We process a parade tragedy, hear voters’ voices and make sense of shelter euthanasia rates
Part 5 of a five-part project revisiting the 2022 stories that had an impact on The N&O’s staff.
Helping others understand quantum computing
For me, what’s been new about becoming a tech reporter in North Carolina has been the tech. Before starting at The N&O in July, I was working as a journalist in the state. Tech topics would sprout up, but they weren’t the focus at my old job.
Now tech is the focus, and I feel fortunate to cover the industry that defines the Triangle.
But it’s also been mentally challenging/thrilling/exhausting to wrap my head around the advancements very smart people are achieving locally each day. It can seem like magic. Never more than with quantum computing.
I hope I made a complex concept on that topic accessible, and will seek to continue doing so in 2023.
Brian Gordon is the technology reporter.
The impact of the story behind the story
In a year marked by tragedies, the news story that sticks in my memory carried the headline “Why should I believe a scientist?”
And it wasn’t the story that affected me so much as it was the people who talked me into it — Teddy Rosenbluth and Chiungwei Huang, two young science writers schooled in laboratories instead of newsrooms. They wanted to address society’s declining respect for science by reminding people why they can trust the scientific process even if they don’t trust the researchers.
As someone who has worked at newspapers since the last time a scientist was president (well, OK, a nuclear engineer), my first thought was, “That’s not how we do things.” The look on their faces told me to keep quiet. And reminded me how much a person can learn just by listening.
Dave Hendrickson is the growth and business editor.
A college football conference upheaval and a call to dad
This past summer, USC and UCLA announced they would move to the Big Ten. And, like clockwork, I called my dad. Anytime something sports-related happens, I call him. From Saniya Rivers transferring to N.C. State to the Christian McCaffrey trade, we’ve had a lot of talks this year.
As I was dialing, The N&O sports staff was writing. Out of that came several stories about what the move means and how it impacts the ACC and the college sports landscape as a whole. Luke DeCock put it best when he wrote, “As the Big Ten and SEC continue to consolidate their power, it’s hard to conceive any way the ACC can keep up. It’s already $25 million per school per year behind, and that gap is likely only going to grow.”
I grew up in the middle of SEC and ACC country. There has never been a time when college sports weren’t on TV at least once a week in my house. Going to college and attending those same games that I’d been watching since I was a toddler meant so much to me.
“This entire enterprise was once built on the idea of like-minded, geographically congruent institutions competing against their peers,” DeCock wrote.
But this latest jumping off the ship could end that magic.
Drew Hill is a growth and audience editor.
Remembering the voices of suburban, rural and urban voters
It was a rough election year for parents trying to watch family-friendly TV with their kids in the evening.
You couldn’t leave the TV on between rounds of “Jeopardy” without hearing Republican ads about cop killers and child molesters, followed by Democratic ads about rape and incest.
At The N&O, we fact-checked claims and looked into candidates’ positions and backgrounds. But we went beyond what campaigns wanted to talk about: We listened to what voters wanted to talk about. Sometimes those were the same; sometimes not. Voters’ views are complicated. In our coverage of statewide and Triangle elections, readers heard from a range of suburban, rural and urban voters.
Those are the voices I’ll keep remembering long after the campaign signs have come down and the commercials no longer need to be muted.
Jordan Schrader is the politics editor.
Learning about Coach K’s relationship with Dean Smith
Mike Krzyzewski granted few private interviews in the run-up to his final season as Duke’s basketball head coach. Andrew Carter and I were fortunate to land one. We headed to his office atop the Schwartz-Butters Building on a hot August 2021 day, peppering him with questions about his Hall of Fame career.
Near the end of our nearly two-hour session, Krzyzewski said he had one more thing for us. He then revealed his feelings about former UNC coach Dean Smith, his longtime rival, and how close they became near the end of Smith’s life. Andrew’s story expertly told a story that offered a new view of the intense Duke-UNC rivalry.
Steve Wiseman covers Duke athletics.
The dread of turning 21
Turning 21 is usually an exciting, highly anticipated moment.
But for more than 200,000 so-called “documented dreamers” — kids of immigrants who came to the United States on temporary work visas — it’s the end of their legal status in the country.
Dreams of getting a top-tier education, finding a fulfilling job, giving back to the community and building a life in the only country they’ve known as home are put on hold.
Many of these documented dreamers, including two North Carolina college students who told The News & Observer about facing the prospect of self-deportation, have banded together to exercise their political power and lobby Congress to pass a fix.
Their efforts have drawn national attention and garnered the support of both Democrats and Republicans in Washington. Whether lawmakers allow documented dreamers to stay, however, remains to be seen.
Avi Bajpai covers North Carolina state politics and government.
Discovering a bucket list of summer trips
Our summer series, “Cruising Across Carolina,” offered a welcome relief from the terrible tragedies, conflict and anger that seemed to dominate our news this year.
