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Bad Times Keep Us Put: Migration to South and West Slows

CitizenSugar — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 03:00:23 -0800

The intuitive trend in America to move to where the land is open and the climate warm has hit a road bump. Thanks to the housing crisis, which makes the idea of taking on a new mortgage scary and risky, people are staying put.

The population slowdown specifically hit the western and southern states, which had seen huge growth and migration over the last decade. While this trend could mean less traffic and more space for those already living there, it could also lead to less political influence. Based on current projections, California might lose a seat in Congress for the first time ever following the 2010 Census.

Still, a population slow down in the South and West doesn't mean other regions are growing faster. In 2008, Utah was the fastest growing state, followed by Arizona, Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina. And Michigan and Rhode Island actually lost population.

Have tough times made you shelve any plans for moving?

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The South Needs Some Serious Gas Relief After Hurricanes

LibertySugar — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:00:00 -0700

Fallout from Hurricane Ike and Gustav has spiraled into massive gas shortages in the Southeast. Drivers in Nashville, TN, where the problem is the worst, wait in long lines and some follow tankers around in hopes of being the first to fill up before a station goes dry.

In western North Carolina local governments have been forced to cancel programs, since there's not much gas to travel to activities. One city canceled athletic events, and another county has limited all municipal travel to emergency vehicles for the past few weeks. Many workers in the region have been told to work four 10-hour days, or telecommute.

In Atlanta, one of the nation's largest commuter cities, many stations have run out of gas, and they have no idea when more will come. Once residents find a station with fuel, they often must dole out $5 a gallon, and wait in 40-car lines. What would you do if your city ran out of gas?

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North Carolina's Naughty License Plates Cause DMV Trouble

CitizenSugar — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:00:59 -0700

ROFL, OMG, etc. So North Carolina's DMV has to get cracking to cook up 10,000 replacement license plates after one 60-year-old grandmother got clued in by her text-savvy grandchild that her standard-issue plate, contained an acronym that expresses disbelief in an explicit fashion. As in, WTF.

The DMV (Look! Another acronym in the neighborhood of WTF!) says that although they try to keep up with all the latest acronyms, this one slipped by their censors. They've offered to replace the offending plates free of charge. Oh, but the best part of this story? That they'd been using one of the WTF plates on their website as an example. They're now "trying to remove the plate" from the site.

I'm no entrepreneur, but I imagine that they could resell the turned in plates for quite a profit to those who might want a little more color in their vehicle identification? It's like those super-expensive vanity plates, or the political ones, or the religious ones, but way, way better. Would you turn yours in, or flaunt it?

Somebody Watching You? Peeping Toms Lurking Everywhere!

LibertySugar — Tue, 13 May 2008 11:00:57 -0700

Citizens all over the world are not safe from Peeping Toms. Venice police just caught a man who had photographed the backsides of over 3,000 women, as they strolled around San Marco square. The man tailed the women wearing short skirts, carrying a bag with a camera, and filming their tails through a small hole in the bag.

Apparently, the Peeping Tom wasn't who you would imagine — authorities say he is a working professional with two young children and a wife. The man faces six months to four years in prison. The Venice case might be the tip of a Peeping-Tom trend. To see who else has been sneaking around,

So What Happens Now? The Election Keeps Keepin' On. . . .

CitizenSugar — Wed, 07 May 2008 07:45:07 -0700

I wonder if anyone is as exhausted as CBS must be this morning after having called Indiana so early, and then having to wait — alone— as Hillary's lead shrunk. They must have been sweating it to say the least. But when the counting was done, Hillary indeed took Indiana by a thin, two-point margin. Obama won North Carolina, 56 percent to Hillary's 42.

Here's what I'm wondering about this morning. Though the New York Times is calling Obama's win in North Carolina "decisive," it's far from big enough to call off the race altogether (Hillary is moving on to West Virginia this morning) and yes, winning by 14 points is sizeable, though it's hardly overwhelming? Earning 42 percent of the vote doesn't make you a Ron-Paul-five-percenter if you know what I mean. Oh, I'm just warming up,

Awaiting Results: Obama Smokes Clinton in North Carolina

CitizenSugar — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:32:42 -0700

CNN is projecting that Barack Obama has lit up the ballot boxes and scored a win in the contest for North Carolina's 134 delegate votes.

