RALEIGH -- Whether the topic is fair housing, school busing or driving malt liquor out of Southeast Raleigh, Octavia Rainey speaks her mind with a bullhorn-grabbing aggressiveness.
So viewers can expect the same straight-talking liveliness out of the twice-weekly television talk show that she will start hosting Feb. 1.
You might disagree, but it won't be boring.
"I call them chit-chats," said Rainey, 55, who grew up in Southeast Raleigh. "Chit-chat with Octavia. What's up? I'm working on getting the governor to come chit-chat with me for a while. 'Governor, will you use yourveto power?' That's what everyone wants to know."
Active in Raleigh politics for more than 20 years, Rainey is a staple both at City Hall and the General Assembly, always walking or riding the bus from her East Lane Street home.
As head of the Citizens Advisory Council covering the neighborhoods just east of downtown, she has kept the city's ears ringing over gentrification and crime.
Officials long accustomed to her phone calls, written reports and speeches at public hearings will now find themselves opposite Rainey on the talk-show set for 30 minutes, framed by the Raleigh skyline in the background.
"That sounds like a lot of fun," Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker said. "Octavia is avery strong advocate not only for her neighborhood but all of Raleigh, and she's not afraid to speak out on controversial topics. It ought to be a very lively show."
Rainey will appear at 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays on WAUG-TV, the station run by St. Augustine's College, which can be seen on channel 168 for Time Warner Cable subscribers. The station reaches more than 385,000 households in 20 counties, mixing movies and nationally syndicated shows with local sports and faith-based shows.
The station started in 1988 as little more than a billboard for community announcements, but Rainey, herself a St. Augustine's graduate, fits into a new emphasis on local programming.
"As we look at the TV side, it was just a way to help her," said Marc Newman, a vice president at the college. "Ms. Rainey has served the Southeast Raleigh community as well as St. Aug's."
Rainey's fixation on neighborhood politics, especially on the Southeast Raleigh streets she saw crumbling, began in 1987 when some neighbors parked a car in front of her driveway, then cursed at her when she asked them to move it.
Rather than curse back, she pulled together records of 911 calls to the property and sent them to the landlord, who then evicted her nemeses.
Her activism and interests have since expanded beyond Southeast Raleigh. Her show's guests are proof.
Several segments are taped, including a show with WakeMed's chief executive, Bill Atkinson. Rainey said he is candid about the feud with UNC Health, which WakeMed has accused of "predatory" tactics.
Other guests to come include Lindy Brown, who lost her re-election bid for Wake County commissioner, and County Manager David Cooke. Rainey has already chastised the commissioners because the Human Services Commission is moving to a paperless agenda, which she said hurts those without online access.
No official sits too high, she said.
"I'll be over at the General Assembly," she said, "trying to catch the speaker of the House."
Get the biggest news in your email or cellphone as it's happening. Sign up for breaking news alerts.
Eric Braeden, who plays Victor Newman on ‘The Young and the Restless,’ brought his famed moustache to Bath recently. 
The suits have knocked off the superheroes at the box office. 
The movie takes the old story in new directions, but it raises expectations it never intends to fulfill. 
Coming in second on "American Idol" may still be a path to superstardom, but it no longer offers guaranteed paychecks worthy of the next pop idol or rock star. 
“Man on a Ledge,” “Gone” and “We Need to Talk About Kevin” head the list. 
Koka Booth launches its ‘Movies by Moonlight’ summer series with ‘Crazy Stupid Love.’ 
The heartfelt comedy can barely contain its cast of veteran British actors. 
Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij know how to write their way into a grippingly suspenseful movie. They just don’t know how to write their way out, and the uneven result is “Sound of My Voice.” 
The flaccid movie suggests director/writer Lawrence Kasdan has said everything he needed to say long ago – and more cleverly. What to do? Find out with out free entertainment newsletters, delivered straight to your inbox!
Subscribe to Lifestyles - it's free!
Subscribe to Movies - it's free!
Subscribe to Restaurants - it's free!
Subscribe to What's Up - it's free!
Public housing at Chavis Heights in Southeast Raleigh: "It's a mini-prison. And that place was built with public money."
Raleigh's backing of a police officer who owned rental properties rife with crime: "In my heart, I knew the city was going to say there was no wrongdoing. That's like placing Dracula over the blood bank."
On a downtown Raleigh neighborhood store's alcohol permit: "With all the complaining this neighborhood does about beer and wine, what in the ham sandwich are you doing opening a beer and wine store?"
On reassigning Southeast Raleigh children to schools in North Raleigh: "In order to make the system work we need to bus upper- and middle-class kids."
On being offered a kangaroo burger from a downtown restaurateur: "I don't eat nothing that jumps on two hind legs and carries something in a pouch. ... I don't eat nothing that bounces."
