View SEHSR alternatives in a larger map

The state Department of Transportation says it will hold a public meeting at the North Raleigh Hilton from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 15, to air new revisions to its proposals for closing rail crossings, building bridges and routing trains through northern Wake County as part of a planned fast-train shortcut between Raleigh and Richmond.

These are changes from the plans that were discussed in 2010 at public meetings for the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor.

Under the new DOT recommendations, the preferred train route would wipe out the $5.9 million Thales Academy K-5 campus in Wake Forest,  a private nonprofit school that serves 400 students (see today's story with reader comments).  Other changes include building a rail underpass for Elm Avenue in Wake Forest, instead of closing it where it crosses the tracks now.

The SEHSR website includes an April 2012 report with updated info on the preferred route from Raleigh to Richmond.  Detailed maps with the northern Wake changes will be posted online in advance of Tuesday's public meeting.

Conservative businessman Bob Luddy has demanded, unsuccessfully for now, that the N.C. Association of Educators remove its recent video that accuses him of trying to destroy public schools.

In this cease and desist letter written by his lawyer, Luddy is demanding that NCAE remove the video by 5 p.m. today. The letter also warns that Luddy is considering legal action over what he calls the false NCAE claim that Luddy is profiting from Thales Academy, which is a non-profit institution.

The letter says NCAE's video "impugn Mr. Luddy's business reputation as well as the reputation of Thales Academy."

Under the Dome reports that NCAE has refused to comply with the order, saying the video never says Luddy is profiting from the schools and that they consider the businessman a public figure.

UPDATE

Click here to view the NCAE response letter refusing to remove the video and pointing to the high standards that Luddy would have to meet to prevail legally.

Supporters of conservative businessman Bob Luddy are demanding equal time following the recent NCAE video alleging he's trying to destroy the public school system.

Below is a tribute video that Luddy's supporters put out in December trumpeting what they call "Luddy Education." It looks at his work with Franklin Academy, St. Thomas More Academy and the Thales Academy schools.

"I felt like that our public school system was not really delivering the academic education and also the character development that our students needed," Luddy says in the video. "Too many of these students drop out over time or they don't receive the level of education they need so based on the way I've always done things in my own life, I decided to do something about it myself."

Schools Founded by Bob Luddy from Randy Luddy on Vimeo.

The N.C. Association of Educators has a video linking state House Majority Leader Paul Stam, Wake County school board chairman Ron Margiotta and businessmen Art Pope and Bob Luddy in an alleged plan to destroy public schools.

Click here for more details in this Under the Dome blog post.

Steve Stroud, the outspoken chairman of the NAI Carolantic real estate company, praised conservative businessmen Art Pope and Bob Luddy for their education-related efforts during a speech on Wednesday.

Stroud spoke at the opening of NAI Carolantic's annual commercial real estate conference held in the RBC Center.

He was sharply critical of leaders in Washington and hailed the November landslide by Republicans.

The diversity policy isn't the only difference separating Wake County school board members.

As noted in today's article, the board is also split about how to view charter schools, private schools and home schools. Members of the new board majority are more willing to embrace these educational alternatives even as they say they want to bring more families back into the school system.

“Honestly, I would like to see the public schools get involved with the charter schools and develop a better working relationship because of the way that they tend to be theme schools,” said school board chairman Ron Margiotta. “If we want to talk about it’s being competition, I welcome the competition.”

Critics of the new Wake County school board majority and conservative businessman Art Pope struck the state GOP headquarters today.

A banner was hung up this afternoon in front of the building which read “POPE BOUGHT THIS BUILDING, POPE BOUGHT THE BOARD, 3/23: DO NOT BUY IT." The banner has since been removed.

Critics of the new school board majority have increasingly argued that Pope "bought" the school board through his campaign donations to the county GOP and his support of conservative groups such as Americans for Prosperity, Civitas Institute and the John Locke Foundation.

Is conservative businessman Bob Luddy pulling the string behind the new Wake County school board majority?

That's a possibility raised in a Wednesday column by Chris Fitzsimon, executive director of the liberal N.C. Policy Watch. Fitzsimon, who's no fan of the new board, notes that Luddy gave a lot of money to the new members.

"Though Tuesday’s meeting was not nearly as carefully orchestrated as the one two weeks ago, it’s still hard to believe the new board is operating on its own," Fitzsimon writes. "It’s far more likely they’re getting help, if not direction from folks like businessman and Locke Foundation board member Bob Luddy, who was the largest individual campaign contributor to the new board members."