Light up the holidays with the Historic Oakwood Candlelight Tour, December 12 & 13

Yes, I am biased, but the Historic Oakwood Candlelight Tour is one of the best annual events Raleigh has going. This year's tour will take place Saturday, December 12 and Sunday, December 13 from 1-7 p.m.

Whether you’re interested in getting a glimpse inside the candlelit windows, learning more about Raleigh’s history and architecture, or simply looking for an excuse to spend a little extra time with friends in downtown Raleigh, you’re invited to come celebrate the holidays on the Candlelight Tour.

Tickets are available for advance purchase online or at select locations throughout the Triangle. On the days of the tour, they may be purchased at The Oakwood Inn, 411 North Bloodworth Street. Tickets are not tax deductible or refundable. Tour held rain or shine.
In Advance: $15
Tour Day: $20

Go here to purchase tickets online.

Wade Avenue no longer on the CD-skipping s*&t list?

A couple of years ago we described in this space the problem of "CD-skipping roads" -- streets that "are not very conducive to CD enjoyment" because of the number and quality of its potholes. And while we admitted then (as we do now) that CDs are becoming a thing of the past, it is still a hassle to be driving around and hear a song start over, skip or just stop altogether. (One particular album completely started over because of a gnarly bump I hit whilst leaving Crabtree Valley Mall on Saturday.) In fact, this little problem is a nice gauge of just how bad a road can be.

"Jellyfish City" has had its share of CD-skipping roads over the years. Thankfully, one particularly-bad artery may be coming off the list, thanks to the ARRA.

If you've been on Wade Avenue -- especially from around Oberlin to Ridge -- you may have noticed the repaving project. And while some of the curves and hills along that stretch could potentially equal death or dismemberment, it's still nice to enjoy a smooth ride. Hell, the lyrics to "Roxanne" repeat enough as it is -- Gordon, Stewart and Andy don't need any help in that department (Hey, oh!)

Bruce Siceloff has reported that the rest of the Wade repaving -- from Oberlin to Capital -- should begin in March and be completed in June.

But wait -- there's more. The other notorious CD-skipping road -- Glenwood Avenue -- is also slated to get a nice new coat of asphalt.

"NCDOT also awarded a $1.2 million contract this summer to repave Glenwood Avenue inside the Beltline, but that job now is scheduled to start in March," he wrote.

Hallelujah! Glenwood takes the cake, in my opinion, so this is a great thing to read.

Now, if we could just get Peace Street from around, oh, Blount Street up to the Capital Boulevard exit taken care of ...

(Pothole image from webwiseforradio; map image courtesy of the N&O)

Sweet: Raleigh chocolate seller to start making its own goodies

In case the Krispy Kreme on Person Street was not enough of a sugar fix for you, you will soon be able to mosey just a few blocks away for locally-made chocolate, according to the News & Observer.

"The city is about to get its first chocolate factory, a confectionary workshop that will let visitors watch as raw cacao beans are transformed into gourmet bars and truffles.

"The Escazú artisanal chocolate factory, set to open on Blount Street this month, is the culmination of a business dream for Hallot Parson, a chef-turned-chocolatier. ..."

According to Escazú's website, the factory location is set to be 936 N. Blount Street.

"... About a half-dozen specialty stores in the area create their own products. But chocolate factories are another matter. Only about a dozen chocolate factories on a commercial scale are estimated to be operating in the country, according the National Confectioners Association in Washington.

"The concept fits in with Raleigh's downtown revitalization philosophy of promoting businesses that are local and unique, as a point of differentiation from shopping malls and national chains. ...

"Parson opened an Escazú chocolate store on Glenwood Avenue in 2007 and sells gourmet bars priced up to $6. The company is named after the Costa Rican town where Parson stayed on the trip that led to his chocolate awakening. Today Escazú chocolates can be found at dozens of locations, including Whole Foods, A Southern Season, Ornamentea and the Umstead Hotel.

"But at his retail site, Parson is limited to buying pre-made chocolate slabs, which he melts down to create his signature confections. At his chocolate factory, he will make chocolate from scratch to his specifications, starting with raw beans imported from Costa Rica and Venezuela.

