"One of our longtime senior customers was driving near the intersection of Hwy 54 and 15-501 when her car broke down. She was stranded without a phone. Bob, a delivery driver for University Florist had finished his deliveries and stopped to help her. They called Auto Logic, Bob called Charles, the owner of University Florist who said it was fine to stay and wait until help arrived. We so appreciate the kindness and our customer did as well. Today she is getting a new clutch and will be safely driving again this weekend."

Roses to the Friends of Bolin Creek, the UNC Institute for the Environment and the N.C. Botanical Garden for reminding us our waterways need our protection.

You may have seen our front-page photograph of sediment turning Eastwood Lake a muddy brown after a rainstorm two weeks ago. Chapel Hill town staff went to investigate after our call (which came after former Town Councilman and lakefront homeowner James Protzman called us) and discovered that the state Department of Transportation's erosion control had failed along part of Weaver Dairy Road.

Stormwater runoff isn't the only threat to water quality. Development rules are critical to keeping streams healthy, as we are learning too late with regional plans to clean up Jordan Lake.

Last weekend, the Friends and its partners held a daylong symposium to call attention to the two major waterways - Bolin Creek and Morgan Creek - that flow through Carrboro and Chapel Hill. The effort, which included activities for children, reminded us of the importance of building protection into planning.

Thanks for the reminder that, like that ripple on the pond, the decisions the community makes today will affect the community of tomorrow.

Raspberries wherever you want to throw them for that fence that now "un-graces" West Weaver Street in Carrboro.

To be fair, CVS owns the property and had said months ago a fence was an option. After the recent occupation of the former WCOM community radio station building, it was a foregone conclusion.

But with it comes an eyesore, as well as the loss of a popular parking lot. And all this on a street that only just emerged from a protracted repaving that already hurt some businesses.

There's no arguing with the folks at the Carrboro Commune. They don't play by the rules. The collateral damage they do - to the community, to the local Occupy movement (which quickly separated itself from the incident), is of little concern.

A poet once said good fences make good neighbors. We're pretty sure he wasn't talking about chain link.