Here is a look at some of the stories coming in tomorrow's Chapel Hill News:

BIG DIG: Merritt's Gravel Pit on Damascus Church Road has told the state it wants to expand the portion of its property being used for mining. Read why the Merritts don't consider it an expansion, and why the town of Carrboro has a beef with the business.

CREATIVE CORNER: We're excited about a new series starting Wednesday. I met NCSU Professor Tom Hoban while he was singing and strumming in the lobby of the ArtsCenter last year during one of the town's Second Friday ArtWalks. He contacted us a few months ago to talk about creative communities, the buzz term coined by Richard Florida. Anyway, Tom's since moved to Carrboro full time and he's going to spend the next year telling us why he thinks the town has got it right (We're sure others will disagree and will let us know where Tom has got it wrong.) Check it out and chime in.

MAYOR'S E-MAIL: Getting access to public records is not always as easy as asking the public official. Just ask Gov. Mike "I chunked it" Easley. Read how Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton responded recently when we asked for that town's public correspondence.

A DOG'S LIFE: My View columnist Carol Henderson writes about her golden retriever. I'll stop there. My guess is you won't finish the column without a lump in your throat. Carol teaches writing; we're lucky to count her among our regulars.

Thanks for reading,

Mark Schultz 

Editor 

Tar Heel Companies will relax the "conspicuous damage" portion of its new parking requirements at Abbey Court Condomiumiums.

In a story in Wednesday's News & Observer, President Ken Lucas says the media has overemphasized that part of the new policy, which management implemented two weeks ago to reduce crowding at the complex on Jones Ferry Road. (Read a resident's support for the new policy here."

PRESS STATEMENT

The Old Well Homeowners Association dba Abbey Court Condominiums responding to criticism from media sources and officials of the Town of Carrboro regarding the parking policy at Abbey Court Condominiums emphasizes that the rules regarding appearance of vehicles has been relaxed. The decision to do so was made more than a week ago. However, continuing media coverage of the towing policy emphasizes the appearance issue as the main source of objections.

Kenneth A. Lucas, President and CEO of The Tar Heel Companies of North Carolina, Inc., managing agent for Abbey Court stated “We would ask that anyone who has been denied a parking permit due to a vehicle appearance issue revisit the office at Abbey Court. We will be reassessing any vehicle that has been previously denied due to an appearance issue. The policy regarding the need for vehicles to be properly registered to residents remains unchanged.”

Those seeking parking permits will still need to provide appropriate documentation that they are a leaseholder or authorized occupant at Abbey Court Condominiums along with registration information on each vehicle. Rules limit the number of parking permits that can be issued to each condominium to two per two bedroom condominium and three per three bedroom condominium. Lucas further stated “Many that have been denied stickers are not leaseholders nor authorized occupants. We must remember that more than 212 residents have been issued permits and feedback from those residents has been very positive.”

Guess the driver of the Lexus RX 300 in front of me the other morning didn't have an ash tray.

Why else would she roll down her window and drop her cigarette butt on East Franklin Street in front of the Chapel Hill Museum?

(The average price of a 2009 Lexus RX 300, according to Lemon.Free.com, is $40,298.)

We're giving you another avenue to voice your views about local issues. On Sunday we launched a feedback feature we call "Agree or Disagree?" that asks you to send us a brief comment on the editorial each week. If we get some good responses we'll print some in the following Sunday's paper.

Here's last Sunday's editorial. Agree or disagree?

Tensions climb at Abbey Court

In the week-plus since the ugly situation at Abbey Court flared up, things have only gotten worse.

The management of the condominium complex, which rents mostly to
working-class Latino residents, initiated the dispute by enforcing a
policy that requires vehicles parked in the complex's parking lot be
free of "conspicuous damage."

Abbey Court has imposed an
absurdly strict interpretation of the rule, towing its own residents'
cars away from the spaces outside their homes, presumably on the basis
of "conspicuous damage" that consists of nothing more than common wear
and tear -- minor dents, scratches, windshield cracks, faded paint and
so on. The policy also calls for towing vehicles that don't have proof
of title, insurance, registration and so on -- documentation that some
residents may not have.

Desperate residents, not surprisingly, have objected. On several occasions crowds have gathered to protest, to try to stop the towing or to hurriedly move their cars before they can
be hauled off. Thursday night Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton arrived at
Abbey Court to find about 100 people engaged in a tense standoff with a
tow truck operator.

Chilton has been active in trying to help the residents. He has directly urged Abbey Court to suspend the towing policy; the answer he got, he said, was no. Truth is, there's only so
much the town can do. Abbey Court is a private enterprise and, as
Chilton told the crowd Thursday night, the town doesn't have much
authority over the management's parking and towing policies.

It does, however, have authority over housing codes. Enforcement of the
housing codes is complaint-driven -- that is, the town doesn't
arbitrarily conduct inspections of existing structures, but it will
investigate if it receives a complaint about a specific building.

Chilton told the crowd that Thursday night, too, essentially inviting anyone
with concerns about the condition of their units at Abbey Court to file
a complaint. At least one resident responded by lodging a formal
housing code complaint. Chilton has asked the town staff to respond as
quickly as possible and, if code violations are found, to act
accordingly.

Abbey Court's position is that it is merely enforcing a policy designed to prevent overcrowding of the lot and to keep the neighborhood looking nice by removing unsightly vehicles.

