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(01/23/08 5:00am)
It's been a bumpy road.
Fourteen years of questions and disagreements have led the University and the town to where they are today: still in the planning process of Carolina North.
For the University, every time the plans start to move forward on the satellite campus - set for a 963-acre tract of a land just north of UNC -something throws a kink in the process, causing officials to reevaluate their ideas.
Roger Perry, chairman of UNC's Board of Trustees, said University officials feel "a sense of urgency" to move things along.
(11/28/07 5:00am)
Representatives from the largest lab developer in the Triangle will be on hand Thursday to receive community input on their plans to make UNC a leading destination for research scientists and venture capitalist firms.
The high-profile Pasadena, Calif.-based developer Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. plans to partner with the University to build an 85,000-square-foot business incubator on the property of Carolina North, UNC's planned satellite campus.
The project is slated for the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the former Municipal Drive.
(10/11/07 4:00am)
Though they have different ideas about how to run the town, candidates running for the Chapel Hill Town Council agree on how to run a campaign: cheaply.
Candidates turned in campaign reports last week that show many plans to keep the spending to a minimum.
Several candidates have self-imposed contribution limits to ensure grassroots campaigns and to influence future campaign legislation.
"I would rather have a lot of contributions from many people than a few large contributions from a few people," incumbent Sally Greene said. "That indicates a broader base of support."
New legislation will allow Chapel Hill to pursue an ordinance of publicly funded campaign financing for the next cycle.
And Greene and incumbent Bill Strom both say spending this round could affect the rules in 2009. Both candidates capped individual contributions at $100 per person and total earnings at $7,500. The two used the same limits in past campaigns.
The limit for contributions in Chapel Hill is $250.
"Holding down these contributions ought to be one of the things we consider as we craft the public finance campaign program," Strom said. "I'm trying to hold it down."
Some candidates are taking that idea even further. Incumbent candidate Jim Ward hasn't spent or raised a dime. Ward said he wants to run on his record.
Candidate Penny Rich said she admires Ward for showing that Chapel Hill races aren't high-dollar or exclusive.
"He is well-known in this town, and the fact that he is taking a chance and not raising money is good," Rich said. "Kudos to him."
Candidate Will Raymond, who was the runner-up in the 2005 election, also commended Ward's decision, saying the council isn't diverse because of the "entry price."
He said he plans to keep spending low because he is running on a fiscal responsibility platform.
But Strom said he uses fundraising to talk to voters. Strom's contributors include a partner of Greenbridge, a development approved by the council in February.
"I think it's an opportunity for candidates, incumbents in particular, to demonstrate what kind of response voters have had to their programs," Strom said. "I enjoy the whole process."
Greene, who is an adjunct professor in the UNC School of Law, has raised $5,890 so far from 100 individual contributors, ranging from professors to housecleaners.
Raymond, Rich and Matt Czajkowski, the only nonincumbents, have raised significantly less than current council members.
Rich has raised $2,300 from nine donors, five of whom are family members. Since the filings, she said she has held two fundraisers that garnered more than $1,000.
Czajkowski has not sought contributions, but loaned himself $1,000. Since filing, he said he has loaned himself an additional $5,000.
"I would never have (run) if I wasn't able and prepared to finance the whole campaign myself. I really hate asking people for money."
Despite the incumbents' seeming advantage, council member Cam Hill, who is running for re-election, said he raised more than others when he ran as a new candidate.
"There are some advantages to being an incumbent, but fundraising isn't one of them," he said.
Mayor Kevin Foy, who is running for re-election, has spent for only the $5 filing fee and has received three donations, all from current council members. His challenger, Kevin Wolff, did not file because he doesn't plan to collect more than $3,000.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(09/25/07 4:00am)
When Brian Curran and his college roommate came to Chapel Hill to see Michael Jordan play on weekends, Curran never thought he would one day lead the town's police force.
"I got out of the Navy, came to town for a weekend, and I'm still here," he said.
In the 21 years that followed, Curran has worked his way from a public safety officer to the department's head post.
During a Chapel Hill Town Council meeting Monday, Town Manager Roger Stancil officially named Curran chief of police, after a lengthy search that kept Curran in the interim position for six months.
Curran has led the department temporarily since former police Chief Gregg Jarvies' April retirement.
A national search for a replacement for Jarvies began in January, but Curran didn't apply for the job.
"I just didn't feel at that time that I was really prepared for it," he said.
