In August, the City Council approved an update to Winston-Salem's minimum housing code, as well as the new Southwest Suburban Area Plan.

 read more ...

In July, we saw completion of a major intersection realignment of particular interest to the suburban neighborhoods of the Southwest Ward.  In addition, final action was taken on infill development standards, but front-yard parking rules were returned to committee for more review.

 read more ...

In June, Winston-Salem acquired both a new annual budget and a new chief of police.  Looking ahead, proposed restrictions on front-yard parking will be the subject of a July 7 public hearing.

 read more ...

May saw final City Council action on the important stormwater rules revisions that have been under development for most of two years.

 read more ...

The April report is coming to you a little late due to the rush of activity around statewide elections this week.

 read more ...

The Public Works Committee in March sent forward a comprehensive update of stormwater rules for full City Council discussion in April.

 read more ...

The Police Department this month announced plans to address the troubling increase in robberies.

 read more ...

I have updates on several important transportation and other long-running items of city interest this month. read more ...

December was quiet in terms of formal City Council actions, but there were several other city issue developments worthy of note.

 read more ...

The City Council approved our new urban area sidewalk plan this month.

 read more ...

October 31 is All Hallow's Eve, and the streets of Winston-Salem were filled with costumed children having a howling good time.

 read more ...

September saw debate continue on some quality-of-life and public safety issues which have proven resistant to easy solutions: street-side electronic signs, and nightclub safety problems.

 read more ...

August was one of those months which was extremely busy with city business and deliberations, even though it was fairly light on final decisions. Among the important work topics were stormwater runoff rules, and recycling and solid waste programs

 read more ...

July was a quiet month in terms of final Council action on major policy matters. Work continued mostly through public hearings and committee discussions on topics like the proposed nightclub ordinance.

 read more ...

Adoption of the 2007-2008 budget was the big city action for the month of June.

 read more ...

Sign ordinances, nightclub operations, and even climate change were on an active city issue agenda in May.

 read more ...

April was Fair Housing Month in Winston-Salem, and May will see the start of Council meetings on our annual city budget process.

 read more ...

The City Council spent much time in March discussing stormwater management issues around the city.

 read more ...

City news in February has been dominated by two major criminal justice matters. read more ...

I may have planned to spend more time this month working on stormwater, streets, and sidewalks, but the pace of events dictated otherwise. January was Baseball Season in Winston-Salem. read more ...

In December, the City Council approved a stronger approach to cleaning up illegal roadside signs. We also created a new staff position to help small businesses deal with city programs and permits, and the first stage of a new, more efficient way for citizens to access city service assistance and information. read more ...

In November, the City Council gave final approval to an improved recycling services contract, the creation of new "neighborhood assistance specialist" city staff positions, and expansion of the Triad Research Park. read more ...

Important local elections are underway now for seats on the county commission and board of education, local and state judges, Congress, and other offices. read more ...

September saw the release of annual crime statistics, a change in rules regarding recycling, and continued work on sign issues. read more ...

Spills, signs, and stormwater were among the more interesting city issues on tap during August.  read more ...

The big city news of July was the hiring of a new city manager. read more ...

Adoption of the 2006-2007 city budget was the most significant final action of the City Council in June. read more ...

During May, the city approved our first Neighborhood Conservation Overlay district, adopted the new plan to end chronic homelessness, and began public meetings on the proposed Sidewalk and Pedestrian Facilities Plan. We also started review of the city manager’s proposed city budget for 2006-2007.  read more ...

In April, the city adopted important new plans for parks and city vehicle efficiency, and new rules on pawnshops. In this month’s update, I report on those actions and discuss the controversial topic of economic development incentives. read more ...

March brought progress on several important clean environment and public safety issues: read more ...

February saw important council actions on noise control and funding for public safety and transportation improvements. Other items of significant interest are coming up in March. read more ...

No single issue dominated city work during January, but actions were taken on a number of public safety and neighborhood concerns. read more ...

December was a fairly quiet month for city policy action, as the regular first meeting of the month was a ceremonial affair for the swearing-in of the mayor and council members. Still, there are a few items of interest to report. read more ...

November saw final action on important changes to development standards related to streets and sidewalks, as well as progress on some important transportation projects and other significant neighborhood concerns. read more ...

Please remember to vote in city elections on November 8! In the meantime, there are several items of interest to report on city activities in October, and notes on two important policy decisions coming up in November.  read more ...

September was the month of the big Gulf Coast hurricanes. Winston-Salem is affected and involved in several important ways. read more ...

August saw Winston-Salem progressing in several areas important to community quality of life, including sidewalk additions, clean air, job creation, bicycle safety, and trash dumping prevention.  read more ...

Important City Council actions in July included approval of the final Dell contract, and improvements in our sediment pollution control ordinance. read more ...

The city budget for FY05-06, adopted on time at the June 20 City Council meeting, was the big city news for June. read more ...

The big city news in May was led by the release of the City Manager’s proposed FY05-06 city budget. read more ...

Two rezoning requests from Wal-Mart occupied much of the City Council’s attention over the past month. At the same time, work continued on several other topics of interest to city residents.  read more ...

Public safety improvements and transportation planning lead the city policy and projects news for March. Here are highlights for the month: read more ...

February may be short, but it was a full city work month, with interesting developments in several areas. But first, I’ll begin with a news item that is always of interest: read more ...

I’ll begin this month’s report with an invitation to the “Talk of the Town” 2005, and then review some of the city items of interest I worked on during January read more ...