Recently I noticed on Google Maps that the circular fire road on part of the undeveloped UNC property north of Chapel Hill has apparently been given an official name – the “Pumpkin Loop.” Back when I started riding back there in the early 1980s with compatriots like Mike Gleason, Kurt Hafer, Frank Dooley and Dan Blank from the long-gone local bike shop Tumbleweed Cyclery, we didn’t feel the need to name some of the first mountain bike riding in town. Maybe that was a mistake because, I’ve got to say, “Pumpkin Loop” just doesn’t seem to be the sort of appellation this particular trail deserves.
Published: May. 21, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
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Have you noticed that Chapel Hill 2020 has been renamed Design 2020? As someone who appreciates the processes involved in creative, grounded design, I applaud this change.
Published: May. 18, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
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Take a moment to write a letter to the superintendent of schools in your district, describing very simply what a particular teacher has done for your child, how that child has benefitted from these efforts, and how much you support that person.
Published: May. 18, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
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Built on the UNC campus in 1924 by John Sprunt Hill – distinguished alumnus, successful businessman and university trustee – The Carolina Inn’s original concept was “to provide for the special wants and comforts of the University alumni...and University visitors.”
Published: May. 14, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
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As the last day of classes approached, or as many students call it, LDOC, stress and nerves take over as students anxiously anticipate the semester concluding.
Published: May. 11, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
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Commentary: I don’t smoke, gamble or drink much. I haven’t played competitive ice hockey in 33 years or soccer in 35. I still appreciate Tae Kwon Do but that’s more a lifestyle and a state of mind than an interest.
Published: May. 11, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
Commentary: I’ve been a Tiger at Chapel Hill High School for most of a school year now, and as these eight months draw to a close, I start looking back on everything that’s changed since then.
Published: May. 11, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
Listen to Your Mother (LTYM) listentoyourmothershow.com was launched in 2010 in Madison, Wis., to give voice – on or around Mothers’ Day – to stories about motherhood.
Published: May. 7, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
Commentary: Michael Jacobs makes interesting points which will hopefully set off much needed debate in Orange County, where I’ve lived for over 30 years, but his “irrefutable message” that Orange County is becoming less diverse surprisingly fails to address the dramatic increases in Latino/Hispanic and Asian populations here over the past dozen years.
Published: May. 7, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
Commentary: In a few weeks, Betsy and I will have lunch with two of my former students when we are traveling in New England. One, a pastoral intern at a church near Boston, graduated from UNC in 1979. The other, a book editor and author of several children’s books, graduated in the 1990s.
Published: May. 7, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
Commentary: Chapel Hill and Carrboro have been visioning and re-visioning themselves based on all kinds of abstract principles, neo-urbanism being among the most prominent.
Published: May. 4, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
Commentary: In this month’s column I’m going to let the cat out of the bag. I want to tell you about the best-kept secret in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools: Phoenix Academy High School.
Published: May. 4, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
Commentary: Like a lot of other people in these parts, I shrugged off last month’s announcement by the ACC’s Council of Presidents that they had signed off on a grant-of-rights (GOR) agreement designed to “stabilize” the 15-school conference.
Published: May. 4, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
Commentary: Last week, I saved 40 percent on commuting fuel, got in two hours of good exercise, and I lost weight. How, you may ask?
Published: Apr. 30, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
Commentary: Those of us living in the southern reaches of greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro or across the border in northern Chatham can’t help but notice the progress of the new Walmart on U.S. 15-501.
Published: Apr. 27, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
Commentary: Dean Smith was a pioneering devotee of statistical analysis to improve team and individual performance. But the acclaimed basketball coach also warned that statistics could be manipulated to say most anything. “I only use statistics to reinforce what I already think, or if it’s something unusual,” Smith conceded back in 1990.
Published: Apr. 27, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
Last month a Chapel Hill News editorial raised several concerns about the state of parking in downtown Carrboro. These concerns are largely unfounded and demonstrate the need for a greater understanding of why conventional parking strategies are generally a poor fit for a downtown like ours.
Published: Apr. 27, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
On Facebook: You can read and comment on more local news on my Facebook page. (Friend me at on.fb.me/10uJVGc) A post Wednesday generated several comments. Here it is, with some excerpts from readers’ responses:
Published: Apr. 27, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
Commentary: The proposed Keystone XL pipeline is more business as usual for Big Oil, with a high likelihood of leaks and more fuel for global warming
Published: Apr. 24, 2013 11:32 AM | Full story
The cost of living in Orange County and Chapel Hill is driving black residents elsewhere. Elected officials could bring the cost down, instead of trying band-aids for “affordability.”
Published: Apr. 24, 2013 11:34 AM | Full story
Commentary: Rollout carts for recycling may seem like a luxury, but they will pay for themselves if Orange County adopts them. The county needs to move quickly, though, while Solid Waste Trust Funds are still available.
Published: Apr. 20, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
Commentary: Identity Summit gave 30 high-school girls a chance to collaborate on reclaiming themselves.
Published: Apr. 20, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
Commentary: Taking advantage of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools’ Pass/Fail option is a way for students to learn outside their comfort zones.
Published: Apr. 20, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
Commentary: The county’s proposed district tax leaves citizens no choice on paying for a service they may or may not use
Published: Apr. 20, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
Commentary: I am driving down the road in Chapel Hill, at exactly the speed limit, 35 mph, which annoys two drivers behind me. They pull out and pass me, stepping hard on the gas in exasperation.
Published: Apr. 16, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
Commentary: Living in Chapel Hill or Carrboro is expensive. Homes are among the most costly in the state. Taxes are too. Additional fees add to the cost of living. As a result, we are morphing into a privileged, affluent community.
Published: Apr. 13, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
Commentary: In the Chapel Hill News the past two Sundays, there have been opinion pieces addressing libraries in our community. Each author indicated that our expanded Chapel Hill Public Library should never have originally been placed in Pritchard Park. These sorts of judgments often fail to understand our history and the context of the decisions that were made years ago.
Published: Apr. 13, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
Commentary: If our governor and legislators repeal North Carolina’s universal motorcycle helmet law, research suggests that our citizens, collectively, will face some unintended costs and consequences.
Published: Apr. 13, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
Commentary: What if you had the opportunity to take all of your hard work on campus and see how it plays into the real world? Throw in the chance to network with some of the world’s leading entrepreneurs and innovators, learn about incredible global breakthroughs and help find solutions that will save lives around the world. Oh, and don’t forget an incredible venue only 15 minutes down the road. Do you see yourself there?
Published: Apr. 13, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
Commentary: Consumer spending drives 70 percent of our economy, and we must repower consumer spending – backed by adequate wages rather than unaffordable debt – if we are going to repower our economy, create jobs and reverse the decline in our middle class. Raising the minimum wage boosts the economy from the bottom up, which is exactly what we need.
Published: Apr. 13, 2013 7:00 PM | Full story
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