http://www.gogoraleigh.com The Latest in Retail, Entertainment, and Development in Raleigh Wed, 24 Jun 2015 02:05:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.3
http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2015/04/03/125-concerts-to-rock-your-summer/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2015/04/03/125-concerts-to-rock-your-summer/#comments Fri, 03 Apr 2015 15:55:21 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7645 Summer always brings great concerts to the Triangle, and 2015 may be the best yet. From April to September there are 125 big acts coming to the area’s venues, with more announcements coming! From 1st-tier comedians to one of only 15 North American dates for the Rolling Stones, there is always something to do here this summer. See venue key at the bottom for info links. Click the “Summer ‘15” tab (at the top) for the updated...
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Summer always brings great concerts to the Triangle, and 2015 may be the best yet. From April to September there are 125 big acts coming to the area’s venues, with more announcements coming! From 1st-tier comedians to one of only 15 North American dates for the Rolling Stones, there is always something to do here this summer. See venue key at the bottom for info links.
Click the “Summer ‘15” tab (at the top) for the updated list .
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2015/04/01/cameron-village-planning-parking-decks/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2015/04/01/cameron-village-planning-parking-decks/#comments Wed, 01 Apr 2015 13:00:00 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7641 Raleigh’s original shopping center, Cameron Village, has seen a renaissance over the past two decades. The renovation began with the removal of several outdated parking structures from the struggling center. A full complex facelift was then completed, and the general public has responded enthusiastically. With not only the replacement of several surrounding outdated office and retail buildings, but also the addition of many new apartments, Cameron Village finds itself one of the most sought after addresses in Raleigh by young professionals. While the changes have made Cameron Village wildly popular, the availability of parking at the center has become a deal-breaker for some. To meet the new demand for parking, Cameron Village management has released new renderings of parking structures that will be completed by this time next year. The first phase, pictured below, will be a one-level deck over the surface parking on Daniels Street, extending from Noodles & Co to the end...
]]> Raleigh’s original shopping center, Cameron Village, has seen a renaissance over the past two decades. The renovation began with the removal of several outdated parking structures from the struggling center. A full complex facelift was then completed, and the general public has responded enthusiastically. With not only the replacement of several surrounding outdated office and retail buildings, but also the addition of many new apartments, Cameron Village finds itself one of the most sought after addresses in Raleigh by young professionals.
While the changes have made Cameron Village wildly popular, the availability of parking at the center has become a deal-breaker for some. To meet the new demand for parking, Cameron Village management has released new renderings of parking structures that will be completed by this time next year.
The first phase, pictured below, will be a one-level deck over the surface parking on Daniels Street, extending from Noodles & Co to the end of the strip where Seagrove Pottery was. The open air parking level will connect to shopping areas with carefully placed staircases. Phase Two continues the parking experience across Daniels Street and will completely wrap the block which houses Outdoor Provision Co., Village Draft House, and the ABC Store.
“We are excited to offer super convenient parking for our customers,” said Wynne Lorth, a vice president of the center. “Not only will be adding quantity of parking, the new structures will convert existing surface parking into a premium experience that is always dry and cool; especially needed on those hot summer days.”
Existing Cameron Village parking with rendering of new premium parking.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2015/02/09/north-carolina-loses-the-great-teacher/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2015/02/09/north-carolina-loses-the-great-teacher/#comments Mon, 09 Feb 2015 14:39:25 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7596 On the evening of Saturday, February 7, UNC lost perhaps its most important family member of the school’s storied history. Coach Dean Smith had suffered from dementia for many years, and his life ended quietly. The irony that such a sharp mind that steered so many storied comebacks would not be able to mount one in his own life is a bitter pill to swallow. That we are not in control of our fates is just one of the lessons Smith taught us. There are hundreds of great stories being passed around these days about great Smith moments. Mine came after reading his book Multiple Offense and Defense. It is a fantastic, concise X’s and O’s manual for running several of the offensive and defensive sets Smith used in the first half of his coaching career. There are also great lessons about team play, running structured practices, acknowledgment of the groundbreakers that came before us, and the beauty of math in the game we love. That final point led me to corral my own stats for the...
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On the evening of Saturday, February 7, UNC lost perhaps its most important family member of the school’s storied history. Coach Dean Smith had suffered from dementia for many years, and his life ended quietly. The irony that such a sharp mind that steered so many storied comebacks would not be able to mount one in his own life is a bitter pill to swallow. That we are not in control of our fates is just one of the lessons Smith taught us.
There are hundreds of great stories being passed around these days about great Smith moments. Mine came after reading his book Multiple Offense and Defense . It is a fantastic, concise X’s and O’s manual for running several of the offensive and defensive sets Smith used in the first half of his coaching career. There are also great lessons about team play, running structured practices, acknowledgment of the groundbreakers that came before us, and the beauty of math in the game we love. That final point led me to corral my own stats for the team, which eventually blossomed into my Tar Heel HOOPla website 20 years ago.
In the book Coach Smith explained his system for evaluating offensive and defensive efficiency, and stated that his team’s goals are to exceed 0.85 points per possession and to keep the opponent below 0.75 points per possession. The book was written before the advent of the 3-point shot, leaving me to wonder about how much that rule changed the stated goals. Woody Durham hosted a weekly call-in show with the coach and I was able to ask him my question on the air. He first stated,”Very good! You’ve done your homework,” then stated his updated goals of 0.95 and 0.85, respectively.
Apparently I’m not alone in being fascinated by the statistics basketball brings us, as evidenced by the popularity of Ken Pomeroy’s work. Pomeroy’s stats differ from Smith’s because Smith considered a possession to end when a field goal is attempted while Pomeroy considers it ending when the other team gets possession of the ball. Pomeroy reaches this figure by subtracting offensive rebounds from field goal attempts, making Total Possessions an irrelevant statistic. Smith’s method, on the other hand, leaves a Total Possessions differential which reflects the true rebounding, making his method much more useful.
When I was in Chapel Hill for college and dental school, I only had a couple of brushes with Dean Smith. One morning my dental class sat in a hallway waiting to take an exam. A hush fell on the group as Dean Smith walked down the hall by us after completing an appointment with one of our professors. It was as if we all wanted to be put into the game. We all got a chuckle at how we responded, but also were impressed that someone like Dean Smith thought that highly of our teacher.
I was lucky enough to get to sit behind the bench in ‘93 to watch the eventual National Champions play Duke on Senior Day. Committed recruits Jerry Stackhouse and Jeff McInnis sat in front of me while uncommitted Rasheed Wallace sat two seats toward midcourt. Wallace, of course, chose UNC over his hometown Temple, and Smith would later proclaim Wallace to be the best player Smith coached. The photo above is from the book Return to the Top , and shows me right behind Stackhouse and McInnis. Jim Valvano sat across the court doing his final full broadcast. Phil Ford, one of the greatest college basketball players of all-time, and Bill Guthridge, one of the best big-man coaches in the history of the game, were 10 feet in front of me. It was an incredible experience to be a spectator around these great masters of their craft. Of course from that angle one gets an appreciation of the vertical elements of basketball, but I was also able to appreciate the level of focus players from each team carried.
We essentially lost Coach Smith several years ago with the onset of dementia. Unlike other coaches, Smith retired and made few public appearances. In one of the many pieces of irony surrounding Smith, he was always proud of his ability to teach, yet could have taught us all so much about the game and life after retiring from coaching. Smith could be ruthless in team practices, slicing giants to pieces with his words. However those were players (and families) into which he had emotionally invested. He would never have felt comfortable criticizing the play of players he didn’t know, so he never pursued the chance to teach us more.
Smith learned basketball from Phog Allen who learned basketball from the game’s inventor, James Naismith. While Smith may be gone and the building bearing his name may not stand for the remainder of our lives, Smith leaves an indelible mark on both the game and the culture of the State of North Carolina through not only his bountiful coaching tree, but also through the many of us whose lives were enriched by his work.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2015/01/14/heels-have-the-tools-need-tune-up/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2015/01/14/heels-have-the-tools-need-tune-up/#comments Wed, 14 Jan 2015 22:03:04 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7588 With both NCSU and UNC coming off of thrilling home wins over Top 10 opponents, tonight’s showdown looks to be another great chapter in the rivalry’s rich history. Last year’s epic overtime battle was a modern era classic, and while many of the players return for tonight’s game, the primary factors are completely different. The NCSU team has only recently found its identity. We knew they had a talented backcourt, but the the inconsistent play in the first dozen games really hampered the team. They keys to NCSU tonight are two-fold: While point guard Cat Barber continues to bring outstanding athleticism but sputtering smarts to the game, transfer Trevor Lacey has become an all-conference level performer. Nobody is talking about how Lacey can do everything that T.J. Warren could do, but the truth is, he isn’t far from consistently being that level of player. BJ Anya is a great shotblocker who is foul-prone. If he can stay on the court, NCSU’s frontcourt can match up...
]]> With both NCSU and UNC coming off of thrilling home wins over Top 10 opponents, tonight’s showdown looks to be another great chapter in the rivalry’s rich history. Last year’s epic overtime battle was a modern era classic, and while many of the players return for tonight’s game, the primary factors are completely different.
The NCSU team has only recently found its identity. We knew they had a talented backcourt, but the the inconsistent play in the first dozen games really hampered the team. They keys to NCSU tonight are two-fold:
State’s play is straightforward, but UNC’s is not. The first part of this 2015 season has been a trying one for UNC fans. The team, sporting with 6 McDonald’s All-Americans, has struggled to show any kind of cohesiveness and consistency. However dissecting the Heels reveals some things about this team that the babbling, mantra-driven local sports radio media fails to see.
With UNC’s weakness being outside shooting, one would think UNC would play to its strengths, however they are attempting 24% of their shots from beyond the arc. Usually Roy’s teams can shoot the 3 well, and only take about 22% of their shots from behind the arc.
The keys for UNC moving forward are establishing Joel Berry as the primary PG, moving Marcus Paige to the SG, narrowing the rotation, and running the offense through Kennedy Meeks.
Much attention is on Marcus Paige, however the statistics show that UNC falls apart offensively when Kennedy Meeks leaves the game. For UNC to win tonight, they need an excellent game out of Meeks, and to shut down the Pack offensively.
