Jane Pinsky About the only good thing to come out of the scandals surrounding former North Carolina House Speaker Jim Black was the passage of major lobbying and ethics reforms. But it took Black’s disgraceful fall to move legislation that had been languishing in the General Assembly for many years.
Unhealthy hyperbole
Chris Fitzsimon In case you had any doubt that North Carolina will play a key role in the fate of national health care reform, President Obama’s scheduled appearance at Broughton High School in Raleigh this week ought to convince you. Still more evidence comes from the breathless hyperbole about health care lately from North Carolina…
Strom to resign from council
After a recent move and a decision not to enter the race for Chapel Hill mayor led to speculation about his future plans, Bill Strom announced today (Wednesday, July 29) that he is resigning from the Chapel Hill Town Council effective Aug. 1 Strom issued a statement Wednesday afternoon saying he is leaving to pursue…
Shy little ruellia
By Ken Moore An unassuming little wildflower that always surprises and delights me whenever and wherever I spot it is Ruellia caroliniensis. I generally call it simply ruellia [roo-ELL-e-ah]. It’s named for Jean de la Ruelle, the herbalist for Francois I of France in the early 16th century. One common name is Carolina wild-petunia, though…
Beyond the next door, a new dream
By Valarie Schwartz Robin Dubeau could write the book on how the closing of one door leads to the opening of another. In 2002, her 10-year-old company, Magnolia Manufacturing, was destroyed when the roof collapsed onto her inventory of permanent botanicals, florals and trees, forcing her to lay off employees and close the Hillsborough-based business…
Heed the heat
By Beth Mechum Staff Writer It’s hot. It’s a conundrum we all face every summer. The sun is shining brightly through the windows most mornings, just begging us to come outside. But what about when the sun is delivering heat of the unrelenting variety? There are ways to both enjoy the sun and keep safe…
Competitive races set for local elections
By Kirk Ross Staff Writer The last two days of the filing season for the municipal and school board elections proved hectic, as Carrboro’s mayor race became a three-way contest and more candidates signed on to run for the town boards in Carrboro and Chapel Hill. Brian Voyce, who won 430 votes or 18.2 percent…
Advocates anticipate service void
by Taylor Sisk Staff Writer Though the specifics are not yet known, there’s little doubt that mental health care services in North Carolina are going to take a substantial hit in the coming budget. Those cuts may not be as severe as originally feared, but mental health care advocates continue to warn that their effects…
Epilogue
The end of a long ordeal For more than two and a half years, Carrboro artist Sima Fallahi has lived in limbo. The Iranian-born Fallahi, a painter who often sold her watercolors at local arts events and shows, was arrested Nov. 29, 2006 after a background check for a vendor permit in Chapel Hill revealed…
Music Calendar
Thursday July 23 ArtsCenter: 300 East Main Summer Concert Series with Embarrassing Fruits, Free Electric State. 4:30pm Blue Bayou: Strangelets. 9pm, Free Cats Cradle: XX Merge. Sold Out The Cave: LATE: Stars Explode, The Magic Babies General Store Cafe: Marie Vanderbeck Trio. 7-9pm Local 506: Benji Hughes, Simeon. 10pm, $8 Nightlight: MEEBS, War Hands, Yohimbe…
Campaign Notes
Missing Joe There are a lot of reasons people miss former Chapel Hill Town Council member and greenways champion Joe Herzenberg around election time. For poll organizers and precinct captains, a big reason is that he could always be counted on to lend a hand. For journalists, he was a kind of institutional memory of…
Bradshaw Quarry center to close
Orange County’s solid waste convenience center on Bradshaw Quarry will close for good on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 5 p.m., county officials announced this week. Closing the center, which takes in the smallest volume of the county’s five solid waste convenience centers, was identified as a possible cost savings in budget discussions in May and…
Hillsborough ponders smoke-free
The Town of Hillsborough is considering a tobacco-free policy for all town parks. The June 16 recommendation to the Hillsborough Board of Commissioners follows concerns expressed by citizens about smoking near the playground at Gold Park, the town’s newest and only full-size park. The board will consider the proposal during its July 27 workshop. It…
Arrest made
The Chapel Hill Police have charged Kamari Maricio Street Marsh of Chapel Hill with assault with a deadly weapon and going armed in terror of the public in conjunction with a shooting on Bright Sun Place near Homestead Park around 5 p.m. July 20.
PlayMakers awarded NEA grant
PlayMakers Repertory Company has been awarded a national arts grant for its upcoming production of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. PlayMakers will receive a $30,000 “Access to Artistic Excellence Grant†in support of the theater’s Nov. 11-Dec. 20 production of Nickleby.