Categories
Weather

Eye on the storm

There’s a low in the Atlantic stretching from Bermuda to Florida. Keep an eye on it since three out of five computer models have it arriving in the Carolinas.

National Hurricane Center discussion.

From Jeff Master’s weather blog this am:

Despite the relatively high shear, the computer models are mostly calling for 99L to develop. Steering currents are weak in the region, and the models agree that 99L is likely to make a clockwise loop over the next three days, then potentially threaten (take your pick):

UKMET: North Carolina on Saturday
NOGAPS: Florida on Friday
HWRF: New York on Saturday
ECMWF: South Carolina on Friday
Canadian: North Carolina on Saturday

Categories
Miscellany

John McCormick arrested in Phoenix

Missing Chapel Hill attorney John McCormick was arrested Friday in Phoenix.

Via WRAL:

John Gregory McCormick, 59, was arrested by Phoenix police officers at about midnight, authorities said. He was being held without bond in Arizona, pending extradition to North Carolina.

McCormick turned over his driver’s license to a Phoenix officer who asked three men sitting in a park for identification, Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall said. When the officer checked the license, he found that McCormick was wanted in North Carolina, Woodall said.

Here’s the official release from the AG:

Fugitive former attorney arrested in Arizona, announces AG Cooper

SBI, FBI and Chapel Hill police worked to capture fugitive

John Gregory McCormick, a missing Chapel Hill man accused of embezzling over $1 million from clients, was arrested in Phoenix, Arizona this morning, Attorney General Roy Cooper announced today.
“I am pleased with the hard work and cooperation of law enforcement to find and capture this suspect,” said Cooper. “We hope some resolution and justice will be brought in this case now that he has been found.”
At approximately, 12:00 a.m. (PST) John Gregory McCormick, date of birth April 14, 1948, was arrested by officers with the Phoenix Police Department. McCormick, who disappeared in July 2006, was the subject of a
NC State Bureau of Investigation embezzlement investigation.
McCormick was arrested on a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. He also faces a charge of
embezzling more than $802,000 in North Carolina and is suspected to have embezzled a total of more than $1
million.
McCormick will be held without bond in Arizona until he is returned to North Carolina.
The SBI began its investigation at the request of the Orange County District Attorney in July 2006. On April 4,
2007, the SBI requested the Federal Bureau of Investigation to assist in the fugitive investigation and on April
5, a federal arrest warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution was issued. Law enforcers followed leads both in the U.S. and overseas in an effort to find and arrest McCormick.
“The FBI remains committed to assisting our local and state law enforcement partners in pursuing and apprehending fugitives who flee interstate or internationally to avoid prosecution in significant cases,” said Nathan T. Gray, Special Agent in Charge of the Charlotte Division.
The Chapel Hill Police Department, Phoenix Police and the FBI assisted in this ongoing investigation.
The Office of District Attorney Jim Woodall is handling prosecution of the state charge.

Categories
Community

Carrboro High Dedication

Carrboro High School opned its doors to the community tonight. Massive turnout and a lot of spirit.

Here’s a couple of photos to give you an idea of the crowd. We’ll have some audio and a story in the am.

chsopen2.jpg

Did I mention it was warm out there?

chsopen1.jpg

Categories
Community

Community Calendar: 8/23/07

Farmers’ Markets
Carrboro Farmers’ Market – Sat 7am-12pm through Dec 22; Wed 3:30-6:30pm through Oct 17. Carrboro Town Commons. 932-1641, www.carrborofarmersmarket.com

Southern Village Farmers’ Market – Thu 4-7 pm through Aug 30 at Market Street on the Village Green.

Hillsborough Farmers’ Market – Wed 3-6pm; Sat 7:30am-noon. Apr-Nov. 732-8315.

Categories
Miscellany

Gas leak on Franklin Street

This from the Chapel Hill police:

East Franklin Street is currently closed between Estes Drive and Boundary Street due to a severed gas line. The gas line was apparently cut by workers in the area and repairs are expected to take several hours. Chapel Hill Fire and police officials are at the scene awaiting repairs to the line. Traffic has been rerouted to keep cars from the area. Officials hope to have the street opened before evening rush hour.

And just in time for one of the heaviest traffic days of the year.

Categories
Community

The Mill: 8/16/07

Big pull
A lot of folks just know White Cross as the home of Lloyd’s Grocery, which still has a free air hose, and Fiesta Grill, one of the finest restaurants ever located in a steel building. (Try the enchiladas molé. It’s a little sweet, but it grows on you.)

If you want to spend a pleasant evening in White Cross or if you live there and want to catch up with a couple hundred of your neighbors, they’ll be at the White Cross Recreation Center for the annual tractor pull.

Categories
Miscellany

Arts Calendar: 8/16/07

Carrboro

  • Artists’ Salon – For artists of all kinds to meet, network & build a better arts environment for Orange County. This month’s topic: Time Management for Artists. Guest panelists are visual artists Michelle Johnson & Leah Rade & actor Kenneth P Strong. Fri, Aug 17, 6:30pm. Free. The ArtsCenter, 300-G E Main St, Carrboro. 929-2787, www.artscenterlive.org
  • Artist’s Reception – The Mirror of the Noonday Sun. Come celebrate this new collection of paintings by Eduardo Lapetina. Mon, Aug 27, 5:30-7:30pm. Works on display through Oct 1. Panzanella, 200 N Greensboro St, Carr Mill Mall, Carrboro. 929-6626, www.panzanella.com
Categories
Miscellany

Community Calendar: 8/16/07

Farmers’ Markets

  • Carrboro Farmers’ Market – Sat 7am-12pm through Dec 22; Wed 3:30-6:30pm through Oct 17. 932-1641, carrborofarmersmarket.com
  • Southern Village Farmers’ Market – Thu 4-7pm through Aug 30 at Market Street on the Village Green.
  • Hillsborough Farmers’ Market – Wed 3-6pm; Sat 7:30am-noon, Apr-Nov. 732-8315.
Categories
Weather

Losing fruit

Karen McAdams, an ag extension agent told me yesterday that this heat would not only scorch fields, but it would mess up plants in pollination.

It’s also messing with the already pollinated. My dogwoods are losing their fruit rapidly. There’ll be no dogwood berries for the birds this fall at this rate.

Categories
Weather

Weather writing

Nothing like a weather story. Made the rounds on Tuesday and wrote it up Wednesday for today’s paper. Here’s the roundup:

The Heat is on
Carrboro and the rest of the O.C. bake away


Lifeguard Elizabeth Hamilton surveys the pool at Heritage Hills. Photo by Kirk Ross

By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

If you had a strange sensation on Monday morning that something wasn’t quite right, that maybe something was missing, you were right. In most places in southern Orange County, there was no dew.

Even though the air was plenty heavy with water, temperatures never dipped low enough Sunday night and early Monday to allow for the usual overnight condensation.

That was an early clue of the heatwave barreling down on us. The next clues were not so obscure.

Categories
Miscellany

Highlights from the 8/9/07 Citizen

Here are some community-related highlights in this week’s Citizen: