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Chapel Hill News wins 2 McClatchy President's Awards

mschultz — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:11:51 -0500

The McClatchy Company today announced the winners of 10 McClatchy President’s Awards in the community newspaper division, an annual competition designed to recognize the best journalism at McClatchy’s non-daily papers.

Eight newspapers collected the 10 awards, which honor work published in 2011. The Chapel Hill News won two President's Awards, sweeping the features category with first- and second-place finishes.

First Place: The Chapel Hill News (North Carolina)
Exonerated Man
Dave Hart
Associate Editor Dave Hart delivered his readers a spellbinding account of William Michael Dillon’s odyssey through 28 years of imprisonment in some of Florida’s harshest prisons and his 2008 release based on DNA evidence, which exonerated him of the murder for which he was convicted. But the narrative, which Hart crafted so well, takes us to a point of rebirth for the wronged man who survived the injustice of those years through a journey into the sweetness of music. He has now released a CD, “Black Robes and Lawyers,” which is the poetic testimony of the prison experience, made possible through the persistence of Jim Tullio, a Grammy Award winning producer. The “Exonerated Man” is a worthy winner.

Second Place: The Chapel Hill News (North Carolina)
House Is Home
Mark Schultz
This is a compassionate telling of the latest evolution in the long history of AIDS in the world, told so well by Editor Mark Schultz, who takes his readers on the road that Raymond McDaniel has traveled to these lingering days in a home for people with AIDS in Carrboro, N.C. For 15 years he has seen his friends die, and then has seen the little plaques placed in the dirt behind the back patio with the simple dates of their birth and death. But McDaniel, who thought for years that his plaque would have been placed in those ranks, has survived far beyond his expectations. To some, the plaques came to be painful reminders of those who had passed away. “House Is Home” helps readers realize that those with AIDS are living with their disease, not dying from it, and that the residence in Carrboro is helping them to survive

CVS to build fence around planned Carrboro store site

mschultz — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:53:05 -0500

By Tammy Grubb

CVS will put a fence around both of its properties at the corner of North Greensboro and Weaver streets in response to Saturday’s occupation of the site, representatives said Wednesday.

“We had initially decided not to put a chain-link fence around the properties, because it would make it even more of an eyesore in the community, but in light of this weekend’s events, we will be securing our properties ASAP,” said CVS Caremark representative Leigh Polzella.

The fourth neighborhood meeting held in Town Hall was largely uneventful, despite plans by members of Carrboro Commune and Occupy Chapel Hill-Carrboro to announce their idea of a “guerilla garden” on the site. Some members of the local Occupy movements did make suggestions at the meeting, including that CVS should take a loss and give the properties back to the community.

The proposed two-story, 23,600-square-foot building would replace the former WCOM radio station building, dentist Debra Seaton’s office and two houses. CVS already owns one house, at 104 Center St., and the former radio station.

The building’s first floor would be a 24-hour CVS store and pharmacy, however, Polzella said the company wants to find some kind of use for the second floor that would benefit the community.

They have talked with county officials about putting a southwestern branch library there, she said, but it does not meet the county’s requirements for a one-story, 20,000-square-foot facility. They also are talking with county and UNC officials about using it as office space for a business incubator, she said.

CVS also is looking into an idea residents raised in December of including a rooftop garden and is open to hearing other ideas, as well, Polzella said. Many residents asked if CVS would be willing to give the brick structure a “softer” and more modern appearance.

Town planner Marty Roupe said advisory boards will get CVS’s proposal by March, and the board could hold a public hearing as early as March 27.

With Orange backing, rail plan advances

jaydub — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:06:56 -0500

After some confusion on Orange County's position, plans for the light-rail line between Chapel Hill and Durham got unanimous approval this morning from a bi-county transportation committee.

Today's vote for a "Locally Preferred Alternative" route keeps the project on schedule to apply for a federal grant this year. It also moves the project along to another round of public hearings on environmental effects.

