WRDU Returns to Air
Yesterday 100.7 became WRDU, and is staying with a tried and true AOR. “Back in Black”, “Hot for Teacher”, “Sweet Child o’ Mine”…songs we all got sick of 20 years ago, served over, and over, and over, and over. A sad salvation, indeed.
Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson Coming to TWC Pavilion
On Tuesday, September 10, Maroon 5 and Kelly Clarkson will play Raleigh’s Time Warner Pavilion. Tony Lucca opens. Presale tickets will continue through the end of this week, while the public sale begins at 10am Saturday.
Durham Discusses New Tower
Today the City of Durham is discussing a proposed 26-story tower that would be the city’s tallest. The project would stand next to the venerable Hill building, inside of downtown’s loop, and would contain 133 apartment units in the buildings upper 21 stories. Half of the street level would be retail while the rest of the building would be parking garage.
There is a very nice pdf of the proposal posted at the Durham website. It includes details of the project, its positive and negative impacts on the surrounding neighborhood, and many, many renderings.
I first should say that I love the architectural style of the building. The use of balconies to give the building a softer, rounded look is beautiful. The building would be a great improvement to the stale Durham skyline. I do have many deep concerns about the viability of the building as a business project, and concerns about its affect on future housing in downtown Durham.
In Raleigh we saw the addition of two “highrise” condo buildings with the West at North project and the RBC Tower. Along with other projects such as Bloomsbury Estates, the Hue and the Paramount, Raleigh saw a fast glut of high-rise condo spaces in a very few years. Predictably the market was overbuilt for condos, and some projects either went to apartments or went into foreclosure. At this point does the downtown market of Durham need 133 sky-high apartment units when it really has…none? This is a big financial step for the developers into an untested market.
Does this project improve the quality of life in downtown Durham? For sure, the Durham loop is begging for some residential component. The area has much potential as a walkable, charming 24-hour live/work/play zone. I have serious concerns about any residential project that is more than 6 stories tall. Above 60 feet or so, residents are no longer part of the community, but rather, in their own world. It is more convenient in some cases to just go down to the car in the garage and drive to destinations. Would it be any different for this project? Does the Durham market want all of its apartment demand sucked up into one portion of one block.
In urban areas with an abundance of vacant lots, like Raleigh and Durham, I feel that the best residential plan for a viable long term community is in 3-4 story facilities. Row houses and small projects are far more likely to put pedestrians on the street, pedestrians who care about the neighborhood, than projects that allow residents to escape the very neighborhood being built.
Lilly Pulitzer Announces Archery Target
Last year Lilly brought grace to the bicycle, and they are at it again. As part of their expanding Outdoor Girl collection, Lilly announces the release of their new Archery Target. The Hunger Games made us hungry for archery, now Lilly’s daring designers have combined that thrill with the colorful engineering and grace archery experts have craved!
If we had to pick one archery target for the rest of our lives, this would be it.
Breaking News : One of our readers named “Arapahoe61” has informed us that Camp Seafarer will be featuring the Lilly Archery Girl targets during the 2013 summer sessions.
Raleigh Announces Western Blvd Pedestrian Safety Plan
Today the Raleigh City Council approved a plan that will bring dramatic changes to Raleigh’s Western Blvd. Citing the need for better pedestrian safety between Western’s intersections with Dan Allen Drive and Avent Ferry Road, engineers have devised a plan to replace the westbound side of the divided boulevard with a stream (see attached rendering). Officials say the stream will contain many logs and turtles which will offer NCSU students a safer way to get to class.
One engineer told the council,”We found that students completely ignore crosswalks and street-crossing guidelines taught in kindergarten, so instead of inventing the wheel, we went with a tried and true model”.
Engineers say that the changes comprise one of two phases for the area. Phase II comes in Fall 2015, when the city will shut down Western Boulevard in both directions during the hours that any NCSU classes are in session.
Meymandi Hall to Change Name
Raleigh’s Meymandi Hall, home of the North Carolina Symphony, is about to take on a new name. The twelve-year naming rights deal on the space expires on June 30 this year, and officials announced today that a new naming deal with Duke Energy has been completed. Beginning July 1, the hall will be called the Duke Energy Performing Arts Chamber. Officials say for convenience and clarity, the marketing department has advised that all marketing and publications will simply refer to the faculty as “the DEPAC”.
State Government Seeks Input on Mall
The state government announced today a Request For Proposal (RFP) for redesigning the state’s legislative mall that stretches north of the legislative building. The RFP states:
“Recently there has been some talk among the citizenry about a destination park on the State’s long-held Dorothea Dix property. Concerns were raised in committee about the presence of art and visitors on state land, and the State has hence revoked the lease with the City of Raleigh. Too, there has been discussion among the citizenry about art installations and festivals on the legislative mall; also state land. Because the State of North Carolina is not in the arts and entertainment business, it seeks ideas to keep the citizenry off our lawn. Possible solutions include fencing off the property from the citizenry, removal of the grass, and the installation of guard dogs and alligators. This is where the state needs help. We, the State of North Carolina, seek to find ways of protecting land that is rightfully the State’s from the tyranny of vile behavior and rogue expression.”
In-Store Craft Bars Coming to Michael’s
Big-box craft supply king, Michael’s, announced today that they will be opening craft beer bars at 20 of their locations. “The long-awaited bars fill a void that our customers have been, in some cases, screaming for for years,” said one company spokesperson. “We did market analysis and found an astounding amount of crossover with our craft customers and those in the craft beer industry.
