Development is spreading across eastern Durham County, and so is the "Preserve ..." movement.

Subdivisions called "Sierra" — 499 units on 176 acres on Doc Nichols Road — and "Egypt" — 563 units on 208 acres on Olive Branch Road — have provoked a petition, posted online by "Olive Branch Road Residents" (www.thepetitionsite.com/1/slow-east-durham-growth).

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West Point Park's new footbridge over the Eno River gets put in its place next weekend.

Assuming all goes according to best-laid plan, the 210-foot long structure is going to be delivered, unloaded, assembled and hoisted into position upon its just-finished concrete abutments, 30 feet west of the Roxboro Road bridge.

For the occasion, Roxboro Road's two southbound lanes are going to be closed from 7 p.m. Friday until 5 p.m. Saturday.

The bridge is part of a $1.6-million project that also provides .75 mile of greenway connecting West Point with downstream River Forest Park by way of a new trail on the river's north bank.

A note from John Guss, manager at Bennett Place historic site in western Durham — Maplewood Cemetery is hosting a Confederate memorial service Saturday afternoon at 2, in the section on the east side of Kent Street near the Hebrew Cemetery.

May 10 is a designated Confederate Memorial Day in North and South Carolina.

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After more than four hours of closed-door meetings yesterday, City Council members still aren't ready to offer the city manager job to one of three finalists announced last week.

"We’re still deliberating," Mayor Bill Bell said last night.

"Would we have liked to have come to a consensus before now? Sure, fine. But we’re not there yet for reasons I’m comfortable with."

Bell wouldn't go into detail about what those reasons were. He said in an interview before the first round of council deliberations last week that he had the finalists ranked 1, 2 and 3. "I suspect the rest of the council does, too," he said then.

Last night he wouldn't say whether his No. 1 matched that of the majority of council members.

Bell also has said that there's no guarantee the new manager would come from the slate of finalists. He wouldn't say last night whether the prospect of reopening the search was on the table.

Bell noted that Patrick Baker isn't slated to leave office until July 1.

"We have the luxury of not having to rush a decision," Bell said, though he added he didn't want to string the three finalists along more than necessary.

The council has scheduled another closed session meeting for Wednesday.

For those who like this time of year, not because of fuzzy baby animals and blooming spring flowers, but because it's budget season, here's good news.

County Manager Mike Ruffin will present the 2008-2009 Recommended Budget to the Board of County Commissioners at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 7. This presentation is when we find out the proposed tax rate for next year, and about any possible hike.

The commissioners' regular session was moved to Tuesday because of the memorial day holiday.

Leigh Bordley, the runner-up for the at-large seat in Tuesday's school board election, made clear Wednesday that she will be filing for a run-off to challenge Jonathan Alston.

Because neither Bordley nor Alston achieved more than 40 percent of the 65,283 votes, Bordley may request a run-off, to be held June 24.

Bordley said Wednesday she feels confident about the challenge, and has already received support for previous contender Nancy Cox, who came in third.

Alston said he intends to continue his campaign, and thinks he can give Bordley a run for her money.

Read more about it this weekend in The Durham News.

Some readers were perplexed by the mention of separate water rates for outdoor and indoor use. (Props to blogger extraordinaire Barry Ragin for publicly shaming me into getting the skinny.)

First, mea culpa for not accurately explaining that. Turns out that only about 4,000 customers in Durham, many of them commercial and industrial users, are subject to the higher irrigation rate.

It applies only to customers who set up a separate meter for outdoor irrigation. Under the current rate structure, they pay a double rate, $3.12 per 100 cubic feet, or 748 gallons. They do not pay a sewer rate for that meter.

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"A Change is Gonna Come," one of the more haunting R&B songs ever written that was performed by the lovely and talented Syesha Mercado on "American Idol" last night, was written in and inspired by Durham.

Mercado, my personal favorite to win the title this year, was overcome with emotion after Randy Jackson panned her rendition of Sam Cooke's Civil Rights Movement anthem. (Paula and Simon loved it, forcing Jackson to backpedal and sputter that he liked Mercado's first song of the night.)

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Mike Munger, chair of the Duke political science department and Libertarian candidate for governor, weighs in on Hillary Rodham Clinton's future, along with his colleague David Rohde.

Found on Munger's personal blog , which often is a pretty fun read.

I might be the last person to have noticed, but Xiloa, the restaurant on Ninth Street serving Central American and Caribbean food, appears to have closed.

This was disappointing, because the gallopinto and refrescos were delicious.

I tried calling the business number, but it has been disconnected. It appears the site will soon host a business called "Chubby's Tacos."

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This is national Teacher Appreciation Week, and Tuesday is National Teacher Day.

Durham Public Schools are holding an e-mail campaign so parents and students may e-mail their teachers. Read about it here.

The National Education Association is also organizing a project called The Nation's Largest Teacher Thank-You Card.

To send a free e-card or video message through the project, click here. You may also mail a card to Nation's Largest Teacher Thank-You Card, c/o NEA/PTA, P.O. Box 66458, Washington, DC, 20035.

According an announcement, a recent NEA poll found the gift nearly 50 percent of teachers would most like to receive is a simple "thank you."

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It's exam time, and college students everywhere seem to be cramming.

But somebody apparently took advantage of one Duke University student who fell asleep — maybe from hours of studying or finishing papers.

From the Duke University police log, Friday, May 2:

9:37 a.m.
Perkins Library. Larceny. A student said that on 05-01-08 around 4 a.m. she fell asleep in the library and when she woke her phone was gone.

This short satire was created by Riverside High School student Kevin Privalle and entered in the Pirates of the Silver Screen film festival last Saturday.

The five-minute film won over a couple of guest critics, and has gotten several views on YouTube. (Mitt Romney was still running for president when Privalle created this, he said.)

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N.C. Central University has wrangled a $25,000 gift out of a dispute between 1970s rocker Don Henley and gubernatorial candidate Richard Moore.

Yes, you read that correctly.

The deal is this: Moore used the song "Life in the Fast Lane," on his campaign webstie and on YouTube earlier this year without permission from its creater, Henley and his rock group, The Eagles. Perhaps you've heard of them. They've penned a catchy tune or two.

Well, it appears the rock group has been down the copyright infringement road before; it got an entertainment lawyer involved and, as is its custom, donated the proceeds of its legal action to charity. That charity, in this case, was NCCU's music department, according to Richard Gusler, the entertainment attorney. Gusler, not coincidentally, is a graduate of NCCU.

Another $25,000 donation will go to the Community Music School of Raleigh, which teaches music to underprivileged kids.

"I think my client is pleased with the outcome. They take infringement seriously because it does harm to an artist’s sales,” Gusler said in a statement released by NCCU. “The Eagles and many other performers usually donate an infringement settlement to non profit organizations."

Aspiring First Lady Michelle Obama will be in Durham Friday.

Obama will appear at a "Get out the Vote" event at the Durham Armory on Foster Street. Doors open at 11:30 a.m., and the event begins an hour later.

Tickets are free but you need to reserve them in advance. To do so, go here.

Also on Friday, Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul, a Texas congressman, will appear at Duke University. Paul, a 1961 graduate of Duke's medical school, will speak at 6:30 p.m. at Reynolds Theater.

More information on Paul's visit is available here.