Take the Raleigh Police Survey

From the city's website ...

"The Raleigh Police Department is currently undertaking to process of producing a five-year strategic plan. The strategic planning process is designed to guide the police department in the allotment of time, resources, and manpower from Fiscal Year 2009 to Fiscal Year 2014. The strategic plan will help organize our energies into different possible planning areas such as infrastructure or community oriented policing efforts. The plan will then develop strategies to accomplish goals set under such planning areas over those five years. We are seeking input from citizens in order to help establish these priorities. ..."

Click on this link to take part in a survey.

Hope yet for 'KK'

The global economic recession has brought down some giant of companies. And there have been many rumors that Krispy Kreme is next. (And, more specifically, the classic "KK" on Person Street in downtown Raleigh, pictured.)

The good news coming out of Winston-Salem is that the company's global presence may actually be its saving grace.

"Kristin Graham, a senior analyst for The Motley Fool, a financial-services company, said she questions whether Krispy Kreme will be able to survive because of the level of debt it took on during its ill-fated domestic expansion strategy under a previous top executive, Scott Livengood," according to the Winston-Salem Journal.

"But if there is a life preserver for Krispy Kreme, it would be its international sales," Graham said. "If they can expand and establish the brand correctly overseas, it could be enough to carry them through 2009."

And that's great news to those of us that get a hankerin' for a hot glazed doughnut NOW -- and perhaps for a few more years to come. And that would also be good news for the Krispy Kreme Challenge.

One of the newest RailHawks discusses his life in the area, Tobacco Road hoops

Midfielder Brian Plotkin is one of the newest members of the Carolina RailHawks, the area's professional soccer team. But Plotkin, who is blogging about his experiences in the area and with a new team, is hardly unfamiliar with the RailHawks.

"Two years ago, I came to WakeMed [Park] as a member of the Chicago Fire. We played the Railhawks in the US Open Cup. We were the defending champions and were hoping to repeat. We lost a hard fought game 1-0. On the bus ride back to the hotel, Jim Curtin, said 'Man, we just got RailHawked!' I like the term, and hope to hear many teams saying the same thing when they leave WakeMed Soccer Park this season," he writes in his first post.

"I’ve been a RailHawk now for just over two weeks. It’s been a great first couple weeks here in the Raleigh Area."

Plotkin, who recently played with the Columbus Crew of MLS, was quickly immersed in the culture of ACC basketball.

"My roommate Jack Stewart and I went to eat dinner one night at the Ale House. We sat down to order our food and noticed that there was a lot of Carolina Blue and State Red among the patrons. Jack and I were both tired from training earlier in the day. We were wondering why the room seemed to have a buzz in it. Then we quickly realized as the people in Red Erupted after scoring a quick bucket off the tip-off. It was quite a cool experience, my first one being on Tobacco Road. I’ve followed ACC Basketball very closely growing up, and am so impressed with the fans. Jack and I walked out of the restaurant with a new respect for the NC St. fans as they cheered to the very end, even though the last five minutes were irrelevant. ..."

One of the unique things about this area is the way the various sports teams are interwoven. We may not all agree on our favorite college teams; however, it's refreshing to hear Mike Krzyzewski discussing the Hurricanes, see Rod Brind'amour sporting a State cap, or read a pro soccer player's thoughts on ACC hoops.

(Plotkin image from CarolinaRailHawks.com; Brind'amour from Getty Images)

Hey Wow: 20 years since 'Fun & Games' was released

I can't remember if I was in the eighth or ninth grade, or where the family was heading, but in the back of the family vehicle, I put on my headphones and stuck in my Walkman a cassette that a classmate of mine, John Snipes, had lent (loaned?) me. He said I might like it, knowing -- I guess -- that I was into R.E.M.

The cassette was The Connells' "Fun & Games." I unwittingly played Side 2 first; my first exposure to The Connells was the song "Ten Pins." It didn't matter that I had played the second side first: I was hooked.

