Black History Month: Blazing a Trail for Integration

Joseph Holt Jr. was the first black student to attempt to attend an all-white public high school in Raleigh. After three years of fighting, his family lost that battle, but the full story of why they lost took several more decades to uncover.

Greenway App Takes Top Prize at Open Gov Gathering

Lorena Akin had 60 seconds. In the short-term, the goal was simple: make a good impression on the dozens of Triangle locals gathered in the conference room in front of her. At the very least, that would probably earn her a spot on the nearby empty grid, which would soon map the agenda for the open government “unconference” CityCamp Raleigh. This is how an unconference typically begins. No set schedules, just a wall of empty time slots.

Team Opens School Data, Takes Home $5k

A six-person team that spent the weekend making it easier for the public to access school performance data took home the top prize Sunday at CityCamp Raleigh. The three-day “unconference” brought together citizens, business professionals and city leaders to discuss ways to make government more transparent using open data and open-source tools. Team “Open it Up” was one of eight groups to vie for a $5,000 prize to turn ideas from the conference into actual solutions.

CityCamp Pairs Open-Source Tech, Gov’t Transparency

More than 100 people are planning to converge downtown Raleigh this weekend for a three-day brainstorming session on how to use technology to increase the transparency of local government. Organizers will award $5,000 to the group with the most promising project that uses open-source technology to improve local government.

‘Sharrows’ to make city more bike-friendly

Drivers hitting a street in North Raleigh this week should start seeing a 9-foot-long reminder to share the road. Maintenance crews are scheduled to begin applying “sharrows,” this week on Northclift Drive. They’re just one part of a decades-long plan to make the city more bicycle friendly.

R-Line successful after first year on the road

After a full year of service, Raleigh transit officials say the free downtown circulator known as the R-Line has slightly exceeded their expectations.

The service celebrated its anniversary Feb. 13, and through the end of January, about 178,000 people have boarded the hybrid-electric buses at an average clip of 521 per day.