"When Parson opens his chocolate factory on Blount Street near Peace College, he'll close the Glenwood Avenue shop less than a mile away. The factory is still a work-in-progress, with unhinged doors leaning on unpainted walls and equipment lying in disarray in the unfinished front section. ..."

I have to say it: Sweet.

It's official: RailHawks are in a new league

Up until yesterday, the Carolina RailHawks were basically an orphaned professional soccer team with players and a first-class stadium -- but no one to line up against on the pitch. But the RailHawks -- along with four existing teams and one team yet to be actually established -- have formed a new league.

The owners of the Atlanta Silverbacks, Carolina RailHawks, Miami FC, Minnesota Thunder, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps, formerly of USL-1, together with St. Louis Soccer United today announced that they have formed a new professional soccer league to play in the United States and Canada beginning in April 2010.

The team owners yesterday submitted an application for sanctioning of the new league as a Division II Men’s Outdoor Professional League by the United States Soccer Federation. An application for sanctioning as a Division I League will be submitted to the Canadian Soccer Association shortly and applications to other sanctioning bodies in the region will be submitted as needed.

Joey Saputo, President of the 2009 USL-1 champion Montreal Impact, was recently elected Chairman of the Board of Governors of the new league.

“This is not your typical new league,” Saputo said. “Most of our teams have existed for years. We have united some of the best owners, teams and markets around a new vision for a professional soccer league in North America.

“We look forward to elevating our teams and league in order to give more opportunities to players, coaches, media and sponsors, entertain our fans and play our role in helping soccer truly recognize its potential in the United States and Canada.”

The RailHawks, along with several other formerly USL-1 teams, were essentially kicked out of the league a month ago.

Today, at least, the teams have a home.

“Over the past two years we have been working tirelessly to re-structure the league to be owned and controlled by the owners in order to elevate our league on and off the pitch," Selby Wellman, RailHawks owner, said in a release. "The owners make substantial investments in their teams. However, the level of national level investment required has not been made because the league has always been owned, operated, and controlled by third parties. We simply want our league to be operated and managed like all other pro sports leagues around the world.”

Carolina will continue to play at WakeMed Park, considered one of the best in the nation for "the beautiful game."

"As for the USL," SBI reports, "it will continue operation in 2010 with as many as 11 teams. Austin, Cleveland, New York, Puerto Rico, Portland, Rochester, Tampa Bay, Edmonton and Ottawa had representatives at a recent meeting to discuss the future of the USL, while Baltimore and Detroit were also represented."

The RailHawks had been members of the USL-1 league for three years, and were 16-7-7 last season.

Former Pack player Lassiter a candidate for National Soccer Hall of Fame

One of my favorite soccer sites, SoccerByIves, has a listing of the candidates for the National Soccer Hall of Fame's newest class. One of the proposed names is former Athens Drive and N.C. State standout Roy Lassiter who, at one point, was Major League Soccer's all-time leading goal scorer.

"The National Soccer Hall of Fame released its final ballot for the Class of 2010 and the 24 former soccer players chosen represent a vast array of teams and eras," writes Ives.

"Former U.S. national team standouts Earnie Stewart, Peter Vermes and Thomas Dooley, Women's national team stars Cindy Parlow and Shannon McMillan, as well as foreign-born MLS pioneers Marco Etcheverry, Peter Nowak and Carlos Valderrama are just some of the candidates on the ballot. ...

"Voters will be able to select up to 10 candidates for entry, with all candidates that appear on 66.7 percent of ballots being inducted."

Another former NCSU and MLS (and U.S. National Team) great, Tab Ramos, is already a member. Ramos was the first player to ever sign with MLS.

