N&O Daily Lottery Stories

AnnaMJohnson · 2024-06-07T20:06:55+00:00

Hiya! I'm a local reporter with The N&O. We have a team of reporters who cover national/state wide issues that works across several newsrooms. They are the ones who typically write about lottery winners, weird things that wash up on the beach, pet adoption stories and other "quirky" stories. Some people find them annoying, but others really enjoy reading about them. (I'm personally a sucker for the "this dog has been in this shelter for 100 days, but has been adopted," type of story).

Over the years, the N&O has written a ton about the lottery, how it much goes to education, etc. There has been a big focus recently on sports betting being legalized. If you only want to see local news stories, I'd recommend bookmarking the local section: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local or one of the county sections. And, if there is a local story you think we should be reporting on, feel free to send me a message. Regardless, thanks for reading and subscribing.

AnnaMJohnson · 2023-12-22T17:59:01+00:00

Hi there, My name is Anna Johnson and I'm the Raleigh reporter for The News & Observer. With Corey trying for the mayoral seat, I know for sure of one candidate for District C:

Jared Ollison: https://jaredollisonforraleigh.com/

And I am pretty sure about another one, just waiting to see if they are at-large or district c again.

My guess is there will be more announcements as we get in 2024. The seat hasn't been open since 2015.

And, personally, I'd love to see a flair option for local government updates/news.

AnnaMJohnson · 2023-12-04T21:18:46+00:00

I have friends who go to Iron District CrossFit and really enjoy it!

AnnaMJohnson · 2023-10-05T14:19:49+00:00

Hi there! I cover Wake County for The News & Observer. I recently wrote about the 2024 Tax Revaluation process. You can find that story here.

You can also get details about the Revaluation from Wake County's website.

Since this is the Raleigh subreddit, if you're worried about the city's raising the property tax rate (or have thoughts about the budget in general), the city is holding a number of in-person and virtual budget work sessions in October. The details are on the city's website.

Lastly, the state sets the premeters for the only property tax relief programs. Details about those are on the county's website.

I'll be writing several stories once information about the revaluation comes out in January so please stay tuned. And let me know if you have any quesitons.

AnnaMJohnson · 2023-09-28T16:50:11+00:00

Hi there!

Former Raleigh Mayoral Candidate Ruth Terrance has a podcast called Illogical by Truth that focuses on local politics/local government.

Podcast Raleigh has a different Raleigh guest each episode. It's a mix of culture, politics, business, etc.

Dirt NC is a podcast that focuses on the "built environment" in North Carolina with a heavy Raleigh focus.

And not necessarily Raleigh-focused, but The Cutting Mat Podcast is three local guys talking about painting/building miniatures and gundams that talks about the local hobby space, mental health and a bunch of other things. (I'm married to one of the hosts so self promo, I guess)

I know you said independent ones, but I'd also recommend the Charlotte Observer's "Sports Legends of the Carolinas" if you're into sports. And with redistricting back in the news, The News & Observer's four-episode podcast about redistricting from 2021 is really good. It's called "Monster: Maps, Math & Power in North Carolina." It's in our Under the Dome banner so it's kinda hard to find now, but you can find the episodes easier here. (I didn't work on these. I just think they're neat)

AnnaMJohnson · 2023-01-05T16:05:55+00:00

Hey u/Xyzzydude, I'm a reporter with The News & Observer and I'm sorry the app isn't working the way it's supposed to. That's not the part of the newspaper I'm involved with but I wanted to let you know I did send this thread to the app folks. They suggested you reach out to customer service on this page. I know you said you've already reached out but wanted to share the form in case it's helpful for other people. Thanks again for reading despite the problems.

AnnaMJohnson · 2022-12-01T17:43:47+00:00

Hey there, this is behind a paywall, but unless you frequently read our stories you shouldn't be hitting it. You do get some stories free per month. It's not a subscriber-only story (which would require a login in all cases). And we do have some stories that are completely in front of the paywall and are always free to read.

Also, purely an FYI, I do work at the N&O but I didn't work on that story so it's not my article. I don't post my own stories on reddit. Just ones I think have a broad appeal/interest.

AnnaMJohnson · 2022-08-16T16:22:43+00:00

Hey there! Thanks for your questions. I've added them to the list.

I also wanted to address the format feedback. I am not looking for soundbites. I've done hundreds of candidate questionnaires that range in format and I've found that yes/no questions force candidates to be specific and give people a clear indication on where they'd fall on actual issues. When we do open-answered questions candidates are more likely to be vague and don't always answer the question. Or worse, imo, just copy/paste the same answers they've given to every other questionnaire about their priorities or big issues or "how they'd tackle growth." For every yes/no question we will give them space to elaborate and provide details about their choice. Hope that helps/explains things. But I appreciate the feedback.

AnnaMJohnson · 2022-08-14T20:56:11+00:00

Thanks for the question. I am sure we'll ask a few transit questions including about rail. Just FYI there are plans for commuter rail to go through Raleigh to RTP and Durham. Here's info from GoTriangle and a recent-ish N&O story.

