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@lisasorg
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NC reporter @insideclimate Geeks out on haz waste, water & air pollution, energy, weather. Loves ants not the fiery kind Signal: 919-536-2341 Threads @lisarsorg
North Carolina
Joined November 2008
Big announcement: I’m joining the national outlet @insideclimate as their #NC reporter, starting June 10. I’ll be covering similar stories as I’ve done for 8 yrs @NCNewsline including deep dives & investigations. ICN partners w local media so 1/2.
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Imagine if a woman took the tone Kavanaugh has taken. She would be declared hysterical and escorted to a fainting couch. #KavanaughHearings.
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Served as a pollworker today in #Durham and it was *slammed*. Lots of same day registrations. Highly recommend serving as a pollworker b/c it’s a great (and rewarding) way to help people and advance #democracy @dcovotes.
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My late husband was in the last draft for Vietnam. He couldn't avoid it b/c he had no $$ for college. He worked in intel, a codebreaker. War broke a part of him, haunted him the rest of his life. Unlike @realdonaldtrump he was brilliant & loving. I assure you, he wasn't a loser.
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BREAKING: This appears to be legit: @DukeEnergy & Dominion have canceled the Atlantic Coast Pipeline @HansleyCaroline @NCPolicyWatch @tvickBREDL #ncpol #ncga.
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In the Before Before Times, pre-pandemic and pre-his- untimely-death, my husband, Dennis. The most brilliant, funny, creative and magnificent human being I've ever known. Happy birthday, Dennis, in whatever stardust form you've taken.
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Should shock no one that the fire at Weaver Fertilizer Plant in Winston is in an #environmentaljustice neighborhood. Census block data: 80-95% BIPOC, 70-90% low-wealth. @wral reporting evacuations, potential explosion
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This is a Big Deal: #NC appeals ct rules that since "life begins at conception" a mother can lose parental rights to her unborn child if she commits certain crimes while pregnant @Kelan_Lyons has details @NCNewsline .#ncpol.
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@maxwellstrachan @petersterne I signed one of these several years ago. It was so brazen that it included a clause saying I wouldn’t disparage them *privately*. I violated that almost immediately.
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I've worked the polls for 4 days (with many more to go) and my faith in humanity might be restored. I don't know how people voted, obviously, but I do know they were kind and patient and genuine.
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Because I'm about to turn 55 and there's a pandemic, I adopted two kittens today. They're siblings and the only survivors of a litter of 7. Meet Gertie . 1/2
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My nearly 98 y o grandma caught COVID in the hospice unit, where she had been placed after a bad fall and subsequent decline. She contracted it from her roommate’s family. She just received last rites from a Catholic priest. Yes, she’s old but this is no way to go.
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A friend/neighbor died last week in hospice. When she got sick earlier this year, I adopted her cat because he had lived across the street for 7 years; it would be less stressful for him. Whatever stardust Dee is now, rest assured Champ is happy and being doted upon.
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Well Pat, my husband voted absentee by mail in 2016 b/c he had cancer & was too sick to go to the polls, not even curbside b/c he couldn’t get out of bed. So there are v good reasons for absentee by mail.
Former NC Governor Pat McCrory says only military members should be allowed to vote absentee. "Frankly I think it ought to be eliminated except for members of the military. There's no need for absentee voting anymore, especially now that we have early voting in North Carolina."
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Canceled my @washingtonpost subscription today. If you can't endorse the non-fascist candidate, I can't support you.
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JD Vance "has espoused traditional views of marriage and the role of women in the workplace. He has called Democratic leaders 'childless cat ladies.'. As if being a childless cat lady is a bad thing?
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As promised, for #Halloween I’m a methane-leaking, exploding natural gas pipeline. Hard to see in this photo but I added CH4, the chemical symbol below the flames. @NCPolicyWatch
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A brief 🧵about what's on the other side (trigger alert): OTD five yrs ago my husband took this photo as he lay dying. At this point in his cancer journey he couldn't hear very well and his vision was blurry. His prostate cancer had metastasized to his skull and tumors were
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We've reached peak absurdity. "In the initial filing of the case, Robinson’s team asked for $50 million in punitive damages against the defendants. An amended filing was submitted on Monday that reduced that total to $25,000.".
POLITICS | Court date set as Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson's legal team requests significantly less money in defamation suit.
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My elderly neighbor who I help w errands just asked if I would consider driving her elderly friend and his 2 parrots to New Mexico. Not unless I receive the National Book Award in advance of whatever story would come out of that trip.
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Tried to explain to my Wake Forest U journalism students the concept of computer punch cards from the '80s, and they looked at me like I must be 240 yrs old.
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Not good, and for those of you who were here in 2007, more than unsettling
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If anyone encounters grifters, scammers & other unscrupulous disaster capitalists related to #Helene and #westernNC recovery, my DMs are always open. At @insideclimate I do less breaking news and more in-depth, long-haul stories, like watchdogging the billions in disaster funds.
