The Wake Forest Inspections Department permitted 71 housing permits in July after four months of low figures. Of the 71, 51 were for single-family houses and 20 were for townhouses. Thirty-nine permits for new homes in March, 29 in April, 34 in May and 41 in June: Wake Forest had not seen such low figures for new homes in decades. But things began to turn around in July when 71 new homes were started and two new commercial buildings as well as a surge in new businesses. One of the commercial buildings was a shell building in the Wake Forest Crossing shopping center at 12612 Capital Boulevard to be built by Wimco Corporation which paid $10,184.16 in fees for a building with 5,227 square feet and worth $1 million when completed. The second was the Sweere flex space building at 2804 Crusher Run built by Vance Construction Company which paid

The Wake Forest Human Relations Council is soliciting youth (ages 10-18) and adult (ages 19 and older) nominations for the 11th Annual Good Neighbor of the Year Award. The award recognizes Wake Forest residents who work to improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods without seeking recognition for their efforts. Nominees are sought in three divisions: adult, middle school youth and high school youth. To qualify, a nominee must be a Wake Forest resident who has made a significant contribution to the community between Sept. 1, 2019, and Aug. 31, 2020. Employees of the Town of Wake Forest are not eligible. The online nomination form is available on the Town’s website at http://bit.ly/WFGoodNeighborAward. Completed nomination forms must be submitted by 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 31. Submitted nominations forms must include the names of both the nominator and the nominee, along with a narrative of 400 words or less describing why the nominee is

Wake Forest Power is reminding residential customers of a simple, yet effective way they can help neighbors struggling to pay electric bills due to COVID-19 or other financial hardships. Helping Others by Providing Electricity or H.O.P.E. is an initiative offered by the Town of Wake Forest designed to help financially disadvantaged electric customers pay their utility bills. The program is funded by the generous donations of Wake Forest Power customers and administered through a partnership between the Town and ChurchNet, a local non-profit organization assisting area people in need. WFP now offers three ways for customers to contribute to H.O.P.E. online: Round up your bill to the next dollar. For example, a bill of $73.46 would become $74.00. Individually, this is pretty small change; on average, participants will contribute around six dollars annually to the program. Make a recurring contribution with your monthly utility payment. For your convenience, the Town of Wake

What is an exhibit if no one can get in the building to see it? Find out how our museum staff is coping.A Smithsonian traveling exhibit, Water/Ways, will be at the Wake Forest Historical Museum from Aug. 30 through Oct. 10, but because of the coronavirus pandemic the museum will be closed to visitors for part or all of those six weeks, depending on whether the state is able to further reopen. In the absence of human visitors, the museum is offering a series of free online talks and book clubs that will explore the cultural, social and spiritual significance of water in our community. Those are: *The Power of Citizen Science with Dr. Caren Cooper and Crowd the Tap, Thursday, Sept. 10 from 7 to 8 p.m. Learn how you can help create the first robust national inventory of water pipe materials in the United States! Dr. Caren Cooper will explore

Through a competitive bid process, the Wake County Department of Housing Affordability & Community Revitalization has selected Telamon Corporation to be the program administrator for the House Wake! Eviction Prevention Program. The partnership with Telamon Corporation focuses specifically on eviction prevention, which is the first intervention in a three-step process focused on reducing evictions in Wake County by providing resources to tenants and landlords. It will pay 50% of back rent owed, as well as a portion of future rent for up to three months, in exchange for landlords not pursuing eviction. “Families across Wake County are facing significant financial challenges as a result of the pandemic, and it’s critical that we help as many of them as possible avoid losing their homes,” said Wake County Commissioner Dr. James West. “Now that we’ve secured a partnership with Telamon Corporation, we can assure residents that the help they need is just weeks away.”