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(04/26/10 2:51am)
Thanks to an organization that helps low-income homeowners live in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, a local yoga instructor opened the doors of his new studio last week.Carrboro resident Ti Harmony started the Open Heart Yoga School on Tuesday. It’s something he might not have been able to do conveniently had he not been able to buy a home in the area.Harmony said the school was only made possible because he purchased a home through the Community Home Trust, a private nonprofit organization that provides home ownership opportunities within the area to families who earn 80 percent or less of the local median income.“It was either buy a house through them or move to the other side of Hillsborough,” Harmony said.Robert Dowling, executive director of the trust, said without the organization, houses in Chapel Hill and Carrboro would be too expensive for many working-class people.“Most of the people we serve work at UNC or the UNC hospitals,” Dowling said.The organization, which has 145 houses in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, works under the county policy that requests that developers make 15 percent of the housing available to low-income families.Buyers must meet income requirements before they can purchase through the trust, Dowling said.Once approved, buyers sign a 99-year lease that guarantees them ownership and sets the annual appreciation of the house at 1.5 percent. Although homes can be passed on through families, owners are required to sell the house back through the trust so it can go to other low-income families one day.Harmony, who has taught yoga for 17 years but has never before owned a studio, said he is excited for the opportunity to live and work in the Carrboro area, where housing prices would have prevented him from living close enough to own the studio.Harmony co-owns the yoga school with Allison Dennis and said he hopes to spread the spiritual powers that yoga offers to the community.“At its deepest, I think yoga is a way to see what’s there and what has always been there,” he said.Harmony said the school was the product of hard work and help from community members.“We got lots of support from people not even connected to the school,” he said.Harmony and Dennis teach classes along with seven other instructors, and the program is funded by optional donations made by patrons, Harmony said.“People pay what they can,” Dennis said. “You have to have a love in your heart and a willingness to share the joys of yoga with your students.”And regardless of the economic climate, Harmony said he will continue to spread and promote the positive values yoga offers.“It’s kind of like a map inward to discover places that you wouldn’t find in everyday life,” he said.Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(04/21/10 2:38am)
Shoppers at the Carrboro Farmers’ Market will no longer be limited to paying with cash.
The Carrboro Farmers’ Market will begin the Common Currency Program on May 1 in an effort to broaden its customer base and attract underprivileged residents.
The program will allow participants of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly the Food Stamp Program, purchase food at the farmers market.
The assistance program gives underprivileged families allowances in the form of electronic food stamps. Participants are given Electronic Benefit Transfer cards that work like debit cards and can only be used to purchase food.
Previously, the market only accepted cash.
The farmers market will allow participants to exchange the federal food assistance money for tokens that can be exchanged for food.
The market will also begin accepting debit and credit cards.
Market manager Sarah Blacklin said she expects the program to expand the customer base the market caters to.
“We just think this is just going to be another way that more people can come to the market,” she said.
The market worked closely with Leaflight, a Chapel Hill nonprofit focused on the development of local food systems and food security, in getting the program started.
Since 2004, Leaflight has been working with farmer’s markets around the state to allow them to accept federal assistance benefits as well as debit and credit cards, said Robert Andrew Smith, executive director of Leaflight,
Under its 21st Century Farmers’ Markets Program, Leaflight has provided the service to 11 farmers markets across the state, with four more set to join this spring, including the Carrboro market, he said.
“We evaluate markets with the highest likelihood of success based on community need,” he said.
Blacklin said that the farmers market has also been working with numerous other partners in the community, including the University.
Nutrition professor Alice Ammerman, director of the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, helped the market get a grant for funding and expects the program to help lower income consumers gain access to fresh, locally grown food.
“It will broaden the base of people shopping at the market,” she said.
Cathy Jones runs Perry-winkle Farm in Chapel Hill with her husband, Mike Perry, and sells food at the farmers market. She said she expects the Common Currency Program to have a positive effect on her farm and the community.
“I just think it will bring more people who haven’t been able to afford it before.”
