Cities looking to Raleigh on how to manage growth

Raleigh has had its share of growth over the past decade or two -- and other metro areas have noticed.

Huntsville, Alabama, recently invited Raleigh Planning Director Mitchell Silver to come talk about how the Capital City has dealt with growth.

Mitchell Silver sees a lot of parallels between Huntsville and the place he calls home, Raleigh, N.C.

The incoming president of the American Planning Association said both cities have grown rapidly by offering a strong economy, world-class research park and educated population.

In a happy coincidence, Silver's Friday appearance at Alabama A&M University's "Future of the City" symposium came a day after the release of new U.S. Census data showing that Huntsville gained more residents than any other Alabama city over the past decade.

The Rocket City grew by 21,889 people, or 13.8 percent, and now has a total population of 180,105. ...

Eye-popping growth is nothing new to Silver, Raleigh's planning director since 2005.

North Carolina's capital attracts 12,000-15,000 newcomers a year, he said, and has blown past Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Tampa, St. Louis and Minneapolis on the list of America's biggest places.

Growing pains were inevitable.

Silver told a large crowd at A&M's Earnest Knight Center that a 2007 drought left Raleigh with only a 90-day supply of water.

When a traffic study predicted massive gridlock by 2035, he said, city leaders had no choice but to think long and hard about the future.

What they ultimately decided, Silver said, is that the typical development pattern -- suburbs pushing deeper into the countryside, followed by the city spending millions on new roads and schools -- was not sustainable.

"We had to find a different way," Silver said.

Click here for the rest of the story.

Piebird opening soon - as in March 4 soon

The long-awaited opening of Piebird, off N. Person Street, is almost. Co-owners Sheila and George Duncan tell us that they are actually looking at a grand opening this week.

The process has taken much longer than they had originally hoped, but they are confident that patrons will love the sweet and savory pies, the fireplace and the bar. The Duncans plan on the restaurant holding about 50 inside and another 20 outside. With the weather warming up, the idea of enjoying pie in the spring sounds nice.

In other news, the WilMoore (may be spelling it wrong; it's a combination of Wilmington Street and Moore Square) is slated to opening on March 15 beside The Busy Bee on Wilmington Street. Carter Worthy is partly behind this venture.

State ninth among best public values in America

N.C. State ranks No. 9 in the country among the best public university values, according to the Princeton Review.

The Triangle fared VERY well in the rankings with Duke ranking just behind Swarthmore (on the private college) list and State and UNC-Chapel Hill (No. 8) ranking highly on the public list.

The University of Virginia came in No. 1 on the public side.

Raleigh film critic talks Oscar and why 'The King's Speech' will probably win - but shouldn't

One of our favorite, local sites is 280Characters ("film criticism in two tweets"). Kevin Brewer, the man behind the site, is masterful at concisely breaking down a film in just that -- 280 characters. (You can follow Kevin @280characters.)


To do that effectively, Brewer must watch a TON of movies. (Tough gig, eh?) With the Academy Awards coming up this week, we thought we'd ask him his thoughts on the year's best movies, some disappointments, best score (we're "smart" like that) and more.

Raleigh Philosophical Society (RPS): How many movies do you see in a year?

Kevin Brewer (KB): About 50 in 2009, about 50 in 2010. I always wish it was more, but I did get to every Best Picture nominee last year.

RPS: What is the best movie of the year?

KB: “The Social Network.” Aaron Sorkin wrote the best script of the year, a talky script with a bunch of guys typing code, and director David Fincher made it into an exciting thriller.

It’s a current film, about right now, about our culture. It’s a movie about ideas. It’s a movie for grown-ups, which happens to be rated PG-13.

It’s also playing at the $1.50 theater on Blue Ridge Road.

I posted my favorite movies of the year the other day:

http://280characters.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-favorite-movies-2010.html

RPS: What will win Best Picture?

KB: Two months ago, I would have said “The Social Network.” Now, “The King’s Speech.”

“The Social Network” won all the early critics awards and the Golden Globes, but “King’s Speech” has the momentum, winning the Producers Guild and BAFTA awards.

“The King’s Speech” has all the Academy Award clichés going for it — British, previous Oscar nominees and a main character with a handicap, a feel-good story.

