A Police Ride-Along

A Police Ride-Along

Last week I got the chance to ride up front and “shot gun” in what is often referred to as a ride along with a Cary Police officer.  For me, it was an opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at the day (or in this case, evening) of a Cary Police Officer.  I came away with more than that. I left my evening with a real appreciation for the hard work of our officers, and the entire Police Department, and what they do to keep Cary one of the safest places to live.

A Tour 
Photo from Town of Cary

Photo from Town of Cary

My evening started with the GRAND tour of the Police department by Lieutenant Jerry McCormick.  We started in the 9-1-1 Communications Center where, you guessed it, your 911 calls are sent.   Read More…

A Solar Farm in Cary

A Solar Farm in Cary

On Friday I got a chance to visit the new solar farm located at the South Cary Water Reclamation Facility. 

We’ve all seen solar panels, but you haven’t seen anything like this before.  Ok, well, I haven’t.

What is it?

Picture from Town of Cary

This solar farm is Wake County’s largest public-private solar energy system, located on a 7 acre plot of land within our South Cary Water Reclamation Facility. FLS Energy, an Asheville, NC company, was selected at the Town’s solar energy partner.  (You may have read about them before, they installed the solar project as SAS, and have several other projects in the area.)

Not only is this our first and largest public-private partnership, it’s the beginning of a number of installations that will not only support our sustainability efforts, but will also make money for the town. Yep, that’s right.  Without any upfront costs or maintenance costs during the life of the lease, the Town will generate lease revenue of $35,000 a year for this part of the project, alone.  (The town’s lease is for 20 years.)   Read More…

The Gifting Season

The Gifting Season

It’s the holiday season and it is one of my favorite times of the year.

Why?

Because it’s one of the times during the year that I can give gifts to friends and family to let them know how much they mean to me every day throughout the year – without folks thinking that I’m a nutcase. (Ok, maybe they think I’m a nutcase, but that’s beside the point.)

Anyway, I’m kind of known around my group of friends as the “gift guru.” I work really hard on finding a gift that shows the gratitude, love and regard that I have for the recipient. For me, finding the “right” gift isn’t a chore. It’s a opportunity to demonstrate or show love to that person. (Have you read the book “The 5 Love Languages“ by Gary Chapman?” Great book that speaks to finding how to best show love to someone, so that they REALLY get it.  Worth a read, for sure. )

For me, the fun of gift giving isn’t just the brainstorming on what the best gift is, it is also the hunt to find, create or make the gift. It’s the act of unconditional love, an opportunity for me to demonstrate my love, esteem or care for that other person – and not wanting anything in return, except to hopefully see the look on their face when they receive the gift.

Having said all of that –I thought I would showcase some of my more interesting gift ideas, in case you are having a hard time finding a gift for one of your loved ones.

(NOTE: I do NOT get anything from directing you to these items, and I make no warranties on their applicability or appropriateness for your intended.)

For the Crazy Kid (Or Young at Heart) 

Jumping Stilts

JUMP!

These are not for the faint of heart – but very cool. They are bouncy stilts that will allow the user to jump, run and do crazy things once they are attached to the legs of the wearer. You can jump as high as 9ft and run as fast as 20 miles an hour. They are made by several vendors – Power Risers and AirTrekers, or look at this page. You may have seen them used at the 2008 Olympics.  (Below is a video of my son, once he got the hang of them!)

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A Theatre is Reborn

A Theatre is Reborn

4 Councilmembers shovel the sand

Being a council member does have its perks. Ceremonial duties such as groundbreakings or award programs are some of my favorite activities. I’m also looking forward to a promised ride-along with a Cary police officer, and my first chance to be in a parade (that’s next weekend!) Sometimes these events give me a behind-the-scenes look at some of Town projects in development in Cary.

That’s what I got on Saturday at the ground breaking ceremony of “The Cary,” the first indoor movie theater built in Cary.

“If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you are.” James Burke”

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A visit to the Hospital

A visit to the Hospital

Yesterday, At-Large Councilman Ed Yerha and I were treated to a unique experience — a behind-the-scenes tour of WakeMed Cary located at the corner of Tryon and Kildaire Farm Road. (Take a Virtual Tour!)

I’ve had the opportunity to visit WakeMed before, as both a patient and visitor when my kids needed to check out the Emergency Room. I’ve always been impressed with their quality of service and the care that each and every employee shows the patients and visitors. And I’ve seen the hospital grow from a relatively small facility 20 years ago to one that is now expanded out and UP, and serving so much of our Cary community.   Read More…

Having Your Say

Having Your Say

One of the things I like best about being on the Cary Town Council is hearing from citizens all across Cary. In our town of more than 140,000 residents, we have people from all walks of life, with varied interests, insights and experiences. The intellectual capital and the passion of our citizens is what makes this town great.

