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

ANTI-LOITERING CHALLENGE: As blog readers know, we reported this week how a Durham group has challenged Carrboro's limits on how long people may wait for work at the Jones Ferry and Dave roads intersection. I attended the meeting with town leaders, community advocates and several day laborers yesterday at El Centro Hispano. Look for a report on that this week.

NO COUNTY TAX INCREASE: For 20-plus years, in a row, the Orange County Board of Commissioners has passed annual county budgets with tax increases. Today it's a different story as not-so-new Manager Frank Clifton and the board worked out a spending plan that holds the tax rate steady for the third consecutive year.

FOURTH SUSPECT SOUGHT: We really do bring you the news on the blog first. For everyone else, we have more on the Greenbridge case, with the release this week of a surveillance photo of a fourth suspect police are looking for. Still no word from any of the anarchists involved in the protest, despite our best efforts to reach them.

We wrap up all of the week's news, with the big vote on Aydan Court (closer than you'd think), the Northside moratorium, more details of the Edge development proposed for Eurbanks Road, photos of the new American flag being installed at University Mall (nice one, Harry) and more letters than we've had in weeks. If your letter did not get in today, look for it this coming week as we try to get them all in.

Dave Hart shares opinion on the UNC athletics scandal (tell us if you agree or disagree), sports editor Elliott Warnock bring you the week in local sports and recreation, and lots more. Thanks to everyone who wrote in about the elephant off Erwin Road (most of you think it's the handiwork of sculptor Damian Hoffman), and a happy birthday to Preservation Society Ernie Dollar.

Remember you can follow us on twitter @chapelhillnews1 (don't forget the 1) and on our new Facebook page by searching The Chapel Hill News. Or friend me for newsroom news throughout the week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and thanks for reading.         

From correspondent Tammy Grubb

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen will discuss Tuesday whether there is the potential for a conflict of interest when members of the Economic Sustainability Commission who are also local business owners consider new applications for the town’s revolving loan program.

The loan program, established in 1986, has helped launch several businesses, including The Beehive, Neal’s Deli and Cycle 9. ESC members are responsible for reviewing loan applications and making recommendations to the aldermen, who make the final decision.

Local businessmen Tim Jones and Jerry Glass said Tuesday that they became concerned after learning that some ESC members are potential competitors of the juice and smoothie bar they plan to open on West Weaver Street.

“Naturally, we were very concerned about releasing our confidential business plans to potential competitors, but more importantly … we would expect that someone with such a conflict would recuse themselves from discussions concerning the application,” Jones said.

N.C. General Statutes only recognize a conflict of interest when a town officer or employee will directly benefit from the decision to approve or reject a contract, town attorney Bob Hornick said Wednesday in an email to economic director Annette Stone. Since ESC members only advise the aldermen and don’t make the decision about loans, there is little chance of a conflict, he said.

The ESC has not recommended for or against the new loan. Town staff will report back to the board Tuesday after looking into the matter and how other towns handle similar conflicts.
 

James Madison University golfer Rich Leeper of Chapel Hill will be among the 152 entrants teeing off Thursday in the 51st North Carolina Amateur Championship in Greensboro.

Leeper was a four-time all-conference selection and team MVP at Carrboro High School. He'll be heading into his junior year at James Madison next season.

The N.C. Junior Amateur runs through Sunday at The Farm Course of the Greensboro Country Club. Leeper tees off at 12:54 p.m. Thursday for the opening round.

Greensboro favorite son Ryan Heisey, a 2010 graduate of UNCG, won the title a year ago at Wilson Country Club with an all-time tournament record score of 11-under-par 269. That included a last-round 64.

Heisey and 2010 runnerup Sherrill Britt of West End, a former Carolinas PGA professional, are expected back this year, as are 2009 winner Mark McMillen of Smithfield and 2008 winner Jack Fields of Southern Pines, who lettered in golf at Carolina.

A total of 472 golfers with handicap indexes of 5.4 or less submitted entries for this year's Amateur. Leeper, like most in the field, qualified at one of the six one-day tournaments held around the state in late May and early June. The field will be cut to the low 60 scorers and ties after 36 holes.

The N.C. Amateur's 72-hole, stroke play competition was last played on Greensboro CC's Farm Course in 1982. Originally designed by Ellis Maples, the course underwent a dramatic transformation when Scottish architect Donald Steel completed a $6 million reconstruction in 2010, notes the CGA. Steel built five entirely new holes and did significant work on the remaining 13, including changes in routing and elevation. The old greens were replaced and now sport A1/A4 bentgrass, while the fairways and tees are now composed of zoysia grass instead of the customary Bermuda grass.

Steel's work produced a couple of honors in 2010. The course was named Best New Course in the state by members of the North Carolina Golf Panel and was named "Renovation of the Year" by Golf Magazine.

 The par-72 layout will play at approximately 7,223 yards for the N.C. Amateur.

From staff writer Lana Douglas

The PTA Thrift Shop, a local institution with two-second hand stores, will try to raise $1.7 million from the community for a $5.1 million expansion.

Barbara Jessie-Black, executive director, says the stores in Carrboro and Chapel Hill have outgrown their space. The expansion will enable the nonprofit to increase its service to others. The shop donates its profits, about $200,000 a year, to local schools.

The new PTA Thrift Shop space at Jones Ferry Road and West Main Street will have two new buildings and landscaped grounds that create a plaza to serve as a community meeting place, according to a news release. Almost 14,000 square feet will put the thrift shop’s retail, processing and administration under one roof.

The project is scheduled to start in fall 2011 and be completed around June 2012.  The expansion is also expected to create five jobs.

East Chapel Hill scored the go-ahead runs in the top of the seventh and won 4-3 Tuesday night at Raleigh Athens Drive. The Wildcats were the only local team to get their NCHSAA baseball playoff game completed.