The approved route runs from UNC Hospitals to downtown Durham, and includes both the "C1" and "C2" alternatives for a segment between the Friday Center on N.C. 54 and a proposed development site on Farrington Road in Durham. The segment has generated considerable public comment due to its possible effects on a pristine bottomland.

In recent weeks, some Orange County officials had suggested a third route, avoiding N.C. 54 altogether and running the track through the U.S. 15-501 corridor.

Orange Commissioners discussed route options until late Tuesday night before agreeing to support sending both C1 and C2 forward for environmental research.

However, when the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization's Transportation Advisory Committee met this morning, neither Orange County representative Alice Gordon nor alternate Bernadette Pelissier were sure just what they and their fellow commissioners had decided.

"We were talking about this probably until 11 o'clock at night," Gordon said. "Forgive us."

After some telephone calls for clarification, Gordon said Orange County was in favor of advancing C2 alone, because of its anticipated lesser environmental effects. Chapel Hill's Town Council is also on record favoring C2, but supports leaving both alternates open for a later decision.

Patrick McDonough, lead planner with Triangle Transit, said leaving both alternatives under study might avoid some later difficulties, particularly in negotiations to cross Army Corps of Engineers property.

Gordon said the Orange Commissioners are still interested in the U.S. 15-501 routing, but did not want it incorporated in the plans voted on today.

Carrboro names new town manager

mschultz — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:26:29 -0500

By Tammy Grubb

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen has named a municipal budget and management veteran from Arizona to fill the town’s vacant manager post starting March 15.

David Andrews, 51, is a native of Freeport, Texas, and the youngest of nine children raised in Tyler, Texas. Carrboro’s Assistant Town Manager Matt Efird, also a finalist for the job, has filled the position since Steve Stewart retired in August and will help with the transition.

Alderwoman Randee Haven-O’Donnell said the board made its “carefully deliberated” decision after a long process that included reviewing phone interviews with 15 candidates and holding face-to-face meetings with three finalists. Richmond, Va.-based Springsted Inc. was hired to lead the search, which cost the town more than $15,000.

On his website -- www.davidandrews.us -- Andrews lists strategic planning, land use, budget and finance, and consensus building, among other specialties, as his areas of expertise.

He will have to deal with several postponed items in Carrboro, including state-mandated employee retirement and health insurance costs, the pay-for-performance program and the town's long-term debt, which is expected to peak in 2013. He also will be responsible for the town’s day-to-day operations, act as a liaison with other agencies and governments, and prepare the annual budget.

He brings more than 20 years of experience as an administrator and finance director to the job. Since March 2010, he has been the assistant town manager and budget/finance director for Paradise Valley, a town of roughly 13,000 people near Scottsdale.

Previously, Andrews worked for 18 years in Oro Valley, Ariz., starting as finance director and then moving to assistant town manager and town manager. However, he abruptly resigned the job in September 2009, a move backed by the Town Council in a contentious 4-3 vote. Council members who supported his resignation refused to comment on the reasons for their votes.

Andrews married his wife, former Oro Valley Councilwoman Salette Andrews, in 2010. They have three grown children: a daughter who is a veterinary technician in Tucson, Ariz.; a daughter studying for the bar exam in New York; and a son who works in the financial services industry in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Orange County moves ahead with transit recommendations

kferral — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:44:48 -0500

Orange County commissioners approved preliminary plans to bring more bus service and light rail to the county, giving the local transit authority the go-ahead to apply for federal funding for the project.

Commissioners voted 5-2 Tuesday night to approve a "locally preferred alternative" for a rail and bus plan that would connect Orange County to Durham County.

The preliminary plan includes a rail line that would run along N.C. 54, connecting UNC Hospitals to Alston Avenue near Duke University and downtown Durham.

The commissioners' vote will inform the the transportation committee of the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization during their meeting Wednesday morning.

Commissioner Alice Gordon will represent Orange County commissioners at that meeting, and was advised to inform transit advisers on the vote and express a preference for a route that would not go through Meadowmont on N.C. 54.

