Southern States

I called Southern States a couple of days ago to ask if they would once again have big ceramic pots on sale this year. The answer was end of July, beginning of August. If that's true, it's well worth noting on the calendar as it surely was last year...if they do the same thing again. Great products at very low prices.

"N.C. Public Radio executive hired to lead nonprofit" - News & Observer

"Cafes brew intimate shows" - Daily Tar Heel

"Siler City loses a mainstay" - News & Observer

"Learning to cook local" - News & Observer

"Best And Worst Commutes In Small Cities" - Forbes.com

Triangle Transt not operating on Memorial Day

Triangle Transit did not operate yesterday.

That means one of two things, perhaps three.

One is that they do not have enough business to justify service on Memorial Day.

A second, related to the first, is that they have not attracted enough customers to make the service essential every day of the year.

And the possible third is that they just don't understand the importance of having bus service every day.

What's at the Carrboro Farmers' Market?

This is a very nice feature - photos taken yesterday at the Carrboro Farmers' Market of some of the items on sale there. I do not know if this is updated each week, but it sure provides a nice way to browse through what's there!

Gas Prices

This is a link to a list - changing regularly - of gas prices in or near 27516 zip code/Chapel Hill.

Maps and Directions to Carolina Inn in downtown Chapel Hill North Carolina

They've changed the entrance and traffic flow at the Carolina Inn.

Pilgrim's Pride

Couldn't we start an effort to turn the Pilgrim's Pride plant into an environmental plant producing state-of-the art, but basic, environmentally-sound items for local use? Put the same employees to work?

"Bag recycling bill passes committee" - Greensboro News-Record

This sure strikes me as a very good idea.

OWASA rate increase proposal

Here is the background information from OWASA to explain the proposed 24% increase in rates.

NC blueberries!

There seem to be a couple of places in Chapelboroham, but you need to search on each of the three counties to find them - Orange, Chatham and Durham.

Presdential bumper stickers

For a long time, mine was the only car I encountered on the road with an OBAMA bumper sticker showing.

Now I seem to be seeing many more.

What I don't see, though, are any bumper stickers for Hillary CLINTON or John McCAIN. In driving around town, I have not noticed a single one for either of those candidates.

Northgate Mall Home

I happened to see a print ad today in the Herald-Sun for a "Senior Citizen Day" at the Northgate Mall. When I went to the website, I expected to find more details. Instead, I find only the same information that appeared in the newspaper.

Remarkably, the mall has no "contact us" function on the website; only a phone number. It's 2008 for heaven's sake.....

"North Carolina Cell Phone Laws Email is False" - WECT

What a disappointment that this appears to be a hoax!

Sheraton crossing

The new iterchange on 15-501 by the Sheraton seems to be working remarkably well. I went through it in a big rainstorm the other day and the water drained and the cars kept moving!

There is a very nice and distinctive brick or brick-looking pedestrian crossing there. Is that a new standard? Would it help catch drivers' eyes better? What is the best and safest?

"Starbucks to close 100 stores" - Triangle Business Journal:

So far, no sign of any of these closings occurring in Chapelboro. I asked a manager at the Harris-Teeter by University Mall if they would be keeping their in-store Starbucks and he said he knew of no reason they would be closing it.

NCGoGreen.com

This seems to be a new site from WNCN, pulling together storis relating to "green" issues. It would be nice if they added just a few sentences explaining what they are trying to do with this.....

Amber and silver alerts....

We all see them from time to time - especially the Amber alerts. I saw the first Silver alert just this past week.

What are we supposed to do when we see the?

How effective is the communication process to get the word out on these effectively? In other words, how well is the system functioning to try to get the word to the people most likely to be able to help?

Nothing here - this is the current Amber alert - provides much guidance other than to call if you have any information concerning the abduction.

For example, should all Neighborhood Watch networks in the state be asked to pass this along? Surely, we can all organize this process better to maximize the chances of finding this little boy and others....

"Another Pedestrian Killed in Chapel Hill" - WRAL.com

This is such sad news.

We must figure out what we can ALL learn from these tragedies. That means understanding fully and quickly exactly what happened in each case.

And, once we know the facts and adjust our own vigilance accordingly, we need to focus as a community on what needs to change to be sure that pedestrians have at least equal rights and facilities to be able to co-exist with motor vehicles.

"Tethering of Dogs in Orange County" - Orange County Animal Services

The ad in the Chapel Hill Herald today for "Tethering of Dogs in Orange County" has a typo in the URL. This is the correct one. This is the memorandum explaining the proposal.

Road markings...

When I take to the road at night in Chapelboro, I am often reminded of what a poor job our roads do in helping us find lanes and directions. In many places, the markings are worn off the road surface. In others, a very bright traffic light blinds drivers who cannot see into the darkness on the other side. When there are markings on the road, they usually do not show up very well in headlights in many places.

Are we at the current state of the art here?

"The Visitor", downtown Chapel Hill and parking...

We went to see "The Visitor" last night at the Varsity. It is a very moving film and lends itself to much reflection about immigration, immigrants, the debate about "illegal" immigration, and how we all deal with one another.

But I have to add that it's too bad on two counts....

One is that I don't recall seeing any Chapel Hill coffee shop, restaurant, bookstore or any other place where two or more might get together --- offering a chance to talk about the film in a very local way. How many people like the stars from Senegal and Syria do we have among us here in Chapelboro? Most may be from Mexico but that does not change the issues.

Why hasn't someone stepped forward to organize an event and reap the business benefits - not to mention the community value - of doing so?

The other "too bad" is that we chose to park in the lot more or less behind the Varsity as we often do. All we did was attend the movie. When we left, the parking fee was $3.25.

