Tony Kim

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Mixed economic report for Carrboro

By Tony Kim | October 18

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen received a report evaluating the economic future of the town at its meeting Tuesday night. Carrboro's economic future Regional Technology Strategies, a nonprofit corporation that evaluates development and the creation of regional economic policies, worked with the board to produce a comprehensive report about the town's competitive position with other neighboring areas. The research from the report will be used as the foundation for a staff retreat to consider the town's economy.

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Carrboro gets new fire engine

By Tony Kim | October 12

When Chapel Hill resident Esteban McMahan's house was hit by lightning and caught on fire in mid-June, he sure was glad the Carrboro Fire Department responded so quickly. McMahan was at The Lumina theater, enjoying an afternoon away from home when he received a phone call from his 15-year-old daughter that lightning had struck and that she could see smoke.

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Festival a birthday bash for 13th-century poet

By Tony Kim | September 29

It might not be that strange for people to celebrate your birthday with songs, dances and poetry readings. But it would be out of the ordinary if hundreds of people kept the party going eight centuries later. Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Mebane will play hosts this weekend to the ninth annual Rumi Festival, which celebrates the birthday of the 13th-century Persian poet Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi. Rumi helped form the foundations of Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam that emphasizes a message of peace and unity, said Rodrigo Dorfman, one of the coordinators of the event.

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Students play doctor at mock accident

By Tony Kim | April 26

Blood was everywhere. Panicked voices cried for help. Flashing ambulance lights punctured the scene. Luckily, it was only a simulation. A group of 34 UNC students took part in a mock car accident Tuesday night as the culmination of their emergency medical services training. The simulation, a three-vehicle collision, took place at EMS Station 2 behind the Armadillo Grill in Carrboro. To make the "accident" as realistic as possible, the scenario also included ambulances and rescue trucks. Mock accident victims were outfitted with make-up and prosthetics to heighten believability.

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Construction stifles theater parking

By Tony Kim | April 26

Parking on UNC's campus has been known to cause headaches, but for patrons of the Paul Green Theatre, the search for spots has become a drama in its own right. Parking for performances has been limited this season due to the construction of the North East Chiller Plant and Parking Deck behind the theater, said Cynthia Edwards-Paschal, the marketing director for PlayMakers Repertory Company. The construction project, which began in January 2005, tentatively is set to be completed this fall, said Jerry Guerrier, an architect for UNC facilities planning.

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Free product Web sites pop up

By Tony Kim | April 12

Everyone's seen the online ads. The multicolored pop-up ones that promise Web surfers free prizes such as iPods, laptops or designer handbags. Which Web sites are legitimate is more difficult to recognize. One of the most well-known and profitable free product Web sites on the Internet was started by two UNC alumni. Gratis Internet, which runs a network of 15 free product sites under the FreePay name, was founded by Peter Martin and Rob Jewell, who graduated from the Kenan-Flagler Business School in 1999.

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Former Miss America shares the struggle behind the crown

By Tony Kim | April 12

She walked to the podium and took the microphone with all the poise and grace of a polished beauty pageant contestant, ready to make her acceptance speech. But this talk was much more than the average pageant speech. "It is my hope that my long path to healing will be helpful to you," Marilyn Van Derbur said calmly. Van Derbur, best known as Miss America 1958, was at the Carolina Club on Tuesday night to talk about her life as a survivor of childhood incest rather than her life as a beauty queen.

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Student council weighs campus space crunch

By Tony Kim | April 11

The Student Organization Council will release a report later this month in an effort to address room-reservation difficulties that campus groups face annually. The council, which involves leaders from many student groups, is drafting the report in hopes of identifying ways to improve the general process by which campus organizations acquire space.

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Fields to return after hiatus

By Tony Kim | March 10

When students come back from Spring Break, they'll be greeted with the reopening of two popular athletic fields, reinvigorated with more durable artificial turf. After a semester hiatus new and improved Hooker Fields 3 and 4, located on South Road across from the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery, will be available March 20 for use by the UNC community. Hooker Field consists of four playing surfaces for nonvarsity sports use. But for the past semester only fields 1 and 2 were open.

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A small taste of diversity

By Tony Kim | February 15

As student election candidates locked in their votes Tuesday, about a dozen students were in the Pit locking lips. Members of the Committee for a Queerer Carolina - a subgroup of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender-Straight Alliance - embraced Valentine's Day in the Pit with a kiss-in to raise awareness of the various sexualities represented on campus. In the midst of student election campaigners and an a cappella group, the kiss-in participants gathered to show students another side of the romantic holiday.