Revising Durham's UDO/LDC/LUP; Planning Commission hearing tonight cancelled

A Northern or yellow-shafted flicker (Colaptes auratus)  in late afternoon on November 24, 2025; not a mature male. ©

[For more photos from late November 2025 see:  durhamspark.blogspot.com/2026/02/some-astronomical-events-fall-2025.html ]

I thought I heard upland chorus frogs or spring peepers very faintly calling in the distance southeast early on about February 18th and 20th (?), but it was hard to tell.  The weather was relatively mild but not very wet.  I heard angry-sounding raccoons or opossums (?) in a wooded area similarly early in the morning or in the evening two or three times recently and one or two ducks were flying over in the dark one night in February.  I might have heard gunshots nearby at night a few times recently (not a first if so), but there have been few or none of the pandemic-era unsanctioned car meetups at night (I think a youth was shot by an officer at one at Woodcroft Shopping Center in 2025).  On sunny or warmer days woodpecker 'drumming' rattles from nearby woods (as far as I know, the drumming is not produced by flickers, which seem to be uncommon here) and I have probably been hearing smaller Picoides woodpeckers calling nearby.  Large pileated woodpeckers were here in summer 2025, which was unusual, but they live in larger bottomland forests nearby and might not be uncommon there.  Cardinals have been singing a lot (if I did hear frogs recently, they would have been drowned out by the singing cardinals and other birds and traffic noise around dawn), along with mourning doves, chickadees, towhees, etc.  Barred owls have been calling more often, day and night, but not very nearby.  I've heard red-shouldered hawks a few times so far this spring.  Many of the migratory birds might have left.  Myrtle warblers are still here and I haven't seen many of the rarer migratory sparrows so far this season.  The small red maple was briefly bleeding sap, which often happens around now, maybe due to a yellow-bellied sapsucker migrating though.  Sapsuckers are here for months, but they often seem to leave the red maple alone until now, or maybe a lot of sap rises now.  The flowing sap attracted a Baeolophus bicolor.  Earlier in the season sapsuckers sometimes peck at fruit remaining on the persimmon below.  Despite the unusually cold weather in January daffodils sheltered by trees have been coming up fast and one already has a yellow flower bud this week.  Usually winged elms would probably be flowering by now or maybe even about done.  Other elm species might flower more in March.  Some Christmas lights are still on.  There can still be significant snow accumulation here even in March.     

Dry fruit remaining at the very top of the relatively large American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana; in the ebony family) nearby (surrounded by the hickory, left, and oaks) around mid-morning on November 22, 2025. ©

From the New Hope Bird Alliance – A petition near Sandy Creek Park in western Durham (Sandy Creek is a tributary of New Hope Creek/River):  www.change.org/p/petition-to-city-council-to-revoke-rezoning-adjacent-to-sandy-creek-park 

Durham Creek Week 2026 will be March 14th-March 22nd, and there will probably be creek weeks around then in Orange, Chatham, and Wake counties, etc.; others are usually held in the summer or fall.

[March 14th-21st:  www.chathamcountync.gov/government/departments-programs-i-z/watershed-protection/regional-creek-week ] [Theme:  “Water Connects Us”]

[ Orange County's 5th Annual Creek Week will be March 21st-29th:  www.orangecountync.gov/3491/Creek-Week ]

[2025 website? – raleighnc.gov/stormwater/services/stormwater-outreach-and-education/regional-creek-week ]

[2025 website, but covering much of the Triangle – nc-cleanwater.com/regional-creek-week-2/creekweek2025/ ]

[In the summer? – www.greensboro-nc.gov/departments/water-resources/get-involved/guilford-creek-week and www.guilfordcreekweek.org ; Rowan County's Creek Week also?]