In her first installment, Martha Quillin wrote she was “fixing to have the best work summer ever,” and she and visual journalist Travis Long took us all along for the ride.
They traveled across North Carolina, visiting out-of-the-way places from the mountains to the sea. The words and images brought a joy of discovery to readers, and in working with the team to produce videos of their travels, I found many moments of grace.
And, a bucket list of trips for summers to come.
Kevin Keister is a video producer on the visuals team.
What will become of Northgate Mall?
Durham is one of the hottest cities in the South and with that growth comes change.
One of the most interesting places to watch this year was Northgate Mall.
Ten years ago, it’s where I bought dresses for school dances, rummaged through CDs at FYE, and wandered around with my best friend just being a kid.
Now, out-of-town investors and community members are clashing over what to do with the enormous and well-situated property, vacant since 2020.
The owners want a life sciences-targeted research campus. Walltown locals have called for housing and walkability and jobs for people from the neighborhood.
What happens when wealthy investors seeking to capitalize on a booming industry meet organized longtime residents with a community-centered vision?
Whatever Northgate becomes will speak volumes.
Mary Helen Moore covers Durham.
Processing a string of tragedies
The deadly accident at Raleigh’s 2022 Christmas parade felt like a final straw that taxed our collective capacity to process tragedy.
It followed a tight succession of similar calamities: Hedingham’s mass shooting, a shocking suicide rate at local universities, UVA’s shooting and other horrors across the country. The Raleigh Christmas Parade tragedy felt uniquely heartbreaking – one of Raleigh’s most beloved annual traditions shattered by an accident.
One of our reporters, a longtime Raleighite, has described the Christmas parade as a rite of passage for many residents. Children cherish their moments to shine in the public eye. It’s supposed to be the height of levity, not a source of tragedy. Processing the complexity of what went wrong and sharing it in tactful news coverage was a tall task that our team carried out well. I was privileged to coordinate much of that effort and I’m proud of our work, especially the sensitivity and care with which our reporters approached a delicate situation.
Lars Dolder is The Insider editor.
The GOP’s efforts to control redistricting
National PACs poured millions into North Carolina elections for Supreme Court and state legislature in just the last few years, largely aimed at control over redistricting.
My article showed how in late 2021 GOP lawmakers passed one set of rules for redistricting that they touted to the public, and to their Democratic colleagues, but broke those rules in private.
Revisiting it now isn’t just a reminder of the high stakes involved. It’s also a preview for 2023, since we’re about to do it all again.
After this November’s elections, there’s a new Republican majority on the N.C. Supreme Court, which is expected to give their party wider leeway to gerrymander new districts for future elections.
Will Doran covers North Carolina state politics and government.
Documenting Duke vs. UNC in the Final Four
Having covered the North Carolina-Duke basketball rivalry for many years, it was unique to document this rivalry on a neutral court during the NCAA Final Four in New Orleans.
There was so much emotion and history on display. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski coaching his last season. North Carolina coach Hubert Davis taking a team to the finals in his first season as head coach. Seeing North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and House Speaker Tim Moore celebrating along with the families and the players after North Carolina’s victory was memorable.
Emotions ran high, as they would at any national semifinal game, but this one was special because of the rivalry between these two schools and their fan bases.
Robert Willett is a photojournalist.
Exploring NC by rail and taking readers along for the ride
I’ve always enjoyed riding trains, whether in the Northeast when I lived there or on the rare trip to Europe. I wondered if North Carolinians knew how fortunate they are to be able to ride the train to so many cities in the state.
So I decided to introduce people to the Piedmont, the train that runs daily between Raleigh and Charlotte. I spent a year working on Riding the Piedmont in my spare time, visiting each stop and seeing what people can find near the train stations.
The Piedmont has had record ridership since my articles were published last summer, and I’d like to think my guide inspired some of those riders to explore their state by train.
Richard Stradling covers transportation.
Grateful for those who rescue animals
When Ilana Arougheti wrote about the rise in euthanasia in local animal shelters this past summer, it struck me how much animals go through when they wind up at a shelter. It’s stressful for these living, breathing creatures and for the workers who have to make the difficult decisions about which animals to put down and which ones to save.
Ilana’s work has stuck with me because of my own dogs’ stories.
The first time I saw Lulu was on Facebook. In the image, she was at the Wake County Animal Shelter, where she had been surrendered by her previous owner. Her ears and face were sunken. She looked sad and scared and, according to the post, was scheduled to be euthanized the next day. It wasn’t her fault she was there. She didn’t deserve to die. My other dog, Jon Bon Jovi, also spent time at the same shelter after he was picked up as a stray.
My dogs were lucky. Someone saved them. But there are way too many who don’t make it out.
Jessaca Giglio is the planning and enterprise editor — and the editor of this project.
Read the rest of the series:
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four
