After seven years in Chapel Hill and 12 before that at Brightleaf Square in Durham, Tyndall Galleries will close its physical space at University Mall and become a virtual gallery.

Director Jane Shuping Tyndall will return to her roots as an art consultant.

"We will continue to represent the same brilliant group of artists you have come to love over the years, and you will still be able to enjoy and purchase their work on our Web site as always at www.tyndallgalleries.com," Tyndall announced Friday.

The gallery will remain open through Jan. 30.

"My hope is that this gallery, filled with the spirit of its inspired artists and tended by a caring staff, has brought beauty and happiness and been a place of respite to each person who has come here," Tyndall said. "And for the little children especially, who have always delighted me, my wish is that they carry all the wonders of the art they have seen here with them throughout their lives.

KALISHER IN TARGET: Carrboro-based photographer Jesse Kalisher has work in The Louvre, in The DeYoung Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, in our nation's capital and now, in Target.

Target stores began selling six of Kalisher's iconic black and white photographs in a limited engagement this month, all framed for $9.99.

Kalisher is a fine art photographer whose originals sell for $3,000 and more in art galleries in Beverly Hills and New York. But in keeping with Kalisher's belief that, "everyone should have access to affordable art," his gallery struck a deal with Target in 2009 that brought his very affordable reproductions into stores nationwide earlier this month.

Images of Kalisher's currently on sale at Target include ones from Paris, Venice, New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Hollywood. "Target provides a great opportunity for us to share Jesse's work," said The Jesse Kalisher Gallery director Sarah Elder.

HELP FOR HAITI: Two Franklin Street businesses are pitching in for Haiti.

The Mediterranean Deli, 410 W. Franklin St., will donate all restaurantsales on Jan. 26 to the American Red Cross for the earthquake victims.

"After the event we will post the total of donation so our customers can see it," says owner Jamil Kadoura.

Chapel Hill Comics, 316 W. Franklin St., will match customers' in-store donations, up to a total of $500, through the close of business Wednesday.

The money will go to Doctors Without Borders.

"So, anything you can give, from a penny to a twenty, is appreciated," says owner Andrew Neal. "We'll match it. Paying with cash and don't want to carry around your change? Drop it in the box, and we'll match it."

HILLSBOROUGH AWARDS: At its holiday gathering Dec. 16, the Hillsborough/Orange County Chamber of Commerce announced the recipients of its Business of the Year, Business Person of the Year and Helping Hand Awards.

The Business of the Year Award recipient is Saratoga Grill, 108 S. Churton St., owned and operated by Colleen and Kevin St. John. The St. Johns support many animal rights causes and each year the restaurant hosts a luncheon, including a fashion show, for the Orange Congregations in Mission Thrift Shop.

The Chamber's Business Person of the Year award goes to Mike Moylan of Sports Endeavors, the world's largest soccer retailer.Sports Endeavors provides jobs for up to 350 employees. Sports Endeavors is a strong supporter of many organizations, including the Chamber, the Relay for Life, Friends of the Orange County Senior Center, the Orange County Schools Spelling Bee, the Orange County Rape Crisis Center, Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, Orange County Recreation and Parks and this year partnered with Orange County Schools to assist with the Backpack for Kids Program. Mike and his wife Morgan spearheaded the drive to create Turnip Patch Park in downtown Hillsborough and he gives of his own time as a soccer coach at Orange High School, even filling in when a coach was temporarily unavailable.

The 2009 Helping Hand Award was awarded to the Backpack for Kids Program.Funded by a grant from the Bayer Crop Science Foundation, Mark Foreman of Carillon Assisted Living learned of the program and wanted to get Carillon residents involved in outreach to the community. Each week, volunteers gather to fill backpacks with food and snacks for needy children to take home over the weekend.Sometimes, the backpacks contain the only food available to the children until they return to school and free lunches on Monday. Karen Kolbinsky started the program at selected elementary schools in northern Orange County and the program now serves Efland Cheeks Elementary, New Hope Elementary, and Cameron Park Elementary.Another program serves Central Elementary distributing 20 backpacks to 60 students (each gets a backpack every three weeks).

YMCA UPGRADES EQUIPMENT: The Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA is ready to transform resolutions into reality with new, cutting-edge exercise equipment and a mobile personal training program.

"We're very excited to be bringing our community some of the most advanced fitness technology available to get in shape," said Jerry Whortan, executive director at CHC YMCA. "Our upgrades are intended to make our members' workout routines more fun and accessible. We want people to feel they have a partner in making their resolutions easier to achieve and sustain throughout 2010."

TechnoGym machines are designed with biomechanical precision to help users personalize their fitness program with ergonomically correct, user-friendly machines with isometric controls.

Over the next three years, CHC YMCA will replace nearly every machine in its facility with the latest equipment from Technogym, making it the only facility in the Triangle to exclusively carry the TechnoGym line.

The CHC YMCA's MobileFit upgrade will allow users to download their personalized training program to an iPhone or iPod for mobile access to their virtual training at any time. The program's new capabilities will make it easy for members to take their training program on vacation, keep up with their progress from home or take their fitness plan on the road.

ARTSCENTER GETS GRANT: Duke Energy provided a $6,500 grant to The ArtsCenter to assist with repairing and replacing theatrical lighting equipment inside the Earl and Rhoda Wynn Theater.

Ed Camp, The ArtsCenter's new executive director, explained the grant will allow The ArtsCenter to replace alighting board and enhance the overall lighting required for all the shows that occur in the approximately 300-seat theater.

Camp pointed out that although 80 percent of the budget for The ArtsCenter is raised through the prices it charges for various programs, the rest of the budget requires additional fundraising to achieve facility upgrades and general maintenance.

Jillian Holquist, director of development, added "We are so grateful to Duke Energy, and to Ken Kernoodle in particular, for making this gift possible."

SOLAR OFFICE OPENS: FLS Energy, an Asheville-based solar energy company, has chosen Hillsborough as the location of its first office outside of western North Carolina.

FLS Energy provides renewable energy planning, design and installation services and has the capacity to serve a wide range of clients from small solar hot water installations to utility-scale solar farms.

Chris Wachholz, a member of FLS' Business Development division and a long-time Orange County resident, was charged with opening the new office last month in Hillsborough's Summit Business Campus.

The Orange County-based office will serve FLS' growing list of projects in the Research Triangle, PiedmontTriad and Eastern North Carolina areas. Some of FLS' current projects include a large1.2 megawatt solar array being installed at the SAS campus in Cary, as well as retail retrofits and solarinstallations for the military and area universities.FLS is also able to help local home owners and small business consumers with projects.

Brad Broadwell, director of Orange County Economic Development, welcomes the solar company. "FLS' decision to locate in Orange County is a tangiblesign that the renewable energy market continues to grow and that Orange County is equipped to have a significant impact in the transformation of our energy future."