In the last 20 years NC State is 1-14 after beating Duke or UNC. I expect NCSU to struggle shooting the ball tonight, and for UNC to win this chapter. Revenge for tonight’s loser comes in 5 weeks, though, where NCSU may play their best Dean Dome game in quite some time. We’ll see…
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2015/01/05/25-predictions-for-2015/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2015/01/05/25-predictions-for-2015/#comments Mon, 05 Jan 2015 13:00:00 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7582 It’s that time of year. As a new one rolls around we look forward at the trends and events that will likely impact our lives in Raleigh. In no particular order, here is a glimpse into the crystal ball: 2014 was a banner year for electronic security breaches, and 2015 will continue the pattern. Banks and retailers, now facing higher than ever write-offs due to security breaches, will fully embrace cardless payments, and ApplePay will be huge. ApplePay is so secure and so easy, we will see iOS gain back some noticeable American marketshare from Android. A related technology we will see will be a payment by car; an ApplePay and Google Wallet extension in new cars allowing quick payment in drive-thru windows and turnpike tolling gates. As a result of new, secure payments and the end of predictable market corrections, we will see a solid year for brick and mortar retail. In food trends 2015 will be the Year of Cauliflower, and we will see it everywhere. Wake County will...
]]> It’s that time of year. As a new one rolls around we look forward at the trends and events that will likely impact our lives in Raleigh. In no particular order, here is a glimpse into the crystal ball:
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2015/01/02/raleighs-10-biggest-stories-of-2014/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2015/01/02/raleighs-10-biggest-stories-of-2014/#comments Fri, 02 Jan 2015 22:08:43 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7580 As we shut the door on 2014 we take a look back at the stories of 2014 that will have the biggest impact on Raleigh moving forward (in no particular order of importance): Mitchell Silver leaves Raleigh for NYC Mitchell Silver, Raleigh planning director for the past 9 years, accepted what he calls his final job when he got a call from NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio. Silver will serve out the next 4 or 8 years as New York’s Commissioner of Parks, an intends to retire to Raleigh afterward. In his 9 years Silver laid out two comprehensive planning planning strategies, but also executed some masterful microdesigns that have made downtown Raleigh a more unified, walkable, and livable place. State and Federal Elections (aka “Moral Monday Backlash”) The state’s NAACP director organized some well-attended, disruptive demonstrations at the state legislature. Not only did these actions affect no change with legislation, on November 4, voters across the state chose to continue the...
]]> As we shut the door on 2014 we take a look back at the stories of 2014 that will have the biggest impact on Raleigh moving forward (in no particular order of importance):
Mitchell Silver, Raleigh planning director for the past 9 years, accepted what he calls his final job when he got a call from NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio. Silver will serve out the next 4 or 8 years as New York’s Commissioner of Parks, an intends to retire to Raleigh afterward. In his 9 years Silver laid out two comprehensive planning planning strategies, but also executed some masterful microdesigns that have made downtown Raleigh a more unified, walkable, and livable place.
The state’s NAACP director organized some well-attended, disruptive demonstrations at the state legislature. Not only did these actions affect no change with legislation, on November 4, voters across the state chose to continue the Republican super majority in the state houses.
Probably the most surprising and most impactful story of 2014 was the Democrats’ sweep of Wake County Commissioner seats, taking every seat on the board. There are 24 elected seats in Wake County and 21 are held by Democrats. While most didn’t expect a full sweep in a vacuum, the biggest surprise is that it occurred on a day where nationally Republicans had one of their best election days in recent memory.
There has been a lot of fuss over Tupelo Honey in Asheville, and the restaurant’s most recent expansion was into Raleigh. Raleigh’s best new restaurant came at the end of the year, and it has been packed since Day One.
One of the key members of Raleigh’s Democrat-led City Council died after a somewhat short battle with testicular cancer. Crowder was a part of the Meeker-led bloc that spearheaded changes in Raleigh’s downtown and suburban development. His seat is filled by his surviving wife, Kay.
The three-year plan to dig up I-40 and I-440 from Poole Road to the Crossroads interchange got in full swing, leaving drivers waiting through delays and finding alternate routes through southeastern Wake County.
2014 was the worst year in UNC’s 219 years of history. What started as a scandal about football improprieties grew in 2014 taking down UNC’s academic reputation with it. UNC Chancellor Carol Folt commissioned an investigation into academic wrongdoing in the AfAm department. The results showed, however, that non-athletes were in the majority of those receiving sham credit hours, and from multiple departments. The NCAA re-opened their investigation into the matter, however we still await its conclusion and response
There have been many great years recently for Raleigh chef Ashley Christensen, but 2014 has to be her finest yet. In early May she was named the Best Chef in the Southeast by the James Beard Society. Christensen not only saw her existing restaurants strengthen their bases, but she also announced the planning of a new restaurant, Death & Taxes, and opened a commissary to run back-end food prep for her family of restaurants.
While it was a banner year for Ashley Christensen, it was a fantastic year for the entire Triangle. Out of the 433 national nominees for James Beard awards, 9 were in the Triangle area, joined by 3 others from the rest of North Carolina, totaling 12 for the state. No restaurants from Charlotte, the Triad, or Wilmington were nominated. Only 6 nominees went to each Virginia and South Carolina, while 11 went to Georgia. Much ballyhooed Austin, Texas? They got just 3.
On February 12 Raleigh got an icy 3 inches of snow, causing severe traffic problems. When one untalented driver on highway 70 revved the engine too high causing the engine to burst into flames, the ensuing mayhem on eastbound 70 in front of the Angus Barn became fodder for a national meme .
Duke was to travel to Chapel Hill to play in the Dean Dome that night, but Mike Kryzyzewski feared problems traveling on 15-501, and canceled the game. With everyone else in place to play the game, including ACC referees and TV crews, many speculated that K was trying to protect his team from embarrassing themselves on national TV. The game was postponed and UNC still won. Duke saved the embarrassment for March 21 with a first-round NCAA Tournament ousting at the hands of Mercer.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2015/01/02/2014-the-rain-year/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2015/01/02/2014-the-rain-year/#comments Fri, 02 Jan 2015 21:10:19 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7578 One of the most underreported stories of 2014 is the enormous amount of rain that fell on the city in the second half of the year. Without a tropical storm or hurricane to inflate annual totals, as we typically see, Raleigh still got 55.29” of rain. This is 11.95” above the normal 43.34” annual total. I am not privy to historical rainfall totals for this area, but being 28% above the normal level is exceedingly rare, and likely greater than 2 standard deviations away from average. By comparison 1996, a famous year which brought two hurricanes to Raleigh and featured a September with 16.65” of rain alone, had a total of 59.14”, a total 36% above normal. 2014 however was a year which had normal rainfall for the first half, then about seven large dumps throughout the entire late summer and fall. It was an unusual pattern that will certainly have an effect on root and mold development through the coming winter and spring. image courtesy WRAL.com weather...
]]> One of the most underreported stories of 2014 is the enormous amount of rain that fell on the city in the second half of the year. Without a tropical storm or hurricane to inflate annual totals, as we typically see, Raleigh still got 55.29” of rain. This is 11.95” above the normal 43.34” annual total.
I am not privy to historical rainfall totals for this area, but being 28% above the normal level is exceedingly rare, and likely greater than 2 standard deviations away from average. By comparison 1996, a famous year which brought two hurricanes to Raleigh and featured a September with 16.65” of rain alone, had a total of 59.14”, a total 36% above normal. 2014 however was a year which had normal rainfall for the first half, then about seven large dumps throughout the entire late summer and fall. It was an unusual pattern that will certainly have an effect on root and mold development through the coming winter and spring.
image courtesy WRAL.com weather section
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2014/11/18/2013-predictions-a-look-back/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2014/11/18/2013-predictions-a-look-back/#comments Tue, 18 Nov 2014 21:18:13 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7549 23 months ago I posted some predictions for the upcoming 2013 year. For fun, let’s look back and see which ones turned out and which ones didn’t: Publix will begin construction on their first Triangle store…in Cary in the Davis/54 area. TRUE (kind of) – The store opened at Davis Drive/High House a couple of weeks ago. Not 2013, but I got the location correct! Publix will pick Creedmoor/Millbrook for their first Raleigh store location. The new owners of Falls Village will make a strong play for Publix, offering to raze half of their center to accommodate a large grocery store. – WRONG – Publix is, however eyeing a North Raleigh site near Bedford for their first Raleigh store Raleigh will begin discussions to tear down Memorial Auditorium – with the dominant bookings of the DPAC, Raleigh people are increasingly irked by having to go to Durham for so many good events. Leaders in Raleigh will talk about removing the center section of the performing arts complex and...
]]> 23 months ago I posted some predictions for the upcoming 2013 year. For fun, let’s look back and see which ones turned out and which ones didn’t:
So, overall, not too bad. There were some correct predictions, and for the most part, the incorrect ones were not way far off. Some just need more time as the sluggish economy still has lending markets feeling jittery.
In one month I will present predictions for 2015.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2014/11/12/dot-unveils-i-440-widening-plans/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2014/11/12/dot-unveils-i-440-widening-plans/#comments Thu, 13 Nov 2014 04:59:32 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7543 Today the NC Department of Transportation held an information session regarding the I-440 widening plan. Construction on this final piece of “The Beltline” to offer only four lanes, is slated to break ground in 2018, and will likely take two years to complete. The scope of the project involves Interstate 440 from the I-40 interchange at Crossroads (The Belt Buckle) to the Wade Avenue interchange. It is a stretch that is only 3.75 miles long, but has a significant number of difficult challenges from replacement of all bridges to dealing with terrain problems to overcoming constrictions set by limited right-of-ways. Let’s look at the key elements, moving from North to South: I-440/Wade Avenue Interchange project pdf The existing problems with this area lie with a heavy traffic load in the afternoon on the ramp from inbound Wade to 440 Eastbound (440E), a short weave under the bridge on Inbound Wade, a short weave on 440E between Hillsborough and Wade, and a short weave on...
]]> Today the NC Department of Transportation held an information session regarding the I-440 widening plan. Construction on this final piece of “The Beltline” to offer only four lanes, is slated to break ground in 2018, and will likely take two years to complete.
The scope of the project involves Interstate 440 from the I-40 interchange at Crossroads (The Belt Buckle) to the Wade Avenue interchange. It is a stretch that is only 3.75 miles long, but has a significant number of difficult challenges from replacement of all bridges to dealing with terrain problems to overcoming constrictions set by limited right-of-ways.