From American Rivers ? –  

Demand a smarter future for the Colorado River:  act.americanrivers.org/page/94467/action/1

Tell Congress to Support the Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act:  act.americanrivers.org/page/94332/action/1  

In Durham:  indyweek.com/news/durham-planning-commissioner-resigns-in-protest/

indyweek.com/news/affordable-housing-excluded-in-southpoint-redevelopment-plans/

indyweek.com/news/business/housing/durham-parking-garage-redevelopment-council/

[ soundrivers.org/durhams-planning-process-comes-to-a-screeching-halt/ ]

[ soundrivers.org/new-sediment-issue-reported-on-little-lick-creek/ ?]

[Along Third Fork Creek:  indyweek.com/news/a-global-chemical-giant-racks-up-violations-in-durham-where-drinking-water-for-a-million-is-threatened/ ]

[ 9thstreetjournal.org/2026/03/06/at-contaminated-parks-shuttered-playgrounds-falling-fences-and-frustration/ ]

[ indyweek.com/news/durham-primary-election-results/ ]

In Chatham County, near Pittsboro:  www.wunc.org/economy/2026-02-11/chatham-park-asteria-explainer

In Orange County:  indyweek.com/newsletter/trapped-at-the-mall-during-chapel-hills-flash-flood/ 

There were a few articles on the 2025 (?) tropical storm flooding along Booker Creek by 15-501 and Village Plaza in eastern Chapel Hill. 

Along Bolin Creek in Carrboro (Booker Creek is a tributary; part of Little Creek in Durham): indyweek.com/news/carrboro-town-council-approves-creekside-greenway-alignment-for-bolin-forest/

On CHALT (not very recent):  indyweek.com/news/is-chalt-dead/

In Wake County:  indyweek.com/news/one-mans-trash-is-another-gulls-treasure/ 

[ soundrivers.org/momentum-growing-for-data-center-resistance/ ]

[ indyweek.com/news/apex-data-center-application-withdrawn-by-developer/ ]

indyweek.com/news/culture/art/dave-cook/

[The Eno River Association will hold a 60th Anniversary fall benefit concert and community celebration the evening of September 12th (Rosh Hashanah) in downtown Durham, instead of having its usual week of July 4th Festival for the Eno beside the River (north of downtown Durham) this year (people apparently say that early July is too hot, plus Tropical Storm Chantal almost hit the event in 2025); the Festival format should return in the spring of 2027? – www.enoriver.org/festival-for-the-eno/ ; from ERA Director Ryan J. Fehrman:  www.enoriver.org/a-new-chapter-for-the-festival-mar-dir-msg/ ; and www.enoriver.org/festival-for-the-eno/event-faqs/ ]

Both notices were sent out the afternoon of February 20th:

PUBLIC NOTICE: CANCELLATION OF FEBRUARY 24 PLANNING COMMISSION HEARING

The special meeting and public hearing of the Durham Planning Commission scheduled for Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. to consider the rewrite of Durham’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), also called the Land Development Code (LDC), has been canceled by the Durham City Council and the Durham County Board of Commissioners.

Why is this happening? 

Durham has been working since late-2023 to rewrite its development rules so they align with the community’s vision in the Comprehensive Plan adopted in October 2023. State law actually requires local governments to have a comprehensive plan and to align zoning with that plan. That’s what Durham has been trying to do.

In December 2024, the General Assembly added a significant zoning provision to a 132-page disaster relief bill originally intended to assist communities impacted by Hurricane Helene. This provision prohibits local governments from making certain zoning changes—known as “down-zoning”—without obtaining written consent from every affected property owner. These restrictions make it extremely difficult for communities across North Carolina to update their development regulations. At the same time, other state laws require zoning regulations to be consistent with an adopted comprehensive plan. This creates a direct conflict in state policy: local governments are required to update zoning but are effectively prevented from doing so, resulting in uncertainty and challenges for sound governance statewide.

To avoid this conflict, the draft LDC included a carve-out: any property that would be “down-zoned” would be excluded and would continue to follow the existing UDO. Unfortunately, property owners have challenged this carve-out approach and threatened litigation within the past week. Given the legal challenges raised just days before the hearing, the adoption process for the LDC has been paused to allow time to evaluate these issues and determine the best path forward.

What’s next?

