We won’t forget the murder of an officer or the attempts to rebuild a Black community

Part 2 of a five-part project revisiting the 2022 stories that had an impact on The N&O’s staff.

In a murder case, a grandfather’s love was light in the darkness

Just days after his 14-year-old granddaughter Lyric Woods and her friend Devin Clark were found shot to death in Alamance County, Stan Dean was building a memorial where their bodies were found.

In the blazing sun on a dirt road, he shared his heartbreaking experience with me.

His final memory of her was taking her out for ice cream. Dean was incredibly gracious and honest, despite the unbelievable pain he was in.

I’ll never forget him telling me how he strung a set of lights on Lyric’s memorial cross — because she was afraid of the dark.

Colleen Hammond is a breaking news reporter.

Finding the human elements in a football game

I had covered the N.C. State-ECU football game and was told of an encounter between two kickers after the game. N.C. State’s Christopher Dunn gave words of encouragement to ECU’s Owen Daffer after Daffer missed what would have been the game-winning kick.

I was looking for a different way to report on the game and expand what I thought would be a good story within the bigger story, I was able to get a one-on-one interview with Dunn and develop it into a piece no other media outlet and had that I was proud of writing.

I received professional and personal gratification in that the story was exclusive and well-reported. It also emphasized the point that no matter how fierce the rivalry or importance of the game to the fans, there is a basic human element that sometimes gets overlooked when one team wins and the other loses.

Chip Alexander covers the Carolina Hurricanes and the ACC.

A shooter gives insight into Durham gang life

I never met Z’Yon Person, but I think about him almost every day.

After covering the drive-by shooting that killed the 9-year-old, the trial and the sentencing of the three gang members who mistook Z’Yon’s aunt’s SUV for that of a gang rival, the experience is now a part of me.

Sometimes little flashes of jarring details float into my head.

▪ Z’Yon’s aunt’s panic as she drove to the hospital, with two children shot in her SUV.

▪ The doctor telling Z’Yons parents there was nothing they could do to save him.

▪ Z’yons cousin, who was shot in the arm, curling up on a courtroom bench crying uncontrollably.

But mostly I ask how a child in an SUV full of children getting snow cones on a hot August night could get killed and what we can learn to prevent it from happening again.

That is why I chose the story of Dival Magwood’s testimony.

He provided unprecedented insight into Durham gang life. But he also told a story of the currents in his life and Durham that made him vulnerable to falling into the unfathomable life of a gang shooter.

His father was paraplegic after being shot months before his birth, according to statements in court, and his mother was unreliable.

He joined the gang in eighth grade. He sold drugs, shot and robbed people. By 17, he was homeless, living from couch to couch.

His story highlights a complex problem in desperate need of an effective solution: How could we have helped Magwood, and how can we help the ones who will take his place as a Crips shooter.

Virginia Bridges covers criminal justice for The News & Observer.

Making sure our Black businesses survive

Our “Buying Black” package, published during Black History Month, is the definition of journalism with impact. I’m honored to be a part of a newspaper that not only holds government officials accountable and makes sure injustice doesn’t go unnoticed, but uplifts and recognizes our own neighbors doing the everyday work of making our community better, stronger and more equitable.

Bookmark The N&O’s Black-owned businesses in the Triangle database (there are nearly 200 of them) and consult it whenever you’re searching for a loved one’s gift, celebratory restaurant or spot for a day trip.

Learn about our area’s history. Make sure our Black businesses can thrive. This package shows you how.

Kimberly Cataudella is a service journalism reporter.

The killing of Raleigh Police Officer Gabriel Torres hits home

It’s always somewhere else. It’s never in your own backyard.

Until it is.

As the mass shooting tragedy in Raleigh’s Hedingham neighborhood unfolded on the evening of October 13, fewer than 10 miles from my family’s house, and as I followed our News & Observer team’s amazing coverage, one element of the incident immediately hit even closer to home.

Raleigh Police Officer Gabriel Torres was among the victims.

My father was a 24-year police veteran in my home city. Our family lived with the reality that each day, however remote the statistical chance, could be the last we saw him walk out the door. Thankfully, my father reached retirement.

For some, like Officer Torres, retirement never comes.

I didn’t know Officer Torres. I don’t know his family. But I understand what they likely felt every day: the pride in seeing someone so passionate about serving and protecting, tinged with the often unspoken fear of inherent mortal danger.

In this instance, Officer Torres was likely a victim of chance, his death having nothing to do with his status as a police officer. But the sting remains. As fellow Raleigh officer Cedric Perry II told the N&O in the days following the shooting:

“We take pride in sending everybody home at night, so we felt like it wasn’t fair for something tragic to happen to him and us not be there to do something about it ... It’s just a hard pill to swallow, not being able to be there to help.”

Rest in peace, Officer Torres.

Justin Pelletier is the deputy regional sports editor for McClatchy’s Southeast Region.

How state employees feel about their workplace

North Carolina’s roughly 80,000 state employees are navigating the waters of a post-pandemic work life.

I wrote about what it’s like to be a North Carolina state employee now, especially with changes to the workplace after the pandemic. Does the state pay them enough? Appreciate them? Provide decent benefits? And why are there so many vacancies?