Let’s look at the key elements, moving from North to South:
project pdf
The existing problems with this area lie with a heavy traffic load in the afternoon on the ramp from inbound Wade to 440 Eastbound (440E), a short weave under the bridge on Inbound Wade, a short weave on 440E between Hillsborough and Wade, and a short weave on 440W’s bridge over Wade. Planners intend to solve the first two problems by replacing the Wade/440E loop with a flyover bridge. Dealing with the other problems gets extremely tricky, but each plan has one other common feature: the elimination of the Outbound Wade/440W loop. ITB drivers wanting to go to Cary will have to make a left turn after the 440 overpass at a traffic signal. The other options mainly deal with getting traffic on/off of 440E to/from Hillsborough and Wade; the segment bordering Meredith College.
This option puts all traffic coming from Cary onto a 2-lane resurrected loop on the NE corner of the cloverleaf. Traffic headed inbound on Wade waits at a left turn signal while traffic headed outbound continues from the loop into Wade. Hillsborough Street traffic headed out Wade blends with offcoming 440E traffic while cars getting on 440E dives under a new offramp bridge.
This option is the least expensive and offers Hillsborough Street drivers an unimpeded path to Wade Outbound and puts traffic directly onto Wade Avenue (see Two Flyovers). The main problem is that it keeps an unnecessary traffic signal stymying both directions of Wade. Why not keep the off-ramp for Inbound Wade traffic, give outbound their loop, and eliminate the current traffic light?
The Two Flyovers option takes traffic on 440E headed to Wade Outbound on a flyover that would merge with offcoming 440 West’s heavy traffic, before merging onto Wade. Traffic headed inbound on Wade uses the current offramp and right turn.
The option makes all traffic coming from Hillsborough have an easy route and removes the existing traffic signal at Wade Avenue. The option keeps speeds higher, reducing bottlenecks, supposedly.
Actually this option would be an expensive nightmare, as then all 440 traffic headed to Wade Avenue west would have to merge with each other as well as short-weave with Wade Avenue traffic before the Blue Ridge Road offramp. Because the Blue Ridge Road offramp is not a part of this project, it cannot be changed and introduces a severe problem with the Two Flyover plan.
The Slight Detour plan takes 440E traffic headed out Wade through a resurrected 1-lane loop on the NE corner of the intersection. 440E’s Inbound Wade traffic and
all
of Hillsborough Street’s traffic would proceed to the current Wade Avenue signalized intersection, where Wade Inbound, Wade Outbound, and 440E can be accessed.
This plan handles the 440E to Wade Outbound traffic beautifully, as the traffic merges onto Wade before 440W’s offramp merges. The plan puts a weird burden on the Hillsborough-borne traffic however.
The strongest option of the three, as drawn, is the One Flyover because it keeps traffic from Hillsborough Street flowing best, however an Inbound off-ramp would be the best option as it removes an unnecessary traffic light from Wade Avenue’s flow.
Raleigh is about to get its first Diverging Diamond Intersection (DDI)! The DDI takes the Western Blvd traffic and swaps sides of the road near the 440 overpass. Each swap is managed by a 2-stage traffic signal, making the intersection easily traversed by pedestrians while keeping Western Boulevard’s traffic flowing well.
DDI intersections are strongest because the swap allows extremely safe, easy left turns onto and off of the highway’s ramps. Initially some are terrified at the thought of swapping the sides of the road, however these intersections are well marked and really feel like a one-way street. They are no scarier than a SPUI interchange, like the one at Southpoint Mall on I-40.
The current problems with this intersection are a double traffic light on Jones Franklin (because in the 70s a new apartment complex was allowed to access the road 50 feet from an off-ramp intersection), an extremely dangerous pedestrian situation on the overpass, a short weave on 440E between I-40 and Jones Franklin, and 440’s shortest onramp (Jones Franklin onto 400E).
Where do we start? To begin with, the 440W offramp will be realigned with the apartment complex’s street, creating a single signal intersection. Engineers intend to use a weave (bridged swap) to avoid the current short weave between I-40 and Jones Franklin on 440E.
The realignment will improve dramatically the intersection on the north side of the interchange. The weave? I don’t see much of a problem with the current short weave, and don’t think it needs to be addressed.
One problem, however, with the plan is that it shows Jones Franklin with four northbound lanes between the traffic light and Waters Edge. There is currently a northbound TTA bus stop in that segment (green dot). As designed the TTA bus would have to accelerate across two lanes of traffic through a T intersection after loading passengers.
When I proposed moving the stop to the south corner of the ramp/Sumter intersection (blue dot), the DOT engineer laughed in my face. No way is NCDOT going to allow a bus stop in their intersection, apparently. I was stunned, and appalled, in fact. The proposed intersection could easily be marked with crosswalks and signalized to handle a bus stop before the intersection. It is a far more safe manner than the engineer’s proposal of keeping the stop where it is.
The “Belt Buckle” is an intersection needing much improvement. Traffic merging from Crossroads Plaza has to traverse 2 lanes of traffic still hot from a 65mph speed zone. There is a short merge under the 40 bridges, and it creates backups on the US1 North segment of road.
DOT proposes a flyover for 40E traffic headed onto 440E. The plan removes the current loop for this move and solves the short weave problem under the bridge. Seriously, though, who does this move? Of the cloverleaf’s options, that’s probably the least utilized option. If all other things are equal, the flyover should be for traffic moving from US1N onto I-40W. Environmental and legal constraints apparently prohibit DOT from obtaining this land. (I haven’t written about this yet, but David Martin has wanted, for years, to put “Crossroads Towers”, 4 office towers and a hotel ranging from 10-62 stories each, on that land. Stay tuned).
Even more interesting about this intersection, however, is that there is a feasibility study going on right now to examine redoing the entire 440/40 intersection. In other words, a comprehensive overhaul may be coming anyway for this intersection, which means that DOT will likely take the options to just widen 440 to 40 and not touch the intersection for this project.
There are other aspects about this project that don’t require much discussion. The Melbourne Road bridge will be replaced, and the intersection will not close, for instance. DOT also plans to keep Method connected to a cemetery in the shadows of Westgrove Tower, as well.
* * *
However the four big interchanges are the story here. Interim routing will be fascinating, as major changes such as those proposed will require an exquisite amount of detouring during the project.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2014/11/05/county-power-shift-brings-major-changes-to-raleighs-future/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2014/11/05/county-power-shift-brings-major-changes-to-raleighs-future/#comments Wed, 05 Nov 2014 18:17:10 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7530 Having a multi-tiered government means that every election brings a new character to the way we are governed. Tuesday night’s results certainly lived up to that promise, bringing significant changes to Raleigh. I’ve always felt that the best place for Liberalism is in local government, where government application can best be managed and tailored for its citizens’ needs. Conversely the best place for Conservatism is in Washington, where one-size-fits-all governing rarely works. Tillis Defeats Hagan Surprisingly, outgoing N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis defeated the incumbent senator, Kay Hagan. The results for this race, along with Virginia’s, became the primary focus of national election coverage last night. The win for Republicans added to the party’s newly-gained majority in Washington, leaving President Obama relatively powerless against the Republican-controlled Capitol chambers. In the end, however, the N.C. Senate race was a red herring for Raleigh residents. At...
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Having a multi-tiered government means that every election brings a new character to the way we are governed. Tuesday night’s results certainly lived up to that promise, bringing significant changes to Raleigh.
I’ve always felt that the best place for Liberalism is in local government, where government application can best be managed and tailored for its citizens’ needs. Conversely the best place for Conservatism is in Washington, where one-size-fits-all governing rarely works.
Surprisingly, outgoing N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis defeated the incumbent senator, Kay Hagan. The results for this race, along with Virginia’s, became the primary focus of national election coverage last night. The win for Republicans added to the party’s newly-gained majority in Washington, leaving President Obama relatively powerless against the Republican-controlled Capitol chambers.
In the end, however, the N.C. Senate race was a red herring for Raleigh residents. At the time of this writing Republicans will have a minimum 4-seat advantage in the U.S. Senate. The Tillis-Hagan race’s timing is being hailed as the race that put the Republicans over the edge for control. However the reality is that over $110 million of money was wasted on a race that means nothing to Raleigh.
Had Hagan won, she would have been a powerless observer in Washington over the next two years, unable to address North Carolina’s concerns. With Tillis’ win, he will be a powerless follower, but perhaps North Carolina’s interests will be better represented with both of its senators being in the same party as the majority and the state’s governor.
One thing that certainly will change for Raleigh residents is the way we watch TV and use the internet. Net Neutrality is dead from this election, so buckle up as internet service providers (ISPs) start to offer “free” or “faster” downloads for their content. I use those terms loosely because what will actually happen is your ISP will download data from competing entertainment companies at very slow rates, maybe even charging you extra for these data bits.
An example of this is your ISP charging a “Netflix surcharge” because you aren’t watching movies the ISP offers. We already are seeing this with “free” music from Rhapsody for T-Mobile users. In actuality they are charging you for music downloads from other companies.
Don’t be surprised if we see the introduction of metered data for home internet, too. ISPs know that Netflix is straining their servers at night, so they intend to pass along the costs of extra capacity. One way to do this is to limit the data you use during those period…unless you pay them extra.
A more important result for Tuesday’s election is the continued control of the state’s government by the Republican party. While some Democrats pulled off upsets, it was still a night where even Democrats with highways named after them lost.
The result was a statement of disapproval by the people against Reverend Barber’s Moral-killing Monday demonstrations. For some reason demonstrators thought they had an effective way to win back control of the state’s government; a message that Republicans hate teachers, minorities, and women. However The People turned out heavily for this midterm election sending a somewhat strong message of support for the current legislature.
Lost in all of the hoopla over the senatorial race was the real story from last night. Not only did Democrats win a voting majority of the Wake County Commission, they have every seat on that commission. In fact, of the 24 main governmental seats in Wake County, 21 are owned by Democrat winners. Only 2 are Republican and 1 an “Independent”.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the entire election is the disparity in government control on the national and state levels with the local government in Raleigh. As I stated earlier, this is probably the best structure for the grand scheme of things, and will definitely be a fascinating study over the next 24 months.
