Carrboro's undefeated girls soccer team remains No. 1 in the latest statewide ratings of NCHSAA 2A schools by www.eurosportscoreboard.com. Chapel Hill High School has moved up to No. 3 in the 3A classification.

Carrboro (9-0-2), which was tied 2-2 Tuesday night at 4A East Chapel Hill, next plays Cedar Ridge on Monday.

Chapel Hill (10-2-0) has won four straight, but took off spring break and hasn't played since a 9-0 shutout March 28 of Northern Vance. The Tigers host Oxford Webb (8-3-0) tonight and travel to East Chapel Hill (6-4-3) on Thursday.

By Tammy Grubb

An April 17 public hearing for a proposed CVS drug store at the corner of North Greensboro and Weaver streets in downtown Carrboro has been delayed indefinitely.

The Board of Aldermen agreed to the developer’s requested delay 6-1 Tuesday night, with Alderman Dan Coleman dissenting. The developer sought the delay after reducing parking and making some changes in the elevations and treatment of the building, Planning Director Trish McGuire said. Saff has only started to review the revisions, and the plan probably will return to the town's advisory boards before another public hearing is scheduled, she said.

The delay could take a couple of months, she said.

Last weekend's demonstration against the proposed CVS store in downtown Carrboro is the second time in four months that local police response to public protest has come under question.

In a special two-part package Sunday, we look at what members of Carrboro Commune are saying and what police say about anarchists and why they deployed more than half their force to last week's "Guerilla Gardening" event.

Activists claim police have unfairly targeted the group, creating a climate of intimidation. Some members of the Board of Aldermen also think or at least question whether last weekend's response was over the top.

Police say their actions are justified in light of last month's illegal occupation of the former WCOM radio station building and by recent activity of anarchists locally and elsewhere, including the Yates Motor incident and a 2010 vandalism incident in Asheville we note in tomorrow's report.

Police also informed us this week that two men we named in photographs in last Sunday's CHN are not who they say they are, including one young man we have quoted in several stories

Carrboro Police Chief Carolyn Hutchison stands by the arrest of a participant in Saturday's "Guerilla Gardening" protest against CVS and says criticism of the department has hurt officer morale. (See our earlier post here.)

"Yeah, absolutely it hurts morale," Hutchison said in an interview today. "We continue to do the right thing. We focus on our roles and responsibilities as police officers and enforce the laws ... despite the lack of support."

Carrboro Commune and some members of the Board of Aldermen have criticized or questioned police for arresting a man chalking in a traffic lane on West Weaver Street, saying that police arrested him to send a message.

Hutchison said she ordered the arrest -- he was charged with impeding traffic, a misdemeanor -- and takes responsibility for it. She says she did want to send a message, as she had announced the department would do last week, that protesters would be charged if they broke the law.  But Hutchison says police also gave the protester multiple warnings, which he ignored.

"I made the decision because his behavior warranted it," Hutchison said. "He placed himself in harm's way, and I elected to stop him from doing that. I watched him look at the vehicles (and) remain stooped in the roadway. He had an opportunity (to move). he didn't do it."

"I wanted to send a message to all people, whether they participated in the garden event or not, that unlawful behavior would be dealt with."

We are continuing to report this story for a print edition later this week. If you would like to talk with a reporter, please contact Mark Schultz at 919-932-2003 or Tammy Grubb at 336-380-1325.    

By Tammy Grubb

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen has agreed to hold a future discussion about Saturday's "guerrilla gardening" demonstration after some participants complained about the Police Department’s response.

The event was held at the corner of Weaver and North Greensboro streets to protest a proposal to build a new CVS store there. During the protest, group members lobbed “seed bombs” of clay, dirt and wildflower seeds over the fence, planted other herbs and flowers, and hung fabric chains and artwork from the trees and fence.

Police Chief Carolyn Hutchison said 22 officers patrolled the block on foot and in vehicles during the event. Officers also videotaped the event and took photos, both of the participants and observers at the scene.

Elizabeth Reeves, a member of Carrboro Commune, said the group's event was “an exciting and filling experience,” but criticized the Police Department’s “tactics of intimidation.”

“I say that this is menacing because law enforcement in the United States has a dark history of using footage to single out and target activists for arrest and undermine social movements. We have no idea why this footage is being shot, with whom it is being shared and for what purpose,” she said.

By Tammy Grubb 

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen will consider adding its voice next week to those calling for UNC to cut ties with Triangle radio station WRDU 106.1, which bills itself as “Rush Radio.”

The resolution will be discussed at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Limbaugh sparked the controversy March 1 when he called Georgetown University student Sandra Fluke a "slut" and used other misogynistic language after she testified in support of President Barack Obama’s contraceptive health care coverage plan.

At least 10 major advertisers have pulled their support from Limbaugh’s show in response to the comments.

