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Contact Connor Sullivan at cpsully@email.unc.edu
East 54 has already sold almost all of its available condominiums and leased much of its retail space despite some concern that the development underway may tarnish the small-town feel of Chapel Hill.The five-building mixed-use community about half a mile from the University opened in September and will continue opening in phases through 2011.Sales are healthyGary Burns, sales director for East 54, said there are only a few condominiums left of the 74 already completed, and approximately 80 percent of the retail space has been leased.About half of the office space has also been leased, said Roger Perry of East West Partners Management Company.In addition to the existing condominiums, 100 more will become available over the next two years.Businesses including Kerr Drug, Deluxe Cleaners, Citrine hair salon and Charles Schwab already have opened.Condominiums are priced up to $800,000.Mixed responseDon Evans, one of the operators of Chapel Hill Watch blog, said he has heard concern from neighboring community Glen Lennox that East 54 is the beginning of a trend of overdeveloping N.C. 54.Hosting several multi-level buildings will hurt the area’s appearance, he said.For some residents, the objection is not to what it is, but where it is, he said.“It’s a type of development that works very well in an urban setting,” he said.Nancy Oates, who also works on the Chapel Hill Watch blog, said even if some were in opposition, the development’s sales reflect a need filled.“Once this market picks up, we might see more of these types of developments,” she said.Affordable housingEast 54’s affordable housing units are also filling up.Twenty of the 23 condominiums deemed affordable housing have already sold, said Robert Dowling, executive director for the Community Home Trust, which handles affordable housing in the county. Twenty-one more will become available in the next two years, he said.Half of the affordable condominiums were sold to University employees, he said.The town of Chapel Hill’s Comprehensive Plan suggests that new developments set aside 15 percent of the properties for affordable housing.Twenty percent of East 54’s units are affordable housing, meaning the occupants make less than 80 percent of the area median income.“We offered it right away, since we thought it was the right thing,” Perry said.Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
Ann Robbins votes, pays taxes and serves jury duty in Alamance County.But according to county lines, she lives in Orange County.She is one of many citizens pushing to redraw county lines to include her neighborhood.Commissioners from Alamance and Orange counties met Nov. 9 to hear presentations from both counties about the re-establishment of the county line.The location of the dividing line could make a big difference for residents, who would pay property taxes of 85.8 cents per $100 in property value for Orange County compared to 52 cents per $100 for Alamance County.The commissioners were presented with two options. The first involves adopting the line established by the North Carolina Geodetic Survey. The second involves rejecting that line and establishing a new line.The commissioners, except Alamance County commissioner Tim Sutton, reached a consensus to adopt a modified version of the second option.The option would allow Mebane’s Mill Creek community and the Ninth Street community, including Robbins’ neighborhood, to become a part of Alamance County.Sutton said he was displeased at how the meeting went and said he doesn’t think option two will pass.“We have a perfectly good line, established by a state institution, that we have used for 160 years,” Sutton said.A complicated processAlamance County Attorney Clyde Albright said getting the line changed is a complicated process.A new line must be established by a surveyor, he said. The county commissioners must approve the new line and draft a bill. Then a group of N.C. General Assembly representatives from local districts must approve it and present it to the rest of the House.Albright said the purpose of the meeting was to firmly establish a line, not to move it.“The line has been skewed by tax collectors who want to collect taxes from a certain county for convenience,” Albright said.He said the state government might think changing the line could set a bad example for other counties.“If you allow one group of people to move a line for convenience purposes, then you open it up for all 100 counties to change their lines,” he said.Craig Benedict, planning director for Orange County, said he is unsure whether legislators will approve the new line.“We’ll talk with our legislators about our unique situation,” he said. “Hopefully, our solution will be looked at independently.”He said the planning board is currently conducting an analysis of how the new line will affect taxes but said he believes it will be minimal.Most citizens in favorThe line would formally establish a division that tax collectors have made unclear.With the current line, some residents don’t know what school or firehouse to use, Benedict said.At the Nov. 9 meeting, citizens stood up with petitions in favor of option two, Benedict said.Robbins, who has been a member of the Ninth Street community for 44 years, said she has a letter from 1977 that allowed her to pay taxes in Alamance County. “When you vote and pay taxes in the county, I consider you part of the county,” she said, adding that the property tax difference is an important incentive.She said the issue of the line had come up several times but has been ignored.When she circulated a petition in her neighborhood asking for the community to join Alamance, she found most residents already considered themselves part of it.Residents of her neighborhood are willing to take on the cost for the new survey, up to $3.20 per yard of their property, she said.Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
As expected, Sammy Slade was appointed early to the Carrboro Board of Aldermen at Tuesday’s meeting.