I learned the guitar parts to just about every song on the album. And the band I was in in high school (The Funkadelic Chipmunks -- yes, I know it's lame) and a short-lived one in Raleigh (called Safety) covered the title track. And a loosely-put together acoustic quartet I was in at a Methodist camp in the summer of '93 performed "Lay Me Down" to a standing ovation. (I'm gushing a bit.)

There was something so unbelievably simple yet mesmerizing about that album. And there still is today, some 20 years later.

It's hard to believe it's been two decades since "Fun & Games" was released. In many of the same ways that people's lives were changed when they first heard "Murmur," so was mine upon first listening to this album from a bunch of regular dudes from Raleigh. (RALEIGH!) If R.E.M. proved that you could actually be from the South and be in a rock band and NOT sound like Skynyrd, then The Connells said the same about North Carolina.

And in another funny way it became almost a fraternal thing in the late-80s/early-90s to see people in those wonderful "Fun & Games" t-shirts. They made a statement: 1) You're not a slave to crap music, 2) You know good music, and 3) You know good LOCAL music. That meant something at the time.

So here's to 20 years since "Fun & Games" was released. It changed my life. And apparently I'm not alone. Here are some comments from Amazon.com:

There was a time in my life when I listened to this album every day for three months. I still like it a lot and rank it up there as one of my favorites of all time. ...

I own over 400 cd's. As an audiophile, I rank this as my number one favorite album. The Connells are so underrated and under-appreciated it is ridiculous. I can't recommend this album more highly. Do yourself a favor and buy this album (it is one of those rare albums that you never grow tired of). ...

A Southern gothic masterpiece. My second concert ever was for this tour in '89 and it blew me away. "Something to Say" is simply catchy and brilliant, and simply blows REM's Green (released the year previous) out of the water.
...

***

In related news ...: One thing that I have often found funny over the past few years is the fact that two of my childhood heroes, former N.C. State basketball star Chris Corchiani and former Connells guitarist George Huntley are both involved in Raleigh's building scene. And I'll admit it: I still get giddy when I just happen to brush past a member of The Connells at Harris Teeter. I turn back into a 15-year-old guitar player, dreaming of the big time.

(Image from Wikipedia)

Raleigh's ERW to play Mary Jane in U2's 'Spider-Man'

Raleigh's Evan Rachel Wood, who has been everywhere of late, has been cast as Mary Jane Watson in a U2-themed Broadway version of "Spider-Man" -- if it ever gets off the ground.

"Spider-Man will have to wait a little longer for his Broadway debut because of production delays that have plagued the $31.3 million musical featuring songs by U2," says Bloomberg News. "Rehearsals for the most expensive show ever produced on the Great White Way have been put off from this spring, according to senior members of the production team, who declined to be named because an opening date has not been announced. According to these people, the musical will have a workshop in the late summer and begin rehearsals in the late fall for a Broadway opening at the Hilton Theater likely in early 2010. ...

"The reasons for the delay, this person said, have to do with still-unresolved creative decisions by a team headed by director Julie Taymor. .. The songs for 'Spider-Man,' by U2's Bono and the Edge, and book, by Taymor and Glen Berger, were completed last year.

".. Wood, a star of Taymor's Beatles film, 'Across the Universe,' already has been cast as Spider-Man's love interest, Mary Jane Watson. Wood's co-star from the film, Jim Sturgess, has performed readings of the show and is favored for the lead role.

"The show could cost as much as $40 million, according to published reports. In a recent interview, the Edge put the cost at $25 million euros ($31.3 million). In addition to a large cast and special effects, the production calls for a 20-piece rock band. ..."

(Image from u2France.com)

Celebrate Hillsborough Street's Renaissance

Came across this via another blog the other day.

Hillsborough Street Renaissance Festival

March 14th - Come check out this awesome event with live bands, an Eco-Fashion Show, a Fraternity, Sorority & Business BBQ Taste Testing Competition, a Kid Zoneand More! ...

