Category / News

by Leo Suarez

New Blog Design For Your Viewing Pleasure

I’ve completed transitioning the blog to an entirely new design. Long-time readers may recognize layout similarities between this new design and the old but there are a lot of new elements especially under the hood.

I started to work on updating the old WordPress theme that I was using but after some tweaks and frustration, I basically threw it out and re-built it all. The result is a much sleeker blog and it accounts for the variety of screens out there. The generic WordPress plugin for “mobile-friendly” has been deleted and now I control the look and feel on smaller screens. I very much enjoy going through the new site on tablets and users will now see larger photos and videos going forward.

The next project will be a complete re-do of the walking tour. I apologize for taking it down, analytics tell me it was ok, but it’ll be back and much improved.

I hope you enjoy the new site, version 3 by my count.

by Leo Suarez

Raleigh Musings, A New Banner, and Life

Another week, another disappointment. Am I disappointed with downtown Raleigh? Absolutely not. I hope everyone has had the opportunity to just be outside and to walk around these days. The trees are practically full now and the warm breezes are refreshing. Even with that going on, I’m disappointed with the amount of blogging I’ve done here on RalCon and I bet long time readers have noticed the slow down. I’m using this blog post to reflect a bit.

I’ve updated the banner image on the site and I’m a bit excited about it. For awhile I’ve had a version of this great skyline shot I took from down in the Boylan Wye. It has been almost three years since I took that photo and used it as the site’s banner image. Slowly, very slowly, I’ve started to realize that the skyline shouldn’t be what Raleigh is about at all.

Downtown Raleigh’s real life is on the sidewalks and the growth that this blog has been following for the past five years is all about the network of treasures within this small area. It’s not what you see from afar but what is happening between those buildings that make downtown Raleigh a place to be and experience. I’ve found myself becoming more and more interested in the human interactions that occur around all those structures within the five districts of downtown.

The banner image is a snapshot of humans interacting on what is clearly our main street, Fayetteville Street. This is how I want to showcase our city. I hope an image like this and ones similar to it make any new visitor to this blog see it and think, “Hey, I want to be there.”

Transit, public space, the sidewalks and the businesses that connect are just some of the topics I want to keep talking about. New buildings are a part of it and while the skyline looks great on TV in high-def it is not what is going to keep people coming back if there’s no life in downtown. I’ve realized that I’ve been taking this approach ever since day one of blogging for RalCon. All my material and photos come from walking the sidewalks and seeing things for myself.

My job is more demanding these days and life put me as the star (or the number 2 as most people tell me) of an upcoming wedding so times are tight. Along with some neighborhood projects to keep me busy I’m sometimes slammed and I can’t get to these great topics mentioned earlier.

But times may change and we’ll one day get to discuss those topics more in-depth. Get out and walk downtown Raleigh tonight or this weekend. It’s a great time to do it.

by Leo Suarez

CityCamp Raleigh Follow Up and The Council To Discuss Open Source

Campers on the last day of CityCamp Raleigh prepare their presentation.

The first ever Citycamp Raleigh was a huge success. The Friday government and business panels were thought provoking and insightful about how data can be used if it was opened up to the public. The unconference format was a perfect fit for the many discussions and brainstorming sessions that took place throughout the day Saturday and Sunday. After this weekend, I’m inspired and motivated to demand that our city, county, and state open up more data to the public for our consumption. Transit, parking, zoning, crime, pollution are all examples of the types of data being gathered already and could potentially be released to the public.

A really great story I heard during the CityCamp discussions was of an open data experiment that took place in Washington DC. The city of Washington DC opened up their transit data in a friendly format for web and app developers to play with. In a short time, many applications were created by citizens or small companies. While most failed to take hold, the few that did stick eventually became adopted by many users of the transit system.

What I like about things like this is that the city does not spend money on one application and we are forced into that one environment. What are the chances that it may fail? By opening up the data and allowing independent developers to take a stab at making an application, we can learn what works and what doesn’t before the city spends money. The risk is lessened this way.

I could go on and on about the benefits of open data and how other cities are embracing this philosophy but I’ll stop here and move on to the city council agenda for this week, the meeting on June 7th, 2011. Here in the special items section:

Open Government/Open Source Systems
During the May 3, 2011, Council meeting, Councilor Gaylord presented a resolution
concerning open government by encouraging the use of open source systems and insuring
open access to public data. It was directed that the item be placed on the May 17, agenda
for consideration.

During the May 17, meeting, several questions were voiced by Council members and it
was directed that the item be placed on this agenda for further consideration. A copy of
the proposed resolution is included in the agenda packet.

If you support this and want to see more data available to the public then I want to ask readers to e-mail their councilors and tell them to adopt this. Info to get it done is below.

E-mail the entire council at: citycouncilors@raleighnc.gov

Write your own e-mail or copy and paste this one.

by Leo Suarez

Reporting Broken Lights On Streets and Sidewalks

Have you ever complained to yourself about a streetlight that was out or one that turns on and off, constantly cycling through the night? It is possible for you to report these problem lights so that the electric company can take care of them. Keep this information handy because sooner or later you will hear someone complain about a streetlight and will be prepared to calm the worries of frustrated citizens. Trust me guys, pull this one out during that conversation at the bar and you’ll get free drinks all night.

When you see a problem light, it helps to take down the light pole number, which looks similar to the one in the picture above. Here’s the key information:

Progress Energy – Request Streetlight Repair

Bookmark the link above or try to remember the shortened link of:

bit.ly/fixthelights

You can also report broken walk signs to the city. It takes a quick call to the Traffic Operation Signal Shop at 996-6020. Here is the link for more phone numbers for the Public Works Department and their different areas.

by Leo Suarez

Read RalCon On Your Phone

By the power of WordPress, I now give this blog mobility beyond its wildest dreams! Yes, that is right. The Raleigh Connoisseur is now mobile friendly through the power of a slick WordPress plugin.

I’ve been messing with a lot of side projects and back end tweaks on this site. If you’ve noticed a slowing in posts that is probably why. Either that or the hot temperatures in Raleigh this summer. Have no fear as I’m still 100% dedicated to continuing to grow this little hobby, even if it takes only baby steps.

And now, back to regularly scheduled programming…..