Speakers once again will have three minutes each during the public comment section at Wake County school board meetings.
School board Chairman Kevin Hill said he would add the additional minute starting in January. It came after new school board member Jim Martin said giving three minutes would be a "gesture of good listening," noting that speakers at Wake County commissioner meetings also get three minutes.
Former board Chairman Ron Margiotta cut the time to two minutes in 2010, saying it would let the board hear from more speakers during the lengthy public comment sessions. Margiotta kept it at two minutes even after the number of speakers dwindled.
Critics of the former board majority repeatedly complained about getting less time per person to speak.
City among 'tastiest towns'
It's not exactly political news, but we noticed that Raleigh had made a list of the 10 "tastiest towns" in the South as selected by Southern Living magazine.
We also noticed that the city sat in ninth place in an online poll to determine the tastiest of them all. Leading the pack Friday were Lafayette, La., Louisville, Ky., New Orleans, and Charlottesville, Va.
There's still time to catch up: Readers can vote through Jan. 31 at Southern Living's website, www .southernliving .com . The winner will be announced in April.
In choosing Raleigh for the top 10, the magazine praised the Triangle for its "fantastic farmers markets and chefs devoted to their culinary heritage."
Chef Ashley Christensen got a mention. So did the Carrboro Farmers Market, a half-hour drive from Raleigh.
Become a tutor
As the holidays approached, TriPol phones were ringing with calls from people who had read our story about the Juvenile Literacy Center, which helps young offenders learn to read more proficiently.
Many wanted to offer their time as tutors but didn't know how to reach the Wake Literacy Council program.
The person in charge is Quisha Mallette, and she can be reached at 919-758-7232 or qmallette@wakeliteracy.org. For more about volunteering, which includes background checks, visit http:// bit .ly /seYRUI.
A trip to the DMV
Chapel Hill Town Council member Penny Rich took a trip to the state Division of Motor Vehicles - and she liked it!
Rich's older son needed a road test. They arrived at the Carrboro DMV at 6:30 a.m. to be first in line when the doors opened at 8 a.m. and were greeted by officer Pam Greene.
"She was delightful," Rich wrote in a letter to The Chapel Hill News. "She asked my son to read about his new license and asked him a few questions. We signed our names on the dotted line, and off they went. They came back 10 minutes later, laughing and talking like they have been friends for years."
Greene told Rich's son never to drive and talk on a cellphone, an issue Rich and the rest of the Town Council debated in 2011. Rich's son told Greene she sounded like his mom.
"She smiled, gave him a hug, took his photo, and yelled, 'Next!' " Rich wrote. "Thank you, Officer Greene."
Occupy New Year's
Occupy Durham is holding a rally and "speak out" against "police brutality, harassment and state repression" at 3 p.m. Sunday at CCB Plaza.
The event commemorates the death Jan. 1, 2009, of Oscar Grant, whom a transit officer shot in Oakland, Calif. The officer, who said he was trying to use a Taser on Grant but pulled his gun instead, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Political Trails
Lt. governor candidate Dan Forest will speak at the next meeting of the Republican Women of Cary and Southwestern Wake on Thursday at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary. A social begins at 11:30 a.m. followed by the luncheon/program at noon. The cost is $15 for the buffet. RSVP to Lisa at 919-303-8870. For information, go to www .rwcsw .org.
Compiled by staff writers T. Keung Hui, Thomas Goldsmith, Jim Wise and Mark Schultz