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(04/13/10 4:08am)
Ken’s Quickie Mart, a staple of University Square on Franklin Street, has sold everything from wine coolers to toilet paper since 1970.Owner Larry Trollinger said he bought the store from Ken Collins in 1970 when he was 23 years old, about 18 months after Collins opened it.“He wasn’t making money,” Trollinger said.To change that, Trollinger tried to cater to the needs of University students and Chapel Hill residents alike, adding beer and wine to the store’s inventory.And it seems like it worked. Trollinger said he plans to retire soon, after having owned his space in the complex longer than any other tenant, he said.“When someone asks for something, I put it in,” he said.But the future of the businesses in University Square, including Ken’s Quickie Mart, is uncertain. The UNC-Chapel Hill Foundation bought the complex in 2008, selecting Cousins Properties to demolish and redevelop it, along with Granville Towers.During the renovation, blocks of buildings will be rebuilt or removed in phases, with a goal to keep most businesses intact.Trollinger said he didn’t want to discuss his lease, but said he expects his son will take over as owner after his retirement as long as the store is operating. Trollinger said he has the same enthusiasm for the job that he did 40 years ago.“You have to have a reason to get up in the morning,” he said.But some business owners are skeptical as to whether the redevelopment will affect their shops.Donald Ingle, who purchased the Chapel Hill Barber Shop in 1972, questioned the feasibility of renovating the development while keeping the businesses intact.“Time will tell what they do,” Trollinger said.In addition to managing the one-stop shop, Trollinger and his son both own farms about nine miles from Chapel Hill on Dairyland Road.“I just kind of enjoy it,” Trollinger said about farming. “It makes money, but the store is the business.”The store’s best-selling product is Busch Light. Although his sales of cigarettes and alcohol plummet during the summer, he said, the demand for candy from summer campers helps recover some of the losses.Mike Lloyd, a daily customer, cited the Trollingers’ dedication to service as a reason for their success.“They’ll bend over double to help you but won’t ever cross you,” Lloyd said.UNC freshman Andrew Barnes lives in Granville Towers East, which is located by the store. He said he appreciates the convenience and the attitude of the people.“It’s a quick walk from Granville, and they are friendly and helpful.”
(03/31/10 4:59am)
As summer break approaches, many students living off campus are struggling to find tenants to live in their houses and apartments during the break.Most Chapel Hill area leases are yearlong and do not accommodate students wishing to live elsewhere during the summer months. Renters are forced to pay the rent without living there or find someone else to live there and pay the rent — an agreement called a sublease.But before jumping into any agreements, local landlords and legal experts have tips they say every renter should know.The contractThe first step: don’t assume anything. Your lease probably outlines policies for subleases, and guidelines vary from landlord to landlord.Some landlords, like Chapel Ridge, require tenants to arrange a sublease through them so liability is transferred to the subtenant — an agreement usually accompanied with a $200 fee.To bypass that, students often just collect rent from their subtenants without consulting their landlords.That’s risky, experts say. In bypassing the owner’s consent, he can evict the tenant for entering the sublease, said Donavon Boykin, leasing coordinator at Chapel Ridge.Illegal subleases can also result in monetary claims against the original tenant, said Carol Badgett, attorney for Carolina Student Legal Services, which provides free legal advice to students out of its Student Union office.If the landlord takes action against you, it can significantly lower your credit rating, she said.Many property managers of off-campus houses do not require that a sublease be coordinated through them, but they might require to see the new tenant’s credit history.In most cases, the subtenant will be responsible for any damages or liabilities on the property, so it is important to know and trust the person who will be renting from you.Junior Hobbie Turley is looking for to sublease his house while he returns home to Memphis, Tenn.“Everyone knows the guy who puts holes in the wall. … I want to avoid that guy,” he said.The agreementIf your property manager doesn’t require that you sign a sublease agreement through them, it is important that both parties understand the monetary agreement.Ted Kairys, owner of Kairys Properties, said that it is usually up to the renters to decide whether the sublessor or subtenant directly pays the rent.In both cases, he stressed the importance of concrete agreements.“I recommend something in writing,” he said.Student Legal Services can review any leases that you have signed and provide several models for contracts that potential renters and subtenants can use free of charge.Unless there is a signed contract, legal and financial responsibility will remain with the original tenant.AdvertisingOne challenge for sublessors and subtenants is finding one another.Turley said he plans to look casually within his group of friends.Sites like Craigslist and Facebook offer a large audience for renters.Many rental companies have their own databases of potential renters.Both sublessors and subtenants can enter their information, and the companies will try to match the two parties.Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(03/04/10 5:24am)
