chapel Hill and then follows either of two ways north to U.S. 15-501.

Some Orange County commissioners, though, as well as County Manager Frank Clifton, have said they want a third route added to the mix – one that skips N.C. 54 and runs along 15-501 instead. That route was previously considered and dropped from the discussion.

They are expected to vote tonight whether to make that part of their official position that Commissioner Alice Gordon takes to Wednesday's meeting of the transportation committee of the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization.

"This is coming up here at the 11th hour?" said Durham City Councilman Mike Woodard, a member of the MPO's Transportation Advisory Committee. "Where have they been for the last four years?"

Triangle Transit spokesman Brad Schulz said that, if Orange County's alternative delays the committee's decision on a "locally preferred alternative," the application process for getting federal funding for the light-rail project could be delayed for more than a year.

Transportation Advisory Committee Chairwoman Lydia Lavelle, a member of the Carrboro Board of Aldermen, said a delay is unlikely.

Lavelle said none of the other governing bodies involved have expressed any interest in revisiting the 15-501 route, and expects the other representatives will vote to recommend the two routes including N.C. 54.

"I haven't heard any kind of discussion to indicate anything else," Lavelle said this afternoon.

The other jurisdictions would still have a job ahead, Woodard said, to convince Orange County to put a half-cent transit sales tax up for a public referendum. Durham County voters approved a tax last fall, but it will not be levied unless Orange and/or Wake county approve a similar tax.

Orange County officials have expressed skepticism about the light rail's value to the county at large, since it would only serve a corridor from UNC Hospitals to the Durham County line. The overall regional transit plan, though, does provide for improved bus service throughout all three counties.

Durham rental inspections revamp goes for council consideration

jaydub — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:39:10 -0500

A "Proactive Rental Inspection Program" for Durham is on the City Council's work session agenda Thursday. The proposal switches housing-code inspections of rental property to a systematic regimen instead of the past practice of inspecting only when someone complains.

The program, according to Housing Code Administrator Rick Hester, is intended to motivate property owners to keep their houses and apartments up to code or get extra attention and expense from City Hall.

Read more about the program in Wednesday's Durham News. Links to some program documents are here:

Southern Durham backs off cost recovery suit

jaydub — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:19:56 -0500

Southern Durham Development has withdrawn its attempt to collect expenses and "sanctions" from plaintiffs in the 751 South lawsuit.

According to the withdrawal notice, Southern Durham did so "as a gesture of good faith." Attorney Cal Cunningham said the company "has agreed to resume confidential mediated settlement discussions" and would make no further comment.

Last fall, Southern Durham went through mediation with the plaintiffs, the Chancellor's Ridge Homeowners Association and property owners Kristen Corbell and Kim Preslar, without reaching agreement. Steve Bocckino, an opponent of the 751 South subdivision project, said today that no mediation is currently under way.

The company had moved for recovery of "sanctions, costs and attorney's fees" after Superior Court Judge Henry Hight dismissed the suit Jan. 12. The plaintiffs, are appealing Hight's ruling.

"The appeal is still underway, and the neighbors are as opposed to the project as ever," Bocckino said.

The plaintiffs sued Durham County in 2010, claiming their protest petition against a rezoning for 751 South was improperly ruled invalid. Southern Durham joined the suit as a co-defendant.

Greenfire to build $10 million apartment complex in downtown Durham

dbracken — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:39:38 -0500

Greenfire Development announced today that it plans to build an 88-unit apartment complex in downtown Durham on land the company owns at the corner of Jackson and Willard streets, adjacent to the N.C. mutual building.

Greenfire's partner on the $10 million project is Armada Hoffler, a construction firm based in Virginia Beach.

The project will also include space for a local education institution and some market-rate housing.

Construction is expected to begin in July and be completed by May 2013, the company reported in its release.

In recent years Greenfire has acquired about 30 buildings in and around downtown Durham.

The company has had some notable successes in rehabilitating historic properties - the Baldwin Building, the Kress Building and Rogers Alley, to name three. But it has failed to move ahead with some key projects.

In May a section of Greenfire's Liberty Warehouse roof collapsed during a thunder and hail storm.

Greenfire is also seeking financing to convert the 17-story SunTrust Tower into a luxury hotel.

Perdue appoints retired judge interim Durham County district attorney

mschultz — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:29:52 -0500

This just in:

Gov. Bev Perdue today appointed retired Superior Court Judge A. Leon Stanback to serve as interim District Attorney for Durham County.

“Judge Stanback has served North Carolina and the Durham community with distinction as a prosecutor, parole commissioner and Superior Court judge,” Gov. Perdue said. “He is the ideal person to bring strong leadership to the district attorney’s office at this challenging time.”

Judge Stanback served as a Superior Court judge for the 14^th judicial district beginning in 1989 until his retirement in 2009. His distinguished legal career includes his private law practice and his service both as a member of the North Carolina Parole Commission and as an assistant district attorney in Guilford County.

Look for a full story on newsobserver.com today on the latest in the Tracey Cline situation.

What's in today's Durham News

mschultz — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:21:50 -0500

Here's a look at today's local headlines, but first ... make sure to read today's N&O story about Durham Public Schools' opposition to a new charter school. Did you know 9 percent of Durham students attend charter schools, the highest percentage on the state? See the story here.

PLACE TO HOLD ON: Photographer Mark Dolejs took some beautiful pictures for new correspondent Jamie Kennedy's story on St. Basil the Great Romanian Orthodox Church. Our features editor is going to pick this story up for a full N&O run and says the church is planning a big Feb. 26 picnic.

LIBERTY REPAIRS DEADLINE: Does this seem to be taking a long time? The city wil hold a demolition by neglect hearing at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in City Hall. Read Jim Wise's story to see what they're trying to figure out.