Commissioners Earl McKee and Steve Yuhasz voted against moving ahead with the rail and bus options, both saying light rail would not benefit the whole county.

"My no vote is not again transit, it is a no vote against this particular technology in this particular corridor," Yuhasz said,

McKee said affirming preliminary plans would bring commissions down a slippery slope of including light rail in transit improvements, and putting a permanent half-cent tax on the ballot.

"I have to look for what is good for Orange County as a whole and while I understand that light rail will be good for the two end portions and for a certain segment of the population, it's not of a tangible benefit to the majority of the county."

About four people spoke about the light rail plans, the majority were for the plans.

Commissioners Chairwoman Bernadette Pelissier said the commissioners still have questions about the plan and clarified that the vote did not been unequivocal support.

"I hope that the MPO also understand that our approval of the LPA is not interpreted that we have approved the plan... we still need to have some time to disuse the plan," she said.

The MPO needs to have a preferred plan from the counties and municipalities solidified, so they can apply for federal funding by an August deadline.

Commissioners and County Manager Frank Clifton had considered whether Triangle Transit could re-examine a U.S. 15-501 route. A route along that road is not included in the current plans that would be submitted the federal government for funding.

The commissioner's vote Wednesday allows them to vote differently on the transit bus and rail plan when it returns to them. They can also choose to study the feasibility of more transit alternatives along N.C. 15-501 that would spur economic development there.

Orange commissioners could complicate light-rail plan

jaydub — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:51:07 -0500

Transportation advisers expect to vote Wednesday morning on their favored route for a light-rail line between Chapel Hill and Durham, but the Orange County commissioners could throw in a complication with vote of their own tonight.

Triangle Transit and elected officials in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Durham favor a route that follows N.C. 54 part of the way east from Chapel Hill and then follows either of two ways north to U.S. 15-501.

Some Orange County commissioners, though, as well as County Manager Frank Clifton, have said they want a third route added to the mix – one that skips N.C. 54 and runs along 15-501 instead. That route was previously considered and dropped from the discussion.

They are expected to vote tonight whether to make that part of their official position that Commissioner Alice Gordon takes to Wednesday's meeting of the transportation committee of the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization.

"This is coming up here at the 11th hour?" said Durham City Councilman Mike Woodard, a member of the MPO's Transportation Advisory Committee. "Where have they been for the last four years?"

Triangle Transit spokesman Brad Schulz said that, if Orange County's alternative delays the committee's decision on a "locally preferred alternative," the application process for getting federal funding for the light-rail project could be delayed for more than a year.

Transportation Advisory Committee Chairwoman Lydia Lavelle, a member of the Carrboro Board of Aldermen, said a delay is unlikely.

Lavelle said none of the other governing bodies involved have expressed any interest in revisiting the 15-501 route, and expects the other representatives will vote to recommend the two routes including N.C. 54.

"I haven't heard any kind of discussion to indicate anything else," Lavelle said this afternoon.

The other jurisdictions would still have a job ahead, Woodard said, to convince Orange County to put a half-cent transit sales tax up for a public referendum. Durham County voters approved a tax last fall, but it will not be levied unless Orange and/or Wake county approve a similar tax.

Orange County officials have expressed skepticism about the light rail's value to the county at large, since it would only serve a corridor from UNC Hospitals to the Durham County line. The overall regional transit plan, though, does provide for improved bus service throughout all three counties.

Demonstrators plan "guerilla gardening" project on proposed Carrboro CVS site

mschultz — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:33:30 -0500

A group of demonstrators that briefly occupied a building at 201 N. Greensboro St. Saturday say they'll plant a garden on the property to protest a CVS store planned for the site.

The group called Carrboro Commune includes members of the local anarchist community and Occupy Chapel Hill-Carrboro movements. On Monday, Occupy said it did not endorse the building takeover, which ended when police ordered the demonstrators out or said they would arrest them. (Read that story here.)