* * *
The Democrat’s sweep of the Wake County Commission was primarily led by the Sig Hutchinson campaign. The announced agenda for the election by his team focused on five areas:
Wake County should see a big push for increasing teacher pay and building new schools. With no resistance, we should see a reversal of the conservative-led movement away from busing a few years ago.
For over twenty years Raleigh has tried to organize a plan for “mass transit” (high-occupancy rail transit) and hasn’t been able to gain any decent funding beyond Planning and Land Acquisition. That all changed yesterday, however, as Wake County’s commissioners will get serious about developing a rail transit system. With the approval of the Orange/Durham light rail plan by the Feds back in February, Raleigh and county leaders feel like the city has fallen far behind in planning. There will be a huge push toward getting ground broken as soon as possible, regardless of costs.
Parks and greenways seem to win every bond referendum, and this year’s bond victory is no different than others. Expect to see continued development of greenways paths, especially in outlying areas of Wake County. However the biggest change we will see is the realization of Dix Park . With the county and city behind this, there is finally political pressure to make the Dix Park dream a reality.
Expect a big change in wastewater treatment, as storm water runoff and sewage are going to play big roles. Whether we see the return of a garbage disposal ban or water use restrictions during abundance is yet to be determined, however you better save those plastic bags from the grocery store because they will likely be banned in Wake County. We may also see development of larger water reservoirs, however the big push from this group will certainly be on the conservation end.
We can expect a big push for arts-oriented and computer lifestyle jobs. Too, we should see a big push in transit-oriented development and infill projects, and a de-emphasis on sprawl-oriented, land-clearing projects.
The new agendas in transit and schools will be extremely costly, and is not achievable with the current tax structure. With Republicans holding the federal and state purse strings, there will be a sense that Wake County should try to fund as much of this as possible locally. This makes sense, actually, given that we are the the benefactors of a system. After all, it isn’t Peoria’s responsibility to pay for our light rail system.
Residents should plan for steep (>20%) increases in property taxes. A hotter political item, however, will be a necessary sales tax increase. Currently Wake County is one of the 71 counties with the lowest sales tax rate in the state, 6.75%. The highest sales taxes exist in the transit-taxed Durham and Orange (7.5%) and Mecklenburg (7.25%). Wake County residents should prepare for a sales tax of at least 7.5%, however 7.75% is likely to be proposed given the perceived need to “catch up” with other counties’ transit plans in light of absent federal and state funding.
Usually it takes time for sift the meaning of elections. In Washington the unpopular President Obama will have to figure out (perhaps borrowing from President Clinton’s playbook) how to legislate with the opposing party controlling both the Senate and House. Locally, however, the future is clear. We’ve seen what Raleigh City Council leadership wants over the last 10 years wants, and over the last year we’ve seen what the Wake County School Board wants. Now that their county-level restrictions are gone, and we will see all three bodies start to stretch their legs very quickly as they steer Raleigh forward.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2014/07/22/download-the-wake-county-schools-2015-calendars/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2014/07/22/download-the-wake-county-schools-2015-calendars/#comments Tue, 22 Jul 2014 16:29:44 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7498 Wake County School System has compiled their official calendars for the 2014-2015 school year in PDF format. In fine fashion gogoraleigh has converted all of these calendars into numerous downloadable formats. Now readers can easily import their favorite school calendars into Android phones, iPhones, Outlook, and more. The set includes calendars for the Traditional, Track 1, Track 2, Track 3, Track 4, and Modified schools. Even better, if you already subscribe to any of these calendars, then all of the new dates have been automatically added for you. For more information and downloads, see the Calendars tab at...
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Wake County School System has compiled their official calendars for the 2014-2015 school year
in PDF format
. In fine fashion gogoraleigh has converted all of these calendars into numerous downloadable formats.
Now readers can easily import their favorite school calendars into Android phones, iPhones, Outlook, and more. The set includes calendars for the Traditional, Track 1, Track 2, Track 3, Track 4, and Modified schools. Even better, if you already subscribe to any of these calendars, then all of the new dates have been automatically added for you.
For more information and downloads, see the Calendars tab at gogoraleigh .
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2014/05/14/maybe-the-foxes-are-sending-triangle-a-message/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2014/05/14/maybe-the-foxes-are-sending-triangle-a-message/#comments Wed, 14 May 2014 21:54:01 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7466 For five decades now the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area has been termed “The Triangle”, and for good reason. As three cities/towns hosted the most important academic, medical and business centers, it was only natural to focus on the three entities. While we expected infill in The Triangle, we perhaps didn’t see our grown concentrations morph the area into a different shape; a red fox. The area’s satellite imagery reveals much growth from Chapel Hill and Carrboro toward Raleigh, but Raleigh’s growth has been along outward spokes to the northeast, southeast, and southwest. According to the figure, Umstead park appears like a saddle on the little fox, and Jordan Lake looks like a long line of droll from Carrboro/Chapel Hill, the mouth of the dog. While I’m not assigning any character traits to communities based on this morphology, the shape does spur some interesting questions such as: Why hasn’t Creedmoor Road/hwy 50 seen any retail development? Why has the...
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For five decades now the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area has been termed “The Triangle”, and for good reason. As three cities/towns hosted the most important academic, medical and business centers, it was only natural to focus on the three entities. While we expected infill in The Triangle, we perhaps didn’t see our grown concentrations morph the area into a different shape;
a red fox
.
The area’s satellite imagery reveals much growth from Chapel Hill and Carrboro toward Raleigh, but Raleigh’s growth has been along outward spokes to the northeast, southeast, and southwest. According to the figure, Umstead park appears like a saddle on the little fox, and Jordan Lake looks like a long line of droll from Carrboro/Chapel Hill, the mouth of the dog.
While I’m not assigning any character traits to communities based on this morphology, the shape does spur some interesting questions such as:
Maybe these little red foxes that are invading our cities are simply a calling; the new mascots for the area. Instead of “The Triangle”, we could be called “The Fox”. The airport code could be changed to “FOX”. The 10 o’clock news could be the Fox News Hour…. oh wait.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2014/04/15/need-help-discovering-great-cookbooks/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2014/04/15/need-help-discovering-great-cookbooks/#comments Tue, 15 Apr 2014 21:40:34 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7452 If you have ever found yourself overwhelmed in the cooking section of a bookstore or at Amazon.com, you aren’t alone. There are hundreds and hundreds of cookbooks out there and it is difficult to discern the good from the bad. One of the best ways to improve your cookbook collection is to look at what cookbooks the great chefs are using. One of the most exposed and interesting selections in the area is at Rise, the biscuit/donut shop in the Southpoint mall complex. It’s a fun look; rewarding to see some of your favorites, but also a great chance to add to your own list or your gift...
]]> If you have ever found yourself overwhelmed in the cooking section of a bookstore or at Amazon.com, you aren’t alone. There are hundreds and hundreds of cookbooks out there and it is difficult to discern the good from the bad.
One of the best ways to improve your cookbook collection is to look at what cookbooks the great chefs are using. One of the most exposed and interesting selections in the area is at Rise, the biscuit/donut shop in the Southpoint mall complex. It’s a fun look; rewarding to see some of your favorites, but also a great chance to add to your own list or your gift lists.
[imagebrowser id=22]
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2014/03/10/gogos-alphabetical-channel-guide-shows-where-the-damned-channel-is/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2014/03/10/gogos-alphabetical-channel-guide-shows-where-the-damned-channel-is/#comments Mon, 10 Mar 2014 12:42:38 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7358 Tomorrow Time Warner Cable is putting their channel lineups into a blender. The result will be better groupings of channels, with automatic selection of HD channels. All channels below 100 will stay as-is. The problem is, what do you do when you are used to going to channel 1500 to see SportsCenter? How do you find where Palladia and TLC went? Instead of searching through Time Warner’s Numeric channel guide, you can use the gogoraleigh Alphabetical Channel Guide. Simply fold it in half and keep it in a convenient place. It’s a free download, and it’s gogoraleigh’s way of thanking the readers for keeping gogo going (for 6 years now)!. gogoraleigh’s Alphabetical TWC Channel Guide...
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Tomorrow Time Warner Cable is putting their channel lineups into a blender. The result will be better groupings of channels, with automatic selection of HD channels. All channels below 100 will stay as-is.
The problem is, what do you do when you are used to going to channel 1500 to see SportsCenter? How do you find where Palladia and TLC went? Instead of searching through Time Warner’s Numeric channel guide, you can use the gogoraleigh Alphabetical Channel Guide. Simply fold it in half and keep it in a convenient place. It’s a free download, and it’s gogoraleigh’s way of thanking the readers for keeping gogo going (for 6 years now)!.
gogoraleigh’s Alphabetical TWC Channel Guide (.pdf)
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/11/20/7234/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/11/20/7234/#comments Wed, 20 Nov 2013 17:01:45 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7234 From the Vault: On Monday the News & Observer's Andrew Carter published an article about UNC doing a feasibility study about Smith Center renovations. While the university claims the facility is still "first rate", fans and recruits know better. Access to the building is among the worst in the country, seating is cramped, bathrooms are dirty and in disrepair, there are no luxury boxes for revenue generation, and student seating is too far from the court to offer a home court advantage like other teams enjoy. The photo shows the men's room situation, where those who choose to wash their hands are rewarded with only a frigid trickle of water and empty soap dispensers. None of this is new, however. In 2000 Tar Heel fans had these same complaints about the then 15-year old Smith Center. I submitted four options (featuring 4 to-scale cutaway diagrams) to then Athletic Director Dick Baddour with only a polite form letter in reply. Unfortunately the only renovations since...
]]> From the Vault:
On Monday the News & Observer’s Andrew Carter
published an article
about UNC doing a feasibility study about Smith Center renovations. While the university claims the facility is still "first rate", fans and recruits know better. Access to the building is among the worst in the country, seating is cramped, bathrooms are dirty and in disrepair, there are no luxury boxes for revenue generation, and student seating is too far from the court to offer a home court advantage like other teams enjoy. The photo shows the men’s room situation, where those who choose to wash their hands are rewarded with only a frigid trickle of water and empty soap dispensers.
None of this is new, however. In 2000 Tar Heel fans had these same complaints about the then 15-year old Smith Center. I submitted four options (featuring 4 to-scale cutaway diagrams) to then Athletic Director Dick Baddour with only a polite form letter in reply. Unfortunately the only renovations since that time have focused on player and coach areas and lower level chair replacement. Problems with the building remain, and it is good that the university is reviewing options.
