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Community Corner

🌱 Duke Energy Faces Utilities Commission + NYE Bar Crawl Event Scam

The quickest way to get caught up on the most important things happening today in Raleigh.

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Christina Fullford, Neighbor
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(Patch Media)

Happy National Trivia Day Raleigh!

I hope your new year is off to a great start, but I do want to take a moment to apologize if any one tried to attend the New Year's Eve Bar Crawl event that did not take place on account of my recommendation. If you did, I looked into the Eventbrite refund and you should be able to request a refund from Eventbrite directly if you go here. I try my best to feature the most fun and entertaining events, and do my best to ensure they are all legitimate, however there is always risk. With that all being said, I have a brand new batch of events and news for you to enjoy, including:

  • Speed reduction efforts
  • Triangle creators meetup
  • Coastal Credit Union Lawn Passes on sale
  • ABC11 Together Blood Drive sign up

But first, today's weather:

Showers and a heavier t-storm. High: 71 Low: 56.

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Here are the top six stories in Raleigh today:

  1. Duke Energy appeared in front of the North Carolina Utilities Commission yesterday to discuss the rolling blackouts on Christmas Eve. Duke Energy "intentionally" turned off the power ahead of the cold blast the week of Christmas. In a statement Duke Energy said that it had less power available over the Christmas weekend than it had originally estimated, leading to the implementation of the rolling blackouts. Governor Cooper expressed concerns regarding those who lost power without getting notices about the rolling outages. (CBS17, WSOC-TV)
  2. This year, 19 streets in Raleigh will receive traffic projects to improve safety after the Raleigh City Council approved them in November 2022. In 2022, the City of Raleigh reduced speed on more than 200 streets in order to try to slow cars down. In areas where there are still consistent speeding problems, the city is implementing other calming projects such as chicanes or speed bumps. In yesterday's city council meeting, the council voted on speed limit reduction on an additional seven streets. (CBS17)
  3. Hundreds of people purchased tickets for "Raleigh's #1 New Year's Eve Bar Crawl," and they are now questioning if they were scammed. Event goers arrived at the promised registration site for check in, but there was no trace of the event. The Eventbrite page said that ticket holders would receive drink tickets, food, photos and free entry to four Raleigh bars. Tickets cost $70 per person, and around 400 individuals came out expecting to participate, but they and participating bars were baffled as organizers disappeared. Ticket holders who contacted Eventbrite seeking refunds were told to reach out to the hosts but have been unable to do so. (WRAL)
  4. Southwest Airlines has apologized for the meltdown that took place during the holidays, but some families are still stranded trying to get home. At least one Texas family is still stuck at RDU, trying to get home after Southwest cancellations. The Argueta family has three kids, two who would require car seats if they attempted to rent a car to drive home, and they are still missing some of their luggage. Southwest's CEO said that this is something it has never seen in the 50-plus years of operation and passengers should expect refunds for tickets and expenses, but the family is struggling with the out-of-pocket expenses. (abc11)
  5. Although Christmas week brought the coldest Christmas Eve in nearly 80 years, 2022 was the second warmest year on record in the Triangle. Spring of 2022 was the second warmest on record in Raleigh and summer was the third warmest on record. The average temperature for the year was 62.7 degrees, putting 2022 in a three-way tie for the second warmest year on record. The warmest year on record was in 1990 where the average temperature was only 0.1 degrees warmer at 62.8 degrees. (CBS17)
  6. North Raleigh Boulevard was shut down on Monday night following a hit-and-run that took place around 6:50 p.m. According to police, the man was taken to WakeMed for treatment of "severe injuries." There was no description of the car driven from the scene following the incident, and no other information was available from police. (CBS17)

Today in Raleigh:

Thursday in Raleigh:

From my notebook:

  • It's National Trivia Day and I do my best to feature a variety of trivia options throughout Raleigh. If you want to branch out to other Triangle locations, Triangle on the Cheap keeps a running list of trivia events.
  • The 2023 Season Coastal Credit Union Music Park Lawn Pass is on sale now. (Lawnpass Live)
  • The ABC11 Together Blood Drive is taking place on January 11. You can schedule your appointment to participate now!
  • 1 in 6 snacks founder Josh Monahan is giving back to his alma mater with a new partnership with NC State to help provide scholarships for university students. (NC State University Facebook)

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Events:

Thanks for following along and staying informed! I'll see you back in your inbox tomorrow morning with your next update.

— CJ Fullford

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Raleigh Daily? Contact me at raleigh@patch.com

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