On Sunday, demonstrators huddled in the cold outside the building and decided to plant the garden as the next step in their protest against the 24-hour drug store, which would replace the CVS across the street in the Carr Mill Mall shopping center. They plan to announce the "guerilla gardening" project at a meeting with developers at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Town Hall. The developers plan to present the latest version of their plans for the store at the meeting.

“Local residents have repeatedly expressed that the site should serve some kind of community interest rather than corporate profits... [Yet] the channels at Town Hall offer no meaningful way for affected community members to determine what should be here," the Carrboro Commune said in a release this morning. "The Carrboro Commune, an open affiliation of community members concerned about the corporate domination of public space, will collaborate with other local organizations to transform the unused lot at 201 Greensboro Street into a vibrant garden providing edible, medicinal, and beautiful plants for the general public."

The group has invited the public to join it for a garden work day March 17.

DOT to give Smith Level Road widening update tonight

mschultz — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0500

By correspondent Tammy Grubb

The Board of Aldermen will hear from N.C. Department of Transportation representatives tonight about acquisition talks with Smith Level Road residents and changes made to a project that will widen the road from the Morgan Creek bridge to Rock Haven Road.

The discussion follows up a November meeting in which DOT representatives could not fully answer questions about utility easements. The aldermen asked DOT to meet with neighbors and come back with more information.

In emails to town officials, residents in the Berryhill subdivision have stated concerns about utility, drainage and line of sight easements that will require more trees and land than originally indicated. They also want DOT to continue allowing left turns from Willow Oak south onto Smith Level Road and to build a pedestrian crosswalk at the Willow Oak intersection.

Meanwhile, residents of the Enclave and Teal Place neighborhoods have questioned how much private property will be required, the location of easements and whether utilities can be moved or buried.

The aldermen approved the Smith Level Road project in September 2010 after more than seven years of discussion and revisions. Final construction plans are expected to be complete in September 2012, with construction beginning in December.

A link to more information about the project, including maps and Board of Aldermen discussions, can be found on the town website, www.townofcarrboro.org. Interim Town Manager Matt Efird said the information will be updated as more details become available.

Chapel Hill News reader reaction to the Stancil / Blue interviews

mschultz — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:00:00 -0500

We have received two letters so far on Sunday's extended interviews with Chapel Hill Town Manager Roger Stancil and Police Chief Chris Blue on the Yates Motor raid:

From A. Carter Linstead: "Perhaps the questions the CHN interviewer posed could be characterized as 'asking the hard questions.' But to me the interview appeared to reflect an apparent strong bias on the part of the reporter. Virtually every question sounded more like an accusation."

From Niklaus Steiner: "Thank you for the excellent interview with Town Manager Roger Stancil and Police Chief Chris Blue. Thanks to probing questions from the interviewer and honest answers from Stancil and Blue, I am now assured that they acknowledge mistakes around these concerns and are taking necessary steps to address them."

Tell us what you think about these interviews, the police raid or anything else about our coverage of local issues at editor@newsobserver.com.

Stancil answers CPAC questions

kferral — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:09:51 -0500

Over the weekend Chapel Hill Town Manager Roger Stancil released a 14-page report responding to the questions in the Community Police Advisory Committee petition to hire a private investigator to review the Yates raid. The entire report is attached below.

In Sunday's Chapel Hill News

mschultz — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:47:03 -0500

In case you're getting a late start on your Super Bowl Sunday paper ...

NO VOTE FRUSTRATES CRITICS: It wasn't Aydan Court, but some say last week's Chapel Hill Town Council vote against Charterwood isn't the first time the town's elected officials haven't listened to the town's appointed officials. The council has a different role to play, of course. Read katelyn Ferral's stor and tell us what you think.

REFUGEES DISCUSS NEEDS: I was driving down Main Street when I saw three Burmese people squatting in a circle on the sidewalk talking. I thought that was interesting, perhaps the way they talked in the refugee camps they came from. I learned a lot when I got to meet soem of the immigrants at the Chapel Hill 2020 meeting at Carrboro Elementary School.

STANCIL, BLUE INTERVIEWS: I want to thank Town Manager Roger Stancil and Police Chief Blue for their candor during last week's interviews about the Yates raid. We have received two letters: one saying I was too hard on the men and one saying I asked good questions.