After a selection process, Stancil decided to hire former Fayetteville police Chief Tom McCarthy. Just before he was supposed to be sworn into the position, McCarthy learned he had health problems that kept him from becoming chief.
When McCarthy was unable to accept the position, Curran decided he wanted to lead the department.
"I just decided I was going to embrace the job, and I've been having a lot more fun since," he said.
The town began accepting a second round of applications in July, when about 50 additional applicants submitted their names. Most of the other job candidates were external.
After a panel interview, Stancil decided Curran possessed the attributes that residents said they wanted in their police chief, including honesty, experience and a knowledge of the community.
"His behavior is consistent with who he says he is," Stancil said. "Chapel Hill is a unique community, and he knows what it's like."
Stancil said he has asked Curran to assess the department, develop a leadership program for nonsworn officers and become a member of the town's management team.
Stancil also wants Curran to expand the community policing concept to the entire town. Curran implemented community policing in the Northside neighborhood.
Curran said he will spend his time improving a great department.
"One of the good things I like about the police department is we're not broken," he said.
His first order of business will be to change the work schedule of the patrol division, putting officers on a fixed schedule.
Moving away from rotating 12-hour shifts will keep patrolling officers energy levels high, he said.
Curran will assume the position immediately with an annual salary of $105,000.
A native of Hornell, N.Y., Curran served in the U.S. Navy for five years after earning a degree in history from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.
He also earned a management certificate from N.C. State University.
Growing up as a cop in the community, Curran said he knows the ins and outs of Chapel Hill, including its downtown festivals.
This year's Halloween will bring 50,000 to 70,000 people to Franklin Street. And Curran has already worked 20 of them.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(09/19/07 4:00am)
University officials and the developer they've hired to create an innovation center will receive feedback today on the plan's design.
The town's Community Design Commission will meet to inspect the proposal for the facility, planned for a site near the main corridor for UNC's planned Carolina North.
But the potential location didn't sit well with the Chapel Hill Town Council, which eventually will approve finalized plans.
During an emotionally charged meeting one week ago, council members told University officials they wanted to see plans for the entire Carolina North project at once, not in bits and pieces.
But Bruce Runberg, associate vice chancellor for facilities planning and construction, said the University always has expressed its intent to build the innovation center earlier than the rest of the satellite campus. Runberg said he's looking forward to the meeting, despite recent town-gown tension because the group always has provided helpful design feedback.
"We're expecting that we'll get some good feedback and that it won't be a part of the political process, per se, but rather just good objective commentary," Runberg said.
Cam Hill, the town council liaison to the Community Design Commission, said today's session likely will address the center's proximity to Horace Williams Airport, nearby chemical waste sites and the transit master plan.
More than one year ago, the council authorized town staff to hire consultants to form a transit master plan. The plan, which is in the works, will focus on the transportation needs for the Carolina North development.
Hill and members of Neighborhoods for Responsible Growth - a grassroots organization that supports development while preserving character - worry that setting up shop on the Carolina North land before that study is complete will negate its purpose.
"It's like closing the barn door before the horse is out," said Michael Collins, co-chairman of Neighborhoods for Responsible Growth. "It's important for all of us to feel comfortable and trust the process, and I think it's kind of difficult to do that now."
Collins lives in a neighborhood near the site south of Estes Drive that first was approved for the future innovation center.
The innovation center will act as an incubator for startup companies that use technology based on UNC research.
Linda Convissor, UNC director of local relations, said she spoke with residents of Collins' neighborhood about the center for several years.
But the Board of Trustees approved a second site, at the main corridor to Carolina North, in July. Convissor said the innovation center was included in the presentation at an Aug. 28 community meeting, but no map or note of the new location was included in the PowerPoint presentation from that meeting.
However, news of the second location was reported in several news media.
The PowerPoint does say that the innovation center is set to begin construction before the rest of the satellite campus.
Collins said building on Carolina North land early creates a relationship between the community and the town "that's not a good foundation for progress."
Jack Evans, executive director of Carolina North, said UNC needs to move quickly with plans to keep the developer, Alexandria Real Estate.
"I think (the council) has good reason to understand what our intentions are," he said. "They may have been surprised that we submitted it in August as opposed to September, but not that we submitted it."
The council plans to review the concept plan for the project in mid-January, but UNC is asking for expedited review, which could push that date up even further.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(09/11/07 4:00am)
UNC officials plan to break ground on the first project for the Horace Williams land within a year.