(Photo of Lassiter from eveningsun)

Raleigh, Progress Energy, and Carolina Solar Energy team-up on project

From a recent Triangle Business Journal article: "The city of Raleigh, Progress Energy, and (Carolina Solar Energy of Durham) are working together on a large solar energy project that could be zapping power onto the grid by early 2010." The small 250 kilowatt solar array will be constructed at the E.M. Johnson Water Treatment Plant on top of a 30,000 sq.ft. concrete enclosure that holds treated water. The array will produce enough electricity annually to power 25 average homes and will avoid 264 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Just to let you know how much CO2 that is, according to the EPA, the average car driving 12,500 miles per year and getting 21.5mpg produces 11,450 lbs. of the stuff so this is like taking 51 cars off the road.

This agreement looks to benefit everyone involved including the citizens of Raleigh who will pay nothing. By law, energy companies must produce at least 3% of their power by means of renewable sources by 2012 so Progress is on board and Carolina Solar Power will lease the space from the city and will keep all tax credits and utility incentives. Should the city decide to buy the array in the future, it (we) can apply the proceeds of the lease agreement to do so.

This is the second solar photovoltaic project begun this year by the city. A larger 1.7 megawatt facility will be installed at the Neuse River Wastewater Treatment Plant by Raleigh's own Southern Energy Management and will produce enough electricity to power 130 homes reducing CO2 emissions by 1,300 metric tons (250 cars) annually. The parties involved have the same type agreements as in the Johnson Plant plan.

This got me thinking. Where else could the city

and/or Wake County place PV (photovoltaic) arrays? I'll give my 2 ideas. The first is on top of the Raleigh Convention Center. I mean, look at it. A huge flat space on a very high-profile building. And I would think that having this "green" feature would be a selling point for attracting future conventions to our city. My second idea could really be called my 2nd through 160th ideas. I would love to see a program where solar PV panels are added to the roofs of most, if not all, Wake County Public School locations. For work I visit most WCPSS schools and almost all are built in what amounts to a field with

unobstructed sunlight and roofs tailor-made for PV electricity capturing possibilities. How about a plan where Progress Energy or maybe one of these local solar installers foots the bill for the installations and then rightfully collects the tax incentives, credits, and compensation for the power production until the projects are paid-for. At that point, power produced can be used by the school to reduce energy bills or sold back to Progress Energy to produce a source of revenue for the school system to reduce overall costs. All the while, we have installed working laboratories at the schools to help teach the kids about the environment, physics, engineering, chemistry, ...

Wake County still enjoying growth while other 'boom' counties suffer

The Associated Press has an interesting piece on the different ways that the "boom" counties (Wake being one of them) have handled the recession. Wake appears to be one of the poster children for how to survive a downturn in the economy. others, like Lake County, Fla., have not fared as well.

"In the state [of North Carolina's] capital’s downtown core, $500,000 decorative street lights beam down on bustling crowds who’ve come to dine and play along a recently revitalized pedestrian plaza," says the article, referring to the newly-opened City Plaza.

"A few states to the south, the lamp posts shine largely on empty lots in a subdivision outside Orlando where only a third of the 95 planned homes have been built.

"Wake County, N.C., and Lake County, Fla., shared the spoils of the real estate surge as two of the nation’s 100 fastest-growing counties of this decade, until the recession hit and their paths diverged."

The AP Economic Stress Index – a score based on a county’s unemployment, foreclosure and bankruptcy rates – shows that the nation’s 100 fastest-growing counties have, as a whole, fared worse than the national average since the start of the recession.

Yet 42 of those 100 counties are bucking that boom-then-doom trend, including one west of Des Moines, some in northern Virginia and the Texas counties outside Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, according to the AP’s analysis.

The fast-growing areas that have been resilient tend to have large, diversified economies, researchers and business leaders said. ...

The areas often owe the favorable mix of jobs to recruiting by local leaders. Raleigh and nearby communities have spent decades courting pharmaceutical and technology companies to an area that’s long benefited from state government, university and health care jobs.

The effort has paid dividends during the downturn: LED lighting maker Cree Inc. recently announced that it was adding more than 500 jobs in Durham. Deutsche Bank AG announced this summer it plans to open a technology development center the Raleigh suburb of Cary, bringing more than 300 jobs with wages at twice the county average.