By Tammy Grubb

Police hope to avoid arrests at a demonstration against a downtown CVS drugstore this weekend.  

A group of anti-capitalist activists who briefly occupied the planned store’s site last month have scheduled a “Guerilla Gardening” protest there Saturday.

Carrboro Commune has billed the event as a way to take back the community “commons” that has “been fenced in, boarded up, roped off, and declared ‘off-limits.’" According to its flier, private property is land that has been stolen, and “Earth and its abundance belong to everyone; it can be owned by no one, only maintained for the common good.”

Carrboro Police Chief Carolyn Hutchison said she’s certain CVS doesn’t see it that way. CVS officials had the site fenced in Feb. 10 in response to the Feb. 4 occupation of the former WCOM radio station building. The building, which was boarded up, now sports slashes of white paint covering recent graffiti.

Hutchison said Carrboro Commune is welcome to protest as long as everyone stays on the sidewalk and out of the street. Anyone crossing the fence onto CVS property at 201 N. Greensboro St. will be warned to leave before officers start charging people with first-degree trespass, she said. Anyone who damages the fence, the building or land will be charged with damage to real property, she added.

“I really hope that people would respect those laws, but even if they don’t, we will enforce those laws,” she said.

Here's a look at today's local headlines:

First, watch OrangeChat later today for news about last night's county commissioners and aldermen meetings.

GRAFFITI GROWS: According to Chief Hutchison anyway, who says the anarchists are "marketing their territory." I called the only anarchist I know, but he said he hasn't seen an increase and told me to go look online. I had better luck in Durham, where Impact Team manager Darryl Hedgepeth called me back three times to make sure we reported how the Bull City handles its graffiti problem. Thank you, Darryl.

BIG BOX VS. BIG BUILDER: A couple of months ago now outgoing Chapel Hill economic development officer Dwight Bassett told me a Chatham WalMart could deal a crippling blow to retail demand in the southern part of Chapel Hill (Read Obey Creek). Now local business leaders including the Obey Creek developers are saying not necessarily. Read Dave Hart's story. 

THE COST OF COMPETITION: I wondered if Faith Gardner's family might think we overemphasized the finances of her competitive riding.  I had asked correspondent John Sharpe to rework the story after a first draft to play up how hard the family works to support her hobby. But Faith's mom, Adrienne wrote us a note this morning:

"It was a pleasure to work with both your writer and photographer, both of whom were so nice and professional. Mr. Sharpe was very careful to get all the details correct and I think he did a great job."

And ... Tom Hartwell reports on the closing of Pope's hardware in Cole Park Plaza in the second of our new semi-monthly business features, Lynden Harris says some kids need to be treated like kids when they break the law, and Hillsborough is considering a possible 6-cent-tax rate increase, about a $110 increase on a $200,000 house. The town is getting an early start on budget season, telling folks what it's looking at so residents can have meaningful input in this spring's budget talks.

And there's more ... Ed Holland makes OWASA's case for Jordan Lake (not everyone will agree). John Wooding has a prescritpion for culling Orange County's deer herd. And Daniel Becton gives a shout out to CHCCS guidance counselor Mary Gratch.

Thanks for reading,

Mark   

Nathan Milian rattles off the spots: There’s the loading dock outside the DSI Comedy Theater, the transfer box behind Harris Teeter, the wall on the old Fleet Feet building facing the railroad tracks.

The property manager at Carr Mill Mall knows the spots because he spends a lot of money cleaning them up. Last year, he estimates, he spent $3,000 removing graffiti and glued-on fliers.

The Carrboro Police Department has received 14 graffiti complaints this year. Last year, from March through December, the town received 35 complaints. The numbers don’t reflect all incidents because some property owners and tenants don’t report graffiti.

Police Chief Carolyn Hutchison is convinced the problem is getting worse.

“It’s on buildings. It’s on signs. It’s on bike paths. It’s on private property. It’s on public property,” she said. “It’s everywhere.”

Hutchison blames anarchists for much of the graffiti increase.

”Anarchists have claimed the area and are marking their territory,” she told town officials in an email this month. Their symbols – a capital letter A, sometimes inside a circle; a skull with an A on the forehead – show up frequently.

Neal Richards, a local anarchist who participated in the Yates Motor and CVS demonstrations, referred questions about graffiti to Internet websites and said he wasn't aware of an increase. Many websites confirm the anarchist connection to the letter A and skull symbols.

In an interview, Hutchison said she doesn’t want to say all that police are doing or may do. Officers have looked for graffiti taggers, she said. But much of the activity happens between 2 and 6 a.m., and the department, authorized at 41 officers, has two positions frozen and two more vacant.

“The best case is that you catch them in the act ... but again, where do you look? And how many officers do you want to have doing that?” Hutchison said. “It’s a very quick crime to do.”

We'll have more on the graffiti issue coming in Wednesday's Chapel Hill News.