While the formal public hearing will not proceed, staff from the Durham Planning & Development Department will be present and available at the originally scheduled time—Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at 5:30 p.m.—to answer questions and provide information to any members of the public who choose to attend. This will be an informal opportunity for residents to learn more about the current draft of the LDC, to ask questions, and to share feedback about their specific properties.

Durham remains committed to transparency and to ensuring that the new LDC reflects the goals and values of our community. We will continue to keep the public informed as we navigate this challenge.

From the New Hope Bird Alliance –

[ACTION ALERT: Durham UDO Public Hearing Canceled

The public hearing previously scheduled for 2/24 to discuss the draft of the new Unified Development Ordinance (UDO)--now also known as Land Use Policy--has been canceled. Durham Planning Commission staff will still be available at the same time and location (5:30 PM at 101 City Hall Plaza) for an informal Q&A and to hear feedback about the draft code.

Please review the map and UDO and prepare to share your questions and thoughts with the Planning Commission. Almost every part of Durham will be affected, as this map shows. The full draft is here. The adoption process is described in more detail here. 

While the goals of increasing affordable housing, containing sprawl, and creating walkable neighborhoods are admirable, the UDO will result in more intense development within the Urban Growth Boundary. Long-term public and economic health and conservation of birds and other wildlife, require including preserving urban open space and wildlife corridors; retaining and using native plants; moderating lights; using bird-friendly design principles; increasing the urban tree canopy in heat islands; and widening riparian boundaries for flood control in the face of climate change. 

Stay tuned for more details on this ongoing issue! ]

ACTION ALERT: Durham UDO Public Hearing Canceled

The public hearing previously scheduled for 2/24 to discuss the draft of the new Unified Development Ordinance (UDO)--now also known as Land Use Policy--has been canceled. Durham Planning Commission staff will still be available at the same time and location (5:30 PM at 101 City Hall Plaza) for an informal Q&A and to hear feedback about the draft code. Please review the map and UDO and prepare to share your questions and thoughts with the Planning Commission. Almost every part of Durham will be affected, as this map shows. The full draft is here. The adoption process is described in more detail here.  While the goals of increasing affordable housing, containing sprawl, and creating walkable neighborhoods are admirable, the UDO will result in more intense development within the Urban Growth Boundary. Long-term public and economic health and conservation of birds and other wildlife, require including preserving urban open space and wildlife corridors; retaining and using native plants; moderating lights; using bird-friendly design principles; increasing the urban tree canopy in heat islands; and widening riparian boundaries for flood control in the face of climate change.  Stay tuned for more details on this ongoing issue!

Pinxterflowers, Duke Energy, and Federal security contractors (and the NC DOT)

The first and largest South Alston pinxterflower azalea starting to bloom in late April a few years ago ©.

Pinxterflowers (Rhododendron periclymenoides), also called pink azaleas, are deciduous azaleas that have pale reddish purple or pink flowers with some fragrance in late April and are found in the East from New York and Vermont to Illinois and Alabama. Several deciduous azaleas and larger evergreen rhododendrons are native to North Carolina, but grow mostly west and east of the Triangle, while the ornamental evergreen azaleas common in landscaping come from East Asia (pinxterflowers and other natives are sometimes planted, for example there are some native flame azaleas at UNC, but Asian azaleas are far more common). Long ago I noticed a large pinxterflower growing near South Alston Road in southern Durham County, between TW Alexander Drive and Highway 55, just outside of Research Triangle Park. It grew beside a tiny brook that trickles over outcroppings of igneous rock in a wooded area that must have been a farm not many decades ago. Despite the tiny size of the brook, it has basically permanent pools and supports a breeding population of surprisingly large sunfish, as well as numerous crayfish (perhaps attracting queen snakes, which specialize in eating these crustaceans), black damselflies, and other invertebrates. Years ago, if not now, salamander species bred there, but conditions might have changed too much for them now. On the other side of the road an old tobacco barn stood next to a railroad paralleling Alston. There were other flowers in the woodland glade, such as very rare crimson red firepinks (I only know of two areas were they grow naturally, both in Durham), flowering spurge, yellow trout lilies, arrowwood, and painted buckeyes.
 