New My View columnist Julie Moore discovers UNC's women's gymnastics (they're not all skinny teenagers), Aaron Nelson invites you to his state of the community address at noon today in Chapel Hill Town Hall, and letter writer Sam Schanfarber says there's a drug problem at East Chapel Hill and asks why.

Thanks for reading, and remember you can join us on Twitter (@chapelhillnews1), where we're up to 1,200 followers ) and on my Facebook page, as 800 of you already have. You'll find more news, more photographs (see Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton and the masked anarchist) and more ways for you to share what you think.

Mark

Carrboro mayor defends town police in CVS site takeover

mschultz — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:22:58 -0500

A group of anti-capitalist activists briefly occupied a building at the site of a planned CVS drug store in downtown Carrboro Saturday but left about four hours when police told them they would be arrested if they stayed.

Mayor Mark Chilton entered the building at 201 N. Greensboro St. across from Carr Mill Mall early Saturday evening. "I asked them not to damage the property and asked them to leave," he said in an interview. "They asked me to leave."

"I asked them what their plans were. They asked me what my plan was. One of them suggested ice cream. I said I'd be glad to get them ice cream if they wanted to eat it on the sidewalk."

Demonstrators, many wearing bandanas to cover their faces, heckled the mayor as he stood before television cameras and reporters in the building lobby. They asked Chilton if he was breaking the law by being in the building too. A giant sign hung on the wall that said "Under capitalism we're all under gunpoint."

(In staff writer Bruce Siceloff's story (read it here) he reports protesters inside the building refused to identify themselves, explain how they got inside, or discuss their plans. Soon after occupying the building, they issued a news release saying they planned to stay there for an extended time.)

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/02/04/1831022/protesters-take-over-vacant-carrboro.html#storylink=cpyzzΩΩΩDemonstrators, many wearing bandanas to cover their faces, heckled the mayor as he stood before television cameras and reporters in the building lobby. A giant sign hung on the wall that said "Under capitalism we're all under gunpoint."

"Please leave this property," the mayor said in a loud voice at about 7 p.m. "You're trespassing, and there may be other crimes you're committing as well. The time has come for you to leave this building."

Minutes later, Police Chief Carolyn Hutchison and a Carrboro police officer entered the building and told everyone to leave. As the chief and officer left the building, someone shouted "Many cops kill themselves, why don't you?"

But soon, the demonstrators left, carrying out food. A crowd of about 50 gathered outside and on the sidewalk as five officers, one with arms crossed, stood in front of the building entrance to keep anyone from re-entering.

As in the Yates Motor raid in Chapel Hill in November, the occupiers said they wanted to turn a vacant building into one serving the community.

"CVS wants to build their coporate chain store in the heart of our town, regardless of what we think," according to a pamphlet placed on a table just inside the building. "Our economic system values profit over people, and local politicians send in the SWAT team when we challenge this. So we decided to do something about it."

As the crowd stood outside, a young man wearning a mask (above) who gave a name of Johnny Moran, started to shout about police, economic inequality and a prison system that perpetuates slavery.

"You're talking about our Police Department," the mayor responded. "You're trying to give our Police Department a bad name. You're full of crap. Our Police Department does a great job."

The masked man raised a gloved hand in the air. "I am an anarchist!" he said. "That means I don't have dialogue with politicians. I think we need a social revolution."

"The only thing between me and getting evicted is two months rent," he continued. "I'm sick of living in a society like this."

Chilton said he had come to personally ask the demonstrators to leave because that was one of the criticisms of the Chapel Hill police response to the Yates Motor building occupation. Carrboro police had just removed the demonstrators "in an outstanding, non-threatening way," he said. By contrast Chapel Hill sent a tactical team in with rifles and guns pointed at people's heads.

"F--- the pigs! We don't need 'em," the crowd began to chant. "All we want is freedom, freedom."

