Categories
Weather

Hillsborough trash pickup delays

Here’s the info:

Due to road conditions from the winter storm, residential garbage will not be collected on Monday, Feb. 1.

Monday’s route will be collected on Tuesday, Feb. 2, if road conditions permit.

If roads still are icy Tuesday, Monday’s route will be collected on Wednesday, Feb. 3, and Tuesday’s route will be collected on Thursday, Feb. 4.

For up-to-date information, call 732-1270 Ext. 78.

Categories
Weather

Update from Carrboro on roads

This from the town:

9:30 am – Carrboro Public Works crews worked Sunday night into Monday morning spreading salt/sand mixture and re-plowing difficult areas. Most main roads are relatively clear but will become slushy again today with rising temperatures. Most residential areas remain snow/ice packed. Crews will be out working again today checking roads as needed. As noted yesterday, the downtown business area roads (Main St., Weaver St.) are in relatively good shape and downtown public parking lots have been cleared. Crews are also clearing snow at bus shelters. The Libba Cotten and Francis Shetley bike paths have both been plowed. All roads and paths remain slippery/dangerous and drivers/walkers should use caution.

Residential trash collection routes normally scheduled for Monday, February 1 have been postponed until Wednesday, February 3. This change was made to minimize having large trucks on slippery and narrow roads in residential areas.

The gates at Wilson Park and Anderson Park will remain closed until Town staff is able to evaluate park facilities and possible tree damage, and clear some of the roadways and parking areas. It is hoped that the gates will be opened sometime on Monday, February 1.

Categories
Weather

Chapel Hill trash collection delayed

This from the Town of Chapel Hill:

Following the weekend snowstorm, normal operations for Town of Chapel Hill services are anticipated tomorrow (Monday, Feb. 1) with the exception of Monday trash collection, which has been rescheduled to Wednesday.

Public works crews will remain busy with snow plowing and de-icing work, necessitating the delay in trash collection. Monday recycling services, provided by Orange County, are cancelled. For more information, contact Orange Community Recycling Programs at
919-968-2788.

Although residents finally got to see pavement on many Chapel Hill streets on Sunday, they are cautioned that hazardous driving conditions persist with slick roads. Expect to encounter ice in the morning. As temperatures rise, melting ice and snow may cause runoff that could result in flooding of some streets and low lying areas. Crews over the weekend have focused on primary roads and bus routes. On Monday, they will address secondary streets.

Categories
Weather

Carrboro trash collection postponed

Residential trash collection routes normally scheduled
for Monday will be postponed until Wednesday. This change is being made to
minimize having large trucks on slippery roads in residential areas.

Categories
Weather

Town Hall, Century Center opening at 10 a.m.

This from the Town of Carrboro:

Carrboro Town Hall and the Carrboro Century Center will open at 10:00 am
on Monday, February 1st, 2010, with a limited staff. The delayed opening
will not affect Police, Fire and Public Works schedules.

Categories
Weather

Bus schedules

This from Chapel Hill Transit this am:

CHT buses will follow their normal routes and schedules on Monday, February 1, 2010, as long as the streets are safe for travel. Bus routes that will be operating on detours are the A, F, N, T, V, HS, PX and 420. All routes will likely experience delays due to road conditions. CHT will not be operating on the following streets/areas until further notice:

A – Sevrin, Umstead and North Forest Hills
F – McDougle School
N – Village Drive, Longview and Pritchard Hill
T – Weaver Drive, Carol Woods, East Chapel Hill High School
V – Highgrove Drive, Brookgreen Drive and Greenview Drive
HS – Rogers Road and Seawell School
Pittsboro Express (PX) – Fearington Village
420 – Durham Tech

CHT encourages customers to be extra cautious when boarding and alighting vehicles as many area sidewalks and roadways remain slippery. EZ Rider and Shared Ride services are providing normal service today, however, customers may experience significant delays as road conditions dictate the ability of drivers to maneuver their vehicles on many area side streets and provide door-to-door service.