For the first time since its original construction in 1972, Hillsborough Street will be closed for an all day eco-friendly arts & music festival on Saturday, March 14th. The festival has been created to showcase the construction changes occurring on the street over the next two years, and to revitalize Raleigh's famed Hillsborough Street. Proceeds from the festival will go to support student and community non-profit organizations focused on renewable energy research, sustainable development, and community improvement projects. The event will feature a wide variety of activites as well as live music and ton of vendors! Come check out the first annual, soon to be historic Hillsborough Street Renaissance with live bands, an Eco-Fashion Show, a Fraternity, Sorority & Business BBQ Taste Testing Competition, an Iron Chef Cookoff styled after March Madness Basketball Brackets, and more!


This is our chance to show the world what we can achieve when students, families and professionals unite as one community. ...

Here's to hoping that H-boro Street truly enjoys a renaissance. It's too important a Raleigh landmark/avenue to let it die.

'Off to find the mythical' Kitts Creek

If you ever tune in for any of the N.C. State coaches' shows, you've no doubt seen the ads for Kitts Creek, the "most desirable place to live in the Triangle." Problem is, the ads never tell you exactly where this "Truman Show"-looking place is.

Cynically, I've wondered if this wonderful-looking Kitts Creek was actually an urban legend, like the Loch Ness Monster, Sasquatch or mild-mannered R&B stars. (I SO went there.) Heck, aside from the commercials, I've yet to ever hear anything about the place. The homes look nice, and everyone seems extremely happy to live there -- wherever "there" is.

Now, however, I can report that it does, in fact, exist, thanks to a Phyllis Wolborsky post, of all things. It's near RTP/RDU.

"Kitts Creek offers a feeling of small town Americana at the turn of the 20th century," she writes. "This is friendly community where neighbors stroll down tree-lined streets and kids ride by on their bicycles. ...

"Restaurants, shops and services are within walking distance. Kitts Creek is a pedestrian-friendly community with a sense of identity and belonging.

"The community is ideally located in the heart of the Research Triangle Park and is just minutes away from the Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill are all an easy commute from Kitts Creek. Residents can also enjoy the highly acclaimed Wake County Public School District."

So there. I still haven't met/heard of anyone who lives there. But I appreciate the fact that it's an attempt to give a sense of place to an area that seems to be lacking. Nothing wrong with trying to have homes, retail, jobs and schools in a community setting. (A novel concept, right?)

However, the cynic in me again comes out when I think: Aren't those all things that already exist in downtowns? Odd that we would need to get as far away as possible from an urban core (ANY urban core) in order to recreate ... an urban core.

(Image from "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" from IGN.com)

Have a great weekend!

We don't typically do these types of posts, so forgive me. But here's to hoping everyone has a great weekend. Hopefully the weather will be more like this ....

... and less like this:

(Art is from "View from the Oak" and can be purchased.)

'Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space'

Thanks to Google Alerts, I keep getting drawn to Richard Layman's D.C.-centered blog, "Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space." Layman is a self-professed "historic preservation-centric urban revitalization advocate" in good ol' Federal City.

Among the many urban topics about which he has pontificated are how transit-oriented development is a misnomer and on shopping locally.

While Layman's work is primarily D.C.-focused, he does touch on a variety of topics that we, in Raleigh, can relate to.

A recent post touched on "branding" and puffing out your chest a bit to show off your competitive advantages, a subject we've broached a little here at the Society. Layman (pictured) lauds Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley and his ability to intertwine "quality of place and how historic preservation contributes to it, is a leader."

The District's competitive advantages, Layman writes, are its historic architecture, its urban design "dating from the Walking and Transit City eras," its history, transit infrastructure and the "economic engine of the federal government."

Raleigh can relate to a few of these: historic architecture (although the city razed a good chunk of that in the 1960s and '70s), its urban design (and by that I mean the city's center core) and the economic engine of government -- in this case, state government. We're still working on the transit infrastructure part.