Resident Steve Dear, the director of People of Faith Against the Death Penalty, urged calm. "The more we demonize each other, the more we do a disservice to each other."

But the shouting continued. When the demonstrators said the two sides could not speak as equals because the police had guns, Chilton opened his coat. "Look under here," he said. "It's skin. I'm a human being."

"I have a sworn duty to uphold the laws of North Carolina, so that's what I'm going to do," he said. "I don't get to decide what the laws of North Carolina are. ... It's not your property."

The standoff ended when a female demonstrator suggested the crowd had spent enough time listening to two men have their say. The group has planned an open meeting at 4 p.m. Sunday at 201 N. Greensboro St. to discuss "what to do with the building and where to go from here."

Carrboro Alderwoman Jacquie Gist praised Chilton's steady response to the demonstrators. "Ain't our mayor amazing?" she said as the crowd began to disperse. "Mark and Carolyn (Hutchison, the police chief) together. I'm so proud."

Chapel Hill Police Chief Chris Blue on the Yates Motor raid

mschultz — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:42:03 -0500

Yesterday we brought you an excerpt of our interview with Town Manager Roger Stancil, his first since releasing an action plan and announcing the town has hired a consultant to review police policies and make recommendations for improvement. You can read an account of the interview with Stancil and another with Police Chief Chris Blue in today's N&O and a longer version in tomorrow's Chapel Hill News. Here is an excerpt from our conversation with Chief Blue.

(In his report Jan. 9, Blue, who was out of town that weekend, describes a single attempt by police to speak with the protesters the night of the occupation "with the hope of persuading them to leave the building." A commanding officer stepped through an open garage door but left when confronted by people wearing masks and shouting insults.)

Q: So you're on the phone with your commanding officer. Does he tell you they didn't ask them to leave? Did you have that information?

Blue: No, we didn't have that conversation.

Q: Why not?

Blue: (Pause) Well, I think the best way to answer that is to say that it's difficult to dictate tactics being removed from the scene. We didn't discuss specific tactics.

Q: But you said you authorized the SERT team.

Blue: I did authorize him to call the SERT officers to assist him in that operation. But we didn't discuss specific tactical decisions regarding the SERT team.

Q: How to use the team, what they should wear, how to approach the scene?

Blue: Right.

Q: Are there protocols that say how to deploy a SERT team in different situations?

Blue: We don't have any. There's no question we have some opportunity to create policies. In our current climate, we need some policies that help guide us in some civil disobedience situations.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/02/04/1829012/little-warning-before-raid.html#storylink=cpy

Chapel Hill Town Manager Roger Stancil on the Yates Motor raid

mschultz — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:07:17 -0500

In tomorrow's N&O and Sunday's Chapel Hill News, we interview Chapel Hill Town Manager Roger Stancil about the Yates Motor raid. Here is an excerpt.

Q: In your Jan. 30 memo, you say “the tactical decision-making process was compromised by a breakdown in external and internal communications.” What was the breakdown?

Stancil: The information the mayor got, he got that totally from me. And I got my information totally from the chief. And as you know, communication is a two-way thing. When I hear information I’m always filtering it through past assumptions.

Q: But what broke down? I’m not getting that.

Stancil: The tactics of the day were never something that were communicated to me. I still believe the people on the scene were making the best decisions they could make with the information they had. Some parts of that could have been communicated differently to me so I could have informed the mayor, and informed the council.

Q: If you’d had better information would you have done anything with it?

Stancil: You know the whole challenge here is hindsight. I believe Chris somewhere in his report said with the benefit of hindsight maybe we used more force than was necessary, something like that. It’s in his report. But at the moment, knowing what people knew who had to make the decision, it’s hard to speculate. What I do know is that with a better flow of communication the council would have had better information about what was happening – not that they would have intervened and not that we would have done anything differently. But people would have had better information.

Q: At what point do elected officials need to know something that’s being handled by the police force?

