I have listened to portions of the City Council retreat on YouTube. The retreat carried a certain tension. The council members discussing Rocky Mount’s financial problems are the same body whose lack of oversight allowed those problems to develop in the first place. As I listened, an odd literary memory surfaced. Many people know the … Continue reading A Barking Dog At The City Council Retreat →

The long awaited state audit of Rocky Mount’s finances was released Monday, and the findings were sobering. According to the report from the North Carolina State Auditor, the city’s cash and investment balances dropped dramatically over a short period of time, falling from roughly $100 million to about $21.8 million between 2023 and 2025, a … Continue reading Rocky Mount Citizens Calling for Resignations, What Happens Next? →

I’m addicted to well written mysteries. My mother was a Sherlock Holmes buff. I regret that I didn’t begin reading them until after she was gone. It would have been fun to compare notes. I’m thinking of her as I write about Holmes. Sherlock Holmes was created by the Scottish writer Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes … Continue reading Sherlock Holmes Would Say, The Game Is Afoot in Rocky Mount →

As of March 1, something hopeful is taking shape in Rocky Mount. Ward 1 and Ward 2, both represented by longtime Councilmen, André Knight in Ward 1 and Reuben Blackwell in Ward 2, are no longer “foregone conclusion” seats. Brian Lapine and Mark Williams have already declared their intent to run against these incumbents, Lapine … Continue reading Hope Arrives Early: A New Season of Candidates for City Council →

When Rocky Mount moved from at-large elections to ward-based voting in 1985, the city looked very different. In 1980, Rocky Mount’s total population was 41,283. At that time, Black residents made up just over 42 percent of the population. The shift to seven single-member wards came in that context, when Black citizens were a large … Continue reading Changing How We Vote: 1985 Was a 42 Percent Minority City. 2026 That Minority Has Changed To a 62 Percent Majority. →