Latest news with #LocalLimelight
Axios
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Local Limelight with Wake County Sen. Sydney Batch
State Sen. Sydney Batch, a Triangle native, is North Carolina's first Black female minority leader in her chamber. Why it matters: Since she burst onto the political scene when she won her race for a Wake County House seat in 2018's blue wave, Batch has become a rising star in her party and made a rapid ascent in the ranks of state politics. She assumed one of the most powerful positions in North Carolina politics in December, when Senate Democrats ousted political giant and longtime lawmaker Sen. Dan Blue as minority leader and installed Batch in his place. We talked with Batch for our latest Local Limelight conversation. The Q&A has been edited for Smart Brevity. 🥩 Favorite place to eat in the Triangle? Oak Steakhouse or Salsa Fresh. 🏀 What do you think the Triangle is missing? Another professional sports team. 🤳 What's your first read in the morning? Text messages. 📖 Last great book you read?" The Good Lord Bird" by James McBride. 🎧 Go-to podcast?" How Stuff Works." ⛱️ Favorite place to go for a long weekend? The beach, and if she had to pick one: Carolina Beach. 🎓 How did you end up in the Triangle? Batch grew up in Chapel Hill and has three degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill, including a law degree and master's in social work. After graduation, she founded Raleigh law firm Batch, Poore & Williams with her husband. "It would fundamentally change people's lives," Batch said. What's something you're looking forward to, unrelated to politics/your work? Going on family vacation with her extended family in Cancun this summer. How do you unplug at the end of the day? Putting a jigsaw puzzle together while watching a TV show.
Axios
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Local Limelight with Wake County Rep. Mike Schietzelt
North Carolina state Rep. Mike Schietzelt is one of just two Republicans who represent Wake County in the General Assembly. Why it matters: Schietzelt, a Marine Corps veteran and attorney, is serving his first term in House District 35, which stretches across much of the northern part of the county. We talked with Schietzelt for our latest Local Limelight conversation. The Q&A has been edited for Smart Brevity. What made you decide to run for office? After being recruited by Republican House leadership, "I felt like I was a good fit for my district. I'm not an overwhelmingly ideological person," Schietzelt said. "I don't feel like there are a lot of people advocating the needs for our suburbs." 🍖 Favorite place to eat in the Triangle? Backyard BBQ Pit and Hog Heaven Bar-B-Q, both in Durham. 🛣️ What do you think the Triangle is missing? A freeway connecting Raleigh to Wake Forest. "There is a huge missed opportunity right now" with the state "dragging its feet" on expanding U.S. 1, Schietzelt said. "Now we're talking about converting it into a toll road, which would unfortunately cut us off from some of the best opportunities we have in terms of economic growth." 💡 What's your first read in the morning? The Bible, or emails. 📚 Last great book you read? Ralph Ketcham's biography of James Madison and " Confident Pluralism" by John Inazu. 🎧 Go-to podcast? " Do Politics Better" or " Tying It Together" with Tim Boyum. 🎣 Favorite place to go for a long weekend? Banner Elk, or somewhere "I can sit around without Wi-Fi" to do a little hiking and fishing. 🐶 Do you have any pets? Atlas, who turns 14 in a few weeks. 🤓 How did you end up in the Triangle? Duke University's law school, which he attended after years of traveling the country as a professional trumpet player. ✍️ If you could pass any law, what would it be? Ratifying the Convention of States. His non-serious answer: Everyone should watch the 1994 film "PCU," a comedy on political correctness. ⛳️ What's something you're looking forward to, unrelated to politics or your work? "Sleeping at some point," Schietzelt said. But really: Getting out to play a round of golf. 🥹 How do you unplug at the end of the day? Putting the kids (he has four) to sleep.
Axios
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Local Limelight with The Atlantic's David A. Graham
Every day, journalist and Durham resident David A. Graham gets up and tries to make sense of the world of politics as a staff writer at The Atlantic and writer of the magazine's daily newsletter. Driving the news: His new book, " The Project: How Project 2025 Is Reshaping America," out on April 22, attempts to unpack how President Trump's second term in office could reshape the U.S. The book takes a deep dive into Project 2025, a nearly 1,000-page document published by the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, and its influence on the White House. What they're saying: Graham said he doesn't believe most voters knew much about Project 2025 when they voted. "Democrats basically treated it as a talking point (and in some notable cases misrepresented it)," Graham told Axios. "Donald Trump tried to hide from it. But the full scope of what Project 2025 wanted to achieve and the methods it laid out to do so never really broke through." You can read an excerpt from the book over at The Atlantic. You can also catch Graham chatting about the book with New York Times columnist Frank Bruni at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill on April 29. We talked with Graham for our latest Local Limelight conversation. The Q&A has been edited for Smart Brevity. 🎓 How did you end up in the Triangle? I went to Duke and left after graduation but returned for my wife's job. 🐝 What's your first read in the morning? Axios Raleigh! (Well, really The New York Times Spelling Bee, but after that…) 🍽️ Favorite place to eat in the Triangle? Ideal's for lunch and Littler for dinner. (RIP Honey's.) 🍻 How do you unplug at the end of the day? A good beer and hanging out with my kids ✈️ What do you think the Triangle is missing? Direct public transit from RDU to Durham, and some really good pho.
