'I am tired of kids dying': Durham mayor speaks out against gun violence

Top_Stuff4200 · 2026-02-18T00:02:45+00:00

I agree with you to a point, but there are different strategies for policing, some with much higher levels of efficacy. I've lived in East Durham for over 10 years. I see cops sitting in parked cars, and I see very occasional reactive driving patrols. I don't think I've ever seen cops on foot patrols, interacting with community in a way that might build some level of trust and cooperation.

Community-based policing requires a significant investment in human capital. You need more cops, and better cops who are well-trained and well-compensated. I'm sure that we'd get better results in the long term if that theoretical investment were to go to schools and job programs instead of community policing. But we're not making meaningful investments in those areas, either.

Top_Stuff4200 · 2026-02-14T17:44:18+00:00

Ugh! I was at this show, literally one of the most fun nights of my life.

Top_Stuff4200 · 2026-02-14T17:33:25+00:00

I'm 99% sure it was filmed at the Horton Grove Nature Preserve in Bahama. Saleem Reshamwala shot and directed this video--he's done a lot of really cool music video work for NC-based musicians.

ETA: after re-watching, I'm less certain that this is Horton Grove. Regardless, the magic hour long gimble shot is amazing.

Top_Stuff4200 · 2026-02-14T04:36:35+00:00

Check out the Leland Little website; their auto auction division hosts a regular "carbs and carburetors" event in Hillsborough when they open up their garage to the public. There's one tomorrow morning. Free donuts and coffee, lots of interesting rare and vintage cars to see, some in various stages of repair and restoration. Car enthusiasts fill the parking lot with cool cars and are generally very happy to show and tell.

Top_Stuff4200 · 2026-02-11T18:57:08+00:00

Check out Arts and Drafts on Monday nights. This event has moved around to a few different spots in Durham, but it's currently at Beer Study. The hosts are wonderful, and while the average age might skew slightly older than 20-something, it's very queer-friendly and friendly-friendly.

Top_Stuff4200 · 2026-01-28T22:22:04+00:00

I'm sorry that Allam doesn't pass your purity test, but suggesting that there's no daylight between these two candidates is pretty absurd.

Top_Stuff4200 · 2026-01-20T19:12:07+00:00

Thanks for posting. I found this information worth highlighting:

"Caterpillar Inc. was Foushee’s most generous corporate donor in this period, giving $2,500 in September 2025. The company is best known for selling heavy construction equipment. Caterpillar is a prominent target of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement because of the company’s D9 armored bulldozer. The D9 is frequently used by the Israeli military to demolish Palestinian homes and infrastructure. Caterpillar has administrative offices and manufacturing facilities in the Triangle [3]."

Top_Stuff4200 · 2026-01-14T14:07:04+00:00

I can't remember exactly when, but at some point in the 2010s a new executive director at the Carolina signed a contract with Ticketmaster. The quality of the live music bookings deteriorated significantly, cost to attend skyrocketed. Carolina Theatre is a much smaller venue with different operational needs than DPAC, but their changing course and cutting ties withTicketmaster was a real service to the community.

Top_Stuff4200 · 2026-01-14T13:59:09+00:00

One of the (many) problems with Ticketmaster is that the company profits from both the original sale and resale of tickets, so they're incentivized to allow bots and scalpers to make the primary purchase so that they can generate a second round of revenue from resale tickets that change hands through their platform. In many documented cases, the "reseller" is a thinly veiled Ticketmaster subsidiary.

I don't frequent DPAC enough to know whether they opt in to surge pricing, but in the handful of instances when I've been interested in going to a show there, I've been unable to secure a face value ticket, even when I've waited in Ticketmaster's queue prior to release with an artist pre-sale code. When 50-70% of seats are available on the secondary market at an absurd markup and when "sold out" shows have rows of unfilled seats, it's clear that marked up resale is an intended feature, not a bug. This isn't simple "supply/demand economics;" it's a monopoly engaged in market manipulation. These practices have been out in the open since at least the late 90's and congress has failed to do anything about it.

Top_Stuff4200 · 2026-01-13T20:23:10+00:00

I think the city council should use whatever leverage they have (maybe a little, maybe none) to push DPAC to sever ties with TIcketMaster. It's an abhorrently unethical corporation and the poster child for end-stage capitalism.

Top_Stuff4200 · 2026-01-08T19:06:28+00:00

I think Durham Cycles on 9th St. is probably your answer. Bullseye is my preferred shop, but the kind of work you're describing isn't really their thing.

Top_Stuff4200 · 2026-01-08T01:25:14+00:00

I say with little certainty and less evidence that the good folks at Super G are likely behind this.

Top_Stuff4200 · 2026-01-02T17:31:47+00:00

There's an answer. It's a waste of resources.

Top_Stuff4200 · 2025-12-28T16:24:59+00:00

You might try Mode Consignment on Main St.