Layman goes on about branding, particularly on how a city is viewed by visitors and outsiders.

Community branding is an important issue that all municipalities must address. At its root, it is about identity and vision and being focused at all times on achieving the vision that the community intends to achieve and maintain. Everything about [your community] either supports or diminishes how the city is perceived throughout the region and beyond.

A destination’s identity (brand) is the sum of what people think when they hear the community (brand) name. It's how prospects feel when they first arrive at the destination's website or experience other communication, and it's what people expect to experience once they arrive to a place after having selected it over other choices.

There are well-branded cities and places...with well-defined stories (narratives and themes), distinct attributes, consistent messaging, and delivery of the brand promise at all touch points but less well-branded communities believe the brand is a logo ... and they aren’t focused on making the experience deliver on all dimensions within their destination.

Successful destination branding requires:

1) Clear definition of the place and what it offers;

2) Being distinct;

3) Delivering on the definition and the promise;

4) Consistently communicating the definition in all forms.

Based on this criteria, how does Raleigh come across? My thoughts are that it has gotten much better at the first item: Raleigh is a high quality-of-life community with highly-educated people. The city enjoys (for the most part) great weather, growing cultural amenities and a relatively low cost of living.

Is Raleigh distinct? Raleigh is perhaps distinct in that it can be lumped with a handful of "high-IQ" urban areas around the country -- the same places that are constantly voted in "Best of ..." superlatives, but it's hard to argue that Raleigh is "distinctive." We're working on that too.

One more plug: 'NOW' looks at public transit

We're all about plugs today. ...

PBS's "NOW" (sponsored in part by the Park Foundation) takes a look at what the Obama stimulus plan may mean for public transportation. It focuses on Charlotte, but begs the questions: is the Triangle area prepared for rail?

The show "takes a look at the politics and success of Charlotte’s new light rail line," writes Durham's Phillip Barron at nicomachus.net. "Through self-puffery, McCrory comes off sounding like he doesn’t think other cities can do something as successful as Charlotte’s Lynx Blue Line, but the fact of the matter is there is a lot of money designated for mass transit in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act."

The piece states that Charlotte's light-rail was the "most expensive public works project in North Carolina history" at amost a half-billion dollars.

"NOW" does a great job of showing the opposition to the Lynx line, and to McCrory who, to his credit, stuck to the idea of mass transit -- as did the public.

"This may be North Carolina’s — and the Triangle’s — best chance in years to move out of the fossil age and into the 21st century," Barron continues. "Hopefully the Southeast High Speed Rail corridor, the Macon-Atlanta-Greenville-Charlotte Rail Corridor, and the Western North Carolina Rail project, as well as municipal/interlocal light rail systems will all get a boost from the stimulus package.

"This is not a time to think small, and in the coming year we’ll see just how broad thinking our local leadership really is."

Another plug: this time for Side Street

Goodnight, Raleigh! has a wonderful look at Side Street, the wonderful Oakwood neighborhood restaurant - and a fave of mine, even if I don't get there very often.

Side Street, writes John Morris, "is a sole proprietership run by Mary Lu Wooten, although both of her brothers also work there. She bought the place in the summer of 1979, which means that this year will mark the 30th year in operation. Previously named the Corner Cupboard, the name was changed to Side Street by the previous owner prior to her taking over. When she first began running the restaurant, there were only 4 or 5 places to eat in the downtown area, including the Capital Room in the now gone Hudson Belk on Fayetteville Street. ...

"Mary Lu described Side Street as 'More of a home than a business', and I can see why. In addition to the charm of a locally-owned and operated restaurant that’s been in the neighborhood for several decades, the interior décor included several photographs and paintings of the neighborhood from years past. ..."

If you haven't checked out Side Street, please do. I'd recommend trying it out for dinner; it's less busy then, but no less wonderful. Oh, and check out Goodnight, Raleigh! for some great nocturnal submissions of Side Street.