That was a few decades ago, and there have been many changes since then, endangering the pinxterflowers and other rare plants, now more widely known among locals. One of the highest hills around, with a commanding view up and down Highway 55, where the farm house was, was blasted away day and night around 10 years ago in early summer (leading to noise complaints to the police from several miles away, on Scott King Road). A County official said that the rock and soil was sold as fill to build the first toll road in North Carolina a few miles east down Hopson Road, and the rest was dumped in the nearby Triangle Brick Company claypit. There were plans for something like apartments or a strip mall on the plain left after the hill was demolished, across from the Triangle Wastewater Treatment Plant, but those fell through. Around two years ago Durham County bought the site for a sludge drying facility, but there are still plans for a residential project on the other (northeast) corner of 55 and TW Alexander Drive, just north. Around the time when the hill was destroyed, South Alston was split and renamed at a railroad crossing (also a copperhead crossing in late September and another place where firepinks grew in the vicinity), creating Solutions Drive to the north and Experiment Drive to the south. Part of nearby Hopson Road became part of new north-south running Louis Stephens Drive, connecting it to TW Alexander and another ridge, from which UNC Hospital can be seen several miles west, though it is more an issue of lack of trees than elevation, was cut through to connect Hopson Road directly to Highway 55. Hopson and Alston have been moved around a few times in this area.



Looking northwest toward the intersection of NC 55 and TW Alexander Drive, a gravel driveway once led up to the top of a ridge about 340 feet above sea level here, now a flat expanse about 40 feet lower; trash was dumped soon after the hill was destroyed ©.

Looking north on Experiment Drive, formerly part of South Alston Road, from a gate under the high-tension powerline; the SSA's property can't be seen from here and I think does not even touch this road, but their security harasses people who come here.  The area in the background on the right was clearcut and other trees were cut for the powerline on the left, leading to the new substation.  The land was cleared and graded for additional powerlines and the new Hopson Road looking south, removing more forest ©.



This is a view east along the powerline, looking into Research Triangle Park.  The dead trees were sprayed by Duke Energy in the summer of 2017, when this photo was taken.  There are more powerlines than there used to be, but there has long been an east - west powerline corridor here, and the railroad tracks can be seen.  There used to be a large tobacco barn to the left, probably connecting to the railroad.  The 4 - lane extension of Hopson Road on the right is new, and cuts through a high ridge, from which the UNC Bell Tower, etc, can be seen ©.

In the beginning a high-tension powerline crossed Alston east to west (and paralleled Hopson), but Duke Energy built a new substation where there had been a planted pinewoods at the old farm, and the line connecting it to the main powerline crosses right over the pinxterflower. This might have happened not many years before 2010. The large pinxterflower probably benefitted from the increased sunlight, and younger ones sprouted, but they are now threatened with annihilation by Duke Energy's right of way maintenance procedures. At first Duke Energy or its contractors would spray herbicides, but not next to the brook, saying they could only cut vegetation within feet of waterways, so the azaleas survived. A representative of Duke's right of way maintenance office, based in Greensboro, offered to avoid the large azalea if it was marked and brush cleared around it, which was done, but they cut it to the ground anyway. The large pinxterflower was cut and regrew this way about three or four times (sometime before 2011, in 2011, and in 2013), but last year Duke Energy's policy changed, and they now claim they can use herbicides throughout the site. A Duke Energy official said they use herbicides with trade names Rodeo, Polaris, and Method (one is not used around water, I think Method, but many of their powerlines cross bodies of water of some kind, so it would seem to be rarely used), diluted with 95% water, and sprayed every 3 – 4 years. Some pinxterflowers survived, but the first and largest one might have been killed this time. It still had a few leaves after being sprayed last summer, but this spring it seemed dead, though maybe it was just late to leaf out. The herbicide kills a small tree after being absorbed through the leaves, so woody plants such as buckeyes, which typically lose their leaves early, survived, as well as herbaceous species. Further west down the main powerline only individual saplings were sprayed, and in many cases showy small trees (including a non-native mimosa or silktree) were left alone. I only know of a handful of pinxterflowers growing in five places in the Triangle, and a 6^th grew in the woodlot around Meeting of the Waters Creek along South Road, west of UNC's Bell Tower, but it was killed by construction. Surely there are more azaleas around, but they can't be very common or I would come across them more frequently. Pinxterflowers might have been more common at one time, since they are so widely scattered now, usually isolated along headwater streams, despite seemingly only being able to seed over small distances. Many wildflowers have been seen at the now sunny site, including hot pink wood sorrel, evergreen wild ginger, green and gold, false Solomon's seal, pale blue toadflax, yellow rattlesnake weed, white penstemons, and on the hillsides there are young black locust trees filled with white flowers in April, flowering dogwoods (North Carolina's state flower), arrowwood, buckeyes, and there were blue passionflowers. Duke Energy argues that its herbicide use reduces woody growth, allowing herbaceous wildflowers to flourish. It is possible the herbicides only kill trees, but if the azaleas are exterminated, they probably won't come back for a very long time, and wildflowers would grow there even if the trees were only cut. The soil conditions and rural location are important factors in the diversity of wildflowers. The brushy habitat near water supports animals such as indigo buntings (named for the brilliant deep blue males), summer migrants that usually favor beaver ponds.
              

