Raleigh’s Tangled Web Site

After a decade of winning dozens of those “Best of” awards,

Raleigh has come up a big loser.

Brown University researchers ranked Raleigh’s city Web site

(www.raleigh-nc.org) as one of the worst among those of the 70

biggest cities nationwide.

Raleigh’s “e-government” efforts were in the same crowd as

those in New Orleans, Norfolk, Va., and Detroit.

“Good lord!” city spokeswoman Jayne Kirkpatrick said. “That’s

some tacky company.”

The Brown University study evaluated Web sites based on a

100-point scale, measuring the availability of information and

services and the quality of citizen access, privacy, security,

disability access and foreign language translation, among other

features.

Raleigh ranked 68th out of 70, down from 47th a year ago.

Worst was New Orleans, then Norfolk.

Best were Minneapolis, Seattle, Denver and San Diego.

Kirkpatrick said the rankings don’t tell the city something it

doesn’t already know.

The city plans to revamp its Web site, she said, and meetings

are already scheduled to talk about it.

Until now, the Web site operation has been “fragmented” and

the pages need to be redesigned, she said.

“It is something that we need to address,” she said.

POLITICAL TRAIL

– THE CONSERVATION COUNCIL OF NORTH CAROLINA will hold its

annual conference from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today in the old House

chamber of the state Capitol in downtown Raleigh. The theme is

“Politics and the Environment: Who We Elect Matters!”

– THE RALEIGH JAYCEES will hold a voter registration drive

from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today in the food court at Triangle Town

Center.

– DONNIE HARRISON, the Republican candidate for Wake sheriff,

will hold a reception from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Heather

Hills clubhouse, 901 Claymore Drive in Garner. He will also

appear at a coffee from 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday at 4824 Fox Branch

Court in Raleigh, at an event from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at 805

Hemingway Drive in Raleigh and at a reception from 5 to 8 p.m.

Thursday at 2700 Hazelwood Drive in Raleigh.

– REBECCA LIEBERMAN, president and CEO of Vote for America,

will speak at 1:30 p.m. Monday at the Brickyard at N.C. State

University and at 8 p.m. Monday in Room 100 of Hamilton Hall at

UNC-Chapel Hill. Vote for America is a national, nonpartisan,

nonprofit group that is trying to increase voter participation,

especially among young people.

– PRECINCT 07-07 will hold a candidates’ forum from 7 to 8:30

p.m. Monday at the Abbotswood at Stonehenge retirement community,

7900 Creedmoor Road.

– WAKE SHERIFF JOHN BAKER and Gerry Bowles, a Democrat running

in N.C. Senate District 15, will attend a reception from 6:30 to

8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the home of Jim and Sara Liles, 11504 Black

Horse Run in Raleigh.

– THE JOHN LOCKE FOUNDATION and Citizens for a Sound Economy

will be hosts of a speech on Social Security from Michael Tanner

of the Cato Institute in Washington at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the

North Raleigh Hilton, 3415 Wake Forest Road.

– STATE REP. JENNIFER WEISS, a Democrat seeking re-election in

N.C. House District 35, will hold a fund-raiser from 6 to 7:30

p.m. Thursday at the home of Bett and Bill Padgett, 1213 Dixie

Trail in Raleigh.