Attached is the 2008 gogoraleigh post that reposted the original 2000 plans for renovating the Smith Center. The success of the student section behind the home goal shows that Project 1a is quite feasible, and likely the rest still are.
There once was a snowy night back in the year 2000. As two feet of snow fell on the Triangle, the UNC Tar Heels were to face the Maryland Terrapins in the Dean Smith Center. Weather prevented most ticket holders from attending, so all seating was opened to general admission. The the court was surrounded by screaming students and those at the game said it was "magic" as the Heels upset the Terps. On my twelve-year-old UNC blog, Tar Heel HOOPla , I posted some ideas for renovating the Smith Center shortly after the game. The plans would allow the court to be permanently surrounded by students while appeasing the building’s donors. (I also sent these to Athletic Director Richard Baddour, but only received a polite form letter in return.) As the Dean Dome completes its 23rd season, not much has changed. The building doesn’t allow the team to get the most support possible. It isn’t a lost cause, though. These same ideas could still be applied to give UNC a better home court advantage. Here is that 2000 article:
As UNC plays its 15th season in the Smith Center , the debate over student seating rages on. Both of the times in the 15 years that seating has been changed to “general admission”, the court has been surrounded by students, and the players have responded with a resounding performance. This could become the norm for the Smith Center with some easy improvements. Clearly N.C. State has shown with their new arena that placing students, the most active and audible fans, around the court creates an intimate, loud setting in a large venue. Simply reassigning student tickets to the first several rows will not suffice as students usually stand for the entire game. Because the lower level descends to the court surface smoothly, the only way to accommodate standing students without obstructing other lower level patrons is to sink the front rows.
Project #1 focuses on placing students around the basketball court. To date there are two popular solutions floating around. One plan, Project 1a, involves replacing the current collapsible seating in the first 11 rows with lower-rise collapsible seating. Given that the 12th row (the first row of permanent seating) patrons should not have their view obstructed by standing students, there should be a drop-off of 43″ from the 12th to 11th rows. This will allow patrons to see over rowdy students that are up to 6′2″ tall. The first row of permanent seats, unobstructed, would become a premium seat location. This new seating would seat students exclusively, so the quality of the chair is not important. Seat width can be as narrow as the seats upstairs, too, since students won’t be using these seats as much as paying patrons.
While Project 1a is a fairly inexpensive solution, it substantially compromises the students’ view. If the current collapsible seating were removed, there would be a wall about 96″ high just in front of the 12th row. After accounting for a 43″ drop, the new collapsible seating could only be 53″ tall. Given those dimensions,11 rows of collapsible seating would only provide an 8.8 degree rise from the floor. While this is almost 50% steeper grade than the current configuration at N.C. State, 8.8 degrees is still too shallow to enjoy the game to the fullest. Also, these seats would be decidedly inferior to those currently in place for non-basketball events.
Project 1b replaces the collapsible seating with the best overall aesthetic and functional solution. In this plan the collapsible seating and Smith Center playing surface would be removed and the floor would be excavated 82″ down. A new floor and collapsible seating would be installed.
This new, lowered section of collapsible seating would ascend not at the current 15 degree angle, but at the 20 degree angle seen in the permanent rows of the lower level. Keeping this 20 degree angle is essential to preserving the views of the students and the ticket-holders in those seats for non-basketball events.
In either plan the permanent aisles would not be confluent with the new fold-back seating, so the aisles would have to be reconfigured in at least 4 places so that students in lower rows could access the concourse. While the removal of the existing fold-back risers and the reconfiguration of a few aisles would remove several seats, the new seating arrangement would put nearly 2800 students in the first 11 rows lining the court providing the rowdiest, most intimidating home-court atmosphere in the nation.
Projects 2, 3, and 4 outline several ideas concerning the addition of luxury suites to the Smith Center. While luxury suites can ease UNC’s budget, they also can offer some incentives for lower level patrons to give up the seats affected by Project #1.
Project #2 involves replacing the current suites and seats under the second level overhang with luxury suites. These suites would be replete with 8 leather seats overlooking the playing surface, a countertop for bar and food service, a television, and a private bathroom.
Fifty-two such luxury suites could be placed with ease in the Smith Center. ( seating map ) There would be two non-adjoining suites at the top of sections 127, 126, 125, 124, 121, 118, 117, 116, 113, 110, 109, 108, 107, 104, 101, 100, 133, and 130. Single suites would top sections 123, 122, 120, 119, 115, 114, 112, 111, 106, 105, 103, 102, 132, 131, 129, and 128. Each suite would need to be about 15 feet deep (from the back of the second row of leather seats to the concourse door). In order to accommodate the addition of the suite, approximately five rows (Z, AA, BB, CC, DD) of current seating would need to be removed (shown in grey).
Project #3 involves the construction of a “halo” ring of luxury suites. Due to the design of the Smith Center, the only way to achieve this is to essentially build a structure resembling a ring of Kenan Stadium press boxes. These suites could actually be as large as desired, but are portrayed in the illustration as being 15′ deep. These suites would contain all the amenities mentioned in the lower level suites, but also would have a private concourse and elevator service to the Bowles Room. As shown in the diagram, about 3 rows of current seating (rows W, X, and Y) would be sacrificed to the 2 rows of leather luxury seats.
Clearly the view from a halo box is inferior to all others in the arena, so some incentives would need to be offered. First class wait service and food of the quality level of the Carolina Club would be offered. Halftime and final game statistics would also be delivered to each suite. Pampering the patrons in the halo boxes is an absolute must, though, in order to fill such suites.
Project #4, the most aggressive plan, focuses on placing luxury suites in the bottom of the upper level. Certainly the edge of the upper level is a cherished view, and these such suites would be even more cherished. In order to accommodate a suite in this prime location, a massive overhaul of the Smith Center would have to occur. Because rows E, F, and G and the vomitories would be removed, a separate, third level concourse for rows H through Y would have to be built over the current concourse. Stairways, restrooms, and concession stands would be placed in exterior additions to the existing Smith Center structure.
The second level suites would get their own concourse which would overlook the first floor (existing) concourse. These suites would have four rows of luxury seating, accommodating 32 patrons. Because the upper level ascends at an unbroken 34 degree rise, there would be an uncovered portion approximately 14′ 7″ deep. Some privacy could be offered by mounting an awning (shown as a heavy read line) at the end of the suite’s ceiling. Two private restrooms may be needed in these suites.
Certainly the Smith Center is one of the finest college venues in America, however some improvements could make the Heels more formidable at home. Clearly what is best for the team is placing the students around the court. As we saw in UNC’s game against Maryland and in all of N.C. State’s home games, students give a major boost to the team. While surrounding the court with students will make games more lively, those holding seats on the first 11 rows will have to be displaced. Surely there will be resistance to reassignment from some Smith Center donors. However plenty would minimally sacrifice their seat location in the name of improving the arena’s atmosphere. It is time for everyone involved to do what is best for the University.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/11/06/download-acc-basketball-calendars-to-your-phone/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/11/06/download-acc-basketball-calendars-to-your-phone/#comments Thu, 07 Nov 2013 03:15:50 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=7224 The ACC Basketball season gets underway Friday night, so it’s time to get organized by putting your favorite team’s schedule into your calendar. It’s never been easier with gogoraleigh’s set of ACC Basketball calendars. For iPhone and iPad users, half a dozen taps gets your favorite team’s basketball games into your iOS Calendar. For Android users, it’s even easier. The gogoraleigh basketball calendars are the only calendars on the internet that include clean team name data, the game’s tip-off time, and TV coverage information. Android users get a bonus; a convenient map link for the game’s venue. Gogoraleigh is also the only site that has a downloadable calendar that compiles all games of the ACC’s 15 teams. The Big Kahuna features all 341 ACC games and is perfect for those who want to keep up with big upcoming games across the league.Additional exclusives are home-only schedules for both UNC and NCSU. Each calendar has a version that can be downloaded,...
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![basketball[1]](https://www.gogoraleigh.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/basketball1.jpg "basketball[1]")
The ACC Basketball season gets underway Friday night, so it’s time to get organized by putting your favorite team’s schedule into your calendar. It’s never been easier with gogoraleigh’s set of ACC Basketball calendars. For iPhone and iPad users, half a dozen taps gets your favorite team’s basketball games into your iOS Calendar. For Android users, it’s even easier.
The gogoraleigh basketball calendars are the only calendars on the internet that include clean team name data, the game’s tip-off time, and TV coverage information. Android users get a bonus; a convenient map link for the game’s venue.
Gogoraleigh is also the only site that has a downloadable calendar that compiles all games of the ACC’s 15 teams. The Big Kahuna features all 341 ACC games and is perfect for those who want to keep up with big upcoming games across the league.Additional exclusives are home-only schedules for both UNC and NCSU.
Each calendar has a version that can be downloaded, however those who subscribe to a calendar feed will receive constant, free, background calendar updates as the season progresses.
New for this year: simplified instructions and a chance to send a donation in return for this easy offering! Simply click the schedule you want below, and follow the instructions.
Note: Maryland is defecting, so their calendar is not included in this collection. However, their games against other ACC opponents are included.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/08/06/why-restaurants-and-grocers-should-trash-the-bagged-lettuce/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/08/06/why-restaurants-and-grocers-should-trash-the-bagged-lettuce/#comments Tue, 06 Aug 2013 19:46:26 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=6982 "Once, a long, long time ago...this lettuce was washed" Lettuce is one of the most consistently consumed items of produce in America. Not only are salads the most popular appetizers, but lettuce is used frequently in entrees, too. Unfortunately there has been a recent uptick in food-borne illnesses from lettuce supplies. What has changed? The process of getting lettuce to our table, and some of these processes are leaving consumers helpless. It used to be that consumers and restaurants could only buy whole heads of lettuce. Restaurants had to hire staff to clean and prepare the lettuce for service. The industry got more efficient, however, with the advent of supply-side washing and cutting. Certainly this meant that restaurants could reduce costs and simplify their operations. The proliferation of bagged salad products in grocery stores indicates soaring popularity among consumers, too. The problem, however, is that food isn't ever "sterilized" (ie eradicated completely of...