The main threat is Duke Energy, but the situation is complicated by Federal security contractors working for the Social Security Administration who have appropriated public roads near the pinxterflowers and far from the Federal facility. The SSA's unmarked Second Security Facility, which apparently prints social security cards, is the large building behind a black fence near the corner of Solutions Drive and Louis Stephens Drive (address 3604 Louis Stephens Drive; a search for this address plus social security administration reveals a lot of information), next to the older JMCUSA factory further south. The SSA's security contractors patrol Solutions Drive and Experiment Drive, telling people that they can't use these public roads, and they also drive on nearby roads, though it is an open question whether they would harass someone stopped there ( see www.fedconnect.net/FedConnect/PublicPages/PublicSearch/Public_OpportunityDescription.aspx?id=34504 and govtribe.com/opportunity/federal-contract-opportunity/armed-guard-services-at-the-second-support-center-in-durham-nc-ssarfp141008 ). Looking more carefully at the sign for Experiment Drive, it doesn't say this is a state-maintained road, but it isn't marked private either (and someone mows the shoulders) and it began as one of the oldest public roads in the area. The azaleas are around a fourth of a mile from the SSA's property and it cannot be seen from that end of the road. The contractors regularly patrol in SUVs, and they might have surveillance equipment on land they don't own (but they seem to surveill the former railroad crossing with their parking lot security cameras, though they can't see the rest of the tracks). The situation seems to have gotten worse over the years and while the contractors, who it is said are heavily armed, shouldn't have police power outside of the SSA's facility and as far as I know they don't get out of their vehicle and follow people away from the road, they are intimidating and they could involve the Durham police or Sheriff's deputies, and I expect that the police would side with the SSA and corporations in a dispute. There are similar situations elsewhere in and around RTP where corporations claim more than they have title to. People used to fish at a pond north of the substation, but were presumably driven off, and it seems that immigrants were living in the tobacco barn before it burned down. I don't know the circumstances, except that they seemed to have beat a hasty retreat. The Social Security Administration might have lobbied for the changes in this part of the old South Alston corridor, and the City of Durham has paid a few thousand dollars for construction and renovations at the SSA's facility over the years (see homeflock.com/contractor/10812784 ). Complaints have been made, though the City and County don't have answers and Congressman David Price's office says go to the General Assembly, which seems to be their default way of answering without answering. One solution is to talk about the situation and for people to go there and make the SSA expend time and money for what it wants to seize from the public. Duke Energy is being lobbied, and a long-term solution is to change herbicide regulations at the State or Federal level.

 

The airlock-like double gate leading to the SSA facility's back parking lot, off of Solutions Drive; the field in the foregroumd is where the road used to continue south across the railroad tracks nearby.  Many years ago there were a lot of firepinks on the edge of the woods on the left ©.
 