Of the mayoral race endorsements this election season, Mark Kleinschmidt is getting support from all the typical outlets: the newspapers and local organizations.Meanwhile, Matt Czajkowski is gaining endorsements from business owners, who have not traditionally shown open support.But some disagree about the impact of endorsements in Chapel Hill elections.Leroy Towns, a UNC journalism professor who has directed 10 successful campaigns for U.S. Congress and Senate, said endorsements don’t necessarily influence an election’s outcome.“You use endorsements to get publicity. All candidates seek endorsements, but the endorsements aren’t terribly effective,” he said. “People don’t like to be told how to vote.”He said that endorsements might have more impact in Chapel Hill since the community is more close-knit than other places. He also said newspaper endorsements were the least useful.But Tom Jensen, author of Public Policy Polling blog, said he thinks that endorsements are critical.“Over the years, the three biggest endorsements in Chapel Hill have been the Independent Weekly, Chapel Hill News and the Sierra Club, and the candidates they usually endorse win,” Jensen said.The Independent endorsed current Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy in 2005 and 2007.In both years, three of the four Town Council candidates endorsed were elected.“Certainly in partisan elections, endorsements don’t have that big of an impact, but in a local election where people don’t have a clear label for who to vote for, they matter a lot more,” said Jensen, who is conducting a poll to determine the effect of endorsements.The Independent Weekly is the most important since it is a progressive newspaper and many of the voters are progressive, Jensen said.Independent Weekly editor Lisa Sorg said many voters bring the Independent’s voting guide to the polling stations.The Independent released its official voting guide Oct. 14 and endorsed Mark Kleinschmidt for Chapel Hill mayor.Sorg said the paper choose its endorsement by reviewing minutes from Town Council meetings, videos, Web sites and background and financial checks and finally, a committee-formulated questionnaire.“We take it very seriously,” she said.The Orange-Chatham Sierra Club, a local environmental group, has also endorsed Kleinschmidt. Matt Scheer, Sierra Club’s political chairman, said the club has a committee who looks at the issues and then decides who to endorse. “Each person might have a different view of what the most important issue is,” he said.The Hank Anderson-Bill Thorpe Breakfast club, a group of local NAACP supporters and members, picked Kleinschmidt as well.Katrina Ryan, owner of Sugarland Bakery, and Charles House, owner of University Florist, have displayed signs endorsing Czajkowski. House said it’s the first time he has displayed an endorsement sign in more than 10 years. Jensen said the endorsement signs in downtown business windows are unusual, and it’s the first year he’s ever seen political signs in storefronts.“It’s a product of so many issues downtown this year,” he said. “For the most part I think that businesses stay away from that because they are afraid of scaring off customers.” Dave Hart, associate editor of Chapel Hill News and the man in charge of editorials, said the newspaper will not be endorsing anyone this year. He said the paper has reduced its staff and cannot comfortably endorse a candidate.Augustus Cho has not received any formal endorsements to date, said Melodie Parrish, his campaign manager.Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
Chapel Hill Watch, a new blog, was created by husband and wife duo Don Evans and Nancy Oates to offer the town a fresh perspective on everyday news.“Residents of Chapel Hill need to know what’s going on here,” Oates said.The blog focuses on issues from Town Council meetings.Readership has grown slowly, and Oates said she thinks it will stay steady throughout elections.“It is an opportune time because newspapers don’t have the resource to cover all the stories,” she said, referring to cuts at The Chapel Hill News and The Herald Sun.“There are a lot of things that affect the lives of the town people that are mundane and may not be reported in papers.”Both Evans and Oates currently are freelance writers. Evans said before being laid off at The Chapel Hill News, he worked in the newspaper industry for 30 years. Both said they don’t have political backgrounds, but they follow politics.The couple said they hold differing political viewpoints and hope to bring this quality to their blog.“I’m not sure that OrangePolitics has every side of the issue,” Evans said, referring to the blog run by Ruby Sinreich. “You lose out if you look at just one side.”OrangePolitics celebrated its sixth year of operation on Sunday.