Listen as Veronica Scott talks about attending her first job fair as an unemployed worker and her thoughts on finding a new job.

Matt Klein, 46, of Apex, participates in his first job fair since being laid off.

The Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce has raised half its $2.5 million fundraising goal for its Visions 3D campaign, chamber leaders announced at their annual meeting today.

The four-year economic development strategy aims to create 9,000 new jobs, with many paying at or above the average wage in the Durham County.

The meeting marked the kickoff of the Visions 3D campaign, which chamber leaders say could generate $569 million annually in local consumer spending.

The plan also calls for the chamber to assist in the location of 40 new companies; the expansion, training and suport of 150 companies; and an increase in capital investment in Durham of $1 billion.

The $1.25 million raised so far came from a targeted campaign of large local companies intended to lay the foundation for the public phase of the fund-raising effort. 

So who were the large companies?

AICPA,  BB&T, Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Duke University and Duke University Health System, Duke Energy, Fairway Outdoor (Advertising), Independence Park Apartments, Morgan Motors, the Research Triangle Park & Foundation, and SunTrust Bank "have stepped up the plate and showed their vote of confidence in Vision 3D and its tremendous impact on our community," honorary campaign chairman Bob Ingram said in a release.

Timely guest post here given a conversation I had this morning with Bill Hester. who recently closed his fine arts gallery at University Square.

From Paul Hrusovsky, retired art teacher:

Every day I pass by the old Crown Volvo/Honda building and think what a wonderful structure for something great in Chapel Hill. It is a good size building with ample parking and easy access from the highway.

Since there has been a lot of chatter about Carrboro and Chapel Hill losing its edge, I was thinking that maybe this space would be a great arts center.  

There could easily be two galleries and another gallery and office for the Orange County Artist guild. The back could be transformed into 10 to 15 resonably priced artists studios. For many years we have talked about finding spaces for artists. There would be no theatre or classes at the beginning as not to compete with the Carrboro Arts Center.

This is just a dream but thought maybe others would be interested in pursuing this.

Paul Hrusovsky

The Community Leadership Collaboration, a group of Orange County business and community leaders, discussed the local economy Friday.

Speaker Ted Abernathy, executive director of the Southern Growth Policies Board, told the group how industry sees the Chapel Hill area.

“You’re rich, you’re mostly white, you’re the slowest-growing area [in North Carolina] that isn’t going backward,” he said. “Your housing is the highest priced.”

“You used to be the coolest place,” he said.

But in recent years Durham and Raleigh have been revitalizing their downtowns, giving residents and businesses less reason to come to Chapel Hill.

Aaron Nelson, president of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, acknowledged Chapel Hill had lost its edge.

“[Durham’s] American Tobacco can eat our lunch,” he said. “WUNC Radio broadcasting from American Tobacco kills me every time.”   

Day 2 of Cary's annual council-staff retreat began with a slightly different agenda than Day 1. Much of the first day was spent discussing largely philosophical ideals on how the council could work together as a team -- along with town employees, of course -- and identifying strengths and weaknesses within the town's overall governmental operations.

The second full day was spent in part on more meat-and-bones issues. Interim Town Manager Ben Shivar helped walk the Town Council and Cary's staff through a series of agenda items discussed at last year's retreat in Southern Pines. Shivar and other staff members provided updates on various projects and asked the Town Council to identify those the board would like to focus on in the coming year.

A few highlights:

*Find a downtown development manager. Council member Erv Portman likened the position to the kind of work a mall manager might perform, but added that anyone selected to fill such a post would need to strike a balance between the public and private sectors.

Council member Jennifer Robinson said she envisioned the manager perhaps working alongside officials at the Cary Chamber of Commerce to draw new business downtown. Interim Town Manager Ben Shivar, who will temporarily fill the role, said it was an important role.

"We need someone who can bring focus to that area and direct competing interests," he said.

*Begin planning for a new business park. Interim Town Manager Ben Shivar said that he, along with Cary's economic development manager, would likely meet with staff in Chatham County in coming weeks to discuss an idea to build a new business park that would provide economic benefits to both parties.

Some on the council liked the idea in theory. "I don't think there's anything better we can do from an economic development standpoint than to make sure this is built," Council member Erv Portman said of the concept. "It's a relatively cheap economic stimulus initiative."

But Julie Robison and Jennifer Robinson were among those on the board who urged caution in moving forward with the idea of building in a neighboring county. Both Robison and Robinson suggested as an alternative that the Town Council might want to also explore development near the NW Cary rail station or in downtown.

*Continue promoting 'green' practices. Mayor Harold Weinbrecht expressed a dissatisfaction with the amount of litter he sees along Interstate 40 and suggested an anti-litter campaign as a means of raising awareness of environmental issues.

Ideas proposed for such an initiative included Julie Robison's idea of sponsoring a cleanup day through the Haw River Assembly, a non-profit group helping to protect the Haw River and Jordan Lake. Also, Erv Portman proposed conducting an anti-litter campaign to coincide with Earth Day in April.

Christmas shopping on the day after Thanksgiving.

We in Chapel Hill know except for summer break, the town long since being just a company town. Folks moving into $400,000 plus homes here work at Duke and RTP as well as Carolina. Occasional tensions between the university and community also shows the waning dominance of the university over everyday local affairs.

So today comes word from Aaron Nelson, president and CEO of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce. In an e-mail to elected oficials, Nelson notes that even with the university here the college town is no longer immune to larger trends and he asks what local unemployment stats -- the highest in five years -- mean for the local economy?

"No alarm needed yet, and while we are the seventh lowest county in the state, I cannot remember a time where Orange county unemployment was so high (5.1 percent)," Nelson writes. "While not greatly concerned, I do think the unemployment number is worthy of note and worth some discussion.

"We have always thought Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough and Orange County to be well-insulated from economic contraction. Now, while things are going well, it is a good time to talk about and plan how we ight respond if things did tighten up considerably."

What do you think?

Here is a quick look at the Greenbridge condominium project being built in downtown Chapel Hill's West End. As I write this, workers 200 feet in the air are attaching the jib, or swinging arm, of the first of two cranes that will be used on the project.

Tower crane: 189 feet

Height of taller of two future condominium towers: 128 feet (10 stories plus rooftop mechanicals)

Number of concrete columns to hold up building: 120

Number of dump trucks it will take to excavate dirt: 5,500 to 6,000

Percent excavated to date: 80 percent

Number of condo units: 98 (15 affordable)

Market price: $300,000s to over $1 million

Look for a short construction update coming in Sunday's Chapel Hill News.