(Image from Goodnight, Raleigh!)

A quick plug for the WolfpackWire

N.C. State University is one of Raleigh/Wake County's biggest employers, has the largest enrollment of any university in the state, and boasts one of the most loyal and enthusiastic athletic booster clubs of any school in America. In short, State matters.

However, in my mind, one of the (few) downsides to living in a Capital City is the fact that the hometown university is not necessarily the school that most of the citizens embrace. (I believe the good folks at Georgia Tech can relate to this as well.) In Raleigh, it's not that uncommon to run into fans of Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest, East Carolina, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Penn State, and so on and so on.

But for those of us who do bleed Red & White, allow me to put in a plug for a great, "one-stop shop" of a site: WolfpackWire.

All of us appear to have increasingly busier lives every day, and if you want Wolfpack news but don't have the time to go to every single site/blog (and there are some great ones out there), then WolfpackWire aggregates them all for you in one location. Check it out.

How 'empty' is Raleigh?

Our sister blog noted a ranking by Forbes.com that lists the most "emptiest" cities in America, based on homeowner and rental vacancies. One of North Carolina's largest metropolitan areas, Greensboro/High Point, was ranked No. 4 behind Las Vegas, Detroit and Atlanta -- and nudged out Dayton, Ohio, for that fourth spot.

(The rankings were based on vacancy rates collected from the U.S. Census Bureau for the fourth quarter of 2008.)

The findings went on to compare Greensboro to other metro areas, including Raleigh and Charlotte. Nationally, Greensboro was second in homeowner vacancies with 5.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008. Our Fair City ranked 13th highest, while Charlotte came in at No. 28. (Our friends at RaleighRealEstateNews.com state that there are currently more than 600 foreclosed homes in the area.)

As far as rentals go, Greensboro was 13th at 15 percent vacancy, Charlotte was 15th and Raleigh was 33rd.

Can we draw any conclusions from this info (other than the fact that the economy is down)? I'd like to think that it confirms something I've heard Realtors and builders say for some time now, and that is that the Raleigh area continues to have an influx of newcomers. Their problem is they are having trouble selling their homes in California, New York and Michigan, and so they are renting until they sell their old homes. Is this a logical explanation for Raleigh's rankings?

(Photo from saleforhomes.org)

The R-Line debuts; reviews positive

Unless you've been living under a rock, you no doubt know that the city's new R-Line - the free, downtown, "green" circulator bus - debuted last week (as did the Downtown Raleigh Alliance's new website, by the way, focusing on the idea that "You R Here" -- a nod to the R-Line's signage). I haven't had a chance to take a ride myelf yet, but the word-of-mouth appears to be very positive.

For those who don't know, the R-Line hits stops every 10-15 minutes, and does a counter-clockwise route around Downtown Raleigh, attempting to hit the major hot spots. (After 6:30, the route is expanded somewhat to include the warehouse district and more.)

"Have Fun and let's all use this so they don't cancel it," one neighbor/rider proclaimed via email.

Another commented in an email abou her trip: "The first person I talked to on the bus was a visitor from Georgia who drove all day to the Convention Center and wanted to get some supper, but didn't want to get back in the car and drive anywhere. Success for a downtown Raleigh merchant on the first day!

"My review, for what it's worth, is: riding the R-line last Friday night was like going to a really good party. A lot of interesting people out and about enjoying themselves, striking up conversations with new people and getting better acquainted. What took so long to get this service? Please tell your friends about the R-line so the City keeps it up and running."

Can't wait to give it a shot myself.

What your thoughts/reviews of those of you who have ridden the R-Line? Does it give the city hope for its mass transit future?

(R-Line illustration from GoDowntownRaleigh.com)

Raleigh by sunrise

I have to thank my mother for alerting me to the wonderful blog, TADSunrise SPOD. In it, the author takes daily photos (from a location in Cameron Village) of the sunrise over Raleigh. Here is one from Friday.