Stancil: Well ... that’s an interesting question. I think one of the things that the council has a duty to do – and we’re in the process of doing – is being really clear about expectations and guidance. That’s their role, to set policy. I’m the person engaged to enforce their laws and ordinances and implement their policies and keep them informed. The extent to which the mayor didn’t have good information, that’s my responsibility.

Q: Your memo from this week, Jan. 30, called it “civil disobedience.” I don’t think you called it that a month ago. Has something changed in your perception of what happened that day?

Stancil: I went back and looked at my first memo. What I realized is my basic conclusions are the same, but there were certainly opportunities where I could have said more, that could have helped. I do think it (civil disobedience) is something this community needs to talk about. Camping as protest, that’s sort of a relatively new technique that occurred here, you know, occupying private property. I do think we need to talk about how we deal with that in the community. Especially Peace and Justice Plaza. The council needs to think about that space in a different way than seven or eight years ago. We need to talk about what is reasonable. As the people who enforce the ordinance, we don’t have a vested interest in what those rules are, we just have a vested interest in clarity.

Transit workers perform Rosa Parks play

dhart — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:15:31 -0500

Several Chapel Hill Transit employees will take to the stage Saturday when they perform a one-act play about Rosa Parks.

"Why Should I Move?" will be presented at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, on a central corridor stage in Chapel Hill's University Mall. The free public performance is beng held in conjunction with Black History Month.

The play re-enacts the day Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus, an act of defiance that helped spark the Civil Rights movement. Chapel Hill Transit bus driver Michele Sykes plays "old Rosa," who narrates the play, describing the events of 56 years ago. Sheila Neville plays "young Rosa." Other transit employees portray the bus driver, the white passenger who demanded that Park give up her seat, and the police officer who arrested her.

An a capella group of Chapel Hill Transit employees will provide musical counterpoint to the events on stage.

The cast originally performed the piece at Hargraves Community Center during a town employee celebration of the life of Martin Luther King Jr.

Kathy Williams of UNC's PlayMakers Repertory Company coached the actors in preparing for their roles, and PlayMakers provided the costumes.

Heine, Quick make commitments

ewarnock — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:55:14 -0500

Today is National Signing Day, when high school athletes from fall sports make their official commitments to college teams.

While several high school seniors who play Olympic sports are signing as well, much of the emphasis for many schools is placed on football programs.

Locally, offensive lineman William Heine of East Chapel Hill has committed to Georgetown and Chapel Hill's R.J. Quick has signed on for Winston-Salem State.

Heine, a 6-5, 280-pound senior played at right tackle for East, helping to protect record-setting QB Drew Davis in coach Bill Renner's "five-wide" offense. Heine will be joining his brother James at Georgetown, who's a pitcher for the Hoyas' baseball team.

Quick, not the biggest Tiger at 5-11, 180 pounds, was still one of the biggest guns as a top receiver for coach Issac Marsh as CHHS went 10-3 last season. He was also one of the quickest, no pun intended, with 4.5 speed.

The University of North Carolina is announcing its commitments — including Phil Williamson of Jordan — from the Class of 2012 this afternoon. See UNC Now (http://blogs.newsobserver.com/uncnow) for the latest on Carolina's recruits, and ACC Now (http://blogs.newsobserver.com/accnow/home) for updates on Duke and N.C. State.

What's in today's Durham News

mschultz — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:21:50 -0500

Here's a look at today's local headlines, but first ... make sure to read today's N&O story about Durham Public Schools' opposition to a new charter school. Did you know 9 percent of Durham students attend charter schools, the highest percentage on the state? See the story here.

PLACE TO HOLD ON: Photographer Mark Dolejs took some beautiful pictures for new correspondent Jamie Kennedy's story on St. Basil the Great Romanian Orthodox Church. Our features editor is going to pick this story up for a full N&O run and says the church is planning a big Feb. 26 picnic.

LIBERTY REPAIRS DEADLINE: Does this seem to be taking a long time? The city wil hold a demolition by neglect hearing at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in City Hall. Read Jim Wise's story to see what they're trying to figure out.