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“Once, a long, long time ago…this lettuce was washed”
Lettuce is one of the most consistently consumed items of produce in America. Not only are salads the most popular appetizers, but lettuce is used frequently in entrees, too. Unfortunately there has been a recent uptick in food-borne illnesses from lettuce supplies. What has changed? The process of getting lettuce to our table, and some of these processes are leaving consumers helpless.
It used to be that consumers and restaurants could only buy whole heads of lettuce. Restaurants had to hire staff to clean and prepare the lettuce for service. The industry got more efficient, however, with the advent of supply-side washing and cutting. Certainly this meant that restaurants could reduce costs and simplify their operations. The proliferation of bagged salad products in grocery stores indicates soaring popularity among consumers, too.
The problem, however, is that food isn’t ever “sterilized” (ie eradicated completely of bacteria, spores, and viri). Once washed, lettuce still has bacteria, though in small amounts. That bacteria multiplies and the longer the time is between the wash and consumption, the more the bacteria will exponentially multiply. This is the problem with “prewashed” lettuce. It might as well read “once, a long, long time ago this lettuce was washed”. I took a bath last week, but that doesn’t mean I’m clean today. What’s scary is that this false sense of security is leading restaurants and consumers into simply dumping lettuce into bowls for immediate consumption; bad news!
Even worse, though, is the advent of supply-side lettuce chopping, especially when the head is separated in the field by the pickers’ cutting. When lettuce is torn or cut, it heals by placing a membrane over the wound. The wound, which was just smeared with the bacteria-laden field worker’s or machine’s knife, encapsulates the bacteria in the lettuce, and no amount of washing later in the production line to consumer can remove it.
This is dangerous stuff, and should be taken very seriously not only by consumers, but by restaurants. Restaurants should go back to purchasing heads and washing and tearing them on site. Not only is the health of the customer affected, future sales are affected when their food makes customers sick. I feel that restaurants that are avoiding these supply-side processes should boast and differentiate themselves from the establishments that are careless with their lettuce preparations.
There is almost no such thing as a “24hr bug”. It is almost always some level of food poisoning. When there is a dangerous component of the supply chain that leaves consumers helpless, especially one that is as ubiquitous as lettuce, we can only rely on a consumer movement to force an appropriate change.
Let your favorite restaurants know that you care about the way lettuce is handled. Ask servers if the restaurant used bagged lettuce. Tell the manager that you want on-site lettuce separate. DON’T buy the bagged product in the grocery store. Don’t rely on the EPA to change this. They aren’t the ones who will have to count the tiles on your bathroom floor. YOU have to make the change.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/07/20/downloadsubscribe-to-the-hurricanes-14-calendar/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/07/20/downloadsubscribe-to-the-hurricanes-14-calendar/#comments Sat, 20 Jul 2013 04:06:18 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/?p=6969 Canes hockey fans who like electronic calendars rejoice! I’ve uploaded the 2013-2014 Carolina Hurricanes schedule in .CSV, .ICS, and Google Calendar formats. This way you can easily port the schedule over to your Android phone, iPhone, Blackberry, Google Calendar, Outlook, and more! Without a doubt, the gogoraleigh Hurricanes Calendar is the best on the web. Not only is the complete calendar available, but also a home-only version is available. For each event, the teams playing in the event are listed in 3-digit codes (ie "CAR/BUF"), so the entire event is easy to see on devices that can’t display wide paragraphs. Additionally, the game locations are listed, so on excellent phones one can tap the location field and see a map to the arena. This is perfect if you are going to the game in an away city! Finally, with the synced versions of the calendar, game time changes and television information are automatically updated as the information becomes available. Those who are...
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Canes hockey fans who like electronic calendars rejoice! I’ve uploaded the 2013-2014 Carolina Hurricanes schedule in .CSV, .ICS, and Google Calendar formats. This way you can easily port the schedule over to your Android phone, iPhone, Blackberry, Google Calendar, Outlook, and more!
Without a doubt, the gogoraleigh Hurricanes Calendar is the best on the web. Not only is the complete calendar available, but also a home-only version is available. For each event, the teams playing in the event are listed in 3-digit codes (ie “CAR/BUF”), so the entire event is easy to see on devices that can’t display wide paragraphs. Additionally, the game locations are listed, so on excellent phones one can tap the location field and see a map to the arena. This is perfect if you are going to the game in an away city!
Finally, with the synced versions of the calendar, game time changes and television information are automatically updated as the information becomes available. Those who are subscribed to last year’s Hurricanes schedule, your schedule has already been updated with the upcoming season’s dates.
All you do is point your device to the Calendar tab at the top of this page, scroll down to the Hurricanes calendar, and follow the link/instructions there. Go Canes!
Calendars are apt to change, so check back occasionally for updates. To determine the version of your schedule, open the note associated with any event, and look for the version number. If your calendar is older than those listed above, simply delete the events in Outlook in your old one and import the events of the newer file. Google Calendar is dynamically up-to-date. Use at your own risk. I do not accept responsibility for any consequences resulting from errors in the schedule.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/24/raleigh-still-ignoring-its-biggest-needs/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/24/raleigh-still-ignoring-its-biggest-needs/#comments Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:19:29 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/24/raleigh-still-ignoring-its-biggest-needs/ At the end of 2010 I posted 30 of Raleigh’s biggest needs. Items from a tidied CAT bus system and event shuttle buses to fast Indian food and quick downtown taqueria still stand as idle problems. Thankfully we have seen improvements in the non-country concert schedules, better sanitation monitoring of food trucks, and the availability of fresh corn tortillas. However the remaining 27 needs still blow in the wind. A few of these are major projects, however many are simply a matter of will. What would it take for the City of Raleigh install mileposts along Glenwood Avenue for better wayfinding all the way to the Durham County line? Why must CAT’s buses remain so dirty and why can’t that system tighten up their brand? Why can’t they offer special event shuttle buses from Moore Square to Walnut Creek and Booth Amphitheater? Why can’t we have a DPAC shuttle from downtown Raleigh? The economy has been sluggish over the past few years, however many of the items on the list are...
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At the end of 2010 I posted 30 of
Raleigh’s biggest needs
. Items from a tidied CAT bus system and event shuttle buses to fast Indian food and quick downtown taqueria still stand as idle problems. Thankfully we have seen improvements in the non-country concert schedules, better sanitation monitoring of food trucks, and the availability of fresh corn tortillas. However the remaining 27 needs still blow in the wind. A few of these are major projects, however many are simply a matter of will.
What would it take for the City of Raleigh install mileposts along Glenwood Avenue for better wayfinding all the way to the Durham County line? Why must CAT’s buses remain so dirty and why can’t that system tighten up their brand? Why can’t they offer special event shuttle buses from Moore Square to Walnut Creek and Booth Amphitheater? Why can’t we have a DPAC shuttle from downtown Raleigh?
The economy has been sluggish over the past few years, however many of the items on the list are not expensive, speculative ventures. We need an injection of spirit in Raleigh, and it wouldn’t help if that came from our elected leaders. Let’s get moving, Raleigh !
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/21/saving-big-on-propane-its-a-gas-gas-gas/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/21/saving-big-on-propane-its-a-gas-gas-gas/#comments Sun, 21 Apr 2013 22:24:53 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/21/saving-big-on-propane-its-a-gas-gas-gas/ It’s grilling season, and Triangle residents are doing a little spring cleaning and getting their equipment ready. For most, having a good portable propane tank is key. There are several options to consider, however, regarding how one supplies the gas. The most convenient method for keeping stocked with propane is a tank exchange program. The customer takes their tank to a home improvement or grocery store, and takes home a different, filled tank. If there are any problems with the tank itself, the tank exchange vendor will pull the tank from circulation. The tank refills at Home Depot run in the $22 neighborhood, but the customer doesn’t have to purchase a tank, pay a membership fee, or pay a tank deposit fee. Another option is refilling an existing tank. Places like U-Haul on Capital Blvd (just beyond Peace Street) and Costco can fill a tank, as long as it is in working condition and hasn’t expired. Tank refills are $10.50 at Costco, and are in the $15 neighborhood at...
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It’s grilling season, and Triangle residents are doing a little spring cleaning and getting their equipment ready. For most, having a good portable propane tank is key. There are several options to consider, however, regarding how one supplies the gas.
The most convenient method for keeping stocked with propane is a tank exchange program. The customer takes their tank to a home improvement or grocery store, and takes home a different, filled tank. If there are any problems with the tank itself, the tank exchange vendor will pull the tank from circulation. The tank refills at Home Depot run in the $22 neighborhood, but the customer doesn’t have to purchase a tank, pay a membership fee, or pay a tank deposit fee.
Another option is refilling an existing tank. Places like U-Haul on Capital Blvd (just beyond Peace Street) and Costco can fill a tank, as long as it is in working condition and hasn’t expired. Tank refills are $10.50 at Costco, and are in the $15 neighborhood at U-Haul. This is a considerably less expensive option thank trading, but there are risks and difficulties.
In order to get propane at Costco, you park near the tire center, and take your tank to the propane island for inspection. (There is a call button if the attendant is not present). Once the tank passes inspection, you go into the store, wait in a cashier line, and tell the cashier that you are buying a 20 pound propane refill. After paying, you present your receipt outside at the propane station, and take your tank home.
Tanks can only be filled if they pass inspection, however. The valve must appear to be in working condition, and the tank should not appear rusty. The handle of the tank has a date imprinted, and this date must not be more than 12 years ago. Any tank that fails the inspection is denied and the customer must find another solution.
That risk doesn’t seem so great, however, when one considers the long term costs. Comparing a season of using an exchange program vs. Costco’s refill program, the Costco program is staggeringly cheaper. I use roughly 3.5 Blue Rhino tanks per year, which ends up costing around $77. Even though the tank is a 20 lb tank, Blue Rhino and RapidXchange only put 15 lb worth of material in the tank. Therefore I have used 53 pounds per year at a cost of $77, or $1.47/lb.
Costco’s refill delivers 20 lb of propane at a price of $10.50, or $0.53/lb. This would cost me $27.83, resulting in an annual savings of about $50. That’s almost enough to buy two brand new unfilled tanks ($27.50 each) inside Costco. Each tank has its own gas gauge and has a 12-year lifespan. Over that 12-year lifespan, a tank exchange program would likely cost me $924 while a pair of Costco tanks with refills would likely cost $389.