(08/28/07 4:00am)
When dancing turned into fighting Saturday, staff at the downtown nightclub Blend used pepper spray to contain the brawl, Chapel Hill police said.
But the decision to spray the chemical at the private party backfired, sending people in the packed club scrambling for a quick exit.
"In this case it seems like there were good intentions by the staff," Capt. Chris Blue said. "But it was not a good solution."
Two UNC students rented Blend, located at 157 E. Rosemary St., on Saturday. The party had a guest list, but people could bring friends.
When two men started a fight that escalated about 1 a.m., witnesses say a man who was working behind the bar jumped on the counter and sprayed pepper spray.
Idan Eckstein, Blend's general manager, said a staff member sprayed a legal crowd-dispersal device after he was punched.
"Our primary concern was protecting everyone in the club, especially the life of an African-American man who was on the floor being kicked by multiple men," he said.
UNC senior DeWhitney Upchurch said she was standing about 20 feet from the bar when she saw a bartender spray the crowd.
"He wasn't spraying at anything in particular," she said. "Everyone in the line of fire got hit in the eyes."
No statutes bar business employees from using products such as pepper spray in a crowd, Blue said. In fact, law-enforcement agencies will use pepper spray if necessary.
"What you have to do is decide if it will make the situation worse or better by using it," Blue said. "In this case it made it worse."
The police supervisor on the scene estimated that 10 to 15 people were treated by Orange County Emergency Management staff at a decontamination station set up behind the Chapel Hill post office.
Gabe Wright, of Charlotte, said he was sprayed directly in the face.
"I didn't have time to react," the UNC graduate said. "It was all over me. I was drinking it."
During the pandemonium that erupted, Paul Elliott, a 2007 UNC graduate, helped. He said he still can't put in his contacts because of irritation from the fumes - and he didn't enter the club after the spray.
Many people, including Wright, continued to have trouble breathing because their clothes were covered in the substance, Elliott said.
Elliott said he knows people from the party who plan to sue Blend, but Blend's Eckstein said nobody has reported any serious injuries.
"I think that our security saved the life of the man on the ground," Blend manager Ryan Earls said.
While most club managers in Chapel Hill and Carrboro have heard of using pepper spray to control crowds, none of the clubs contacted Monday, including Players and East End Martini Bar, keep it on hand.
"It seems like people just kind of panic because of the way that stuff spreads," said Kevin Clark, assistant manager at Cat's Cradle.
Blue said officers plan to review some tips with Blend staff.
"We will continue to look into this," he said.
Blend still will host private parties and entertainment including L in Japanese on Wednesday night.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(08/27/07 4:00am)
The Chapel Hill man suspected in Wednesday's drive-by shooting in the Northside neighborhood turned himself in to police Friday afternoon.
Capt. Bob Overton said Adrian Lamonte Foushee, 22, arrived at the Chapel Hill Police Department just after 1 p.m. Witness statements led police to suspect Foushee.
Foushee was arrested on one charge of attempted murder, two charges of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious bodily injury and one charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. All four charges are felonies.
He is being held in Orange County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail and is scheduled to appear today in court in Hillsborough.
Police had a warrant out for Foushee's arrest Thursday after a Carrboro man and a Chapel Hill teen were wounded at the corner of Sykes Street and Gomains Avenue.
The Carrboro victim, Rick McCauley, was shot in the upper abdomen and remains at UNC Memorial Hospital with injuries that aren't life-threatening, police said.
Police believe McCauley was the target because Foushee, whose last known address was 120 Sykes St., had argued with him in the past.
But Dawad Norville, the owner of Airport and Intown Taxi, said his former employee wasn't prone to arguing.
Foushee worked for Norville about a year and a half ago and only for about two months, Norville said. Norville said he also knew Foushee socially - not just through work.
"He was a fairly nice guy with a good demeanor," Norville said. "He's a real clean-cut kind of guy. This is very out of character."
Foushee listed Airport and Intown taxi as his last employer when he was arrested.
The other victim, a 17-year-old from Chapel Hill, was shot in his right side, from the back, and now is at home.
He was hit by a stray bullet, police said.
The incident happened near a police substation that was just out of sight. The substation was positioned on Sykes Street in the Northside neighborhood in 2006 to bring more police presence to the high-crime neighborhood.