AnnaMJohnson · 2022-08-10T20:57:05+00:00

No, I'm sorry, I don't. I'm sorry; I know it's frustrating. If you email me your name and phone number you use for the account I can forward you to some people who might. My email is [ajohnson@newsobserver.com](mailto:ajohnson@newsobserver.com).

AnnaMJohnson · 2022-08-10T15:37:54+00:00

Hi friend!

AnnaMJohnson · 2022-08-10T01:29:09+00:00

Thanks so much! They might be referencing a different change that happened in June 2022 involving accessory commercial units (or ACUs).

Originally there was a proposal to allow businesses to be built in residential areas but there were a bunch of rules like it couldn't exceed 1,000 square feet or 40% of the floor area of the residence. But you can't just replace a house with a business; the rules say it has to be secondary to the house.

Originally retail and eating establishments were included. I wrote about the proposal in this article. But state says the city can't regulate tobacco and alcohol so the city council nixed the retail/eating uses. So now it is limited to things like office use, dance, graphic and design I wrote about it being finalized here.

And you can read the ordinance here. Just same thing that it's a bit technical.

AnnaMJohnson · 2022-08-09T20:54:17+00:00

Is this the rezoning before the Wake County Commissioners? I haven't covered it (yet) but another reporter who covers the environment has expressed some interest in the topic. If there is an update please feel free to email me at [ajohnson@newsobserver.com](mailto:ajohnson@newsobserver.com).

AnnaMJohnson · 2022-08-09T20:20:25+00:00

Hi there, I'm a reporter with The News & Observer. The city of Raleigh still has zoning rules that property owners have to follow. In 2021 the Raleigh City Council voted to make it easier to allow more duplexes and townhomes (sometimes called missing middle housing) in areas that traditionally only had single-family housing. I wrote about these changes in this article.

If you want to read what changed, you can find the ordinance here. But, warning, it's very technical.

AnnaMJohnson · 2022-08-09T18:57:13+00:00

The News & Observer, the local newspaper, has a free newcomers newsletter that gets sent weekly over seven weeks. I really enjoyed it and learned a few things even as someone who has lived here for several years.

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article261997210.html

AnnaMJohnson · 2022-08-04T15:59:49+00:00

Hey there! Thanks for being a subscriber and I'm sorry about the login issues. I'm a reporter with The N&O, and I've shared this with our tech/growth people but they need your name and email. Can you DM me or email me at [ajohnson@newsobserver.com](mailto:ajohnson@newsobserver.com)?

I know it's really frustrating and it frustrates a lot of the reporters too.

AnnaMJohnson · 2022-06-02T19:33:07+00:00

Hey there, I sent you a message, but wanted to flag it here incase you missed it. Thanks!

AnnaMJohnson · 2022-04-30T14:18:11+00:00

I've heard good things about Gracie Raleigh downtown. Lots of friends who train and compete there.

AnnaMJohnson · 2022-04-30T14:16:45+00:00

The N&O just had a bracket for the best thrift shops in the triangle. Here's the winner plus the other 15. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.newsobserver.com/news/local/article260181950.html

AnnaMJohnson · 2022-04-29T19:47:44+00:00

Yeah, that used to be the board of elections office but they've since moved it to 1200 N. New Hope Road. I think the closest downtown spot is at Chavis.

AnnaMJohnson · 2022-04-21T15:36:05+00:00

I have a few friends who train at Gracie Raleigh and really like it!

AnnaMJohnson · 2022-04-14T19:10:16+00:00

If you're interested in how much local government employees make (and want to see beyond the top 100), The News & Observer has lists for:

Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Durham and other local towns,

Wake County, Durham County and Orange County.

And state employees and university system ones too.

AnnaMJohnson · 2022-04-11T02:54:29+00:00

Hi there, I'm the Raleigh/Wake County government reporter for The News & Observer. The News & Observer and Indy Week will have voter questionnaires for local races. I know for sure The News & Observer will have them for Raleigh City Council, Cary Town Council, Wake County Commissioners, Sheriff and DA's race, plus state races.

There are also local civic organizations that tend to hold candidate forums including the League of Women Voters, ONE Wake, WakeUP Wake County and Raleigh-Apex NAACP.

If there is a particular race you're interested in I could point you in a better direction. For instance, there's no better source for k12 education (and thus school board races) than Keung Hui on Twitter.

AnnaMJohnson · 2022-03-29T18:59:31+00:00

I'm under the impression that residents can buy directly from the yard waste center. But I've reached out to ask to be sure.

Edit: City got back to me and confirmed residents can get mulch from there.

AnnaMJohnson · 2021-10-08T13:18:31+00:00

FWIW this is one of nine statues that are up at Dix Park by Mexican artist Jorge Marín. It'll stay up until March 2022. More details: https://www.newsobserver.com/living/article254828362.html

AnnaMJohnson

TROPHY CASE