Adrienne Cole, executive director of Raleigh Economic Development, said while the region’s large construction industry has taken a hit, the other sectors helped provide stability. Wake County’s unemployment rate of 8.3 percent in September falls below both the national average of 9.8 and the state’s 10.8 percent jobless rate.

“I think we could argue that we were one of the last communities in the recession and we’ll be one of the first communities out,” Cole said.

Let's hope so. If true, Raleigh and Wake County will position themselves nicely against other metro areas.

Better get to the Biscuit Station 'city quick'

New Raleigh is reporting that Mema's Biscuits (more commonly known as the Biscuit Station) is closing its doors on Saturday, October 31. So if you want to enjoy the type of food that makes you want to nap the rest of the day, then get over there fast. (And trust me: That previous sentence is a compliment.)

Even though I live mere blocks from the Station, I've rarely taken advantage of the place that offers "Country Food" at a "City Quick" pace. It will be missed.

(Photo by NR)

Raleigh, Charlotte are 'brain gain' cities

North Carolina's two largest metros can join cities in California and Texas in boasting being brainiac hot spots, according to the latest census numbers.

The Associated Press reports that many "college graduates are passing up industrial centers and former hotspots in the Southwest, which have been hit hard by the recession, in favor of life in urban, high-tech meccas. Their moves are fueling a resurgence of brainiacs in parts of California, North Carolina and Texas."

Census data released Tuesday offer the first detailed look at U.S. migration data, broken down by education and income, since the recession began in late 2007.

The data covering 2006-2008 show that Austin, Texas, Portland, Ore., Charlotte and Raleigh, both in North Carolina, and Seattle saw large jumps in residents with at least a college degree. Each offers the promise of specialized tech jobs and hip lifestyles. ...

In contrast, metropolitan areas with high rates of foreclosures, less tech-based economies or increasing unemployment saw declines or slower rates of growth in residents with a college degree or higher. They included Los Angeles, Atlanta, Orlando, Fla., as well as New Orleans, Detroit and Cleveland.

"During this economic downturn, young, educated professionals are heading for the high-tech 'cool' metros rather than the fast growing upstarts of the mid-decade," said William Frey, a demographer at Brookings Institution, who analyzed the data. "The investment in knowledge industries and young professional amenities in places like Austin, Raleigh and Seattle is now paying off." ...

According to the data, cities with higher levels of education did not always translate to the highest incomes.

Austin, Seattle and Charlotte all saw large gains in the number of residents who earned an income of $65,000 a year or more. But they were outpaced by places such as Bakersfield, Calif., and Sun Belt regions such as Phoenix and Las Vegas, which had larger jumps in richer residents. ...

I guess that's one more feather in Raleigh's cap, eh?

Maher to film HBO special in Raleigh

Bill Maher will film his next HBO special in Raleigh on Feb. 12-13 at the Progress Energy Center.

Both shows are being taped for HBO, but the Feb. 13 show will be broadcast live on the network.

The special will mark Maher’s ninth for HBO.

Maher is host of “Real Time with Bill Maher” (2003-present) on HBO. He previously hosted “Politically Incorrect” from 1994 to 2002, first on Comedy Central and then on ABC.

Last year, Maher and director Larry Charles released the religious documentary “Religulous.”

Tickets for the Raleigh shows range from $39.50 to $59.50.

official site | imdb.com

New restaurant coming to Blount Street/Mordecai

Sources reveal that a new restaurant (called -- for now -- "Mordecai Cafe") is slated to open at 938 N. Blount Street. No word yet on the type of cuisine.

This address puts the 1,600-square foot location behind the Raleigh Housing Authority location but before Raleigh Charter High School.

Cooke Street Carnival a success

Kudos to the folks behind this past weekend's Cooke Street Carnival. Hundreds made it out to the east Raleigh block party for music, food, beer, costumes and art. The fact that it was so well attended during the same time as the State Fair is a testament to the planning and enthusiasm of the neighbors. It certainly looks like it's a "new" Raleigh tradition. (Egads!)

The N&O has a nice slide show - courtesy of Corey Lowenstein -- of the carnival. You can view the slide show here, but here's a sneak peak.