And here is one from last Tuesday. Enjoy.

Hunt may champion N.C. rail

On Tuesday, at the close of the always-excellent Emerging Issues Forum, former Governor Jim Hunt made an impassioned plea to the hundreds in the audience to make passenger rail a reality in North Carolina.

Hunt asked for North Carolina to have the guts to get this done in the Triangle, the Triad, north of Charlotte and even into eastern North Carolina.

"I would even get off Hunt Highway" and ride the train in-between Raleigh and his home near Wilson, Hunt said.

Another Forum speaker who made the case for rail was Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, who remarked that a colleague of his has suggested a high-speed freight rail from Wilmington to Long Beach, Calif. One of the long-standing obstacles regarding rail has been the retrofitting of existing American rail lines. Dodd said that shouldn't be a problem; Japan, for instance, has passenger rail running 180 mph -- "on 40-year-old lines."

Schoolkids moves down Hillsborough Street

RALEIGH | Schoolkids Records moved to its third Hillsborough Street location last week.

According to The News & Observer:

[Owner Mike Phillips] will not give up on his record store. Instead of closing the doors, this week he moved the store from one Hillsborough Street storefront to another, cutting his space — but also his rent — in half. ...

He opened the Raleigh Schoolkids store in 1974, in a space below the nearby bowling alley. In his best years, he owned a half-dozen Triangle Schoolkids stores. One remains.

Phillips, 56, no longer collects a salary from Schoolkids, which moved next to Sadlack’s Heroes, across from the N.C. State bell tower. About a year and a half ago, he got a “real job,” working in the wholesale apparel business. The Raleigh store, which employs one full-timer and six part-time workers, breaks even or comes very close to it. The store makes about $1.50 in profit for each CD sold, he said.

In an age of iPods and other technologies I don’t understand, Schoolkids keeps it old school and sells vinyl.

Thanks, Schoolkids.

Time for another public art campaign?

OK, so with the economy this may not be the best time to propose a major, city-wide public art campaign. But I for one would love to see in the very near future another exhibit not unlike the Red Wolf Ramble that Raleigh undertook some seven or eight years ago.

If you'll recall, more than "100 red wolves were placed throughout the city in public parks, major pedestrian thoroughfares, shopping centers, small businesses and downtown area locations. Each fiberglass form provided a canvas which North Carolina artists enhanced with paint and three-dimensional add-ons. Artists were selected through an open call as well as an invitation process. .... This was the most successful public art exhibit Raleigh has ever seen!!"

So why not another jolt of public art and public pride all in one? These animal-inspired public art campaigns tend to be very successful, as we have seen here and in other cities, most notably Chicago.

"An estimated two million tourists and $200 million in additional local business revenues later, the cows moved on to New York," said this article. "But when the exhibit is over, [Chicago's exhibit] Cow Parade leaves something behind--and we're not talking about pies. Live and Web-based auctions follow the events, and the millions of dollars in proceeds benefit local charities, focusing on children, the arts and education. Auctions following the Zurich [which also did cows] and Chicago exhibitions raised more than $5 million for charity."

Closer to home, Lexington, N.C., resurrects its wildly-popular "Pigs in the City" every few years. The city even offers "pig walk" tours.

So, if Raleigh were to undertake a public art project like this again, what object would you like to see painted? Red Wolves again? Acorns? Oak trees?

I think there is only one animal that would be appropriate.

It's time for a "Capital Squirrel Stroll!"

Signage for Seaboard?

According to an email that is going around, the city is planning very soon to install a "large directional sign" (or possibly signs) for Peace College and Seaboard Station along Peace Street and in and around that area.

In my opinion, signage is crucial to the success of Seaboard; as I've said before, I live by there but often forget it's there, so it could use some help with this. Anyone know just what kind of sign the city is planning? Will it fit in with the character of its surroundings?