“OrangePolitics is a progressive Web site, but the people who come on the Web site don’t necessarily agree with our views,” Sinreich said. “The whole idea is that anyone can come on and ask questions about their community, no matter how qualified they are.”OrangePolitics offers a variety of writers, but Oates and Evans are the sole authors of Chapel Hill Watch. Public commenting is offered on both sites.Sinreich said while she thinks Chapel Hill Watch’s different opinions are good for the community, she’s unsure about its future. “They are definitely more right-leaning than OrangePolitics,” she said. “I’ve seen a lot of things like that start up, but they lose a lot of momentum because it’s a lot of work to keep it going.”But Oates and Evans said they think they have what it takes to make it on the Web.“What it takes to survive is enthusiasm, and we certainly have plenty of that,” Evans said.Terri Buckner said she and her friends are readers of both blogs.“I don’t think they are comparable to each other,” she said. Buckner said OrangePolitics covers a broader scope of issues than Chapel Hill Watch, which focuses on town issues only.“Recently, Chapel Hill Watch has had more interesting stories, but that could be because they are new,” she said.Buckner said she is interested to see how the new blog fares. “Chapel Hill Watch has only been out for a few weeks so it hasn’t built up quite the following that OrangePolitics has.”
Candidates for Chapel Hill government met at University Presbyterian Church on Thursday to discuss downtown parking and development.Hosted by Friends of Downtown, the forum showcased the four mayoral candidates and the eight Town Council candidates.Several of the candidates cited Durham’s policy of offering free parking as an example of a successful parking plan.Many candidates stressed the need to streamline the process of opening a business and reduce its cost in order for downtown to develop.Mayoral candidatesAugustus Cho said the town has enough parking spaces, but security is an issue. “We lack parking spaces where people want to park because they are not safe.”Mayoral candidate Matt Czajkowski said the town lacks clear signs telling people where they can park. He also suggested the town build a 400-car parking lot. He also said he will try to offer residents some tax stability.“I will ask the city manager to hold taxes flat for the next two years,” Czajkowski said.Mark Kleinschmidt said many residents flock to Raleigh and Durham for entertainment and shopping, and the town needs to foster more local opportunities for them.He also said he wouldn’t make any promises about taxes.“I don’t believe good government comes from promising no new taxes,” Kleinschmidt said.Kevin Wolff said it’s too expensive to open a business in Chapel Hill.“A Hollywood real estate agent told me, ‘Hollywood real estate leases for less than Chapel Hill real estate,’” he said.Council candidatesJon Dehart said improving the town’s image could come from simple changes like using pedestrian crosswalks and removing graffiti from walls.“Having the streets cleaned on Mondays would be a huge improvement,” Dehart said. Laurin Easthom said a trolley car might be interesting, perhaps modeling Asheville’s system.“I was the only council member who opposed parking rate increases,” she said. Ed Harrison said he has voted against panhandling in the past and will continue to do so.“If you want political correctness on panhandling, don’t re-elect me,” Harrison said.Jim Merritt said the town needs to address the issue of taxes and create more single-family homes. “I would advocate job training programs for our youth,” he saidGene Pease said the town must work to fill vacant spaces on Franklin Street.“We need to create incentives for businesses to come back to Chapel Hill,” he said.Matt Pohlman said that if elected, he would try to hold office hours where he would meet with residents at local coffee shops. Pohlman, like several other candidates, pointed out the difficulties new business owners have when starting out in Chapel Hill.“There’s no reason we should have a reputation as a tough town to start and run a business in,” he said.Penny Rich said the town should prepare for higher traffic rates by increasing public transportation.“People are looking for more cultural tourism,” she said. Will Raymond said Chapel Hill should host more events downtown, but should also work to increase safety.“We need increased visibility of our police downtown,” he said.Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu
Three, two, one … Happy New Year. At least, it is for the Jewish community.Today the Jewish community celebrates Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.The holiday gives a chance for Jews to reflect and atone for their sins from the previous year.Kol HaskalahThe youngest congregation in Chapel Hill, Kol Haskalah: A Humanistic Jewish Congregation, emphasizes Jewish culture and community more than the belief in God.“The focus for Humanistic Judaism is not whether there is or is not a God,” said board of directors member Allison Wood. “The focus is on our own power and responsibility to foster rational inquiry, take care of the environment, promote social justice and treat others with kindness.”Kol Haskalah has about 170 members from 55 families. It is in its eighth year, Woods said.Kol Haskalah’s Rosh Hashanah services will be held at Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at 7 p.m. Friday, Wood said. Admission will be free for college students. The fellowship building is rented because Kol Haskalah does not have a synagogue, she said.On Saturday there will be a morning children’s service followed by a potluck lunch and discussion.There will be a community celebration called Tashlich, which focuses on developing a fresh start for the New Year, on Sunday morning at the gazebo in the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at 10:30 a.m., Wood said.N.C. HillelN.C. Hillel, an on-campus Jewish center for students, will also be observing Rosh Hashanah. Ari Gauss, executive director for N.C. Hillel, said there will be services on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.“We welcome all Jewish students to explore Jewish life at Carolina through the Hillel,” Gauss said. “For high holidays we invite members of the community and invite faculty, too.”Geoffrey Brown, director of N.C. Hillel programs, said the organization has a wide variety of activities planned for the holiday.On Friday, dinner will be followed by services, he said. For the weekend, N.C. Hillel will host services for both conservative and reform Jews.“The way I describe the difference between the two is that there is more English in the Reform one and more Hebrew in Conservative one,” he said.Both Kol Haskalah and N.C. Hillel will offer a Sunday Tashlich ceremony. Brown said during Tashlich, participants go to a flowing body of water and throw bread into it, symbolizing the casting away of one’s sins.The tradition is practiced by Jews of all denominations.“Our celebrations incorporate many of the same traditions as other denominations but without reference to a supernatural authority,” Wood said.Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
Visitors to the Chapel Hill Community Center Park can now see a row of 24 carved concrete blocks, resembling a spinal column or a row of misshapen teeth.This functional art around the playground is a multipurpose “walking” wall currently under construction, commissioned by the town of Chapel Hill.Jeffrey York, the public art administrator for Chapel Hill, said a walking wall is another name for a wall that people can climb and sit on.The tan-colored blocks are placed side by side in a slight curve, York said.The wall at the park, which is located at 120 S. Estes Drive, will replace an outdated wall that prevented dirt from sliding into the park. The playground is shut down until the wall is completed.The project is estimated to cost $45,000, he said. He said that the project is on schedule and that he is optimistic the wall will be finished by Sept. 30. York said he anticipates the wall will be a lot of fun.Many artists applied to build the new wall, and a board of about nine or 10 members reviewed the candidates, York said. After board members narrowed down applicants to three candidates, they selected David Finn, an art professor at Wake Forest University, whose pieces have been exhibited in several countries around the world.Finn is building the wall himself using a power chisel and a diamond-edged grinder, a town news release states. A contractor assisted Finn with some of the technical engineering work.For the look of the wall, Finn said he wanted to use smooth, abstract organic shapes that would be suitable for both climbing and sitting on.He’s worked on walls like this before, and won the N.C. Artist Fellowship Award in 2007.Finn said he drew a lot of inspiration from abstract sculptures and necessity.He said he needed something that did its job, looked good and was fun for kids to play on.Because of construction, the park has been significantly cut down in size until late September. About eight pairs of parents and kids were playing at the park Monday.Stephen Johnson was helping his 3-year-old daughter, Greyson, on the swings. He said he has been bringing her to the park since she was 1. Johnson said he hopes the rest of the park will open soon so Greyson can play on the playground again. He said he will let his daughter play on the wall when it opens.Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard blazed with flashing lights and neon yellow vests Friday night as northbound traffic came to a standstill. Car by car, police asked each driver for a license and registration. Most people produced the information, and officers waved them on their way. But for some drivers the night was just beginning, and they would be in jail before it ended. The Chapel Hill Police Department along with seven other law enforcement agencies conducted a DWI checkpoint from 11 p.m. Friday until 3 a.m. Saturday. The team of about 40 officers operated on a zero tolerance policy, meaning charges were filed for any driving violation. Police reports state that the checkpoint resulted in 88 citations including 11 driving while impaired arrests. Chapel Hill police spokeswoman Jane Cousins said the department issued 277 DWI citations last year. "This particular one's been very good," Chapel Hill police Sgt. Jack Terry said. The sidewalk bustled during Friday's checkpoint with drivers submitting to initial field sobriety tests, such as balancing on one foot and walking a straight line, as their drunken passengers waited for friends to pick them up. Though a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 is widely considered the legal limit, it is actually 0.00, Terry said. If someone has a blood alcohol concentration of 0.01 or 0.02, but the officer finds that person to be "appreciably impaired," the officer can make a DWI arrest, Terry said. But such a charge can be difficult to prove. Use of prescription or illegal drugs that affect driving ability also could be grounds for a DWI arrest. "Driving drunk is the stupidest thing you could possibly do," Terry said. "It destroys your life financially and in every other way." Police chose northbound Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard for the checkpoint because it is a main road out of town, heading away from a central business district, Terry said. Police officials used statistics to determine that it was a probable location to find drunk drivers. Every car was checked and those with potential violations were asked to pull over. With a few exceptions, people were cooperative, said Sgt. Jamie Sykes, of Orange County Sheriff's Office. Police perform a drunk driving operation every quarter, but this weekend's stop was fueled by the presence of the BAT Mobile. The Breath Alcohol Testing Mobile, with the slogan "BOOZE IT & LOSE IT" splashed in bold lettering across the side, is a 32-foot long state-owned bus equipped with three Intoxilyzer tests. The Intoxilyzer reads breath alcohol concentration, which is almost synonymous with blood alcohol concentration, BAT coordinator Kevin Dean said. The BAT mobile allows police to test drivers suspected of drunk driving on the spot without having to take them back to the station. "This makes it more convenient," said Chapel Hill police officer J. Kirk, pointing to the BAT mobile. "Everything we need is right here." The vehicle even provides an office for a magistrate to set court dates and book people who have been arrested. Police arrest an average of six to eight people for DWI at each checkpoint. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services' Forensic Tests for Alcohol Branch operates six BAT Mobiles that assist with DWI checkpoints and offer drunk driving education at school programs and community events, such as the State Fair, Dean said. Every weekend, at least one or two BAT Mobiles are out at checkpoints. Half of the money drunk drivers pay to restore their licenses after they have been revoked goes toward funding the BAT mobiles. "Drunk drivers fund it," Dean said. Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
Both established and aspiring writers were celebrated Thursday night in a Chapel Hill Museum ceremony. To mark the opening of an exhibit on Robert Ruark, a class of '35 UNC alumnus and famed writer, two students were honored for their own recently penned essays. Ruark, a N.C. native who died in 1965, lived a life that mirrored that of his friend Ernest Hemingway. Writing roughly 2,000 articles and 11 books in his life, Ruark, a journalist-cum-author, is well known for his descriptive accounts of his adventures in Africa. "I challenge the University to find a UNC graduate who has done any more than that," said Jim Cheatham, a founder of the Robert Ruark Society of Chapel Hill. Members of the commemorative club say they are concerned that Ruark is not receiving appropriate acknowledgement. "I feel like the University has