    

An SSA security contractor Jeep on Experiment Drive; this photo is from a few years ago, so the vehicles look different now ©.



As I worked on this article, a related problem arose. There is a group of pinxterflowers near Crooked Creek on Scott King Road, a few miles west of the above site, on land protected as part of the gamelands around Jordan Lake (owned by the US Army Corps of Engineers and leased to the NC Wildlife Commission). In July someone sprayed an herbicide on both sides of the road (including up into surrounding canopy trees) and under a nearby distribution powerline for roughly one and a half miles along Scott King Road, injuring the pinxterflowers, but they seem to have survived. At first it seemed like saplings along the road were drought-stressed and changing color and dropping their leaves early, but it became clear that they had been sprayed with something. This general spraying did not seem like Duke Energy's work, though they are spraying under the long-distance transmission line nearby, the same line that crosses Experiment Drive and their contractor Asplundh is cutting trees along powerlines in nearby residential areas. About a year ago Duke Energy's distribution line maintenance department cut a pretty old red oak, probably a Spanish/southern red oak, growing under a small powerline nearby, at the corner of Fayetteville Road and NC 751, in front of an abandoned house, since no one was living there to stop them. Sometimes an objection is all it takes to save part of the landscape. That tree used to be a landmark on the way south to Jordan Lake. There are PSNC Energy natural gas pipelines along Scott King Road, but a representative says they only mow their right of ways. There is a fiber optic cable, with MCI signs, but probably owned by a different company now (such as Frontier Communications), and I thought they were the culprit, but the NC DOT admitted to doing the spraying. They also sprayed in several places, mostly at creek crossings, along Highway 54 to the outskirts of Chapel Hill, using Garlon 3A (Triclopyr) and RRSI NIS surfactant, which apparently kills only branches it directly hits. The DOT says the spraying was done over “sight distance issues” and that vegetation problems can return in less than a year after mowing, while using both mechanical cutting and herbicide can control vegetation for three years. They spent almost $30 million dollars statewide from July into August on mechanical cutting, and $2.75 million on herbicide. Many of the places sprayed, including along Scott King Road, are straight and vegetation is not interfering with traffic, while the narrow, uneven shoulders and lack of guardrails at drop offs are much more dangerous. The only potential benefit is that the non-native kudzu surging over the guardrails at Little Creek near Chapel Hill was sprayed, but I'm sure it will be back again next summer. The pinxterflowers are within the 30-foot easement DOT claims on each side of Scott King, so their spraying is probably legal, but the pinxterflowers are at the edge of the protected forest, not within reach of the roadside shoulder, so there was no benefit to the DOT in spraying them. Simply spraying herbicide on everything to maintain a right of way is a wretchedly cheap and indiscriminate, as well as ugly way to maintain an easement (on roadsides often already well littered, revealed even more after the vegetation is dead). Everything was sprayed, from large sweetgum and loblolly pine saplings and the lower limbs of tall trees, to a small winged elm sapling along a fence under a powerline by the American Tobacco Trail, down to sensitive ferns and a clump of goldenrods about to bloom between two yards, as if in spite, and other wildflowers. Of course, not every plant was doused enough to be killed, and it seems like the groundsel bushes have such thick, waxy leaves that they can resist herbicide, but they are relatively common. Possibly the sourwoods also have some degree of resistance. I am thinking about what can be done, but changing national or state herbicide regulations could also prevent the DOT's wanton spraying.

[As of fall 2019 the pinxterflowers along Scott King Road survived the DOT's spraying, but were damaged and probably did not flower that year.  Whether any still grow at the site near RTP is unknown.]



A pinxterflower on Scott King Road blooming last April; the peak blooming has passed and the bush is leafing out ©.


 



Oak cut by Duke Energy at the corner of NC 751 (shown) and Fayetteville Road; its limbs and trunk are on the right ©.

