Hurricane Irene Making Landfall on North Carolina Coast

Despite being a Category 2, Hurricane Irene could possibly be a big one. Some are evacuating the area, while others are staying put and riding out the storm. Heavy rain and tropical storm force winds began sweeping the North Carolina coast this afternoon, and will continue on into the evening. North Carolina however, is not the only area affected by Irene. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is currently being moderately hit by the storm, and has the possibility to have an extreme effect in the New York City metro area as well. This hurricane has a strong potential of not only being one of the most devastating storms of the season, but it may as well make weather history. In fact, we might even see a repeat of the time when Hurricane Floyd hit the NC coastline in 1999. We can only hope for the best while preparing for the worst.

NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools Convention

Well, this Sunday-Tuesday was the NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools' 2nd annual Conference. This year, the event was held at the Marriott hotel in Raleigh. Among the vendors in the huge event (double the size of last year's conference) were Staples, CollegeBoard, Pearson Publishing, RDS Industrial Furnishings, and the Greensboro-based construction company Samet Corporation. Our biggest sponsor for the event was Acadia Norstar. Paul Norcross, Chairman of the Alliance, and former state senator Eddie Goodall were among the hosts of the event, which serves as the celebration of the passing of Senate Bill 8. The bill eliminates the limit of charter schools that are allowed to open in the state.



I was pleased to have lunch with a couple of guests who were generous enough to come to the Conference. A few examples include Richard Vinroot and Pat McCrory (two former mayors of Charlotte and gubernatorial candidates) and Laura Foxx (the mother of the current mayor of Charlotte, Anthony Foxx). I was also pleased to meet the State superintendent June Atkinson. With the huge number of vendors and spectators, our number of people who support the charter school system is growing, and we can only hope it will continue to grow like this.