I think having people downtown spending money (in our case, $16 for two movie tickets) ought to result in a break on the parking....especially for institutions like the Varsity that many of us hope will remain a part of this community well beyond its current owners.

Can't we work something out to reward those who contribute to the financial sustenance of downtown when they use a pay lot to do so?

And I need to add a third "too bad". This one is for the alley next to the Varsity that connects to the parking lot. It is poorly lit on the best of occasions, it seems to me. Last night, one of the lights was out, and it was even worse. Cannot "we" get that illuminated a whole lot better -- all of the time?

"Subscribe & Save"

This is a new Amazon service. Why can't the local merchants of Orange County work together - or with an independent local entity - to offer the same kind of value to their customers, locally?

I heard about this Amazon service today in this commentary.

LIEBER mentions that he cannot fill up his gas tank or buy birthday presents this way, but I wonder how close to that a local merchant might choose to come?

It all spells opportunity to me.

"UNC to get ABC bureau" - News & Observer

The real test of this will come in how much ABC includes on-air or on its website from this "bureau". In the meantime, I imagine it will be a teaching tool and certainly a recruiting tool for ABC. It would have been better, I think, if they had turned their students loose on doing a better job of covering Chapelboro. Why not link this up with the local ABC affiliate and start producing better content for its website and for local on-air coverage? In other words, why not go to work first at the local level for local audiences and if any of that is of interest to others, great. But I fear news priorities being what they are in television, the emphasis will be all-too-often on sensational stories. That said, here is what a search of the ABC News site turns up as latest Chapel Hill entries:

"Edwards endorses Obama ... North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said Edwards' support "signifies a ... May. 14, 2008 From Staff; Wire Reports
Labor-friendly John Edwards in Obama's court ... North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said Edwards' support "signifies a ... May. 14, 2008 From Staff; Wire Reports
Edwards Endorses Obama, Calls for 'Bold Leadership' ... ' home in Chapel Hill, N.C., to personally ask for his support. Only ... May. 14, 2008 Jennifer Parker
Telecommuters: Invisible workers? ... management consultant in Chapel Hill, N.C. Instead of being the ... May. 11, 2008 Marilyn Gardner
Taylor Helps Sandy Creek Win AAA ... a second. Chapel Hill edged Tucker by one point to take the AAAA ... May. 10, 2008 George Henry Associated Press Writer
Georgia Boys State Track Finals ... 'Bryant, Chapel Hill, 1:56.66. 2, Vince Brown, McIntosh, 1:56.67. 3, ... Johnathan Parks, Chapel Hill, 39.62. Class AAA 400 meter relay& ... May. 10, 2008
Georgia Boys State Track Meet Preliminary Results ... 'Bryant, Chapel Hill, 1:59.60. 4, Vince Brown, McIntosh, 1:59.74. 5, Gabe ... Taylor Lord, Chapel Hill, 9:27.64. 2, Nathan Vassey, Woodward Academy, 9: ... . 3, Chapel Hill, 22. 4, Northwest Whitfield, 18. 5, tie, ... May. 9, 2008
Student Dead at Crash Scene Was Murdered ... grew up in Chapel Hill, N.C., after her parents moved from the country in ... Yarmolenko graduated from Chapel Hill High School in 2006. Yarmolenko ... North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was shot and killed near the university ... May. 9, 2008 David Schoetz
N.C. first-time voters, African-Americans assist Obama ... North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "Whether it can come back together in the ... May. 7, 2008 Fredreka Schouten; Usa Today
Kids more vulnerable to swimming-related illness ... Research Laboratory in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and colleagues note, ... May. 7, 2008 Anne Harding"

"Chapel Hill project elicits lots of concern" - News & Observer

"Taste of Durham Festival"

Looks like it could be a fun day in Durham, 24 May!

"Our favorite greenways" - News & Observer

We in Chapelboro at least got one on the list, if not two if you count Durham!

What did he leave out?

"Commission boosts Triangle Expressway" - News & Observer

Why aren't we all pressing very hard for a Triangle Tram INSTEAD? Imagine if we just started all over and said we'd like to have a light rail that interconnects the downtowns of Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh with mandatory link to RDU and some easy connection or stop at major shopping centers - plus possible extensions to Carrboro (easy) and Pittsboro.

Imagine if we threw away all the good work that has been done to try to hammer out a complex ineffective system and just said - with a map in hand - how do we do this as one project, along what best route (adjacent to railroad tracks and/or highways), and then come up with a financing scheme that allows us all to pay for it over time through tax and use......?

Imagine that?

Why not?

"Six Wake stores fined for price errors" - News & Observer

Are we free of this problem in Chapelboro and Durham? Some of these chains have stores here as well, of course.

"It's boom times for bus service" - News & Observer

These are impressive numbers, with Chapel Hill Transit at over 600,000 and Durham Area Transit Authority over 400,000. Triangle Transit is over 80,000.

If we all try harder, how much higher can we push these numbers and how we can measure the hoped-for decrease in automobile usage?

Silver Alert issued for Chapel Hill man :: WRAL.com

Silver Alert issued for Chapel Hill man :: WRAL.com

Woman, hit by bus in Chapel Hill, dies :: WRAL.com

The Biscuit - Having fun with food in Chapel Hill

New burger joint stresses local ingredients - City

newsobserver.com | Epicurean for Wednesday, May 7

Note Miel Bon Bons in Carr Mill Mall in Carroboro.

Chapel Hill Transit bus stops

Why is is that so many of the Chapel Hill Transit bus stop signs either show the letters of no routes that service that stop or show an incomplete list? For example, I find the V route shown on less than half the signs at stops that I use when traveling that route.

Worse than that is the absence of any current schedule for all routes. Only some are at some stops.......