The chain has been test marketing the concept in Cary, NC, and will expand the concept to markets such as Peoria, Racine, Toledo, and York (PA) in Q2.
Asked if Michael’s is concerned about competition from the quickly-growing Beer On Tap brew-pub/dance studio chain, the company spokesman said,”It’s been a growing concern, yes, but I’d say that were are predominantly just answering the call of our current customer base. I mean [laughing], women who drive minivans simply love Hopslam, for instance. It’s really a no-brainer.”
Speed Bumps Coming to All School Zones
Today the city’s transportation department announced that speed bumps will be installed on all city streets within a half-mile radius of any public school, especially on roads that have more than 2,000 cars per day. This includes, for example, Six Forks Road near both Carroll Middle and Green Elementary, and Glenwood Avenue near Underwood Elementary and Daniels Middle. The bumps will be rated for “25mph passage”, but will actually be 9” tall and completely impassible at speeds higher than 18mph. This is a design that as already been implemented on Northbrook, Rowan, and Lake Boone.
One traffic engineer said,“We found the bumps to be so popular via SeeClickFix, we decided to extend the traffic calmers to our least calm streets. We feel that any time a car is near a school it should move no faster than a bicycle, even if it is 11pm on a Saturday night in July.”
‘83 Champions Forgiven State Tax Debts
Today the state revenue department made an extremely rare announcement. Apparently all players from the NCSU 1983 basketball team will be granted amnesty from any tax debts they currently hold. The memo stated: “The team’s triumphs on April 4, 1983, were far more valuable to our citizens than anything the government would have done with the uncollected funds. Therefore, for the greater good, the department forgives any tax debts and liens owed by the players. Too, the department feels this move might give some incentive for local teams to end the Final Four drought for area teams.” Sidney Lowe and CJ Leslie could not be reached for comment.
Pre-Flight Parking Shutting Down
The folks at Pre-Flight Parking near RDU informed me last night that the site is no longer taking new parkers, and will be closing as soon as the last car is claimed. Apparently within the last week the company that owns Fast Park bought out the Pre-Flight location last week. (A couple of employees said that they offered Pre-Flight employees $2 less per hour, too).
So, it appear that there are now only three alternatives for parking at RDU:
- RDU: $12/day – Park across the street from either terminal
- FastPark Parking : $5.45/day – No walking, covered parking, complimentary car wash, bus delivery from your parking spot to terminal front door.
- District Drive Park & Ride: Free – Ride TTA’s bus ($2 each way, exact change) Route 100 (.pdf). Note that this option is only convenient for late morning/early afternoon arrivals and departures. Lot is not under surveillance, but there is security-by-obscurity in a safe area.
Ben Folds Five, Guster Joining BNL at Red Hat Amphitheater
Ben Fold Five announced today that they will tour this summer with Barenaked Ladies and Guster. The “Last Summer On Earth Tour 2013”. The 29 date tour’s apocalypse comes in Brooklyn, but not before the tour’s penultimate show at Raleigh’s Red Hat Amphitheater on Sunday, July 28.
BNL Fanclub presale tickets will be available tomorrow (Tue, 3/19) at 10am. Citi Cardmember presale is Wed at 10. LiveNation’s presale is Thu at 10.
Download Your NCAA Tournament Schedule
The 2013 NCAA Basketball Tournament is upon us, and all three Triangle teams are in the field again. The games begin tomorrow night, however all of the ACC teams in the field play on Friday at these times:
- 12:15 – Duke/Albany (CBS)
- 1:40 – NCSU/Temple (TBS)
- 2:10 – Miami/Pacific (TNT)
-
4:107:20 – UNC/Villanova (TNT)
Time Warner Cable in Raleigh carries these networks on the following channels:
- CBS (1105, 3, 105)
- TBS (1302, 34, 302)
- TNT (1301, 26, 301)
- TruTV (1313, 44, 313)
Ready to fill out your brackets? Print out a blank ESPN bracket (pdf).
Finally, all of the games can be easily added to your Android phone, iPhone, Outlook, Google Calendars and more! Simply visit gogoraleigh’s Calendars tab , and use the links provided in the “2013 NCAA Tournament” line. The events include location and network covering the game.
Recent Stories
- North Carolina Loses The Great Teacher February 9, 2015
- City Lays Markings for Currituck Obstacle Course February 4, 2015
- History Making Heels and Wolfpack Prepare for Battle January 14, 2015
- 25 Predictions for 2015 January 5, 2015
- Raleigh’s 10 Biggest Stories of 2014 January 2, 2015
- 2014: The Rain Year January 2, 2015
- Tupelo Honey Sets New Casual Standard December 1, 2014
- 2013 Predictions. A Look Back November 18, 2014
- Wicked Taco Bringing Fresh-Mex to Western Blvd November 17, 2014
- DOT Unveils I-440 Widening Plans November 12, 2014
- County Power Shift Brings Major Changes to Raleigh’s Future November 5, 2014
- Jarrett Bay Store Coming to Crabtree September 25, 2014
- FirstWatch Coming to Glenwood Avenue September 9, 2014
- Big Shindig Releases Set Times September 5, 2014
- Appearance Commission to Review Residence Inn September 3, 2014