The Costco system of selling propane is a hassle, for sure. However the long term costs are so much less, they are worth considering versus a tank exchange program.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/17/summer-bringing-great-triangle-concerts/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/17/summer-bringing-great-triangle-concerts/#comments Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:35:00 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/17/summer-bringing-great-triangle-concerts/ Summer is just around the corner, and that means another great concert season in Raleigh. From now until the end of September, there is a slew of music and comedy shows guaranteed to ramp up the fun rate in the area. Once again, there are very few dates between now and mid-June that have no event scheduled, so save up, and get out of the house! There are 100s of good entertainment options coming this summer. The best 85 of the music options (as of today) are assembled below. All of these events appear individually in the gogoraleigh Do-It Calendar with venue information, so you can easily add any event to your personal calendar. Date Event 4/18 Alton Brown 4/18 Bob Mould Band 4/19 Chris Tucker 4/19 The Marshall Tucker Band 4/19 Billy Bragg 4/21 B.B. King 4/24 Sarah Silverman 4/25...
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Summer is just around the corner, and that means another great concert season in Raleigh. From now until the end of September, there is a slew of music and comedy shows guaranteed to ramp up the fun rate in the area. Once again, there are very few dates between now and mid-June that have no event scheduled, so save up, and get out of the house!
There are 100s of good entertainment options coming this summer. The best 85 of the music options (as of today) are assembled below. All of these events appear individually in the gogoraleigh Do-It Calendar with venue information, so you can easily add any event to your personal calendar.
| Date | Event |
| 4/18 | Alton Brown |
| 4/18 | Bob Mould Band |
| 4/19 | Chris Tucker |
| 4/19 | The Marshall Tucker Band |
| 4/19 | Billy Bragg |
| 4/21 | B.B. King |
| 4/24 | Sarah Silverman |
| 4/25 | Jillian Michaels |
| 4/26 | Barry Manilow |
| 4/27 | Styx/REO Speedwagon/Ted Nuget |
| 4/27 | Bob Seger |
| 5/2 | Bob Dylan/Dawes |
| 5/3 | Rush |
| 5/4 | Lyle Lovett/Delta Rae |
| 5/4 | Tim McGraw |
| 5/6 | Airborne Toxic Event |
| 5/7 | Smashing Pumpkins/AWOLNATION |
| 5/7 | Il Divo |
| 5/8 | Band of Horses |
| 5/8 | Boz Scaggs |
| 5/8 | Imagine Dragons/Paper Route |
| 5/10 | Amy Schumer |
| 5/12 | Josh Ritter |
| 5/12 | Carol Burnett |
| 5/12 | Robert Randolph |
| 5/14 | Alkaline Trio |
| 5/17 | Titus Andronicus |
| 5/17 | Los Lobos |
| 5/18 | Artsplosure |
| 5/23 | Kenny Chesney |
| 5/30 | James McCartney |
| 5/30 | LeAnn Rimes |
| 5/31 | Everclear/Live/Filter/Sponge |
| 6/1 | Best Coast |
| 6/1 | Flobots |
| 6/4 | Dropkick Murphys |
| 6/5 | Japandroids |
| 6/5 | Kevin James |
| 6/7 | The Postal Service/Ra Ra Riot |
| 6/8 | Brad Paisley |
| 6/8 | Widespread Panic |
| 6/9 | Widespread Panic |
| 6/10 | The National/Dirty Projectors |
| 6/11 | Passion Pit/Cults |
| 6/13 | Lumineers/Cold War Kids |
| 6/15 | Glen Hansard |
| 6/20 | Warren Haynes/NC Symphony |
| 6/21 | Zac Brown Band |
| 6/22 | Heart/Jason Bonham |
| 6/22 | One Direction |
| 6/23 | Kendrick Lamar |
| 6/29 | Indigo Girls |
| 6/30 | Gladys Knight/The O’Jays |
| 7/6 | Rachael Yamagata |
| 7/6 | Valient Thorr |
| 7/7 | Big Time Rush/Victoria Justice |
| 7/9 | Harry Connick, Jr. |
| 7/10 | Quidam Opens |
| 7/11 | Black Keys/Flaming Lips |
| 7/13 | Luke Bryan |
| 7/21 | OAR |
| 7/23 | Black Crowes/Tedeschi Trucks |
| 7/26 | Keith Urban |
| 7/27 | Lil Wayne/TI |
| 7/28 | Barenaked Ladies/Ben Folds Five/Guster |
| 7/31 | Jonas Brothers |
| 8/3 | Sheryl Crow |
| 8/3 | Bruce Hornsby |
| 8/7 | Goo Goo Dolls/Matchbox Twenty |
| 8/9 | Blake Shelton |
| 8/16 | Slightly Stoopid |
| 8/17 | Tift Merritt |
| 8/24 | Miranda Lambert/Dierks Bentley |
| 9/3 | Iron Maiden/Megadeath |
| 9/5 | Hopscotch Music Festival |
| 9/5 | John Mayer/Phillip Phillips |
| 9/6 | Pink Martini |
| 9/6 | Hopscotch Music Festival |
| 9/7 | Hopscotch Music Festival |
| 9/8 | Hopscotch Music Festival |
| 9/10 | Maroon 5/Kelly Clarkson |
| 9/13 | Jason Aldean |
| 9/13 | Taylor Swift |
| 9/18 | Steely Dan |
| 9/20 | Mary Wilson of the Supremes |
| 9/24 | City and Colour |
| 9/25 | Fun/Tegan & Sara |
| 9/27 | IBMA Wide Open Bluegrass Festival |
| 9/27 | Rascal Flatts/The Band Perry |
| 9/28 | IBMA Wide Open Bluegrass Festival |
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/09/downloadsubscribe-to-the-durham-bulls-calendar/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/09/downloadsubscribe-to-the-durham-bulls-calendar/#comments Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:30:08 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/09/downloadsubscribe-to-the-durham-bulls-calendar/ Now that basketball season is over, it’s time for some Durham Bulls baseball! The Bulls’ home opener begins at 7pm tonight against Gwinnett. Now you can follow their home schedule as a Google Calendar or download it to your device. All you do is point your device to the Calendar tab at the top of this page, scroll down to the Durham Bulls calendar, and follow the link/instructions there. Go...
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![bulls1[1]](https://www.gogoraleigh.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/bulls11.jpg "bulls1[1]")
Now that basketball season is over, it’s time for some
Durham Bulls
baseball! The Bulls’ home opener begins at 7pm tonight against Gwinnett. Now you can follow their home schedule as a Google Calendar or download it to your device. All you do is point your device to the Calendar tab at the top of this page, scroll down to the Durham Bulls calendar, and follow the link/instructions there. Go Bulls!
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/07/download-the-wake-county-school-2014-calendars/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/07/download-the-wake-county-school-2014-calendars/#comments Mon, 08 Apr 2013 02:42:20 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/07/download-the-wake-county-school-2014-calendars/ Wake County School System has compiled their official calendars for the 2013-2014 school years in PDF format. In fine fashion gogoraleigh has converted all of these calendars into numerous downloadable formats. Now readers can easily import their favorite school calendars into Android phones, iPhones, Outlook, and more. The set includes calendars for the Traditional, Track 1, Track 2, Track 3, Track 4, and Modified schools. Even better, if you already subscribe to any of these calendars, then all of the new dates have been automatically added for you. For more information (and of course, the 2012-2013 WCPSS calendars) see the Calendars tab at...
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Wake County School System has compiled their official calendars for the 2013-2014 school years
in PDF format
. In fine fashion gogoraleigh has converted all of these calendars into numerous downloadable formats. Now readers can easily import their favorite school calendars into Android phones, iPhones, Outlook, and more. The set includes calendars for the Traditional, Track 1, Track 2, Track 3, Track 4, and Modified schools. Even better, if you already subscribe to any of these calendars, then all of the new dates have been automatically added for you. For more information (and of course, the 2012-2013 WCPSS calendars) see the
Calendars tab at gogoraleigh
.
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/04/help-from-down-lo-remembering-the-cardiac-pack/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/04/help-from-down-lo-remembering-the-cardiac-pack/#comments Thu, 04 Apr 2013 04:33:00 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/04/help-from-down-lo-remembering-the-cardiac-pack/ Whittenburg…Oh! It’s a long way…. The shot…or was it a pass…that stopped the hearts of millions of Americans on April 4, 1983…needed help. It seemed improbable that Dereck Whittenburg, having almost had the ball stolen, against one of the greatest college basketball teams ever to play the game, on his own, could complete a miracle with a wild desperation shot. He needed help… The ‘83 season had been a long, complicated one. In the previous year State saw their archrivals win the National Championship, but Jim Valvano’s second squad gained momentum. With a 21-8 regular season mark and a first round NCAA Tournament exit, the Wolfpack felt like they could continue building on solid foundation in ‘83. They had some pretty darned good players returning; one of the nation’s best backcourts (Lowe/Whittenburg/Gannon) and a strong frontcourt trio (Bailey/Charles/McQueen). The Pack went into that first game in ‘82 against Virginia with a 7-2 record. That was...
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Whittenburg…Oh! It’s a long way….
The shot…or was it a pass…that stopped the hearts of millions of Americans on April 4, 1983…needed help. It seemed improbable that Dereck Whittenburg, having almost had the ball stolen, against one of the greatest college basketball teams ever to play the game, on his own, could complete a miracle with a wild desperation shot. He needed help…
The ‘83 season had been a long, complicated one. In the previous year State saw their archrivals win the National Championship, but Jim Valvano’s second squad gained momentum. With a 21-8 regular season mark and a first round NCAA Tournament exit, the Wolfpack felt like they could continue building on solid foundation in ‘83. They had some pretty darned good players returning; one of the nation’s best backcourts (Lowe/Whittenburg/Gannon) and a strong frontcourt trio (Bailey/Charles/McQueen).
The Pack went into that first game in ‘82 against Virginia with a 7-2 record. That was the game in Reynolds where UVA’s Othell Wilson came down on Dereck Whittenburg’s 5th metatarsal, and seemingly doomed the Pack’s hopeful season. While a determined Whittenburg pushed himself through rehab, the Pack needed help, and got it as freshman Ernie Myers rose to the occasion. While the team’s overall results were mediocre in that stretch, they played well enough to keep a glimmer of hope for a successful season alive.