Chapel Hill suspended play in its game with Union Pines due to heavy rain, and will resume play at 7 p.m. tonight. Carrboro will play at Eastern Randolph at 7 p.m.

East Chapel Hill will next play no earlier than Friday, facing either Durham Jordan or Leesville Road. Those two suspended play last night with Jordan holding a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning. They'll resume at 5 p.m  today,

From correspondent Tammy Grubb

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen is expected to set a date Tuesday for public comment about a plan to rezone four properties at or near 500 N. Greensboro St. for a roughly $15 million mixed-use project.

Ken Reiter, of Durham developer Belmont Sayre LLC, has proposed two new buildings between Southern States and a residential area to the north. The entrance to the 2.5-acre project would intersect with Shelton Street. One two- to three-story building, fronting North Greensboro Street, could provide 12,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 24 upper-level residential units. The second, four-story building would have 90 more residential units and a below-grade parking garage for residents.

Reiter has asked the town to rezone the properties for conditional business use; a conditional-use plan would come later. The project is aimed at creating “affordable workforce housing” within walking distance of downtown Carrboro.

They need a decision before the summer break, Reiter said, because the option to buy the properties expires before the aldermen return in September. The public hearing could be set for June 14.

- The aldermen also could set a public hearing for 7:30 p.m. May 24 to talk about the town’s 2011-12 fiscal year budget. The budget is not expected to include any expansion items and is available for viewing in Town Hall, 300 W. Main St., from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. It also will be posted on the town’s website at www.townofcarrboro.org. The board is tentatively scheduled to adopt next year’s budget June 21.
 

From correspondent Tammy Grubb

Fleet Feet Sports Carrboro is planning a move to 300 East Main Street in mid-July, store owners Brian and Tricia White have announced.

The store has outgrown its existing space at Carr Mill Mall and will move into the former VisArt space between the Cat’s Cradle and the ArtsCenter, store manager Nick Krouse said. The new location is about a block from Fleet Feet’s corporate offices at 406 E. Main St.

Krouse said the store will become a permanent part of the new 300 East Main Street development. Main Street Partners, which owns the site, won town approval Feb. 22 to expand the VisArt storefront. Laura Van Sant, of Main Street Partners, said the changes will provide Fleet Feet with 5,000 square feet of retail space.

Although the plans are still being worked out, Van Sant said they expect the work to start next month. The storefront will be extended and a sign mounted to the building to replace the mostly deteriorated awnings there now, she said. The existing shrubs and planters will be removed, although the large oak trees that front the store will remain.

The change will leave “a couple thousand square feet” behind Fleet Feet, Van Sant said. There are a couple of folks interested in renting that space, although nothing is finalized, she said.

From correspondent Tammy Grubb

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen unanimously approved rezoning and a conditional use permit Tuesday night for the eco-friendly Veridia subdivision proposed for two parcels at 810 Old Fayetteville Road.

Mayor Mark Chilton, who worked with developer Sustainable Properties LLC on the project, abstained from the discussion and subsequent vote.

Veridia will replace 37 mobile homes and one house in the Pine Grove Mobile Home Park with two- and three-bedroom homes. The plan saves another house at the front of the property for a community clubhouse. About 31 percent of the 4.66 acres will be open space.

Architect Giles Blunden’s initial drawings show single-family, millhouse-style homes. A 100-kilowatt solar array will generate roughly 135,000 kilowatt hours each year for sell to local utilities. The proceeds – possibly $13,000 to $24,000 annually, will be used to maintain the system and reduce homeowner’s association dues.

The project also includes a rainwater capture system that will support the community garden and help flush toilets. The developers plan to meet national LEED green-building standards for residential insulation, recycled construction materials and solar thermal hot water heaters, among other features.

Stormwater runoff will be directed to underground sand filters and a detention system. All utility lines will be buried, and OWASA will provide water and sewer services, replacing an existing septic system that has reached the end of its life, the developers said.

Development partners Trip Overholt and David Bell agreed to 28 conditions Tuesday, including housing size limits, making sure the locally built playground meets safety and disability standards and letting homebuyers seek financing from their own bank or credit union. In addition, the permit requires many of the project’s green building features to be in place before the developers receive an occupancy permit for the 26th house.

Look for more on this story in this Sunday's Chapel Hil News.

From correspondent Tammy Grubb

Carrboro Town Manager Steve Stewart will retire in late summer or early fall, with the exact date to be determined.

Stewart, a Burlington native, has been the town manager since September 2003. He plans to stay in town.

Stewart started his career in local government in March 1974, serving as manager for 34 years in several communities in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. He is a member of the N.C. City and County Management Association and the International City/County Management Association, from which he earned the Credentialed Manager designation.

From correspondent Tammy Grubb

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen voted 6-1 Tuesday night to rezone a 2.69-acre parcel at 210 Hillsborough Road for the county’s new southwest branch library.

Alderman Jacqueline Gist said she could not support the rezoning, because she thinks the site is in a residential and not a transitional commercial district. No one is opposed to a library, she said, but the process feels rushed, with little transparency or cooperation between the county and town.

“The citizens of Carrboro for generations have been paying the same taxes as everybody in Orange County,” Gist said. “It is very disconcerting that all of a sudden, after 24 years, it’s hurry up and pass this, and it’s all this or nothing.”

Mayor Mark Chilton disagreed, saying that while he’s not convinced the site is the best, the move would be “a show of good faith from town government” that Carrboro and the county could work together to resolve the concerns and talk about other viable sites.

“There’s plenty of reason for suspicion, but I hope this project is going to be an opportunity to change what our relationship with the county has been in the past,” Chilton said.