I disagree. This might be uncomfortable to talk about, but it’s important to the success of our city and our downtown.
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Of course it would have changed the trajectory if we had gotten it but my point is more that we’re not like some Rust Belt city dependent up on getting a big game changer to revive us.
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As long as it’s civil it’s very important to talk about. Any links to back up the history of gerrymandering in NC?
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These districts are pretty much mandated by the VRA It’s why they’ve survived through Republican and Democratic maps. (Also the most recent maps have been repeatedly held to be unconstitutional by various courts the NCGA has just managed to kick the can of creamed corn down the road enough to get too close to the election so no changes could be enacted.)
Yes. Agreed. However, we also have to be careful to not rest on our laurels. We cannot retreat to a rinse and repeat strategy because it’s what worked in decades past.
IMO, this is why downtown experience is such a big deal to Raleigh, and it’s why I am so active in this DTRaleigh community. Expanding the experiences in DT are vital to writing Raleigh’s next chapter.
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It would be nice if we had an innovative and forward thinking city council unlike the somewhat protectionist one we seem to have now. Raleigh has a great chance to create an innovative, diverse (businesswise, structurewise, citizenwise) and modern downtown. But it seems at times the council is more worried about what can’t or shouldn’t be done than what could and should be done.
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I nominate JosABanks for city council…
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Apple had their eye on the NC Consitutional Amendment (requiring Voter ID) results. 56% in favor = not the kind a place for Apple. #notsurprised
You are basically saying that voting shouldn’t count because not everybody who can vote is voting. We should just go by polls and not even do elections because they are “flawed”. How do you account for the Voter ID passing then? By all accounts the Dems did better than the GOP in this latest election and yet the Voter ID still passed? So more people voted for progressive candidates throughout the state and yet they somehow still managed to vote for less than progressive amendment. How is that even possible by your logic? I think my point still stands. Individuals often vote party but if an issue goes to a statewide election in this state most times they will vote more conservatively.
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I would love this to be a lesson to Raleigh where we look inward and work on ourselves some more. I really like this story of Oklahoma City and how losing this United Airlines facility motivated them to just be better.
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Good article on Gerrymandering in NC:
Couple quotes in the article from David Lewis, R-Harnett County:
“I propose that we draw the maps to give a partisan advantage to 10 Republicans and three Democrats, because I do not believe it’s possible to draw a map with 11 Republicans and two Democrats.”
“We want to make clear that we, to the extent are going to use political data in drawing this map — it is to gain partisan advantage on the map,” Lewis said. “I want that criteria to be clearly stated and understood.”
Also embedded video of David Lewis speaking in the article.
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This is what we need to address: people’s willingness/desire to move to Raleigh; downtown development. IMO, the two have an interlocking dependency on each other, and are sort of a chicken or the egg scenario where it’s not important which came first, but that we have them both. What’s the city willing to do to up the game? How can the city enable the future?
For me, these are the two most important parts of that short article.
The city pressed UA to give them a post-mortem analysis on the loss, and the airline eventually told them that even though they had the best bid, their employees had given Oklahoma City the thumbs down. They were unwilling to move there.
Ron Norick, the mayor at the time, went to Indianapolis and saw the downtown developments there. I can assure you, downtown Indianapolis was not that great in 1991. Most downtowns weren’t. However, the level of activity they did have – the relatively new to town Colts, the Pan Am Games, the restored Union Station – was much better than many other places of that era.
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I’m more of a power behind the throne type of guy. 
public speaking and baby kissing isn’t my cup of tea.
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Talent wants transit and we don’t have it.
McDonald’s moved their corporate HQ away from an 80 acre suburban campus and back into the city after 40+ years. They were having a lot of difficulty attracting and retaining top talent at a workplace in the 'burbs.
It’ll be interesting to see how RTP fares over the next decade.
We produce a lot of talent at NCSU and if we want that talent to stay we’ll need to provide affordable places to live and real options for non-car commuting.
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YES YES YES!! My company is moving into more urban areas near transit stations all across the country. Just biding my time until they finally move our local office out of MorrisHell and back into Raleigh.
I am a believer of the “If you build it, they will come” philosophy. It is an investment in the future. Look at all the development along Charlotte’s light rail line… it is crazy that Raleigh (and the Triangle) is so behind on transit. I know… not centrally located… blah blah… but if we had invested in transit 20+ years ago, we would be seeing significantly increased density in the Cities. Sorry, but the corporate office campus model of RTP is quickly fading.
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Hence the commuter rail point I’ve been talking about over and over again since I joined this site. You have to have a forward-looking form of transportation if you want forward-looking companies to come here.
Buses ain’t gonna cut it.
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Good point! And after all the recent hoopla about reinventing RTP…nothing!
It is time to lay it to rest and say RIP RTP…
Now, start from scratch and build anew otherwise if you don’t choose, the choice is made for you…and you don’t want that…
I’ve been looking for the best way to describe them and protectionist is the best I’ve seen so far.
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Another thing to think about is if this would have at all been in downtown Raleigh. My money is on No.
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The reason I’m unmoved by Advanced Auto Parts is not because they aren’t as exciting as Apple, but because I wonder how the business of aftermarket auto parts/maintenance goods will look in ~10-15 years when self-driving cars are becoming more and more ubiquitous. I wouldn’t be surprised if their entire market was an order of magnitude smaller within 20-30 years. If using an Uber/Lyft-like service that operates self-driving cars reaches cost-parity or better with owning and operating a personal vehicle, personal vehicle ownership rates will plummet–and no fleet service of that size is paying for auto parts at brick-and-mortar retail prices.
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