As students leave for Spring Break, the many downtown businesses that employ them face a week of being understaffed. Business owners say they have a steady customer base in the Chapel Hill community and do not see a large decrease in clients over the break.But the shortage of employees forces them to choose between limiting their hours, asking workers to take extra shifts or convincing students to work during the break.“We have policies when we hire that they agree they will work part of break,” said Ryan Faircloth, franchise owner of Ham’s Restaurant. He said he expects to be open during normal hours, even though most of his workers are University students. The restaurant will have fewer servers for each shift, he said, but will continue to operate as a bar at night.Larry Trollinger, owner of Ken’s Quickie Mart, said his convenience store will be closing early next week because his student employees are going out of town. He does not require students to work over break. In 40 years, he hasn’t ever closed down during Spring Break, he said.Trollinger usually works during the day and staffs the store with students at night, he said.Five of Trollinger’s seven employees are students.“My daytime business doesn’t change; it’s my nighttime business that changes,” he said.Tarheel Book Store expects to be open for normal hours even though most of the workers are students as well. Christian Campbell, owner of the book store, said most of his student employees are planning to stay the week, even though working during Spring Break is voluntary. Twelve out of the store’s 15 employees are students, Campbell said.Business will slow a bit, he said, but because most of the store’s business comes at the beginnings and ends of semesters, the decrease will not be too noticeable.Some students are taking advantage of the work shortage.Top of the Hill Restaurant and Brewery waitress Nikki Leonard, a junior, said she’s taking on extra shifts.“Most everyone goes out of town, and there are a lot of shifts open.” she said.Ertle Jones, a junior who works at Tarheel Book Store, is staying in Chapel Hill during break and working.He said Campbell didn’t have to convince him to stay.“Just economic pressure,” Jones said. “I’m kind of broke.”Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(03/01/10 4:43am)
One of the most vocal supporters of the historically black and low-income neighborhood that hosts the county’s landfill was honored Sunday for his activism.Rev. Robert Campbell was honored with the Pauli Murray Award for Human Relations in a ceremony hosted by the Orange County Human Relations Commission. Elizabeth McManus and Joy Jovitz also received awards. McManus is a local high school student that has participated in mission trips to Africa. Jovitz is the founder of Door to Door, a music therapy program that operates at UNC Hospitals.Campbell has played an active role in a struggle to end environmental racism in his neighborhood. He is president of the Rogers-Eubanks Coalition, as well as a chef at Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.In November 2009, Campbell went to Washington, D.C. to discuss those issues with the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator and Department of Health and Human Services officials.Campbell said he accepted the award with a respect for the character that the award’s namesake, Pauli Murray, stood for.“The prestige and honor tells us that we are doing something right within the community,” he said.Murray was an activist, lawyer, writer and priest who spent her childhood in Durham. She was the first black woman to earn a Doctor of Juridical Sciences from Yale Law School.She also received degrees from Howard Law School and the University of California at Berkeley. Murray applied to UNC School of Law but was denied admission because of her race. She spent her life promoting justice and equality and standing up to discrimination.Campbell said his future plans include getting grant funding to take ownership of a community garden.His colleagues cited his character and determination as reasons for his success.“He’ll be a shining example for potential for greatness” said Stephanie Perry, a member of the Orange County Organizing Committee.Joe Nanney, chairman of the commission, said he expects Campbell to continue to fight for his community.“He gives a voice to people who otherwise don’t have one,” he said.Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.