In April, Northside residents asked the Chapel Hill Town Council for more foot or bike police to patrol the area.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(08/27/07 4:00am)
A birthday party at the downtown nightclub Blend ended with a visit from police officers and paramedics early Sunday.
Two UNC students rented the Rosemary Street nightclub to celebrate their 21st birthdays, but the soiree turned chaotic when two men started a fight, said Idan Eckstein, Blend's general manager.
The fight turned into an all-out brawl that several partygoers say was ended by clouds of a chemical spray that sent people scrambling for the doors.
"I don't know how anything was handled," said Gabe Wright, who walked into the club to help a friend after the fight started. "All I know is it was complete chaos. It was like a scene out of a movie."
Club employees immediately called the police, and Chapel Hill police confirmed they responded to the fight call for crowd control.
One officer said that she responded to the scene but that no officers went inside the building. The officer said no incident report was filed with the department because it was a "crowd-control call." The officer declined to answer any more questions or give her name.
The crowd left the scene once the police arrived, Eckstein said.
It is unclear who sprayed the chemical that cleared the club, but Blend manager Ryan Earls said it must have been someone in the crowd. Senior LaToya Evans said she couldn't see for 30 minutes because of the chemical.
"It was really like a run-for-your-life type thing," she said. "A lot of people had asthma and were gasping for air."
Evans, a former Daily Tar Heel summer columnist, was bleeding after crawling out of the club on broken glass. Several people who left the club were immediately helped by paramedics, she said. UNC Hospitals and the police department were unable to confirm if anyone was taken to the hospital Sunday night.
The club sustained significant damage - bar stools were thrown around, and furniture was destroyed. Blend's owner and Earls both were punched during the fiasco.
Wright graduated from UNC in May and traveled from Charlotte for the party. He was outside the club when the fight broke out. All of the people tried to escape the gas through one main door, causing people to get trampled, he said.
The club was at capacity Saturday with 299 people inside, Eckstein said. A door man would let someone into the party only when a group left, leaving many people waiting in a line that extended nearly to the street at peak hours.
Blend opened in February and has never seen an incident of this proportion, employees said.
"We're not going to do this kind of event anymore," Earls said. "No more hip-hop events pretty much."
Chapel Hill police Lt. Chuck Quinlan occasionally works the night shift. He said it is rare for club fights to end this badly.
"You'll have some here and there, but that's life," he said.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(08/22/07 4:00am)
A new merchant in Carrboro has the solution to downtown parking problems and expensive gas prices.
Scooters.
Dave Jansen, a Chapel Hill resident, opened the Main Street shop Aug. 10 with the hope that locals will leave their cars parked and hop on a motorized scooter for short trips around town.
Jansen, a mechanic, sells motorcycles at a store in Durham, but decided to open the smaller Carrboro location because he sees students as an ideal market for the zippy bikes.
(08/20/07 4:00am)
To accommodate both student and townie voters, the Orange County Board of Elections decided to keep one early voting site on Franklin Street.
Residents can cast their ballots at the old post office in downtown Chapel Hill, one of the three early voting sites in Orange County. The other two locations are Carrboro Town Hall and the Orange County Public Library in Hillsborough.
Senior Katie Baker, chairwoman of Vote Carolina, endorsed the post -office site at an Aug. 7 board of elections meeting. Her group's mission is to increase student participation in elections.
"Pushing students to vote at a site that's far from where they're familiar makes it more difficult," she said. "Anything we can do to keep voting close to students is always a priority."
Elections Director Barry Garner had been working with campus and town officials to locate a voting spot for Chapel Hill after learning that the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center would not be available.
The planetarium, a voting site since 2000, was the most popular place to vote in Orange County, with 40 percent of voters using the site in last year's election.
The south gallery of the planetarium, where the voting site was located in the past, cannot be used this year because of an exhibit of early North Carolina Native American artifacts. Karen Kornegay, public-relations manager at the planetarium, said it is the University's intention to use the space for exhibits in the future as well, making it an unlikely spot for a voting site.
The board of elections considered using the new senior center on Homestead Road instead of the post office, but Garner said he received a deluge of e-mails and phone calls requesting that the voting site be located closer to campus. Garner said he received more than 50 e-mails saying the senior center was an inadequate voting site, while only 15 e-mails asking him to keep the site at the senior center.
"The overwhelming majority wanted to keep it close to campus," he said. "It's not my first choice, but we can make it work."