Axios
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Local Limelight with 'Abundance' author and journalist Derek Thompson
In writer Derek Thompson's view, a world full of clean energy, plentiful housing, vertical farming and fast and convenient transit is nearly in our grasps — if only we could just build it. The problem, though, is we no longer as a country know how to take on ambitious public works or we create too many rules and procedures that make projects too expensive and time consuming to take on. Driving the news: In " Abundance," a book the Chapel Hill-based journalist co-authored with New York Times columnist Ezra Klein, Thompson examines what keeps the U.S. from taking on big public projects — from the clean energy infrastructure needed to avert climate disaster to high-speed public transit — or even simply to build enough housing to meet the demand for it. These are issues that even the Triangle has struggled with, especially in the realm of public transit projects, like light rail and bus rapid transit, said Thompson, who writes for The Atlantic and hosts the " Plain English" podcast. What they're saying: "One theme of the book is that many cities and states struggle with something we call state capacity: the ability of the state, the government, to accomplish its goals," he told Axios. "A theme of recent efforts to build light rail in the Triangle is that it just takes so damn long, and costs so much damn money, to get projects off the ground." "Delay is death for complex construction projects: New objections always emerge, motivations flag, costs spiral," he added. "This is not a North Carolina problem. It's a truly national problem. The U.S. used to be able to start and complete transit projects in a matter of years. These days it can take decades just to arrive at the conclusion that nothing can be built." We talked with Thompson for our latest Local Limelight conversation. The Q&A has been edited for Smart Brevity. Next month, Thompson will be part of a panel discussion in Durham to discuss "Abundance" with Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams and Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell. More info can be found here. ✍️ What's your writing routine like? There's this famous idea in productivity called Parkinson's Law, which says that work expands to fill the time available to do it. I try to take advantage of the opposite of Parkinson's Law: If I rigorously limit the amount of time I work, I can get more done. I typically take my daughter to day care in the morning and try to go to the gym around 4pm. That leaves roughly 10am to 4pm to write and podcast and talk to people and do whatever else I have to do. Weirdly, I've found that prioritizing things outside of work — like family and exercise — makes me more productive, because it increases the urgency during the work hours. There are very few days where I wake up and think, "Wow, so much time and so little to do." 🍛 What do you think the Triangle is missing? More high-quality southern Asian and Latin American cuisine. 📱 What's your first read in the morning? The Atlantic and The New York Times. 🎧 Do you have a go-to podcast? Some days I listen to Bill Simmons' voice more than any other except my wife's. 🍷 Favorite place to go for a long weekend? Sonoma.
Axios
24-03-2025
- Sport
- Axios
Local Limelight with WUNC's Jeff Tiberi
For NPR fans in the Triangle, journalist Jeff Tiberi's voice may sound familiar. A longtime North Carolina journalist turned host of WUNC's "Due South," Tiberi is a fixture of our region's media landscape. He's also a college basketball fanatic. Driving the news: Just in time for March Madness, Tiberi and fellow journalist Mark Meher are out with a new book, "The Magnificent Seven: College Basketball's Blue Bloods," on how the teams have established themselves as "American basketball royalty." Order it here for a signed copy ($26.95), and get the details on an event featuring the authors coming up on April 6. We talked with Tiberi for our latest Local Limelight conversation. The Q&A has been edited for Smart Brevity. 🍽️ Favorite place to eat in the Triangle? Sassool (Strickland Rd location). ✈️ What do you think the Triangle is missing? A direct flight to Italy. 📱 What's your first read in the morning? Usually tapping on some alert or news update that has broken/developed overnight. 📖 Last great book you read?"The Anxious Generation," by Jonathan Haidt. 🎧 Go-to podcast? "All The Smoke." 🏀 Would you consider yourself a college basketball fanatic? If that's a serious question and I suspect it is marginally so, I would respond by telling you that one of my favorite teams was the 1996 UMass Minutemen. A team that, of course, has not been assembled for near 30 years. And I'd tell you their starting five consisted of Marcus Camby, Donta Bright, Dana Dingle, Carmelo Travieso, and Edgar Padilla. What's neat about Padilla and Travieso is that they were the starting back court, and happened to be born in Puerto Rico on the same day in the same Hospital. Why do I remember that? Well I guess that's the answer to your question. ⛰️ Favorite place to go for a long weekend? Our cabin in Blowing Rock. ❤️🩹 Do you have any pets? What kind? What are their names? Our cat, Kiki, aka, Professor Kiki Foster died on Valentine's Day. She had been with us for 13 years. We miss her. 🚙 How did you end up in the Triangle? In early 2015 I was reassigned to cover the NCGA. So, after eight-and-a-half years in Winston-Salem I headed east. 📆 If you could pass any law, what would it be? I'd create a state holiday for the opening Thursday and Friday of the NCAA Men's Tournament (Round of 64). All government buildings and schools would close at noon. (Tobacco Road Days?) 🧳 What's something you're looking forward to, unrelated to politics/your work? We're going to Memphis later this spring. I've never been.