Give us a break. It's one thing to prohibit junked cars or abandoned heaps.
What Abbey Court is doing is something else entirely.

Some might criticize the town for involving itself in a private business's
affairs. From where we sit, though, elected officials serve the public,
and when they see members of the public --especially those with limited
resources -- being treated unfairly, they have not only the right but
the responsibility to act.

Agree or Disagree?

We've told you where we stand on this issue. Now we want to know what
you think. Send a comment of 50 words or less with the subject line
"Agree or Disagree" to editor@nando.com, or just respond in the comment boxes here on the blog. We'll print a selection of responses in the paper, and post all of them online. Thanks.

According to the press release from Federal Realty about the new stores coming to Eastgate -- see Mark's post below -- the five new retailers are coming to The Shops at Eastgate, "a 155,000 square-foot lifestyle destination center."

Lifestyle destination center?

Alas, English language, we hardly knew ye.

I don't know John Hoff, and he doesn't know Carrboro. Or he didn't, until we started writing about the situation at Abbey Court Condominiums on Jones Ferry Road.

Hoff blogs about abusive towing nationwide on his blog www.towingutopia.com, and our coverage caught his eye. His write-up is very even handed. He says it's easier to prove abusive towing than to prove that a specific group is being targeted. In Carrboro, the mayor and aldermen say Latinos are the targets. But Hoff says low-income people everywhere are vulnerable to aggressive or predatory towing. In Minneapolis, for example, he says it's the Somalis. (And of course, it's not just the downtrodden that get towed; ask some of the Chapel Hillians who parked in the wrong lot downtown lately.)

We have no evidence that Chandler's Towing has done anything but follow the policy laid out by Tar Heel Companies, the firm that manages the Abbey Court condominiums. But the situation has been escalating -- a man put his baby in the back seat Thursday night to keep his car from getting towed. The Board of Aldermen is scheduling an emergency meeting, possibly Thursday night, to talk about the town's towing rules.

Staff Writer Jesse DeConto is reporting that story today and we'll post it online this afternoon and run something in tomorrow's N&O. In the meantime read Hoff's post about Carrboro here.

The mental health agency serving area Hispanics says it's against the ropes financially.

In an e-mail to county commissioners earlier this month, El Futuro director Dr. Luke Smith said the agency is experiencing an increase in referrals and finding it hard to keep the doors open.

El Futuro had asked Orange County for $60,000 to support its services, a funding request that was denied when commissioners voted not to increase outside agency funding in a tight budget year.

In his letter Smith mentioned Alvaro Castillo, the teen accused of shooting his father and opening fire at Orange High School two years ago. Smith said El Futuro could have helped Castillo if the non-profit agency had existed.

"Our police and firemen value our services," Smith wrote. "I just received an invitation to provide [training] for the police and firemen regarding how to deal with Latinos who have mental health issues as this is becoming an increasing problem."

In a reply dated July 21, Commissioner Mike Nelson said he wants to support El Futuro, but that there probably won't be county funds available later this year.

"The decisions we had to make budget-wise this year were horrible," wrote Nelson.  "The population you serve is particularly fragile ... I am very sorry."

(Both Nelson's and Smith's e-mails are public records provided by the county manager's office.)

Federal Realty sent us some info today on new stores coming to Eastgate. I'm not sure if any of these make up for losing Sal's, though I could use a back rub about now ...

From their press release:

Massage Envy- A membership-based massage clinic committed to delivering a highly professional, convenient and affordable massage experience. This is Massage Envy’s first Chapel Hill location and they are scheduled to open August 2008.

Carmines- Chapel Hill’s new, locally-owned Italian restaurant, serving fresh Italian cuisine, pizza, salads and more in a relaxing, family-friendly atmosphere. Its dishes are made using both local produce and imported products from Italy. Carmine’s serves both lunch and dinner menus and will also offer a robust catering menu. The restaurant is scheduled to open September 2008.

Starbucks- National coffee retailer that roasts and sells whole bean coffees worldwide. It offers brewed coffees, Italian-style espresso beverages, cold blended beverages, various complementary food items, coffee-related accessories and equipment, a selection of premium teas, and a line of compact discs, through its retail stores. Starbucks is scheduled to open winter 2008.

Performance Bicycle- A national retailer founded and headquartered in Chapel Hill, Performance Bicycle is one of the nation’s leading bicycle retail companies. Thriving on its ability to meet and anticipate shoppers’ needs for 25 years, Performance Bicycle offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee on all merchandise sold. Performance Bicycle is scheduled to open winter 2008.

The Friends of Downtown are offering a 2-for-1 deal Thursday. Instead of one guest, they'll have to.

Chapel Hill Museum director Traci Davenport was already scheduled to discuss "The Character and Characters of Chapel Hill," focusing on the museum's new permanent exhibit "Meet Me on Franklin Street."

Today came word that the Friends have also secured Chapel Hill Police Chief Brian Curran, who will speak about downtown safety. The recent armed robberies in town and the assault on campus Saturday make Curran's appearance especially timely.

This month's meeting is on Thursday, July 31 at 10 a.m.  on the second floor of the Franklin Hotel.  Parking is provided behind the hotel in the Herald lot and no permit is needed for our meeting. 

The Friends of the Downtown holds its regular meetings on the last Thursday of each month with speakers sharing knowledge on many aspects of downtown Chapel Hill.  Meetings are open to the public.