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To-do list for my post-pandemic life, no particular order .1. Go to Durham Bulls games.2. See family for 1st time in 2 yrs.3. Hug friends.4. Visit art museums.5. Visit bookstores .6. Go to outdoor concerts.7. Enjoy a cocktail not made by me.8. Ride the bus to work & people watch.
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BREAKING: the verdict in the 3rd hog nuisance trial is in after just 3 hours of jury deliberation. $3.5-$5m for each of 6 plaintiffs. $75m each in punitive. #ncpol @NCPolicyWatch.
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CONFIRMED: @ncdot says that it "learned yesterday that Dominion Energy has rescinded the request to utilize NCDOT right of way along the American Tobacco Trail for a pipeline" @NCPolicyWatch @SierraNCCapital #ncpol.
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Held a story I really wanted to publish today @ncpolicywatch because while I had facts, I wasn’t sure I had the truth. There is a nuanced but important difference.
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Some personal news: .1st place, deadline reporting for stories on Weaver Fertilizer fire .2nd in public service for investigation re: @ReBuildNC_gov's mismanagement of hurricane relief program. SPJ Green Eyeshade Awards, digital division @ncnewsline @statesnewsroom 1/3.
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Sen Brown: “If you build wind farms you’ve killed property values of people next door.” Again, why does this logic not apply to swine farms? @NCPolicyWatch #ncpol #ncga.
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Day after Vaccine 2 and I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck. Not as bad as a semi but more like a F350 w a 6.7 liter power stroke and V8 turbo diesel. That said, it will pass.
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#Florence should prompt #NC to re-evaluate whether a 100-yr floodplain is the appropriate “protective” benchmark. Thinking 500-yr is wiser b/c of #climatechange.
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I took a semi-vacation this week, meaning I was off every day starting at 1. Then I spent every afternoon feeling anxious that my morning work was unfinished. Conclusion: either take a full vacation or don’t, but half-assed ones aren’t the answer.
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feel as safe as possible. He was transported, although where I don't know. We're all shook up, not out of fear for ourselves but because to see such human anguish is so painful. Some people (including me) were quietly crying. Lots of human kindness & compassion in action today.
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just got off the phone w. guy who lives next to a 10K-head hog farm owned & operated by Smithfield. He wanted to sue for nuisance --odor, buzzards, flies, his well water turns his sink black. But he can't sue under new law. BTW, he worked for S'field 17 years @NCPolicyWatch.
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I can't watch the debates. I've been grinding my teeth in my sleep for the past two months and I fear that if I tuned in I would have no teeth left by dawn.
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Tomorrow I'll have a story @ncpolicywatch about the legal loopholes and lack of regs over ammonium nitrate that allowed the Weaver Fertilizer fire to happen. It boggles the mind. #winstonsalem #wsnc #ncpol.
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I'm not only crushed by RBG's death but terrified about now losing the remaining shreds of our democracy.
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I got a tip for the story that won Mark Binker Public Notice Award from @TheNCPress last night. It was about a secretive poultry farm planned for Chatham County. Your tips matter! Keep sending'em! @NCPolicyWatch.
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Good morning! There's been 30,000-gallon spill of hog feces and urine into Turnbull Creek in Bladen County. Enjoy your breakfast! @ncpolicywatch @NCDEQ @CapeFearRiver .
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These @NCHouseSpeaker allegations are outside my wheelhouse but who has time for affairs? It’s all I can do, in addition to working, to keep the litter boxes clean and the dishes from piling up.
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his journey to another plane of existence was welcoming. Although this is often a somber time, I'm fine. I'm comfortable carrying the grief while still fully embracing the joy of life. This photo is on my office wall to remind me of the Great Mystery.
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And in other news, @ncdeq just denied @RDUAirport request to build a ginormous fence to separate its property from Umstead State Park, citing effects on riparian buffers @UmstdCoalition @NCPolicyWatch #ncpol.
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That cheering sound you hear is from everyone who loves Umstead State Park @ncdeq denies mining permit for proposed Wake Stone quarry next to the park @NCPolicyWatch #ncpol.
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I’m returning to Durham today, and y’all better have vacuumed up all that pollen.
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Working half days through the end of the year. I’m so burned out that I spent 4 hours today doing crosswords and watching birds.
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I have the next 5 days off and I plan to spend it hiking, mowing, reading, daydreaming, piddling and drinking a cold beer every evening.
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Been quiet lately b/c I’m working on intense story re: former missile plant, heavily polluted, w contamination migrating offsite in a Community of Color. Literally 15k pages of historical docs, incl someone pouring Cesium 137 (radioactive) down a drain @NCPolicyWatch.
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I'm speechless: Charlie Carter, an EMC member, just criticized my public records request for commissioners' emails about #PFAS as "irregular wants to quickly change the bylaws to make EMC emails off limits under the public records act. @NCOpenGov @NCDEQ @selc_org @CleanCapeFear.