* * *
1983 was the first year that the ACC Tournament was played in Atlanta. Ever fans of visiting Atlanta, my family got tickets for the tournament. We were en route while Lorenzo Charles’ free throws disposed of Wake Forest just a week after blowing out those same Deacs 130-89. It was also the first time that perennial cellar-dwellers Georgia Tech were able to win an ACC Tournament game. Behind a little rookie named Mark Price, seemingly the entire Omni crowd got behind the Jackets and showed the evil Lefthander and Maryland a first-round exit.
We only had two tickets for Saturday’s session, so we hit the plaza with two fingers held high to the scalpers; we had to get two more tickets. The team needed our help! We found a pair and Saturday provided one of the tournament’s great historic games, as NCSU overcame a late 6-point deficit to win in OT over the Tar Heels. Once Jordan fouled out, I knew the Pack had it. My family made sure that on Sunday (assuming we could find two more tickets) with the Pack facing Ralph Sampson and the mighty Virginia Cavaliers, we would sit in the same pairs, with our programs in our laps, eating more Omni nachos, and drinking out of the Omni-labeled Coca-Cola paraffin cups.
When UVA went down and the Pack cut down the nets, we vowed to take our paraffin cups home and keep using them. We also whimsically paraded through the concourse holding 4-digits high pleading,”FOUR FOR ALBUQUERQUE!” (I made darned sure that Matt Doherty and his family standing by the exit doors heard me). We needed those tickets because in the tournament, they needed help!
***
The Cardiac Pack was born in that tournament. The Pack, seemingly always down by 6, was able to scoot by coaches named Harrick, Tarkanian, and Holland. For each game, we sat in our den holding those Omni programs and Omni cups, and pulled that team through. They needed help, right? The team didn’t even come back to Raleigh after the second game because their West Regional assignment led them from Corvallis, Oregon to Ogden, Utah. No problem for us, though; because as limp as they were getting, we had those cups!
The team won the West Region and returned to Raleigh and staged an open practice. Of course my family attended. The team needed help! It was a great week in Raleigh. While it was the school’s first trip to the Final Four since the Thompson era, everyone just enjoyed the ride. The Cardiac Pack was the favorite against Georgia in the semis, but a vast underdog to the other side of the ticket. To win a championship, they were going to need a LOT of help.
April 4th, Championship Day, rolled around and I was in knots. It was Spring Break, luckily, because there was no way I could have concentrated in my 8th grade classes. We didn’t get tickets to Albuquerque, but we still had our seat assignments, our programs, and our poor Omni cups. The cups were so limp, we put them inside larger stadium cups fearing a blowout (of the cup, that is).
At halftime State was BEATING Houston by 8! EIGHT! That’s four possessions, my friend. This was unbelievable. Little did I know…
Houston came out of the gates on all cylinders and the Pack found itself late in the game down by, you guessed it, SIX. They needed help…big time. However the Pack tied the game and found themselves in a position to pull off one of the biggest upsets in the history of sports. Whittenberg was a master of the catch-and-shoot, especially from the ACC’s ridiculous 17’9” 3-point line that year. However this desperation heave from 40’ with :04 remaining in the National Championship? He needed help.
* * *
Lorenzo Charles came to Raleigh from Brooklyn as one of Valvano’s first recruits. Valvano, hailing from Queens, always felt like he could give inner city guys a chance, and Lorenzo would be one of his first projects at State. Charles got in trouble his Freshman year, ‘81-‘82, for robbing a Domino’s Pizza man. It was a bad way to start his tenure in Raleigh, taking things from people. That isn’t help. Charles hit the weight room and matured quite a bit in the ensuing 12 months. The Cameron Crazies were still waving pizza boxes at him that Sophomore year, but Lorenzo was past that, and his game was starting to connect. In his Senior season, Charles earned First Team All-ACC honors, and that was against some of the league’s all-time greats like Kenny Smith, Brad Daugherty, Len Bias, Adrian Branch, John Salley, Bruce Dalrymple, Mark Price, and Johnny Dawkins. These are players who went on to have good, solid NBA careers.
The NBA game was probably too fast for Charles, but he had a nice pro basketball career in Europe for several years before returning to the Triangle. For years Charles did what he loved; driving people. He mostly drove limos, but also drove buses, including several jaunts for the Duke basketball team. Everywhere he went he was an instantly recognizable celebrity. However Lorenzo Charles was just doing what he learned under Valvano, helping people.
He only scored 4 points in that championship game, however those final two were timeless. It was a miracle in the making, and Whittenberg’s short shot, that seemed to hang in the air for an eternity, along with that miraculous run could never have become legend without a little help…from Lorenzo.
The ‘83 team’s legacy still lives strong in Raleigh. The lessons learned about perseverance, focus, fundamentals, second-chances, teamwork, and, oh, yeah, help live deep within Raleighites. The 1983 story isn’t one about basketball. It’s one about life; how to live it, how to love it, and how tragically it can suddenly end.
***
Lorenzo Charles was driving an empty bus on westbound I-40 in moderately heavy traffic on June 27, 2011 when his bus inexplicably ran off the road and into an embankment. Charles’ life ended instantly, adding more complexity to the Cardiac Pack story. I erected a small monument to #43 today at that site ( map it ). It stands as a symbol that Lorenzo’s legacy survives. He may have completed a miracle in far away Albuquerque, but that spirit we all had in 30 years ago today still survives right here in Raleigh, especially when we need a little help.
…The Cinderella Team has done it…The glass slipper fit…The Wolfpack has won the National Championship!
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http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/03/pondering-greensboros-future/ http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/03/pondering-greensboros-future/#comments Wed, 03 Apr 2013 18:37:03 +0000 http://www.gogoraleigh.com/2013/04/03/pondering-greensboros-future/ Growing up in Raleigh I’ve had several occasions to do things in Greensboro, especially in the Coliseum area. During my lifetime Greensboro seemed to get all of the great concerts, got great stores before Raleigh, and got to host the ACC Tournament. For many, many years there were real reasons to not only visit Greensboro, but to live there over Raleigh. Greensboro was a thriving mill town in the first half of last century, which led to the prolific growth of gorgeous classic neighborhoods. Hayes Barton is the bastard child of Irving Park in that regard, but even in the middle income areas there is a prodigious number of houses that were built before Suburbia kicked in. In that era Greensboro invested smartly in their road system, implementing many Wade Avenue type arteries around the older parts of the city. Around Greensboro’s city streets, traffic problems really only exist out in the Suburbian Battleground Avenue, a US1 North-esque sole artery north out of the city. When I-85...
]]> Growing up in Raleigh I’ve had several occasions to do things in Greensboro, especially in the Coliseum area. During my lifetime Greensboro seemed to get all of the great concerts, got great stores before Raleigh, and got to host the ACC Tournament. For many, many years there were real reasons to not only visit Greensboro, but to live there over Raleigh.
Greensboro was a thriving mill town in the first half of last century, which led to the prolific growth of gorgeous classic neighborhoods. Hayes Barton is the bastard child of Irving Park in that regard, but even in the middle income areas there is a prodigious number of houses that were built before Suburbia kicked in. In that era Greensboro invested smartly in their road system, implementing many Wade Avenue type arteries around the older parts of the city. Around Greensboro’s city streets, traffic problems really only exist out in the Suburbian Battleground Avenue, a US1 North-esque sole artery north out of the city. When I-85 was planned, it was a no-brainer to include Durham and Greensboro, as they were thriving, productive cities, unlike Raleigh, the sleepy government town. As Raleigh quickly grew through the 70s and 80s, the two cities were relatively the same size and seemed to have a remarkable number of similarities.
We went to Greensboro for the Friday evening session of the ACC Tournament. Knowing that the Coliseum food is expensive and terrible, we opted to stop at a gas station for beer and stop at a downtown restaurant for take out before tailgating before the game.
While driving around downtown on a beautiful Friday afternoon we got to see downtown Greensboro at its most vibrant. “Dull” probably exaggerates the experience. I was stunned by the comparative lack of interesting restaurants, the lack of downtown bars, and the overall lack of people. There is definitely a vibe in downtown Raleigh, and there is definitely no vibe in Greensboro. This was the first time that it really struck me how much further along downtown Raleigh’s vitality is than Greensboro’s. The number of young people making something to do, creating a sense of place, and moving the city forward is just, scant. The difference is quite palpable.
The point isn’t to beat Raleigh’s chest and flame Greensboro at all . Rather, it struck me on this trip; where is Greensboro headed? Ultimately the I-85 spine will keep all of the cities on the string in fabulous shape. Asheville and Wilmington will exist as creative outposts, and the rest of the state will become severely depressed. I like to call the string of cities the “Carolina Crescent”. Charlotte, Greensboro, Durham, and Raleigh will be linked by better and better rail service, and the spine will be a magnet for all important growth moving forward. Much like our current thinking of the Triangle, the crescent will eventually be thought of as a “macrometro” as transportation improves.
So Greensboro has that going for it. The tech and information job push that is filling Raleigh’s sails currently will continue for a good while, but we have to be prepared for another wave; a wave that could change the economics of the city as much as the exodus of the textile industry changed Greensboro and Burlington.
The Triangle is the educational and technological center of the state. It has a strong Liberal voice with a strong interest in environment and humanism. Charlotte will continue to be the strongest financial center in the state, and seems to be the Conservative core of the state. What identity will Greensboro develop? Will industries polarize their presence in North Carolina to Charlotte and/or Raleigh and skip Greensboro even more than ever? It’s looking that way, and the lack of an interesting market sector to ages 25 to 35 has to be the deepest concern for Greensboro in the next 50 years. Much like Richmond, Greensboro stands as a city of yesterday, with no ascertainable uniqueness to tomorrow’s economy. Its future is seemingly more loaded with questions than with answers.
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Oh, BTW, we got food to go from OPA!, the Greek restaurant. The lettuce from the salad was basically from a food service, the olive oil they used was cheap, the pita bread for my wife’s sandwich was stale, the marinade for my chicken kabob was extremely uninteresting, my accompanying vegetables were bland, and my platter did not come with pita bread. This restaurant definitely needs to pick up a copy of The Grecian Plate (Durham Greek Orthodox Church’s cookbook)! An astonishingly better meal for the same price can be had a Taverna Agora ; just so you know!
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