RPS: What were the best movies in the various “genre” categories?

KB: There weren’t any comedies nominated for Best Picture, except for maybe “The Kids Are All Right,” which is a light comedy-drama.

“Get Him to the Greek” was a smart rock and roll satire. “Hot Tub Time Machine” was good. The best super hero movies are now the ones that poke fun at super heroes like “Kick-Ass.” The best zombie picture was “The Crazies,” and I’m always looking for a good zombie picture.

RPS: What movie had the best score? I'd have to personally go with “Inception.” But I only saw two movies, so ...

KB: “The Social Network” by Trent Reznor. It was an exciting film.

RPS: Was there a movie that should’ve been better?

KB: I was disappointed in “Date Night,” because I expect smart, smart comedy from Tina Fey and Steve Carrell, and it was just OK.

RPS: A couple of years ago, the Oscars expanded the number of Best Picture nominees from five to 10. The idea (as I understood it) was to allow some popular-but-not-critically acclaimed movies to get some run. (I’m still miffed that “Funny People” didn’t get nominated.) Has that helped or hurt Oscar? What movies on the list this year don’t belong?

KB: It helps the Oscars, because more people can tune into the show and say — Hey, I saw that. Last year, “The Blind Side” was a surprise blockbuster that would not have been nominated under the old rules.

It can only help the movie industry, because five more films can boast that they were Oscar nominated. “Inception” and “Toy Story 3” can print “Academy Award nominee” on their DVD boxes.

RPS: Is there a simple formula for making a GREAT movie?

KB: Get David Mamet or Aaron Sorkin to write the script. If you start with a great screenplay, it’s up to the director and actors to do it justice or screw it up.

RPS: Any future plans?

KB: I hope to produce a talk/variety show on Raleigh’s cable access station.

***

ABOUT KEVIN BREWER

Kevin Brewer, a Raleigh resident for 20 years, has covered sports, mostly basketball, during that time. He has also written about movies in 280-characters bursts since 2008. His favorite film is “Bull Durham,” which was filmed in Raleigh and surrounding areas.

Video of the KK Challenge (or Nothing Like Striking While the Iron's Hot)

Work has been bi-zay. B-U-S-Y busy. That is why the updates have been non-existent. For that, I apologize.

And to show that I'm still somewhat "up" on Raleighwood goings-on, here's a video that my friend James (of RiddickandReynolds.com fame) took of his adventures during the Krispy Kreme Challenge a couple of Saturdays ago. Enjoy here.

New visitor's complex planned for Mordecai

Apparently the city is in the early stages of planning a 5,000-square-foot visitor's center for historic Mordecai Park. And by early we mean "very early," since bids aren't being accepted until early 2012.

The location of the new center is slated for One Mimosa St.

In other Raleigh-centric development news, N.C. State University is in the design phase for a $90 million lab renovation project. "Broughton Hall," as it is called, will renovate the current 46,000 square feet and built up to 120,000 of new space.

Your move, Ottawa

The love for Raleigh continues to pour in.

From the Ottawa Citizen:

Overnight, heavy clouds rolled in to Raleigh-Durham.

The temperature dropped, rain threatened, a light extinguished after the big show — as if to say, “Party’s over, y’all. Go home now.”

But what a party it was.

When the city of Ottawa plays host to the 2012 NHL all-star game, it will have its work cut out. The bar has been raised high by the friendly folks in North Carolina.

“They hosted really well,” said Boston Bruins defenceman Zdeno Chara. “Everybody was very nice, so helpful, and the fans were enjoying it.”

Chara felt the love. His 105.9-mph slap shot was the skills event equivalent to baseball’s home run derby champ. The RBC Center erupted when fans saw the big number posted by the Big Zee.

Anybody seen Chara smile so much in public over a three-day period? Big dude. Serious dude. But Carolina brought out his lighter side.

Not to be confused with the day-in, day-out, live-and-breathe hockey mentality we know, this was the Southern U.S. embracing an event, opening arms, strutting its hospitality.

In the local newspaper, the News & Observer, six specialty pages per day were devoted to the all-star event while basketball and football news owned the regular sports pages.

Fans applied their football mentality. In glorious weather, they tailgated. They tossed footballs around in the bright sunshine, dads and sons, across the lot from the stadium of NC State, amid the aroma of hot barbecue.