 

The dazzling new Genlee powerline tap near the South Alston pinxterflowers, providing electricity for industry and homes (probably mostly in Cary), but built on rich land, now mostly deforested, and threatening Durham's biodiversity.  A sourwood is in the foreground and probably some winged elm saplings closer to the tap.  This brushy habitat supports animals such as indigo buntings ©.

 

 

The election conundrum

I was planning to write something more substantial about the election, but I ran out of time, so this has to be just a note and I will write about lesser evilism in the future.  It is possible I'll change my mind before voting, but I will probably mostly follow endorsements by the Independent Weekly (www.indyweek.com), the Durham People's Alliance (www.durhampa.org), and SEANC, with some exceptions. 

I considered arguments for voting for Hillary Clinton, but she seems very dangerous, and people seem to be exaggerating the danger posed by Trump and his chances of winning in order to make voting for Clinton more palatable.  After the last debate the media spent a lot of time saying how shocking it was for Trump to say he might not accept the results of the election (something that Gore should have done in 2000 and that has happened in many countries, such as Mexico), but what I find shocking is how Clinton was allowed to dodge a question about Syria and what would happen if a Russian jet enters an illegal US-imposed no-fly zone.  A no-fly zone seems to mean directly attacking the government of Syria (to destroy its air defenses) and possibly Russia as well, so a vote for Clinton is a vote for war, maybe in just a few months.  In the last debate, Clinton had a chance to explain why a no-fly zone wouldn't lead to war, and she said something not believable about negotiating with the countries she has vilified for years.  Trump isn't anti-war, but he might not be as eager to go to war with Syria and he seems more likely to negotiate with Russia than a Democratic administration that blames its electoral and foreign policy problems on Russia.  Probably neither the US nor Russia wants a third world war, but a world war probably wasn't planned in 1914 either, and both sides spent decades trying to avoid a hot war between nuclear armed superpowers.  A NATO country has already shot down a Russian plane over Syria and the confrontation seems likely to escalate if the US starts dictating who can fly over a sovereign country without even the figleaf of a UN Security Council resolution, and European countries would probably only join a war against Syria if there is UN approval.  On NPR's The Diane Rehm Show recently a probably influential think tank official said Putin is willing to die over Syria, and we should be too, and there was no push back at that chilling and irrational statement.  I think it was a journalist talking with Charlie Rose on PBS who claimed it is too late to attack Syria and overthrow the government with US proxy forces, but even if Clinton can't attack Syria, she is "hawkish" (the media's term for a hardcore warmonger) and is likely to find other unnecessary wars to add to the ones the US is already engaged in.

Unless something big happens, I'm planning to vote for the Green Party's Jill Stein for President (www.jill2016.com/).  The media tries to ignore third parties and most voters go for the same old bipartisan system, so Stein is unlikely to win, but I'm not so afraid of Trump that I want to vote for Clinton, and it seems likely that Clinton will win anyway.  Write in "Jill Stein" on paper ballots in North Carolina, and the vote should count (see ncgreenparty.nationbuilder.com/how_to_write_in_jill_stein_for_president_in_north_carolina for instructions for electronic voting), and if she gets 2% of the vote, the NC Green Party will appear on ballots officially in the future, as the Libertarians do this year.  I think getting 5% of the vote nationally will also give the national Green Party access to public campaign funding.  According to Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2016#Other_third_parties_and_independents) Jill Stein is the only left candidate whose votes will actually be counted in North Carolina.  Lamont Lilly of Durham is the Workers World Party's vice presidential candidate (vote4socialism.org), but a write-in vote for Monica Moorehead and Lamont Lilly won't be counted.  There is a long article on Lilly in the current issue of the Independent (I notice that they also have an article against the Libertarian candidate, but avoid mentioning the left alternative, Jill Stein, unless they profiled her in a previous issue).  The Party for Socialism and Liberation, Socialist Equality Party, Socialist Party USA, and the Socialist Workers Party are running presidential candidates, but according to Wikipedia any votes they receive in NC will not be counted, nor will write-in votes for Bernie Sanders, while a vote for Jill Stein would help build the Green Party as a left electoral alternative to the Democrats.  I have an open mind, but I find it surprising that some Marxist parties have actually endorsed Clinton.  The Progressive Labor Party advocates boycotting elections.        

