Bob The Blade Returns
The N&O has a feature in the Life section today about long time classic-rock fixture Bob The Blade’s return to Raleigh. The Blade was a staple in the drive time hours at WRDU, but when the station turned country, Bob couldn’t take it and went to WSFL near New Bern.
Bob’s maintained a fun website so he could be enjoyed from afar, but finally, the Madison, WI native will return to his true home, the Triangle. Check him out on 96 Rock from 2-6pm beginning Monday.
Solving RBC Center Ingress (Part II)
Part one of this series introduced a simple plan to solve the RBC Center’s West side ingress problems. Each lot on the arena’s West side would have a dedicated lane and would, therefore, have uninterrupted traffic flow.
The RBC Center’s East parking lots are accessed by the three-lane Westchase Blvd. Because one of those lanes has to be designated for egress during ingress events, the traffic flow on the East side of the RBC Center has major inefficiencies. While there would not be a bottleneck, it would be impossible to dedicate a lane for each East side lot, Lots 1, 2 and 3, using the existing lane configurations. With a simple redesign of about 500 feet of curb on the arena’s West side, all lots could have a dedicated ingress road.
Part I advised dedicating a lane for Lots 4, 5, and 6. Lot 3 traffic must use the East side. By expanding capacity on the West side, however, Lot 3 traffic could use Edwards Mill Road and leave Westchase Blvd’s two ingress lanes for Lots 1 and 2.
In this plan, read more…
Walnut Creek Announces Events
Walnut Creek Amphitheater
announced a slew of concerts today including many country acts, R.E.M., and two nights of Widespread Panic:
- April 25 and 26 : Widespread Panic
- May 17 : Tim McGraw w/ Jason Aldean and Halfway To Hazard
- June 10 : R.E.M. w/ Modest Mouse and The National
- June 21 : Toby Keith w/ Montgomery Gentry
- July 19 : Brad Paisley
- August 2 : Rascal Flatts w/ Taylor Swift
- August 22 : Kenny Chesney w/ LeAnn Rimes
- September 6 : Brooks & Dunn w/ Rodney Atkins
- October 4 : Martina McBride
Cary Chipotle Open
The Cary location of the
Chipotle
chain is now open in the former Blockbuster location (
map it
). For those who haven’t been to Chipotle, it is a fast-mexican restaurant which features "fresh" food (ie. stuff hasn’t been sitting there long, salsas are made daily, etc). Pick from one of four meats arranged in one of four styles…you know the deal. Most of what I’ve had there was very comparable to Q’doba.
Now that the lazy people are out of the way, here is the secret: Chipotle’s Carnitas on 4 crunchy tacos. This is one of the most delicious lunches you can have, anywhere. My personal favorite is to get each of the four with a different one of their four salsas. That way the lunch keeps evolving as I eat it. Probably the corn salsa is the best with the Carnitas.
I kid you not, though. This is a seriously awesome meal (many people have heard/read my previous diatribes, gone to Chipotle and deviated from my suggestion, and been disappointed and won’t go back. Don’t be another one!) I’ve also had a crunchy taco with Barbacoa, and it is excellent as well, but not dream-worthy. Additionally, Chipotle’s guacamole is excellent, though some of the chips have tough, not crunchy regions. The guacamole isn’t overloaded with citrus juices; an ingredient that doesn’t appear in real guacamole (Rosa Mexicano’s recipe ).
This is Chipotle’s fifth area location .
UNC Tops Kiplinger List of Values
Kiplinger magazine’s February 2008 issue features a story on the best values in public colleges and UNC Chapel Hill tops the list. They credit the $2.3 billion fund-raising campaign as a key to reducing the tuition burden on students. Other state schools making the list are NCSU at #13, Appalachian State at #27, UNC-Wilmington at #36, UNC-Asheville at #40, and UNC-Greensboro at #68
984 Overlay Brews Again
Remember the days back in 2001 when the utilities commission was planning 10-digit dialing and an overlay area code for the Triangle? Well, it’s back. The growth of cell phones, OnStar, security systems, and other objects demanding more cell network numbers is gobbling up all of the available 919 numbers.