I found a mix of answers. Many of the state workers I talked to did not want to speak on the record, for fear of retribution from their managers. This happened even when they spoke positively about their jobs, which is a shame. But the consistent response was they liked what they did, felt like they were contributing to their state, and just wished they got a little more: more money, more benefits that have recently been taken away, more appreciation and more of a fulfilling workday.

Government workers: they’re just like everybody else.

Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan covers North Carolina state politics and government, including the governor, the legislature and state employees.

‘Greensboro will always be the home of the ACC’

Beginning my life as a Tar Heel fan in the 1970s, there was nothing more exciting than watching the ACC basketball tournament.

The venue where most of them were played — the Greensboro Coliseum — felt like home, whether you were a Tar Heel, Wolfie, Blue Devil or Demon Deacon.

As 96-year-old Irwin Smallwood told N&O reporter Andrew Carter in his story on the ACC’s headquarters move from Greensboro to Charlotte this year, “Greensboro will always be the home of the ACC, whether if it’s obviously here or on the outskirts or inner Mongolia. It won’t matter.”

Or even in Charlotte. At least it remained in the state…for now.

David Raynor is a database editor.

Rebuilding a Black community in Durham

Like many historically Black neighborhoods, the blight Hayti in Durham experiences today is a consequence of decades of systemic barriers like redlining, urban renewal and gentrification.

For years, the community has demanded that leaders and the Durham Housing Authority bring the community back to life, starting with the Fayette Place property — once bustling with single-family homes, later a low-income housing development, and now a rubble-ridden 20-acre plot of land. But when the housing authority announced its plans for a mixed-income rental apartment complex, many community members were less than pleased.

When I was the reporter on the story, the Hayti community welcomed me into their spaces to hear their pleas, anger and hopes for their future. But it was a special city council meeting in June, a year after I started reporting on the story when things reached a turning point. The housing authority began holding community meetings to discuss plans, which sent them back to the drawing board, as Ilana Arroughetti reported.

Durham reporter Mary Helen Moore recently reported that the DHA developers for Fayette Place announced new plans to build affordable townhomes, rental apartments, retail, and commercial space in Fayette Place. If you don’t already, follow her @maryhelenmoore on Twitter and keep up with her work here.

Laura Brache is a growth and audience producer.

The changing landscape of NC BBQ

For what seems like forever, barbecue has been one of North Carolina’s sacred things, revered for its history and traditions and downright deliciousness, a humble delicacy staggeringly difficult to perfect.

But what barbecue means in North Carolina is changing before our eyes. I spent the summer on a barbecue journey, eating my way through the state’s shifting smoked-meats landscape, where a national hunger for brisket is butting up against old-fashioned Carolina whole hog. What I found was a barbecue energy I haven’t seen in years, as a new generation of pitmasters is putting out some of the most exciting plates of food anywhere.

The plate that stuck with me is the Saturday special at Prime Barbecue in Knightdale from pitmaster Chris Prieto. The whole hog lechon, smoked and seasoned with adobo and dressed with mojo sauce, is authentic to two cultures, yet tasting of the new possibilities emerging in North Carolina barbecue.

J. Drew Jackson is the food reporter.

The regret I felt after the death of Ademola Okulaja

I work so hard to stay neutral reporting, but I regret not making the story on former UNC player Ademola Okulaja’s passing personal.

I didn’t know Okulaja well, but one interaction we had was what defined him as a person and I should have let the reader know about it. To sum it up, I was working on a basketball project years ago and, on a whim during a vacation in Europe, I contacted him about coming to Berlin for an interview.

Okulaja was actually leaving town that day, but invited me to breakfast at a Turkish restaurant (where he gave me the rundown on what was good) and sat with me for an hour talking basketball. He even gave me a ride back to my hotel so I didn’t have to get a taxi.

To this day, I have no good explanation as to why he was so generous with his time other than that’s just who he was. Next time, I’m in a situation like this, I absolutely will make it personal.

CL Brown covers UNC athletics.

A CEO’s quest to build a Topsail Beach family compound

Everyone loves a good David and Goliath story, and this has all the makings of one.

This November, one of Raleigh’s most prominent multimillionaires, Pendo CEO Todd Olson, faced off with Topsail Beach residents over his plans to build a “family compound” on nearly 40 acres of conserved land on the island’s southernmost tip called The Point.

He’s seeking conditional rezoning to make room for eight single-family homes, swimming pools, decking, gazebos, beach pavilion, and a sound-side cottage with a pier and nine boat lifts.

Drool-worthy and envy-producing, for sure. But many locals in this mostly blue-collar town aren’t impressed.

“Just because you’re one of that 1% in the world that can afford to do something like this, doesn’t mean that you should,” said resident Barry Moore in an impassioned plea over Zoom. “It’s going to negatively impact homes in the area, for sure.”

Olson’s application is pending, and residents vow to press on. Yet for this newbie real estate reporter, one thing is blazingly clear: With North Carolina’s rapid growth, the impacts are real. More development is coming, and the public demands to be heard and included in the planning process.

Chantal Allam covers real estate.

Read the rest of the series:

Part One | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five