not really recognized him as they should," Cheatham said. "We think he is the most prolific professional writer to ever graduate from the journalism school," he added. The museum's exhibit will remain on display until July 23. Black-and-white faded photographs, yellowed newspaper clippings and Ruark's old ebony typewriter lined the glass cases of the museum's display. A letter from Groucho Marx to Ruark was among the items displayed, along with an oversized cover of Newsweek featuring Ruark. "I think he's the biggest thing that's ever come out of Chapel Hill as far as writing," said George Saffo, a close friend and fan of Ruark. To honor aspiring writers following his footsteps, the second annual Robert Chester Ruark Jr. Creative Writing Award was presented to a top creative writing student during the ceremony. Senior Sabrina Heise of Charlotte won the $1,000 prize for her essay titled "Where Past and Present Collide" - a essay describing a fictitious mountain house near Canton. Sophomore David Rabinowitz received an honorable mention for his essay "Maple Sugar from a Pine Tree." Heise, an English major, took a number of creative writing classes at the University. "Through the creative writing department, I definitely had the opportunity to try a bunch of different types of writing," Heise said. She said her classes taught her how to write various genres including young adult novels and short stories. Heise said she plans to use her knowledge of these various writing styles for her career, which she hopes will begin at a publishing company. Ruark had wanted to establish the award, but an early death prevented him from doing so. Jim Seay, an English professor and former head of UNC's creative writing department, said the award honors writers who, like Ruark, incorporate nature into their work. "It's to recognize that effort, to observe the natural world and engage with it and then try to tell one's own story about that world." Contact the News Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
UNC's beloved hoofed mascot, Ramses, became a man Saturday night when a bar mitzvah celebration was held in his honor. The school icon was a no show at the event, but the party went on with more than 75 guests filing through the N.C. Hillel doors for some dancing, food and fun. The bar mitzvah, a traditional coming of age celebration for 13-year-old Jewish males, was hosted by Hillel, the campus's primary Jewish student organization. "We thought it would be a great way to engage the whole UNC community," said Dorie Ain, organizer of the event. The group decided to make Ramses a central part of the occasion to encourage all students - both Jewish and non-Jewish alike - to come out to the event. "Everyone loves the Ram," Ain said. She stressed that Ramses' bar mitzvah was not spiritual or religious in nature. "It's not a religious event. It's more of a social aspect," Ain said. "I just want people to know we are here on campus and to have a good time." The Hillel received a grant from their international office - Hillel International - for the bar mitzvah party, which the group has been planning since late January. A crowd of students filled the Hillel, with some gathering around the food tables in the Persian-Indian room and others dancing to pop favorites in the bar mitzvah room. Other guests made their way upstairs for some chips and salsa in the Latin room. Various ethnic foods lined the crimson and gold tables of the Persian-Indian room. Samosa, a type of fried Indian pastry, and hummus were interspersed between American favorites such as M & M's. Twinkle lights that spelled out "Mazel Tov", which is Hebrew for congratulations, illuminated the bar mitzvah room. Carolina-blue streamers and balloons filled the room of people dancing to songs such as Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back". The Latin-themed room offered a laid-back lounge area with music, Mexican food and short margarita- shaped glasses to fill with soda. A blown up image of Ramses was covered by guests with the signatures and words of good luck such as "Rock on Ramses". "They're a great group," said the event's deejay Todd Siena, who also goes by DJ Teeze. "They have a lot of energy," he said of the Hillel. For some the party brought back memories of their own celebrations from middle school. Freshman Diana Gergel, a member of Sigma Rho Lambda, a Jewish sorority on campus said that the game "Coke and Pepsi", which is traditionally played at bar and bat mitzvahs reminded her of her own bat mitzvah. "I don't really get to go to bar mitzvah parties as much," Gergel said. "I miss it. "My bat mitzvah weekend was the best weekend of my life." Contact the News Editor at udesk@unc.edu.