O, ROMEO: No one from the Duke Lemur Center had called back when we wrote this story for the N&O last week. We added their comments the next day for the story in today's paper, and it just got even sadder. It only costs $10 to visit the Lemur Center by the way.

The city wants the art taken off the Duke Park traffic circle at Markham and Glendale. Carlton Koonce talks with the folks at YO:Durham in today's My View. And a reader from Down Under challenges the logic behind gun laws. Plus Flo Johnston on faith, a preview of this month's NC Comedy Festival and more.

Thanks for reading,

Mark

Bob at the gym and what's in today's Chapel Hill News

mschultz — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:33:45 -0500

Saw Bob, my 85-year-old inspiration at the gym this morning. He said he liked the story we did a few weeks back on the Chapel Hill couple that had Michael Brown paint a portrait of them on their garage door. Nice to be reminded it's not all about police raids and solid waste transfer stations.

But speaking of police raids, here's a look at today's local headlines in The Chapel Hill News.

ROAD WORK SILT: The town was still waiting yesterday for DOT's report on how Weaver Dairy Road construction runoff ended up in Eastwood Lake. The print photo doesn't do the scene justice, so I've attached it here. Thanks to James Protzman for calling us about this. Lots of stories start like this, just like Betty Neese and her garage door portrait.

POLICE TRAINING: The discussion changed tone this week as the town manager said police were not prepared for the unique situation posed by the Yates Motor Co. building takeover. His memo talked about civil disobedience, which is how the acivists had characterized their action. The town has created a special page on the Yates Motor incident; you can see it here.

While we're on the subject ... a reader called yesterday to confirm his reading of the facts in the incident. He was well informed until he added this all got overblown because staff writer Katelyn Ferral " got her feelings hurt." That's not correct, I told him. Katelyn did get cuffed with zip ties and told to lie on the ground, but she has been professional throughout. Without her photos, as shown at Monday's court hearing. we would only have a verbal he said/she said of what happened that day.

RAIL LINE DEBATE: We have two items concerning the future light rail line proposed to connect Chapel Hill and Durham in today's paper. Katelyn has the latest from the Town Council, who like the George King Road option, and the Orange County commissioners, some of whom don't like it at all. And in today's My View, columnist Mark Zimmerman asks just where is this train taking us?

There's a lot more: the 12th annual NC Comedy Festival, a column from Steve Hutton on tuition and another from Jeff Kingan proposing a new solution to our garbage dilemma.

Thanks for reading, wherever you read us; we're up to 1,100 followers on our Twitter feed (@chapelhillnews1) and my Facebook page (cracked the 800 friends mark yesterday).

Mark

Youth tap ensemble's got talent

dhart — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:30:32 -0500

The North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble has been invited to audition for NBC's "America's Got Talent" television show.

Ten of the ensemble's most accomplished performers, ranging in age from 13 to 18, will travel to Charlotte for the audition Saturday. The producers of "America's Got Talent" invited the company to the audition after viewing an online video of NCYTE.

The ensemble is based in Chapel Hill, but draws dancers from throughout North Carolina. Entrance into the group is by audition only. Choreographers and performers who have worked with NCYTE include Savion Glover, the Greensboro Symphony, Squirrel Nut Zipper, Mallarme Chamber Players and many others, and ensemble dancers have gone on to careers on Broadway and beyond.

Chapel Hill council to discuss public space rules Feb. 13

kferral — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:31:50 -0500

The Town Council will take up the town's public space rules later this month.

In an e-mail this morning, Town Manager Roger Stancil said rules regulating public spaces like Peace and Justice Plaza in front of the post office on East Franklin Street should be decided by the council, rather than town staff.

"As the person responsible for the application and enforcement of the Town’s ordinances and regulations, my interest is clear guidance from the Council to avoid arbitrary application and selective enforcement," he wrote. "Until this discussion is held and any changes to current ordinances are approved by the Town Council, we will enforce ordinances and regulations thoughtfully and consistent with the modifications made to accommodate the Occupy Chapel Hill encampment at Peace and Justice Plaza," he wrote.

Read the full e-mail below.