TBJ has a good story
covering this and explains why the issued died for a period.
Staal Named All-Star MVP
With 2 goals and 1 assist, the Carolina Hurricanes’
Eric Staal
was named the
MVP of the NHL All-Star Game
tonight. Staal is in his 4th season with Canes and currently ranks
9th in goals
and
25th in points
in the NHL. Congrats to Staal!
Staal was the only All Star from the Canes squad, however. We saw Rod Brind’Amour in Milton’s Pizza & Pasta tonight during the game and it almost made me sick thinking of what little respect he gets around the league.
Bring WPS Women’s Soccer To Cary
A new professional women’s soccer league, the
WPS
, will begin play in 2009. Cities such as Los Angeles, Dallas, St. Louis, Washington, Boston, New York, and Chicago have been named, but the league wants to add one more team. So far Cary leads in voting with 18%, and
your vote
can take the area one step toward joining this league. (The poll is halfway down the page in a cell).
Thanks so
Trisoccerfan
for the heads up.
Powerhouse Plaza Plans 10 Story Hotel/Office Complex for Downtown
The preliminary site plan (.pdf file) for a new 10-story highrise in downtown has just been submitted to the City of Raleigh. Williams Realty and Building plans a mixed use building at West and Jones Streets, across from 42nd St. Oyster Bar ( map it ), that will house 4 stories of office space and a 134-room hotel on 5 stories. The structure will have an internal 397-space parking deck, an indoor pool, 7,684 square feet of ground-level retail, and a 4,969 square foot rooftop restaurant.
That giant crashing sound you heard was the dam breaking. Both Bob Winston and the Williams are now interested in the redeveloping areas of downtown. For years now semilocal money has led the way in downtown’s redevelopment, but now we are seeing long-time natives getting in the game!
Note: The site plan portrays the building with East, not North, at the top of the page. The bottom of the page is bordered by 42nd Street, so the buildings across from the restaurant will be razed.
Krispy Kreme Challenge Set for Saturday
One of Raleigh’s newest traditions, the
Krispy Kreme Challenge
(ie. Insanathon), will begin tomorrow at 9:00am. The event benefiting the N.C. Children’s Hospital involves running two miles from the N.C. State Belltower to Krispy Kreme on Peace Street. Participants will then eat one dozen donuts, and run back to the Belltower; all in under an hour. Last year’s winner, Auburn Staples, finished in 24:32.
The real winner is the hospital because the event raised $10,300 last year. The race has 2,704 entrants so far, and registration will close at 3,000. Registration will be open from 5:00 to 8:00 tonight at Krispy Kreme.
CAPTRUST Tower At North Hills East Begins Construction
Construction has officially begun on the 17-story mixed use tower in North Hills East known as the
CAPTRUST tower
. A joint venture between Duke Realty and Kane Realty, the tower will feature retail and restaurants on its first floor and will contain parking internally. A “high-end, national white tablecloth restaurant” is planned as well.
The tower is the centerpiece of the new eastside development of the 100-acre North Hills complex. North Hills East plans include a high-density retirement community, residential tower, retail, and a full-size, two-story Harris Teeter supermarket.
CAPTRUST Financial Advisors will be the building’s major tenants, however according to CNNmoney.com , other tenants of the 274,000 square foot building include Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak, & Stewart, PC, and CD Richard Ellis. The building will be completed in 2009.
Manilow Rescheduled for March 27
The RBC Center’s Barry Manilow concert that was postponed due to inclement weather has been rescheduled for March 27. Tickets for the January 20 show will be honored for the new date.
Steve Winwood/Tom Petty Coming to Walnut Creek
The first Walnut Creek announcement is out and it’s a good one! On July 12, 2008
Steve Winwood
and
Tom Petty
will be coming. No word on ticket info yet, but the
amphitheater’s terrible website
should have info as soon as the formal announcement is made.
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