Here’s Scott Yost’s piece on the Register of Deeds E-Recording event Friday June 6th.
(Interesting note: My son Aiden threw up all over that suit pictured while attending a wedding in Pinehurst this past Saturday.)
Jehan is committed to end homelessness. Yeah, that’s right, and why not? Just ask 55 of her friends. I met Jehan in the Other Voices program a couple of years ago. She is bright and driven to make a difference. I appreciate her leadership and spirit. Jehan knows there are many complex forces involved with addressing homelessness but she is inspiring and God can do great things when personal conviction, resources, and a community struggles together to help those left behind.
Here is her conversation with News and Record reporter Joe Killian.
Bill Schmickle has achieved the impossible. He’s kept my eyes from glazing over at the thought of reading a book about historic preservation–The Politics of Historic Districts. Of course, I never doubted that from the first turn of the cover. It wasn’t the topic that made me believe, but the man behind the pages.
I admit, I’m biased toward Bill. Yes, he was my political science professor at Guilford. His wife Charlotte cured my sniffles on several occasions and his sons Andy and Greg are way cool, worldly, and successful cats in their own right. But this book is important for its field in my opinion and I’m convinced it will be embraced widely as a seminal piece . HPC members across the country are already dog-earring its pages and its a great read.
Bill lays down the gauntlet from square one. Historic districts are not about pure preservation, they are about politics “from the get-go”. He “spikes the punch” of preservation nerds with strategy laced with Machiavellian performance enhancing drugs. After a few gulps, he then pats them on the back, and pushes them out the door with good humor and a systematic playbook for guerrilla warfare with City Hall. I’m impressed. As a former county commissioner, I realize Bill has let the proverbial ‘cat out of the bag’ and city councils had better take notice.
Some key phrases and thoughts. The worst thing in politics is to be right and to lose. The political landscape is littered with the bones of just causes. Tell me about it. Bill understands there are two processes at work in designation: the formal procedure and the informal and political. He helps advocates understand the right questions in the formal process through a step by step approach to research, committee organization, and finding professional help. Bill knows the politics is more like a chess game than a jigsaw puzzle. Like chess, the strategy for success must embrace fluidity, uncertainty and general predictability.
And let me warn you, put the book back on the shelf if you aren’t in it to win it.
“It’s often true the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Yet when you’re both watching your adversary you’re not always seeing eye to eye.Thank God for Bill’s wit. Only Bill can quote John Heisman or Sherlock Holmes and get away with it in a preservation book… ” Gentleman, it is better to have died as a small boy than to fumble this football”, or “There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact”.
Historic District wonks kneel before your Messiah…
Mitch and I were classmates at Guilford College in early 1990’s and did a semester abroad together in London. I enjoyed being around him–naturally inquisitive, appreciative of a good laugh, and always looking for next adventure. In addition to being fun to be around, he was also not afraid to open himself to others experiences which made for great conversation.
Now, Mitch is the real deal in the photojournalism world and I’m in awe of the range of his reporting. From covering violence in Kabul or effects of poverty in the very rural Gwhor Province in Afghanistan, Tsunami that devastated Sri Lanka’s south and east coast, Hamas and Fatah power struggles from a family perspective in the Palestinian territory; clashes between Sunni Muslim supporters of the Lebanese government and the Shiite followers of the Hezbollah-led opposition. He’s in the mix. Oh yeah, did I mention Iraq? I could go on (kidnapped reporter), on (Time piece) , and on(US News).
For those of us in the States hungry for a reality check and some perspective, Mitch is on the ground chasing down the story. I appreciate him for his work and I encourage you to follow his writings.
BURGAW- Anna Humphrey Katsoulis took first place recently with her “Blue Berry Cloud Cake Roll” at the North Carolina Blueberry Festival. Anna has won this prestigous award for the third year in a row beating out 53 other entries. She beat out 100 entries last year. Anna and I graduated from Pender High School in 1989.
Yep, this is one smokin’ hot blueberry cake and I can’t stop thinking about it….
The Blueberry Festival celebrates the historical, economic, and cultural significance of blueberries in the southeastern region of our state. The first cultivated blueberry production in North Carolina began in the Pender County area in the 1930s. Currently, Pender County ranks second in blueberry production for the state.
WILDFIRE
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 6/18/08
The cost of battling a massive eastern North Carolina wildfire has topped $4 million, according to officials. Efforts continued Wednesday to put the blaze out, but firefighters are still awaiting the major rainstorm needed to extinguish the blaze. Fire command center spokesman Bruce MacDonald said about $4.1 million has been spent on the fire that is burning in and around the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, up from $3.8 million Tuesday. MacDonald said firefighters are spraying water on hotspots in the smoldering peat soil. About 350 people were assigned to the fire Wednesday. The fire has burned roughly 41,000 acres in the sparsely populated area of three eastern counties. It remains 70 percent contained.
“I hope it doesn’t cost more than $9.99.”
Rep. Ronnie Sutton, D-Robeson, after being given a beaten-up garden hose — in lieu of a hose for a fire truck that he had gained an appropriation for a year earlier — by fellow House members on his birthday. Sutton was referring to a gift ban limit in 2006 ethics legislation.