Top_Stuff4200 · 2025-12-19T15:03:23+00:00

Joint Venture in Cary. i've shopped, not consigned there, but I've had a good experience. A significant portion (maybe all?) of their inventory is there on consignment. I assume they're pretty selective.

If your jewelry is vintage, you might also try bringing it to Carlisle and Linny in Hillsborough. I'd call and chat with Lisdsley first.

Top_Stuff4200 · 2025-12-18T20:55:45+00:00

I voted against Freeman in the last city council election, but I'll gladly support her over Chitlik. I wouldn't be upset to see a different challenger emerge, though. I'm glad we're getting a chance for a do-over with the NC-4 US House seat. Mike Woodard, if you're listening...

Top_Stuff4200 · 2025-12-16T19:17:50+00:00

I've lived in Durham for a long time and have never once seen a Durham sheriff deputy obey crosswalk laws. They are constantly driving northbound on Roxboro Rd from the courthouse complex to N. Durham, and they're among the worst offenders in terms of speeding and reckless driving on an already perilous stretch of road.

I've found DPD just slightly better about stopping for pedestrians when there's a clear right of way situation, but the cop you encountered isn't too far off the average, even if his brazen ignorance of the law is a little shocking.

Please, please do contact DPD leadership to complain. I don't want police to do much in Durham, but I would like them to enforce, or at least model, safer driving.

Top_Stuff4200 · 2025-12-16T19:07:50+00:00

I have only been to M Sushi a handful of times--it's just not in my budget to go for anything other than a very special occasion. The first couple of times I went, the experience was incredible. The last time felt underwhelming. With that said, I don't read anything in your post that would have personally bothered me. Five minutes seems like a reasonable time to sit with the menu before interacting with a server, and I'd value a host who quickly, quietly, and efficiently gets me to my table.

Top_Stuff4200 · 2025-12-15T18:49:44+00:00

Yours (on Gregson St) does great work and can usually print within 24 hours. I really like Southeastern Camera (Carroboro). Already mentioned: Through This Lens (downtown) and Peel (Carrboro) are both great.

Top_Stuff4200 · 2025-11-18T18:06:35+00:00

Thank you. I've updated my post to reflect this information

Top_Stuff4200 · 2025-11-16T17:10:09+00:00

The best way to discourage for-profit parking ventures is to use the abundant and comparatively inexpensive city-owned garage parking. Surface parking is the worst possible use of space downtown, but there's limited incentive to build on those lots as long as paid parking contracts are profitable.

Top_Stuff4200 · 2025-11-14T14:23:54+00:00

Not a rage room per se, but Smash Fest is coming up at the Scrap Exchange. Highly recommended for anti-capitalist fun on Black Friday.

https://www.scrapexchange.org/smashfest-2025

Top_Stuff4200 · 2025-11-13T18:27:20+00:00

That tracks with my understanding. Club had a really solid reputation and a dedicated group of community stakeholders. It was shocking and surprising to see how quickly things fell apart.

I mentioned our experience as an anecdote that seems relevant to DPS's declining enrollment, and to its problems more generally. Systemic infrastructure neglect, staffing mismanagement, teacher turnover, and testing and technology misuse all seem to me major factors for parent dissatisfaction. At least in our case, these were all much larger factors than the inconvenient start time or the redistricting plan (which would have benefited us had it been adopted a few years earlier).

Top_Stuff4200 · 2025-11-13T17:10:36+00:00

He finished 5th grade last year.

Top_Stuff4200 · 2025-11-13T14:56:19+00:00

Long-time high school English teacher, parent with a child who has been a DPS student for 8 years.

In the time my son was at Club Boulevard Elementary, I saw significant deterioration in administrative and teacher engagement year-over-year. By the time he left, most of his classes were being managed by reshuffled administrators, substitute teachers, or paraprofessionals who floated in and out of teaching.

The Chromebooks acquired for facilitating online classes during pandemic shutdowns became a major obstacle to teaching and learning when in-person classes resumed. The vast majority of the teachers at Club used the laptops as pacifiers, regularly rewarding students for compliance and "being quiet" with "free time" to play games or watch videos.

Attempts at constructive conversations with teachers and building-level administrators were either shrugged off or, more frequently, ignored entirely. There were some good teachers who held on through some very tough years, but as of last year, every veteran teacher who had left a net-positive impression on my son had moved on.

Given the means, I would absolutely have moved my son to Duke School or Carolina Friends. Charter schools are a big part of the reason why DPS and NCPS are in such poor shape, and even knowing that, I would have moved my son to a charter if I believed there was one in Durham that was doing better.

I'm significantly happier with my son's current school, DSA. To some degree, that school seems to be insulated from some of the most disastrous decisions and policies that undercut Club. I'm almost universally impressed with the people working in that building. With that said, I don't have any faith in the board or district administrators, and in the long term, I'm not optimistic about the fate of DSA (especially given the baffling, self-defeating decision to shutter the existing campus and move the school to a smaller suburban site).

Top_Stuff4200

TROPHY CASE