Categories
Miscellany Weather

Chapel Hill weather update

The official word from the Town of Chapel Hill:

Due to the accumulation of snow compacted by sleet and subfreezing temperatures over the weekend, the Town of Chapel Hill announces the following changes to services:

– Parks and Recreation facilities will be closed on Sunday, Jan. 31
– Chapel Hill Public Library will be closed on Sunday, Jan. 31
– Trash Collection routes normally scheduled for Monday, Feb. 1, will be postponed until Wednesday, Feb. 3
– All Chapel Hill Transit routes are operating with delays due to road conditions. In addition, buses will operate Safe Routes on Saturday night. Chapel Hill Transit will provide Tar Heel Express shuttle service on Sunday for the UNC men’s basketball game against the Virginia Cavaliers, scheduled for 7:45 p.m. at the Dean E. Smith Center. For more information about the Tar Heel Express service, visit: http://www.townofchapelhill.org/index.aspx?recordid=1468&page=22
– CHT will not be operating on the following streets/areas until further notice:
• Bowles Drive – NU Route (Customers can catch the NU on Manning Drive)
• Chapel Hill Public Library – DM Route
• Carol Woods, East Chapel Hill High School, Hillsborough Street – T Route
• Umstead and Severn – JN Route
• Pritchard Hill – JN Route
• Village Drive – JN

Although a vigorous effort to plow and salt the roads continues by both Town public works crews and crews from the NC Department of Transportation, road conditions continue to be treacherous, and residents are advised not to drive.

Thankfully, most are heeding this warning. Traffic is very minimal on Chapel Hill streets on Saturday. There have been nine reported weather-related accidents, all of which occurred on Friday night. Public safety officers are concerned about the safety of residents who are sledding and tobogganing in streets and traffic lanes. People are urged to never use streets or roads for sledding unless they are blocked off from traffic. Also, do not sled on icy hills; sledding hills should be only snow covered.

Public Works crews are working the roads with eight snow plow trucks, three motor graders and four box spreaders that spread salt and sand. The Town’s snow removal plan prioritizes all streets within the town limits giving first priority to major thoroughfares, bus routes and hospital areas. The second priority is the major collector streets that feed into the major arterial routes plus trouble spots such as hills and dangerous intersections. When these streets are passable the next focus is the minor collector streets and finally neighborhood streets.

In addition to the work of Town crews, the NC Department of Transportation also assists with snow removal on state-maintained major arterials. They have 12 snow plow trucks with box spreaders and two motor graders assigned to Chapel Hill and focus on the following streets: Franklin Street, Hwy 86 (MLK, Columbia and 15-501 by Southern Village, South Road/Raleigh Road/Hwy 54, Manning Drive and Fordham Boulevard.

Chapel Hill has an interactive Adverse Weather Map. See http://gis.townofchapelhill.org/adverse_weather. Many of the roads that have been treated or plowed are still considered treacherous and extreme caution should be used at all times.

Residents who wish to report non-emergency problems or ask questions may call the Public Works Department at 919-969-5100 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. For emergencies, always call 911.

General Information – For information during inclement weather, Chapel Hill residents should visit the official Town website at www.townofchapelhill.org.

For updates from Chapel Hill Transit, visit its Inclement Weather page at www.townofchapelhill.org/index.aspx?page=696 or call 919-969-4900 and press “1” for Route and Schedule Information – expect some wait time due to high call volumes. For EZ Rider/Shared Ride Services, call 919-969-5544.

Announcements about the weather’s effect on Town services are made on WCHL radio (1360 AM). Our inclement weather web page www.townofchapelhill.org/index.aspx?page=851 contains many quick links to public services and guides to emergency preparation.

Categories
Weather

Conditions report

This from south of town:

Windy, cold, snow covered and getting a shower of tiny ice pellets.
Not much traffic anywhere. Peals of laughter from the snow covered slopes of Southern Community Park.

Categories
Weather

snow and more to come

At times like these, it’s best to let the NWS folks speak for themselves. Forecast discussion:

INTERESTING ENOUGH THIS SNOW BAND IS IMPACTING THE MAJOR POPULATION CENTERS OF CENTRAL NC…WITH AS MUCH AS 1.5 TO 2.0 INCHES OF SNOW ALREADY BEING REPORTED IN BOTH THE TRIAD AND TRIANGLE (SEE RDUPNSRAH FOR FULL LIST OF SNOWFALL REPORTS). WHILE THERE WILL BE SOME BRIEF LULLS IN THE
MODERATE SNOWFALL…THIS EXPANSIVE/ELONGATED BAND EXTENDS ALL THE
WAY BACK ACROSS UPSTATE SC. SO MANY OF THE SAME AREAS COULD SEE ANOTHER 1 TO 2 INCHES POSSIBLE THROUGH MIDNIGHT…BEFORE THE
STRONGER ISENTROPIC LIFT SPREADS OVER THE AREA AFTER MIDNIGHT. AS SUCH…WITH A 2 TO 3 INCH BASE LAYER OF SNOW IN PLACE BEFORE THE
ARRIVAL OF THE BEST FORCING…MAY HAVE TO RAISE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS IN THE SWEET SPOT WHERE THIS BAND HAS FORMED.

