Welcome to your SoDu Week in Review, the Saturday roundup that goes to all of our readers – free and paid alike. Each weekend, we pull together the biggest developments, stories, and neighborhood updates shaping life here in South Durham.
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Thanks for being part of the SoDu community – let’s dive into this week’s top stories.
Quick-Hit Summaries of the Week
Early Voting Begins in Durham
Early voting for the Durham municipal election primary has begun. Until Oct. 4, you can cast ballots at the following locations:
- Durham County Board of Elections, 3825 S. Roxboro St.
- South Regional Library, 4505 S. Alston Ave.
- NCCU – Turner Law Building, 640 Nelson St.
- East Regional Library, 211 Lick Creek Ln.
- North Regional Library, 221 Milton Rd.
Monday through Friday, polls are open 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. On Saturdays (Sept. 20 and 27), they’re open 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays (Sept. 21 and Sept. 28), you can vote from 12 to 4 p.m. The last day for early voting, Oct. 4, runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The primary election takes place on Oct. 7.
Early voting for the general election is Oct. 16 to Nov. 1. Election Day is Nov. 4.
DPS Addresses Immigration Concerns
Durham Public Schools (DPS) on Friday reiterated its commitment to protecting immigrant students and families amid ongoing concerns about federal immigration enforcement.
In a statement, Superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis outlined the district’s legal obligations and operational safeguards, aiming to reassure families that DPS schools remain safe, inclusive, and focused on student well-being.
While DPS cannot alter federal immigration policy, the district emphasized that immigration status has no bearing on a child’s right to a public education. Dr. Lewis cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Plyler v. Doe, which guarantees public education access to all children, regardless of citizenship or immigration status.
Read more in Southpoint Access!
Hope Valley Fundraiser and Livestream Marathon
Hope Valley Elementary School on Thursday night celebrated an impressive grassroots fundraising effort, with a campaign that (including donations received for a raffle during the hamburger/hot dog/pizza party) topped $35,000 of the $40,000 goal.
Besides the raffle and dinner, families also got a performance from Mr. Strongly (a.k.a. Hope Valley PE coach Joshua Crawford).
During the week, I spent more than eight hours online drumming up support for the fundraiser with an Office Hours livestream.
[Health Inspection Reports] Durham Child Care Centers – September 2025
On occasion, Southpoint Access will gather information from Durham County’s Public Health Department to get a snapshot of how facilities in this region are scoring on their inspections. In this report, we delve into recent reports on childcare centers in Durham County. These reports were filed between June 1 and Aug. 31, 2025.
Childcare compliance ratings are classified as: Superior (0-15 demerits), Approved (16-30 demerits), Provisional (31-45 demerits), and Disapproved (46 or more demerits).
TL;DR Version: The top scores went to Calvary Child Care, Creative Care Early Learning Academy, Gingerbread Learning Center, Little Angels Day Care, Little Kidz Preschool, Love N Joy Child Academy, and Wildflower Cottage for Children, all with 0 points.
The center with the most demerits was Branches Community School with a score of 22, reflecting multiple issues, including staff member not washing hands after performing a diaper change, hot water in kitchen below 120F, and changing table not wiped down with detergent solution after diaper change.
Get the full rundown in Southpoint Access!
SoDu Shopping Basket: This Week’s Grocery Price Check
We compared 17 staple items across nine South Durham grocery stores. Here’s how it stacked up:
🥇 Lowest Overall Basket Price
Target takes the top spot this week with the lowest total basket price at $54.99, edging out Walmart ($55.78) and Wegmans ($55.97) by less than a dollar.
Crime Snapshot: South Durham (Sept. 7 – 13, 2025)
Property crimes topped police reports for the week of Sept. 7-13, with 26 incidents recorded across South Durham neighborhoods, according to police data reviewed by Southpoint Access.
Property crimes included residential and commercial burglaries, thefts, vandalism, and an arson case.
Violent crimes followed closely with 23 incidents, ranging from aggravated and simple assaults to robberies and sexual offenses.
Vehicle-related crimes accounted for 16 reports, split between motor vehicle thefts and break-ins.
Other crimes – including fraud, forgery, harassment, intimidation, and missing persons – made up 18 cases.
The busiest corridors during the week included NC Highway 54 East and NC Highway 55 with five reports each, while South Alston Avenue and Fayetteville Road each tallied four.
Incidents spiked at the end of the week, with Sept. 12 and 13 both logging 16 reports, compared with only six on Sept. 10.
[Nerdspresso] Arnie’s “Running Man” Stumbles
In anticipation of Edgar Wright’s new version of The Running Man coming out this November, I revisited the original on Netflix. Director Paul Michael Glaser, screenwriter Stephen de Souza, and star Arnold Schwarzenegger adapted this dystopian novel by Stephen King (written under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman). It was a modest success in 1987, riding the coattails of Arnie’s success earlier that summer with Predator.
The movie took the book’s premise of a dictatorial America in the near future, struggling with a division between the haves and the have-nots. To pacify the masses, the government has co-opted the entertainment industry and created a TV show where armed hunters pursue criminals. Not having read the source material (yes, deduct nerd points here), I can only assume that this flick isn’t a faithful adaptation.
Read more in Southpoint Access!
[The Gourmand Next Door] Getting on Bordeaux’s Right Side
The Right Bank has been producing wine steadily throughout its history, and much longer than across the estuary on the Left Bank. In Pomerol, there is an iron pan that is the basis for the sand, clay, and gravel. St-Émilion and Fronsac lie on limestone hills and gravels in the lower aspects. With these soils, it forms a fantastic basis for the grapes used on the Right Bank.
Here on the Right Bank, the blend is typically 70-80% Merlot, 15-20% Cabernet Franc and the rest is Cabernet Sauvignon. Merlot provides an opulent base for the wine and other grapes provide structure and power for longevity. Having these blends is a grand thing, as the variable maritime climate can prove difficult to ensure a harvest.
The St-Émilion appellation is a larger area about a tenth the size of Durham, not large by our standards, but significant. It is a land that produces rich red wine that has the potential to age gracefully for 5-30 years. Interestingly, there is a voluntary ranking system that takes place every decade or so. You might see “Premier Grand Cru Classé” on the label, and that is a château worth a look. This appellation is big enough to support the most diversity of price and quality on the Right Bank.
Read more in Southpoint Access!
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Author: Wes Platt
Lead storyteller. Game designer and journalist. Recovering Floridian. Email: southpointaccessnews@gmail.com.