O, ROMEO: No one from the Duke Lemur Center had called back when we wrote this story for the N&O last week. We added their comments the next day for the story in today's paper, and it just got even sadder. It only costs $10 to visit the Lemur Center by the way.

The city wants the art taken off the Duke Park traffic circle at Markham and Glendale. Carlton Koonce talks with the folks at YO:Durham in today's My View. And a reader from Down Under challenges the logic behind gun laws. Plus Flo Johnston on faith, a preview of this month's NC Comedy Festival and more.

Thanks for reading,

Mark

Bob at the gym and what's in today's Chapel Hill News

mschultz — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:33:45 -0500

Saw Bob, my 85-year-old inspiration at the gym this morning. He said he liked the story we did a few weeks back on the Chapel Hill couple that had Michael Brown paint a portrait of them on their garage door. Nice to be reminded it's not all about police raids and solid waste transfer stations.

But speaking of police raids, here's a look at today's local headlines in The Chapel Hill News.

ROAD WORK SILT: The town was still waiting yesterday for DOT's report on how Weaver Dairy Road construction runoff ended up in Eastwood Lake. The print photo doesn't do the scene justice, so I've attached it here. Thanks to James Protzman for calling us about this. Lots of stories start like this, just like Betty Neese and her garage door portrait.

POLICE TRAINING: The discussion changed tone this week as the town manager said police were not prepared for the unique situation posed by the Yates Motor Co. building takeover. His memo talked about civil disobedience, which is how the acivists had characterized their action. The town has created a special page on the Yates Motor incident; you can see it here.

While we're on the subject ... a reader called yesterday to confirm his reading of the facts in the incident. He was well informed until he added this all got overblown because staff writer Katelyn Ferral " got her feelings hurt." That's not correct, I told him. Katelyn did get cuffed with zip ties and told to lie on the ground, but she has been professional throughout. Without her photos, as shown at Monday's court hearing. we would only have a verbal he said/she said of what happened that day.

RAIL LINE DEBATE: We have two items concerning the future light rail line proposed to connect Chapel Hill and Durham in today's paper. Katelyn has the latest from the Town Council, who like the George King Road option, and the Orange County commissioners, some of whom don't like it at all. And in today's My View, columnist Mark Zimmerman asks just where is this train taking us?

There's a lot more: the 12th annual NC Comedy Festival, a column from Steve Hutton on tuition and another from Jeff Kingan proposing a new solution to our garbage dilemma.

Thanks for reading, wherever you read us; we're up to 1,100 followers on our Twitter feed (@chapelhillnews1) and my Facebook page (cracked the 800 friends mark yesterday).

Mark

Track coach Beasley joins field for Durham County commissioner

jaydub — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:17:07 -0500

Track coach and bail bondsman Omar Beasley (left) has put himself in contention for a seat on the Durham Board of County Commissioners.

Beasley registered his Committee to Elect Omar Beasley with the Durham County Board of Elections on Monday. He also has a campaign Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/Noblesdad.

A registered Democrat, Beasley is a former officer of the Durham Bail Bond Alliance and an assistant track coach at Jordan High School. He also coaches the Carolina Elite Track & Field Club.

Candidate filing for Durham's 2012 elections opens Feb. 13.

Background on Greenfire Development

jaydub — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 12:13:37 -0500

Here is a link to the Liberty Warehouse's nomination to the National Register of Historic Places:

Fred Foster in Durham commissioners race

jaydub — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:07:48 -0500

Fred Foster, president of the Durham NAACP branch, has become the third official unofficial candidate for the Board of County Commissioners.

Candidate filing does not open until Feb. 13, but this week Foster (right) registered a campaign committee with the Durham County Board of Elections.

A long-time Democratic Party activist, Foster ran unsuccessfully for a commissioners' seat in 2000 and 2008, and for the state House in 2010.

He joined Duke University biologist Will Wilson and former Durham Planning Commissioner Wendy Jacobs, who had already registered their campaign committees. Both are registered Democrats.

Political newcomer John Owens, also a Democrat, registered an "exploratory committee" this week, but has not specified an office he is seeking.

Bid shortfall delays Durham's American Tobacco Trail bridge

jaydub — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:41:08 -0500

The American Tobacco Trail bridge over I-40 has – you guessed it – hit a snag again.

Wednesday was bid-opening day for the long-awaited, oft-delayed final segment of the popular greenway. But, according to city contract manager Byron Brady, there weren't enough bids to open.

State law requires at least three. There were only two. So now the $7.8-million job is being re-advertised for bids with opening date now set for Feb. 15.

The bridge, near Southpoint Mall, and a 4.2-mile trail segment, has been on the city's to-do list for more than a decade.

Background on Durham's response to violent crime

jaydub — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:57:28 -0500

After Durham's 26th homicide of 2011, Mayor Bill Bell told Police Chief Jose L. Lopez he wanted a "different approach" to preventing violent crime.After Durham's 26th homicide of 2011, Mayor Bill Bell told Police Chief Jose L. Lopez he wanted a "different approach" to preventing violent crime.

In January, Bell laid out the first four "new strategies" for curbing homicide and violent crime in general. They include higher bonds for suspects in violent crimes, better communication among law-enforcement and criminal-justice agencies and renewed outreach to engage citizens in crime prevention. (See link below to Belllaysoutcrimestrategy).

At the same time, the Durham Crime Cabinet adopted two sets of revisions to North Carolina's code regarding firearms-involved offenses. The revisions are being circulated to several governmental and law-enforcement organizations before being presented to Durham County's legislative delegation. (See links below to the draft revisions.)