Anyone who ever tries to get to and from businesses on the east side of Estes Dr. south of Franklin St. knows that it's a treacherous errand, no matter where you're coming from.  I've become better than a FedEx driver when it comes to planning right-turn-only routes. While I'm sorry to see Walker's BP station go and have mixed feelings about the possibility of a Walgreens there (esp. since Kerr has left the mall), this does present an opportunity to think hard about the miserable traffic patterns in the area. 

Part of the "silly season" (thanks to Fred Black for that great term) is the bloom of letters to local papers supporting certain candidates.  In some cases, individual expressions seem quite heartfelt, regardless of any larger party or issue contexts.  In some cases, the letters seem pretty much obligatory, as if someone feels the endorsement musn't fail to appear among the other letters -- for example, regarding the Sierra Club endorsements. 

Often it seems, however, that there might be a somewhat more coordinated effort to flood the letters pages with statements endorsing a given candidate -- suggesting he or she may be an underdog but with a significant groundswell of public support. 

From Saturday's Herald-Sun/CHH:  "President Obama's plan to give a televised speech to the nation's students Tuesday might be causing a ruckus in some locales....
But Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Superintendent Neil Pedersen has sent a note encouraging principals and teachers to make Obama's speech available to students Tuesday at noon if schedules permit.
Obama plans to urge students to work hard, set goals and to take responsibility for their educations. President George H.W. Bush gave a similar back-to-school address in 1991 and so did President Ronald Reagan before him."

No single episode has spotlighted the crazed, anti-Obama monomania of Republicans as well as this one.  There's such a stunning lack of acknowledgment of their own inconsistency that we could stand in awe if it weren't part of a larger, yet more irrational and predatory mindset. 

Kerr Drugs will soon move from University Mall to a new location on rte. 54.

That may not seem a particularly earthshaking bit of news. However, for those of us who have a long-standing relationship with that pharmacy, it is a bit of a tremor. For those of us watching the economy change the paths and patterns of Chapel Hill, and for those who've kept an eye on the Mall ever since Belk closed and the K&W moved, through at least two (is it?) changes of ownership, it's at the very least a notable rumble underfoot.

WCHL is reporting Bruce Stone's official announcement that he's closing the Varsity theater.   He provided them a written statement that's likely to appear shortly in the newspapers as well.

Some excerpts regarding the film industry and Stone's situation with the Varsity:  "This is a business decision, a bottom-line decision. . . . The Varsity especially has been struggling for over two years, with no prospect of an upturn any time soon. . .  with the summers being especially difficult... Our landlord has been understanding and supportive throughout our tenure."

Of particular note, however, are his comments about the downtown situation:

The NY Times today ran a brief, not particularly incisive, story on increased town-gown friction because of the recession. "Slump Revives Town-Gown Divide Across US"  http://tinyurl.com/NYTtownoGown  (registration required) "As endowments everywhere sink with the economy, town-gown relationships, often carefully nurtured during the boom years as colleges and universities sought to expand, are fraying."  

At a time when partisans seem to be cherishing antagonisms and keeping wounds open, it's nice to have a reason to celebrate a town treasure in common.  

Rudy Tempesta, our 83-year-old letter-carrier on the Estes-West Coker Hills route (I think we're all the 2413 part of the zipcode), was honored yesterday for not one but two million miles without an accident over 63 years of service to the US Postal Service. 

That's remarkable enough, but as "Rudy's people" have come to learn, there's a lot more to him than putting catalogues and bills in our mailboxes.  At yesterday's ceremony amid the sorting stations at the Estes Dr. post office, Rudy showed off one of the five medals he got for flying missions in WW2, when he was part of the group covering the Tuskegee airmen, and he pointed out the other veterans he now works with.

Worry about the effect of the economic downturn coupled with changes in information technology is generating a lot of consterned discussion among those concerned with the history and future of libraries. Worries start with concern about reducing public access to books and book culture, as well as to the eroding relationship of public and research libraries to the educational system.

But libraries - the municipal buildings themselves and the staff therein - also see challenging changes in their community functions when times get hard.

This isn't front-page material, but a passing reaction and 'statement of concern' for the town's 9-year-olds:

The billboard on Estes Dr. in front of Estes Hills Elementary School is currently announcing "Third-Grade College and Career Night."

Time-Warner, its relationship with the town of Chapel Hill, and cable TV agreements are the subject of two CH Herald stories this morning.

 1. "Time Warner Cable, town to break ties March 31" Daniel Goldberg:  "Time Warner Cable has notified the town that a local franchise agreement between the two entities will be terminated effective March 31 . . . [Under] the Video Service Competition Act ... all cable franchise agreements instituted after Jan. 1, 2007, will be licensed by the N.C. secretary of state and agreements like the one between Time Warner and the town of Chapel Hill could be terminated if a competing cable provider were authorized to offer services in the same area."  http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.com/orange/10-1124138.cfm (regis. needed)