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A short thread on being welcomed into "Trump country" (Yadkin County) to report on a proposed mine:.Sources and communities are not ATM machines. Journalists should not treat them as transactions. 1/x.
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I can't promise this photo will make you feel better, but it might.
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After attending 2 conferences in person, I realize that my introverted self is having to relearn how to navigate a world made for extroverts. Please be patient.
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Offered to take an 84 y.o. lady in my neighborhood to get her booster but she said not yet because the astrological “vibes are bad” and the moon is trine something or other, and I’m now callling it a day.
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Mom & I were remembering the garbage our fam ate in 1970s b/c it was convenient/cheap.1. La Choy “Chinese” food in a can.2. Pickle pimento loaf.3. Lender’s bagels (aka white bread w a hole).4. Count Chocula.5. All frying done w bacon grease/Crisco.6. So much Pepsi.How am I alive?.
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Trying to wrap my head around the fact some people want to construct a building to house a racist statue when there are actual living people who don’t have homes #silentsam.
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#Durham hive mind, does anyone know if city residents can take their garbage to a Durham county waste disposal center? I'd rather haul my own than rely on scabs. @UE150Union.
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Congrats to @dailytarheel for being honored by Sunshine Center for their diligence & great reporting on the Silent Sam scandal #keepncsunny.
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My grandmother is 95. She is in good health, wants to live, and has no desire to die for the sake of my 401K.
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Winston-Salem Journal is also reporting there was a fire at Weaver Fertilizer on 12/26, and city officials are being vague & wishy-washy not only with me, but their hometown newspaper. #outrageous.
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It seems appropriate that I rented a dumpster and it arrives today.
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My husband died this am. I wrote this for him last night: A life, on foot via @wordpressdotcom.
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I'm working the polls this year and in training we learned that election observers, while certainly allowed, must be approved by the site coordinator. Contrary to @realDonaldTrump 's assertion, his supporters can't just "go in and watch.".
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I left a banana on my office desk on March 10. I wonder how it's doing in my absence.
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When I lived in TX, I did a story about an HOA and the president, a retired Marine, got up every morning at 4 to run around the neighborhood and see which houses were in violation.
One Raleigh HOA fined a family $50 a day for installing solar panels without its permission, even though state law explicitly bans HOAs from banning solar panels. The first day they didn't pay, the HOA put a lien on their home and started foreclosure.
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I'm getting ready to take a week off and I plan to spend it among the trees: sitting, hiking, admiring, contemplating what complex living marvels they are.
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Now that the 4th Circuit has ruled a key part of #NC's ag-gag law unconstitutional, a confession: I broke it. I have no regrets. @NCPolicyWatch #FirstAmendment #ncga #ncpol.
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I'm taking a week off to avoid/recover from burn-out. It'd be really great if no one polluted or further wrecked the planet for the next seven days. It's really not too much to ask. @NCPolicyWatch.
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Got home from work, looked at my husband’s urn and said, “You would be enraged over what the world has become.”.
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After 6,000 words, innumerable drafts, complete reworking from top to bottom, fact-checking that took years off my life, the story about #environmentaljustice & former Burlington Missile Plant goes to Spanish translators tmrw so @NCPolicyWatch can run it bilingually. 1/2.
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Hurricane Matthew survivor just called, cried on the phone for 45 min this a.m. Been in a hotel 818 days. "@rebuildnc doesn't see me as a person. They see me as a number." .Since early May I've fielded these types of calls Every. Single. Day. @ncpolicywatch @NC_Governor #ncga.
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So I guess I'll spend the next three hours annotating the super secret energy bill and trying to decipher utility gobbledygook into something I can explain to readers. @NCPolicyWatch #ncga #ncpol.
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To cheer everyone up, this fox just ambled up to snack on leftover cat food
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I'm on a brief (4-day) vacation beginning in 4.5 hours. I beg of newsmakers, regulators and polluters: Don't make me stop this car.
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If @RepCawthorn truly served in the military then he should be able to produce his discharge form, a DD-214. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
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A huge deal. #NC 's 2015 ag-gag law was so bad even then-Gov McCrory vetoed it, but #ncga overrode his veto. Federal ct rules law violates 1st amendment. Decision is 73 pp long, so I have some reading to do, people to contact. Story, analysis coming Monday @NCPolicyWatch #ncpol.
Victory for the First Amendment! Another ag-gag law - this one threatening the free speech of whistleblowers across industries in North Carolina - is no more thanks to @PJFoodProject and ally advocacy.
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Jury found in favor of plaintiffs, vs Smithfield in 5th hog trial. I’m in SE NC but will get more info. @NCPolicyWatch.
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Every time I take my nearly 20-yr-old cat to the vet I think it’s gonna be Rainbow Bridge Day. Nope, she says, not going. I wanna see how the @realDonaldTrump impeachment plays out.
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