As a Town, we are about to embark on one of the most ambitious long-range planning efforts in the Town’s history. Creating a Community Plan for the future to be built on the values, needs and aspirations of the community. And we need your help!

Why a Community Plan? 

As we have grown over the years, the Town has done a good job in updating many of the various area plans across the community.  These plans are components of our overall Land Use Plan, and they have addressed the growing development needs across the town.  We could continue to “piece meal” these plans together, but to do it right – it became clear that we should update the entire Land Use plan that was last updated in 1996.  This comprehensive update will help align all of our many plans, reduce the overlap and blend all of the components into a comprehensive planning document that will guide us for the future.   Read More…

Parkside Town Commons

Parkside Town Commons

I recently wrote about the new development at Bradford, and folks seemed to like the insight and updates on new construction in Cary.  So, in keeping with that previous post, I thought I’d give an update on a project that will be one of the first in the Alston Regional Activity Center.

Alston, Where is that?
Parkside Town Commons Map

Google map, annotated

The Alston Regional Activity center is approximately 970 acres located at the northeast corner of the intersection of NC Hwy 55 and Interstate 540.  The Town believes that this area will be a big attraction due to its proximity to RTP, and quick access to local roads and interchanges.

In 2006, the Town Council created a special Mixed Use Overlay district as well as an Activity Center Concept plan to help guide development in that area, and one of the first developments to move forward is Parkside Town Commons.

 

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Don’t Get Tricked

Don’t Get Tricked

As I write this up, it is the last day of “National Cyber Security Awareness Month” as well as Halloween, so I thought it would be the perfect time to do one last pitch for being Cyber Security Aware.

As you get ready to put on your (or help your child put on their) costume – remember, you aren’t the only one out there pretending to be someone else.  There are many hackers, pretenders and “bad actors” pretending to be someone or something else.  The act of pretending to be someone or something you are not is a tactic many cyber criminals have used since the Internet began.  This can be called “spoofing” or sometimes called a “phishing attack” – with the with real and scary intention to get access to your personal information, or to do harm to a computer network.

What is it, and Why do I care?

Phishing and Spoofing are very similar, in that they are trying to get you to do something based on fake or forged documents or information.  “Spoofing is the dissemination of the email from a “spoofed” (or FAKE) email address, and phishing is often used in conjunction with a spoofed email. Phishing is the act of sending an email falsely claiming to be from an established legitimate business to trick the recipient into divulging personal, sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, and bank account numbers.” (This description from the Department of Homeland Security, and you can learn more from the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3))

These types of attacks can be hard to detect – and in many cases, a “spoofed” email can look very real  So, how do you tell?

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Cyber Security and You

Cyber Security and You

So, do I have your attention now? How many of you knew where that quote (“Keep it Secret, Keep it Safe”) came from, and just wanted to read an article about “Lord of the Rings?” 🙂

Sorry to disappoint, but this post is all about Cyber Security. I know, boring stuff, but October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, and helping people use technology, and use it safely, has been my passion for a while now.

And, let’s face it, today so much of our lives are connected to some sort of digital device, as well as the information on them; it makes sense to put some protections in place to keep your information secret, and to keep it safe. That’s why I partnered with the Town of Cary Police Department to recognize and support October as Cyber Security Awareness Month, and also why our Police department works hard to protect you with an impressive Cyber Crime unit.

First, some chilling numbers

Whether you are at work, at home, school – every part of our lives now has a connection to the Internet.

Did you know that…

– Someone becomes a victim of cyber crime every 18 seconds
– Cyber crime costs an average of nearly $200 per victim
– Mobile device vulnerabilities doubled in 2011 from 2010
– 40% of social network users have been victims of cyber crime on a social networking site
– 1 in 4 people received notification by a business, online service provider, or organization that their personally identifiable information (password, credit card number, email addres, etc.) was lost or compromised because of a data breach
 (Source: Symantec and National Cyber Security Alliance)

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Should I vote for the Cary Bonds?

Should I vote for the Cary Bonds?

We are all being bombarded by political ads.  It’s the season for it, for sure.  But there are a number of other measures on the ballot that also require our attention.  One of those, is the Cary Bond referendum.  (I should probably say “referendums” since there are 3 on the ballot.)

Why the bond?

My job on the Town Council is to serve you, our citizens.  This is a task of which I am immensely honored and privileged.  And part of that task is to ensure that you have the services you need to work, live, play, learn and grow in the community that you call home.

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