Since we have been hearing about the presidential candidates for so long and they are familiar figures, it might be easy to decide who to vote for, but state and local candidates can be more slippery.  For example, State Senator Mike Woodard (in District 22) seems progressive and is endorsed by the People's Alliance (but not by the Independent this year), but voters might be surprised if they look into how their state legislators have voted (it is very easy at www.ncleg.net).  Woodard and other Democrats voted for the Iran Divestment Act (Senate Bill 455), while even the Obama administration is working to reduce tensions over a non-existent nuclear weapons program.  He voted for the Property Protection Act (House Bill 405), which seems like an ag-gag law that punishes whistleblowers, rather than those guilty of crimes such as animal abuse and violating environmental laws, though he claimed in The Durham News last month that it does not do this (the text is online and voters can judge for themselves).  Even rightist Governor McCrory was against the bill, but Democrats and Republicans voted to override his veto.  HB 553 prevents counties or cities from regulating the standards of care for farm animals, though possibly there are rigorous State laws already.  There is also the questionable HB 574, excluding opossums from the protection of State wildlife laws around New Year's Eve, for one town's annual possum drop (the wild possum isn't killed, but it may still be a bad practice).  This is just from a brief look through voting records, and I didn't follow the General Assembly closely this year, so there could be other questionable votes by Senator Woodard and other incumbent Democrats.  I would like to see the Democrats control the General Assembly, Council of State, and Executive branch again, but it would be better if there were more progressive alternatives, such as Green candidates.  I will have to think further about the District 22 election and other General Assembly elections.     

US Representative David Price is also up for election and probably won't try to stop Clinton from attacking Syria or other countries, given his record on Iraq and Palestine.  If Trump wins, it would be good to have Congress controlled by the Democrats, but if Clinton wins, maybe it would be better to have Republican control, though most Republicans would probably follow Clinton into a war and they wouldn't support the progressive domestic promises that Clinton actually tries to implement.  I'm against pro-war and pro-torture US Senator Burr, but Deborah Ross supports Clinton on Syria.     

The Durham Board of County Commissioners was basically selected in the primary election, but I am also conflicted about voting for incumbents who helped approve the rezoning for 751 South, a dense development planned for a rural area adjacent to parkland around New Hope Creek and Jordan Lake, though it does not seem to have been built yet.  As usual voters have to hunt for information about the Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor race, but there is a lot of information about the judicial candidates.        

Whatever happens, a person's vote belongs to them and in the solitude of the voting booth (if they can get one), they will have to decide who they want to support or can vote for in good conscience versus the odds of other candidates winning.  A large percentage of people who are eligible to vote won't, but if they did, maybe the election would turn out differently.  If Gore had energized more people, maybe there would never have been an opportunity for the Supreme Court to steal the election for Bush and the Democrats wouldn't have to scapegoat Nader for winning a few votes the Democrats think they own.              

A moment of silence for Becky Heron

This evening NPR announced that former Durham County Commissioner Becky Heron passed away. It seemed like she was a permanent part of the Commission until she retired a few years ago. She was a commissioner from December 6, 1982 to August 1, 2011, and the first woman chairperson from December 1994 to 1996. In 1995 the NC Association of County Commissioners selected her as that year's Oustanding County Commissioner. She was known for her green and progressive stands. I knew she was doing good work on the Commission, though I was young, but it wasn't until recent years that I followed local government closely, and witnessed her courageous stands on land use issues. I offer my condolences to her family.

Hopefully one or both of the county commissioners elected in 2012 will continue Heron's pro-environmental stand.

For more information, see:

http://www.heraldsun.com/news/showcase/x849279415/Former-Commissioner-Becky-Heron-dies

http://dconc.gov/index.aspx?page=31&recordid=803&returnURL=%2findex.aspx

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/01/23/3557442/longtime-durham-county-commissioner.html