Executive Associate Provost Steve Allred helped Garner identify a spot that would be convenient for students, originally suggesting the student union. Garner said the union would not be convenient for residents, especially those who are physically handicapped.
Garner said he plans for there to be five to eight voting sites for next year's election to accommodate the increased voter turnout for the presidential election, and Allred said he expects one of those sites to be located on campus.
"We will revisit the entire issue with the board of elections next year, and I'm confident that we'll reach a resolution where at least one of the sites is on campus."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(08/20/07 4:00am)
With several top town-hall positions open, Chapel Hill Town Manager Roger Stancil said he's swamped with applications, interviews and resumes.
"Obviously it takes a lot of time to make sure you make the right selections," he said. "I have to make choices about where do I concentrate today and what my priorities are on each process."
The public-works, finance, human-resources and police departments all are run by interim leaders, and Stancil said he's focusing on filling the police chief and human-resources director positions first. Former police Chief Gregg Jarvies is leading the human-resources department in the meantime.
Interim police chief Brian Curran said the magnitude of vacancies might mean a longer wait for a new police chief.
"Just the way the stars aligned, these positions became vacant at the same time," Curran said. "If he was dealing with just one or two, maybe - but he has a lot on his plate."
Until the last week of June, Stancil thought he had a new hire secured for the position of police chief.
Tom McCarthy, a retired Fayetteville police chief hired to work for Chapel Hill in March, had to bow out of the position just before being sworn in by the Chapel Hill Town Council when he was unable to pass a physical exam.
Curran said that the test was a basic pre-employment physical required by state rules but that McCarthy, 59, failed because of high blood pressure.
A turn of events
McCarthy still lives in the Pittsboro house he bought when he was offered the post, Stancil said.
"He and I were both very disappointed that he wasn't going to be here," Stancil said. "Since I knew him, I never had to wonder if I had made the right choice or not."
Stancil served as city manager in Fayetteville when McCarthy was police chief there.
Curran said he was shocked that McCarthy didn't pass the physical, calling McCarthy a "workout fiend" who ran five times each week.
According to The Fayetteville Observer, McCarthy suffered two heart attacks in 1999 and 2002.
'Starting to move forward'
When the department was anticipating McCarthy's arrival, Curran said he put several internal issues on the shelf so that McCarthy could make the decisions.
With no new police chief in sight, Curran decided to take care of business himself.
"Now that we're actually starting to move forward on these items, people are starting to feel a little bit better," Curran said.
Now Curran is working on reorganizing the duties of the three police captains and changing the work schedule for the patrol division.
The schedule, in which officers work rotating 12-hour shifts, is too tiring, Curran said. The new schedule will make officers' hours more consistent.
Curran is working to train officers to work permanent night shifts and communicating with organizations, such as the court system, that will be affected by the shift changes.
Stancil decided to accept a new round of applications for the police-chief position, and the deadline for assured consideration was Aug. 10.
Curran said Stancil received about 60 applications before the deadline.
Stancil declined to set a timeline for the second round of the process. He said he will measure the applicants against standards formed during community meetings conducted by a consultant the town hired before McCarthy's hire. Stancil said the information gathered is still valid.
"That's all a product of the original process," Stancil said.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(08/20/07 4:00am)
By Sept. 1, visitors to Chapel Hill's downtown will be able to access free public wireless Internet at several spots near Franklin Street.
Since 2004, the Chapel Hill Town Council has discussed plans for a downtown Wi-Fi, or wireless, network, but this pilot project will be the first time residents can log on as a result of the town's broadband initiative.
(08/20/07 4:00am)
Construction for the first project of Carolina North could begin in the next year, and University officials say the flagship project embodies the mission behind the satellite campus.
(04/27/07 4:00am)
With several condominium developments slated to break ground in the next year, downtown Chapel Hill might gain some urban character.
But town leaders say it won't lose its small-town flair.
"I think what the developments do is they concentrate civic life in the heart of town as they should," Chapel Hill Town Council member Bill Strom said. "In my opinion it's a way the council is trying to accentuate the positive of the town."
Strom said the council has a strategy in place to coordinate downtown land-use planning with transportation and utility planning.
(04/18/07 4:00am)
In November, North Carolina junior Chad Flack earned preseason All-America honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association thanks to his impressive sophomore campaign.