He was expected to do well, and the exact number of delegates he'll take from the contest will be determined at the end of the counting, though it seems like he won by a sizeable margin. This is his first big state win in several contests.

Interestingly, CNN exits polls in both IN and NC are showing that less than half of Clinton's supporters would support Obama if he was declared the nominee.

Though the drawn out race worries some, it hasn't hurt voter registration numbers — quite the opposite. A new study shows that one in 66 Americans registered to vote in the first three months of this year. North Carolina expected a turn out of 50 percent in today's voting - double the rate of past primaries.

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Quiz Nation! How Well Do You Know the Candidates?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:45:39 -0700

It's the beginning of the end of the beginning folks! With Indiana and North Carolina's polls closing in seconds, we're in the homeward stretch until June 3, when all the votes will be in and the big shake up will shake down.

Here's some fun while we wait! I've loved New York magazine's Electopedia since it launched, and browsing through recently sparked a few trip down memory lane style questions. These aren't about policies folks, they're about the goods. The little details. . .how well do you know the candidates it seems like we've been following for years and years?

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Front Page: Cyclone Toll Hits 22,500, NC and IN Vote, War Funding and Troops Home

CitizenSugar — Tue, 06 May 2008 07:00:45 -0700

Cyclone Toll Hits 22,500: The death toll from last weekend's devastating cyclone in Myanmar rose to 22,500 today with an additional 41,000 people still missing. Yesterday in a rare press conference, US First Lady Laura Bush urged the country's military leaders to accept US disaster response aid. Myanmar's resistance stems from heavy US sanctions against the junta, though the US State Department said a disaster response team was "standing by and ready to go into Burma," now known as Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military for 46 years. The UN says that the junta is ready to accept assistance, though aid workers now await visas. A UN spokesman said, "the government has shown a certain openness so far. We hope that we will get the visas as soon as possible, in the coming hours. I think the authorities have understood the seriousness of the situation and that they will act accordingly."

NC and IN Vote: Voters in North Carolina and Indiana head to the polls in the largest remaining bloc of delegates up for grabs. A total of 218 pledged delegate votes will be awarded tonight. Nearing the end of primary season with the last votes on June 3, the outcome of today is pivotal — will one candidate sweep or will they split? Check back tonight for results the second they break.
War Funding and Troops Home: House Democrats are preparing to break from President Bush and move ahead with a war spending measure that would include extended unemployment assistance and new educational benefits for returning veterans. Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to bring a $178 billion measure to the floor this week, with what could be tense debate on the matter to be held Thursday. The US Military announced yesterday that 3,500 soldiers sent to Iraq last summer as part of the surge will soon be coming home.

Front Page: UNC Remembers, Spain and Zimbabwe's Elections

CitizenSugar — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 07:00:29 -0800

At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, thousands of students attended a memorial service this morning to remember student body president Eve Carson. Carson was shot and killed in a suburban neighborhood near campus. At this point, the police have no leads and consider it a random crime. The UNC Chancellor said during the gathering, "The death of any parent's child or any student is a tragedy, but this is a tragedy magnified and multiplied by the number and depths of the relationships, meaningful relationships, that Eve Carson had on this campus. Eve Carson personified the Carolina spirit. ... She felt the very pulse and heartbeat of this university."
Spain heads into the final day of campaigning before Sunday's general election. Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is seeking a second term amid questions about the slowing economy. Inflation and unemployment are the highest they've been in nearly a decade. Recent polls however show the Socialists with a four-point lead.
In other global election news, Zimbabwe has banned election observers from Western countries from monitoring proceedings later this month. At this point, only African countries would be allowed monitors, along with allies such as China, Iran and Venezuela. Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, 84, says he suspects that Western countries are trying to remove him from government.