Categories
Weather

Heavy snow in Hboro

Chapel Hill and much of southern Orange are getting a few flakes but Hillsborough has already gotten a dusting.

Categories
Arts & Music

Gimme Five! Pete and Andrea Connolly of Birds and Arrows

birdsandarrows

There is a violent tension in the moniker Birds and Arrows, but the music that couple Pete and Andrea Connolly craft, spins that friction away from brutality and into elegant, elemental heights.  If you take even just one passing listen to their music, it’s apparent these are voices that aren’t in harmony so much as interlocked.  It’s as if two people wandering around the woods suddenly came upon each other and realized they were singing the same song– a romantic image made all the more apropos because Pete and Andrea are newlyweds.

Cute personal history aside, it’s the instrumental textures  and intimate lyrics that should really catch your attention.  From their debut EP Woodgrain Heart to their latest full length Starmaker, the Connolly’s have dreamed up what can only (to my ear) be described as a shimmering deconstructed pop-country sound.  There’s a grounded, vintage tone to the arrangements, but a spacey, voyeuristic disconnect in the translation.  All in all, it’s a head-scratchingly beautiful mess of music that you can catch at any number of local shows coming up in the near future.

So, now that you’re convinced they’ve got the musical chops, check how they tackle the furious five:

1. If your band were a craft project, what would it be?

PETE and ANDREA: We would be a little boat made out of Popsicle sticks.  See photo……

birdsandarrowspopsicleboat
2. When was the moment you realized there was something to this musical partnership that needed to be shared?

PETE: When my brother Jon first played me a CD that Andrea had given him of her solo stuff.  I wanted to play drums, sing or just be a part of it.

ANDREA: I would say it was when I found out Pete was such an awesome drummer.  He made my songs much more interesting.  and also, the first time we sang harmony together.  Pete had written me this beautiful (sappy) love song and he would play it for me often and I would sing harmony on the choruses.

3. Describe your typical PE experience.

PETE: Getting picked second or third to last due to my height and huge Robert Plant hair but then the team being pleasantly surprised with my performance…..if I were even there cause I was probably scoring beer at the local Vietnamese Market.

ANDREA: I always thought I was as strong (if not stronger) than all of the boys.  Which at the time probably wasn’t that far off sent most of them were very small and hadn’t hit puberty yet.  So, I would end up challenging them to a race or to a pull up contest etc…  Pete probably would say I am still like that to this day.  Trying to prove my strength and never asking for help when lifting my huge amp.

starmaker4. Who/what might be a few inspirations or influences that might really surprise people?

PETE: I would have to say Boston.  When I was in 7th grade I used to drum on an office chair with rulers to “Smokin'”

ANDREA: Babs.  My mom says (I don’t remember this very well cause I was 3) whenever she would put on a Barbra Streisand record I would sing along for awhile and then claim that I could perform it much better.  So, all my musical career I have been secretly trying to out sing Barbra.

5. What did you dream of being when you were a kid? (How ’d that turn out?)

PETE: I told my mom when I was 5 that I wanted to be a Jet Airplane salesman or I could fall back on being a Rockstar….the air industry doesn’t look so enticing anymore so I’m working on the Rockstar thing.

ANDREA: Well, music and performing is the only thing I have ever done since I could talk.  So, I would have to say a musician of some kind.  then, when I picked up a guitar in middle school and got introduced to classic rock I wanted to be Stevie Nicks  Oh, and I also in the back of my mind wanted to be a vet (like a lot of little kids)  I loved animals.  So, I actually tried this for a semester in college and after castrating a pig I realized it wasn’t for me.  So, back to the stage.

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Please check in next week to see who else will take up the challenge of facing down the five.  And if you happen catch a Birds and Arrows live–and you really should–by all means give Pete or Andrea a high five.