And after hitting 13-for-29 in his past seven games, the infielder is playing at the caliber predicted - about 30 games late.
Going into Tuesday's game against unranked Campbell, Flack had two home runs under his belt, standing in stark contrast to the 13 he hit last season. But when he led off the third with a homer to left, he didn't resemble a player in a slump.
Despite entering Tuesday's game dead last among regular starters with a .234 average, Flack's recent hot streak has upped his confidence. He said he likes to think the slump is finished.
"It's been hard, but I've been working really hard, and I've been doing a little better here lately," he said. "But we'll see if it keeps up."
To amp up his game, Flack has adjusted the mechanics of his swing and focused on his defensive play. He's also changed his intro song a few times this semester, despite claiming he is not superstitious.
In the game against Campbell, the early long ball was just the beginning. Flack went on to add three singles, leaving him 4-for-5 on the day.
It seemed the player who set the UNC single-season record with 112 hits last season stepped up to bat Tuesday - not the hitter with a team-leading 20 strikeouts.
The team's winning record has helped Flack stay positive during his lackluster start.
"It's all part of the game," he said. "I've been lucky in my career. I've never been through it before, but it's going to make me a better ballplayer later on."
Last season, Flack ranked among the ACC's top 10 in most major offensive categories. Shortstop Josh Horton said past success could make a rough year harder for Flack.
"He's had the best attitude you can ever imagine especially coming back from last year and then starting off a little bit slow this year," Horton said.
Coach Mike Fox said he's glad to see Flack back in the groove.
"He's getting his confidence back and some balls are finding some holes," Fox said. "I see him start getting back with things a little bit."
A coach can't forget a player who pulled his team into the College World Series last year in a win against Alabama in the Super Regional with two dramatic homers in the final two innings.
And Flack doesn't plan on slowing down any time soon.
"I just need to go back to being the hitter that I used to be. I think that's what I'm doing right now."
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(03/22/07 4:00am)
Thomas McCarthy, recently dubbed the Chapel Hill Police Department's next chief, traveled to Chapel Hill on Monday to meet with officers and familiarize himself with the town.
If McCarthy and other town officials get their way, his successor will already know the ins and outs of the department.
Town Manager Roger Stancil, who hired McCarthy in early March, said one of McCarthy's primary charges will be to mentor younger officers.
When the time comes to choose McCarthy's successor, Stancil said he hopes a Chapel Hill man will be right for the job.
Stancil said he expects 59-year-old McCarthy, set to assume his post June 25, to pass on the torch in about five years.
"He'll ensure that the members of the department grow in their ability to meet the needs of the community and also develop leadership skills for the future," Stancil said.
"That's one of his great strengths."
Stancil conducted focus group meetings to gather feedback about what people want in a police chief after Chief Gregg Jarvies announced his April 1 retirement in December.
Jarvies was promoted to chief in 2001 at 46 years old after working as an officer in the department for 25 years.
The meetings, attended by residents, town staff, Chapel Hill Town Council members, University officials and police officers, produced a set of criteria with the ability to teach at the top of the list.
Stancil said McCarthy fits the bill.
McCarthy honed his teaching skills on the UNC-Pembroke campus, where he has taught one or two graduate courses on public administration each semester since 2003. McCarthy also taught at UNC-Charlotte for eight years.
McCarthy said his on-campus experience will serve him well in Chapel Hill.
"I've been plugged in with the students for a long time," McCarthy said. "It's kind of neat to have some good conversations about not just policing. You get to hear concerns (students) have."
McCarthy said that he plans to stay connected with students at UNC-CH by attending sporting events and that if teaching opportunities ever came up, he would "certainly consider them."
McCarthy also teaches periodically at N.C. State University's Law Enforcement Executive Program, which prepares younger officers to lead a force.
Maj. Brian Curran, who will serve as interim chief, said McCarthy likely will mentor the department's supervisors into a crop of potential police chiefs. One applied this time.
The Fayetteville Police Department, where McCarthy most recently held a chief position, employs 550 people, 420 more than the CHPD.
McCarthy said he thinks a smaller department will allow him to mentor officers more individually.
"He's looking forward to having that personal connection with all the officers here," Curran said.
Curran did not apply for the chief position and said he is considering retiring in about three years. He has worked with the department for 21 years.
Hiring someone from within the department who knows the politics and people of the town will reduce the learning curve, Curran said.
Curran met with McCarthy on Monday. McCarthy said becoming a Chapel Hillian during the transition will be one of his biggest challenges.
"The department there is open and willing to help me learn those things, but when I leave, whenever that time comes, I'd be very disappointed if we didn't promote from within," McCarthy said.
Stancil, in agreement, said hiring internally will be his No. 1 goal.
While serving as Fayetteville city manager, Stancil hired and worked with McCarthy for five years. McCarthy retired Feb. 1 from his Fayetteville police chief post.
Despite rumors that the hire always was a done deal, McCarthy said he did not retire with his eyes set on Chapel Hill's opening.
"This was something that was too far in the future to even know if it was going to be available," he said. "It developed, and it was tough competition."
Stancil said a major pitfall to hiring externally is basing the department's future on how someone acts in an interview. For Stancil, McCarthy was similar to an internal hire.
"I'm not guessing that he can do these things," Stancil said.
"I know he can do them."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(02/26/07 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>William Hooks, an East Franklin Street resident, first came to Chapel Hill as a high school student in 1939 for a summer session with Carolina Playmakers.
After returning from World War II, he made Chapel Hill his home.
A long-time observer of Chapel Hill's evolution, Hooks said developments are "busting Chapel Hill at the seams," citing several complexes inhabited mostly by students.
With two more developments with $300,000 to $1 million condominiums heading through the Chapel Hill Town Council's approval process, a new type of resident might soon join the stitches of downtown.
Tonight the Town Council will continue a Jan. 17 public hearing to consider a special use permit from Greenbridge Developments which would add a 10-story development to Chapel Hill's skyline.
The council passed an agreement with a development company earlier this month to construct a similar project on Parking Lot 5.
The two projects will add a combined 236 condominiums, and the residents to fill them, in about five square blocks.
Maj. Brian Curran of the Chapel Hill police department said downtown is composed mostly of students and retirees.
Mayor Pro Tem Bill Strom attributes the surge in development to a national trend toward urban living.
"Vibrant communities always evolve and change," he said.
Early prospects for the higher-end units in Greenbridge tend to be families downsizing from large suburban homes after their children move out, said Tim Toben, a partner at Greenbridge.
But Toben said the new developments will also draw an "interesting mix" of residents by meeting the town's request for 15 percent of the units to be affordable housing.
Most inexpensive units downtown house students, Hill said.
East Franklin Street resident Stephen Rich said he thinks that despite the condos' price tags, parents will still buy them for students.
Council members predict the projects will diversify downtown.
"I'd like to see all the students stay and a lot of families move into downtown myself," Strom said.
Lise Noble, of 523 E. Rosemary St., said the new residents will resemble renters of McCorkle Place on Franklin Street - alumni, upwardly mobile young couples and retirees.
"I'd imagine there wouldn't be much racial diversity," she said.
In support of growing the year-round resident demographic, Thatcher Freund, of 704 E. Franklin St., said high-end apartments on Rosemary Street have helped bring in middle and upper-class families.
"It's just a drop in the bucket right now," he said.
Noble, who has three children younger than 5 years old, said she's looking forward to the possibility of a change in downtown retail, calling the East End a "beer hall district."
But Hill said he doesn't anticipate a change in the feel of downtown.
"There are times of day or times of year where downtown feels like it's completely young people," he said. "I don't think this going to change that."
Town operations will change for the new demographic. The police department has already created a 12-member downtown police unit.
"We knew there would be more downtown development," Curran said. "We wanted to get in ahead of the curve."
Curran said Greenbridge and Lot 5 might attract families concerned with safety, schools and a quiet place for kids to play - concerns that differ from the average student's.
Hooks, who said he can recall the exact year the first million-dollar home was sold in town, noted that no matter who the developments attract, the people seeking to call Chapel Hill home will have one thing in common.
"I think the people who choose to live there really love Chapel Hill because they are willing to pay that price."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
Greenbridge development
(02/13/07 5:00am)
Chapel Hill town council member Jim Ward called language in an agreement for the lot 5 development, which passed Monday, "a charade."
The agreement with Ram Development Co. calls for a mixed-use development, slated to go in at Franklin and Church streets, that will include an approximate 330-space underground parking garage, almost 30,000 feet of retail or commercial space and 137 condominiums.
The agreement also calls for the development to achieve a certain level of energy efficiency, "if the project budget permits."
Those five words fueled most of Monday night's discussion.