In downtown Raleigh, traffic was closed to a pedestrian walkway, all around the convention centre, which served as home to Fan Fair and the popular fantasy draft of Friday night. Outside, acrobats soared on trampolines, food tables lined the street, a winter hockey festival mimicking a summer fair.

A visitor couldn’t turn around here without someone offering to assist with directions. Too friendly for words. Smiles on so many faces.

Hockey and hockey players, themselves more friendly and accessible than other pro athletes, register with the locals here.

For a franchise that has only existed since 1997, the Carolina Hurricanes have developed a small, but loyal fan base. When they’re a winning team, they attract a broader group. With down seasons, crowds drop. Isn’t that how it should be — excellent products rewarded?

Anyone who took in some of the hockey here when the Hurricanes won their first Stanley Cup in 2006 remembers how the fires burned. Reporters still talk about fans standing on their feet for the entire Game 7 between the Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers. ...

“The base of hockey fans is so strong, so passionate,” Chara said. “I know how loud they can be from playing in the playoffs here. It was pretty loud, and they’re pretty supportive of their team. Hosting the all-star game, they took it up another level.”

Next year, the NHL takes its all-star show to Canada’s capital, a region that has already shown the ability to step up when it counts (think world juniors, the Stanley Cup final, women’s worlds etc., Grey Cups, Memorial Cups).

With a deep and knowledgeable base of fans who support an NHL club, two major junior teams, many other junior operations and a vast minor hockey system, Ottawa-Gatineau tabs itself as “Hockey Country.” Next year will be another opportunity to shine, as the NHL’s most festive event checks in.

Ottawa Senators president Cyril Leeder, along with a large contingent of Ottawa tourism, hotel and convention centre interests, took notes on Raleigh, as they did while in Montreal for the all-star game there two years ago.

“You always want to try to be better than the guys before you,” Leeder said.

Like Raleigh, Ottawa does not have a central arena, but it can create a downtown focus around the new Convention Centre, the Byward Market and the Rideau Canal. Raleigh’s plus-20 weather Ottawa can’t duplicate, nor would it want to as it makes the world’s largest skating rink part of the show....

Campbell: Woodson, NCSU setting the example

Tom Campbell, the host of NC SPIN, has written that N.C. State Chancellor Randy Woodson is doing the right thing by offering (some would say) drastic cuts to the university's degree programs. But times are tough, and tough decisions have to be made.

Writes Campbell: "While many of us have already done so in our business, professional and personal lives, this is a season of reprioritizing, regrouping and cutting in the public sector. It matters not how we got to this moment or even who was responsible. There is a consensus at federal, state and local levels that raising taxes is not an option so reducing and shrinking is today's rule in government. How we go about the task is all important.

"N.C. State University's Randy Woodson understands this reality, so the chancellor of our state's largest university has decided to be proactive. 'This is a national discussion,' Woodson stated, 'and I believe we're all looking at a recalculated norm — and that norm is lower state budgets. I don't think anyone sees a dramatic recovery for state budgets anytime soon."

NCSU is forming a task force to examine "every area of the university, especially all courses and academic degree programs with low enrollment and under-subscribed majors," writes Campbell. "The end result is that N.C. State will likely be a leaner and more efficient operation because of this examination.

If, as expected, N.C. State is required to cut budgets 10 to 15 percent it would necessitate reductions of as much as $80 million or more, but Chancellor Woodson has chosen to take the initiative and choose the least painful reductions rather than facing what he terms “death by a thousand cuts.” Notice there is no whining, no buck-passing and no threats about how many professors will lose their jobs, how many students might not graduate on time because they cannot get needed courses or how this might affect the recruiting of top students or professors. To be sure there is remorse and lack of appetite for the task but Woodson's matter of fact approach makes the best of the situation and he is going about the task with as positive an attitude as possible.

None of us enjoys having to make painful decisions, especially those that will adversely affect people. The job facing those in state government is how to most humanely and expeditiously make cuts while trying to also preserve the most critical functions of government. Like so much else in life, how we approach the tasks we have to perform is all important. We choose to think there will be positive benefits from the exercise. Chancellor Woodson and N.C. State certainly set the best example for others to follow.