Lights dim, curtain draws closed After a couple of weeks holding us in suspense, Franklin Street institution the Varsity Theater finally closed its doors. Owner Bruce Stone said the theater has struggled financially. “This is a business decision, a bottom-line decision. The numbers currently don’t support the continuation of both theaters as viable enterprises,†said…
Year: 2009
Vote for the Farmers’ Market
According to market manager Sarah Blacklin, the Carrboro Farmers’ Market is only 59 votes away from being number one in the nationwide Love Your Farmers Market Contest sponsored by Local Harvest, a national local-food database that connects farms, food-related businesses and resources throughout the country.
Market hours shortened for 4th
The Carrboro Farmers’ Market will shorten operating hours Saturday and move to the front of Town Hall on West Main Street in order to allow for preparations for the town’s Fourth of July celebration at the Town Commons. The markets’ hours will run from 7-10 a.m.
Courtesy tickets
To encourage folks worried about parking to venture downtown, Chapel Hill has implemented a Courtesy Ticket program. Under the program, once per calendar year, if you receive a citation for a parking meter violation your citation will be dismissed. The town’s Parking Services Division began issuing Courtesy Tickets on July 1.
Town launches new site
The Town of Chapel Hill announced this week the launch of its new website at townofchapelhill.org . The website allows citizens access to calendars, council agendas and videos, email directories, news releases, job postings and service information.
Local poet honored
Carrboro poet Celisa Steele recently was honored by the North Carolina Poetry Society during a celebration held at Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities in Southern Pines. She was a finalist for the Poet Laureate Award and won the first-place Joanna Scott Award and an honorable-mention Thomas H. McDill Award.
East cheerleaders win national contest
The East Chapel Hill High School cheerleaders won a national contest sponsored by Black Entertainment Television (BET). They competed on June 10 against other cheerleading groups from across the country, performing a routine to promote the TV program “106 and Park Wild Out Wednesday.†The show was broadcast live from New York City. The East…
Positive rabies test
On July 28, a resident in the vicinity of NC N.C. 86 North and Sawmill Road came home and saw his dog fighting with a raccoon. He shot the raccoon and then called 911. Orange County Animal Services received a positive rabies result for that raccoon from the North Carolina Rabies Laboratory. This is the…
Who’s Minding the School?
By Steve Peha Do you ever wonder who really runs a given school or district? I do. And I’m in them all the time. For all the sound and fury of testing and standards, what we have achieved is an ineffective accountability system that is at best a pale form of collective wrist slapping, where…
Letter: Spray paint inappropriate, unattractive
I generally enjoy my walk to and from work in Chapel Hill, particularly this time of year. However, over the last month or so I’ve noticed an increasing amount of public and private property marred by large blotches of brown or black spray paint. Upon closer inspection, I found that each of these ugly paint…
Letter: Tobacco tax works
With all of the recent discussions of smoking bans, FDA regulations and “sin†taxes, it is important to examine the effects of tobacco on the youth of North Carolina and the benefits of a higher cigarette tax. Studies show that an increase in cigarette prices would discourage more young people from starting smoking and encourage…
What would John Hope Franklin say about the legislature’s decision to honor Jesse Helms?
By Chris Kromm At the recent memorial for John Hope Franklin at Duke University, playwright Emily Mann — daughter of historian Arthur Mann, a close friend of Franklin’s — related one of many illuminating personal stories about the pioneering historian and scholar. In a conversation about the North Carolina political landscape, someone asked Franklin, “Where…
The crux of the debate
By Chris Fitzsimon It is no secret that the debate over taxes is holding up the passage of a state budget and threatens to prolong the legislative session well into July and maybe beyond. There are really two tax debates raging in the legislative halls, or the Republicans would like there to be, as they…
Plenty to do for the 4th
By Beth Mechum Staff Writer That never-ending stretch of 90-degree days means it’s finally summer, and the Fourth of July is here again. While some brave souls will pack up the cars and head to the beach, it’s probably smarter to stay in the area and enjoy the festivities that Orange County has to offer….
Obituary: Margaret Alice Middleton
Margaret Alice Middleton was born in Washington, DC on July 10, 1944, and died June 18, 2009. Since 1981 she resided in Carrboro, N.C. where she was a violist and played many concerts with various groups in the Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. Most notably she was a member of the orchestra for the annual…