Ward, along with council members Ed Harrison and Laurin Easthom, spoke against the clause.
"Unless these items are priority, they never make the budget," Ward said. "It will not happen."
The council voted to authorize town manager Roger Stancil to sign the proposed agreement as is, which appoints Stancil as the town's representative to implement the project but amended the resolution to allow for more flexibility.
The change, and attempt at compromise, allows Stancil to make minor changes to the agreement, including the energy requirements.
Stancil suggested cutting other costs, such as a consultant for the project, to make the development have a 20 percent improvement in energy efficiency measured against a national standard.
"Maybe there's some give and take that could be negotiated," Mayor Kevin Foy said.
Stancil agreed to work with the committee that negotiated the agreement to make changes.
Still, Ward and Easthom voted against the amended resolution and said their vote wouldn't be swayed unless the five words were removed from the agreement.
"This is the time that we need to set an example for the future," Easthom said. "It's our responsibility to do this."
Casey Cummings, president of Ram, assured Ward that the five words were not added arbitrarily, but were the result of discussions with engineers and council members.
Cummings said Lot 5's engineers have been instructed to design the development to meet the energy efficiency standards.
"There has been, I believe, a misconception that our building won't be energy efficient," Cummings said. "Our building will be energy efficient. We were asked to deliver our best and final offer, and that's what we did."
Foy said the council will know the budget and be able to discern what is within it.
Many residents who spoke said the efficiency requirements are not unrealistic. Michael Collins, leader of Neighborhoods for Responsible Growth, said the council shouldn't pass the agreement as written.
"If we are willing to ask this of UNC, then we should certainly ask it of ourselves," he said.
The council also voted to grant the project priority status at every step of council review.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu
(01/30/07 5:00am)
Community leader and former UNC professor Rhoda Wynn died Friday after a long battle with cancer. She was 84.
Wynn left her fingerprints throughout Chapel Hill and Carrboro. She helped to establish the local YMCA, the Chapel Hill Public Library and the art community.
"Good grief, everything that she touched had something to do with other people and making the community a better place," said Jerry Whortan, executive director of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA.
Wynn was born in Pittsburgh and completed graduate work at Northwestern University before finding her way to Chapel Hill in 1946.
She studied at the University's department of dramatic art and became an assistant professor at UNC's department of radio, television and motion pictures. She met her husband, Earl Wynn, at the University and soon made the town her home.
"I think she liked Chapel Hill, and she wanted to help make it a place for everybody to like it like she did," said former Chapel Hill Mayor Sandy McClamroch, who served with Wynn on the YMCA board.
Wynn helped to decide that the community needed a YMCA, raise money for the building and staff the facility almost 30 years ago. She also led the local branch of the American Association of University Women.
"She was intrepid as a leader and fundraiser," said Jim Heavner, president of VilCom, who knew Wynn through community projects.
Her infectious spirit encouraged neighbors to improve the community through volunteerism.
"She could get a lot of things off the ground and get it going, and a lot of us would just follow her," said friend and neighbor Lena Cherry.
Cherry knew Wynn for 55 years and was present for the arrival of both of Wynn's children.
Don Boulton, who served on the Carrboro ArtsCenter board with Wynn, said her influence inspired him to be more involved. "I grew to love the ArtsCenter as she did."
Fellow ArtsCenter board members recognized Wynn's persuasiveness and ability to focus the group.
Her institutional knowledge about Chapel Hill and the organizations she led helped ease newcomers into leadership positions.
She provided advice to Jon Wilner, executive director of the ArtsCenter, and to Whortan when he filled his post.
"She told me about the history of the organization," Whortan said. "She just made me feel like this was where I was supposed to be by her graciousness and her friendship."
Her outgoing and optimistic demeanor led fellow board members to describe her as "an icon."
Her vivacious personality shone in the commercials she voiced for years on WCHL-AM 1360.
"She made everyone around her feel brighter," Heavner said. "She had such a performing talent."
Wynn is survived by a son, Stacy Wynn, editorial production manager for The Daily Tar Heel, and his wife, Tracy; a daughter, Sherry Wynn French, and her husband, Frank; and two grandsons, Jason and Earl French.
There will be a memorial service at 1 p.m. Friday in the Earl Wynn Auditorium at the ArtsCenter.
Her influence will continue to echo throughout the community.
"She not only cared; she got involved," Boulton said. "She made this place a better place because she walked here."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.