Meanwhile, over at State ...

The aforementioned construction "boom" has not forgotten academia. N.C. State has a couple of projects underway. State plans an estimated $6 million renovation of both Lee and Sullivan residence halls on the west campus. (108 Lee rules!)

In addition, NCSU plans to renovate the Cherry Building (?) to house its Early College High School program. (A glance shows the Cherry Building is closer to Dix than NCSU.)

A slew of new openings

The economy may still be tanking, but it hasn't slowed down the number of new restaurants and retail establishments looking to call Raleigh home.

Among the items coming down the line are Battistella's, which will open at 200 East Martin Street sometime in mid-may.

Also slated to open in the near future are the Tribeca Cafe and Lounge (310 W. Hargett - the Hue Building); Which Wich?, a sandwich shop next to the Q Shack in North Hills, which will open in June; and Chipotle's Hillsborough Street location.

On the retail front, Crocs is set to open a shop at Crabtree. The big question being: Are grownups still wearing these things?

'I can't wait to tell people about this place!' - April 2011 edition

As I joked a year ago, it seems like I'm down to doing these updates on an annual basis. One reason is I just don't have as much time to blog as I used to. The other reason is I just don't get out to new places as much as I used to. Sigh.

I am happy to say, however, that I did go somewhere new recently. We've talked a lot about PieBird; clearly we were excited about its opening. (Full disclosure: The shop's owners are neighbors.) For one reason or another, I just didn't have a chance to get to PieBird until earlier this week. And? I can't wait to go back.

I had heard through the Raleigh grapevine that the food at PieBird was exceptional but that the service left a lot to be desired, that there were clearly kinks to be worked out. The most common complaints were that it took much longer than it should have for food to come out, that it was difficult to just walk in and order a pie to go, and that PieBird was consistently running out of food and drink.

A group of us from work went to PieBird on N. Person this week and had no problems at all with the service. In fact, our waitress could not have been more attentive.

As for the food? Yum. I had the special hand pie (you can eat with one hand) of the day: pimento cheese (I should've gotten two of them!) with a side of pasta. For dessert (cuz you have to get a dessert if you're at a pie restaurant, right?) was honey pie, which is what it sounds like: pie made of honey with sea salt on top. It was incredible.

Like I said, I can't wait to go back.

No sixth term for Meeker

Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker announced today that he will not seek a sixth term.

He told reporters Tuesday that he considered not running in the 2009 election but decided that it wasn't the right time to leave the work of the city, due to the struggling economy. ...

Meeker teared up Tuesday while talking about knocking down the old convention center and opening up Fayetteville Street to traffic in 2006. He said he regrets that the proposed public safety center downtown has stalled over funding concerns.

Meeker's not the most charismatic guy, but you can't doubt his impact on the city -- particularly downtown Raleigh. The opening of Fayetteville Street, the dynamic growth in downtown vibrancy, the convention center, the NHL All-Star Game, etc. ALL came under his watch. Not a bad track record.

Chris Hondros (1970-2011), stand-up guy

Paul Woolverton of the Fayetteville Observer writes an appreciation of his friend and former colleague Chris Hondros, an award-winning photojournalist who died Wednesday, when he was struck in the head by shrapnel during intense fighting between rebel and government forces in Misrata, Libya | story

I already knew about his talent and drive to do great work, to live greatly. To charge ahead with smiles and draw his friends ahead with him. ...

We first met in the late 1980s at N.C. State University’s student newspaper. We became friends when he moved back to Fayetteville in 1996 from Troy, Ohio. He had the talent and drive to go someplace bigger, more prestigious, someplace better-paying. But he told me later that he returned to his hometown to be near his father, who was battling cancer and died in 2000. ...

He loved [New York] city, a vital world capital, and frequently invited friends and friends of friends to stay at his apartment. After a party in April 2004, celebrating several major journalism awards he won that month, his roommates woke to approximately 10 out-of-town house guests.

A few years later, Chris decided he wanted his own place and no roommates. But a friend separated from his wife and needed a place to stay. Chris took him in for at least a year.

Chris Hondros: his work | News & Observer | Technician | N.C. State

Report says Triangle is THE smart hub

A new report from Duke University documents just how important Raleigh, the Triangle and North Carolina have become to the nation’s growing “smart grid” industry, according to this.

(Of course, you'd prefer that accolade come from outside the Triangle, but still. It reminds me of an old Emo Philips joke where he said he one day thought just how smart and amazing the human brain is, "but then it hit me -- look what's tell me that!" But I digress ...)

With five company headquarters in Raleigh and Cary plus some Cisco operations at its RTP campus and sites as far away as Wilmington and Shelby, companies that are seeking to improve the U.S. power grid have sunk North Carolina roots.

Nationally, more than 17,000 jobs have been created by firms seeking to build what the Duke team calls an “energy Internet” in a report titled “U.S. Smart Grid: Finding New Ways to Cut Carbon and Create Jobs.” That total does not include utility jobs. ...

A smart grid uses Internet and networking technology to help link devices, such as so-called smart meters, to the grid for better management, monitoring and usage of power.

Charlotte-based Duke Energy and Raleigh-based Progress Energy both have major smart grid projects underway. ((See maps posted with this story.)

Raleigh has five smart grid-related company headquarters, good for second place nationally along with Redwood, Calif. San Francisco leads with six.

North Carolina is not alone in the region as a smart grid hotbed. According to the report, the southeast has the largest number of company headquarters, manufacturing and research operations focused on smart grid projects with 83. That’s eight more than second-place California. ...

'Go State' pays homage to the place where no one's ever blue

I'm usually a little concerned about songs specific to schools or teams. (See Prince's horrible homage to the Minnesota Vikings last year.) But rapper J-Read actually does a nice job with a catchy song called, "Go State." Awww yeah.

It mentions a place where" red means go" and "no one's ever blue." Nice. (I'll let the Vince Carter reference slide.)

You can listen to it here via Kubashi. I bet the tune will be in your head for the rest of the day.

And, for comparison's sake, here's Airiel Down's "NC State Fight Song."

Oakwood Cemetery damaged - updated

Update (4/19/20): Well, I finally got a photo from Oakwood Cemetery, which kinda shows just how big are some of the felled trees.

Also, David Diaz with the Downtown Raleigh Alliance sent out this email:

Dear Downtown Raleigh Stakeholders and Supporters,

The tornado had a significant impact on downtown Raleigh. Restaurants had to throw away food due to power outages. One of our hotels made accommodations for their guests to stay in another hotel. These are just a few of the anecdotal stories we have received from our downtown businesses. We continue to ask our businesses to share their stories of the impact of the tornado. Our clean and safe ambassadors have been deployed strategically to keep our downtown pristine and to help government officials who have the heavy lifting to do as some streets remain blocked due to fallen trees.


We also learned that our downtown schools felt the brunt of the tornado. Shaw University, for example, suffered significant damages. Shaw has posted photos of the damage on their website: http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=s8fgrtbab&et=1105204552406&s=13200&e=001LF79WLA9gcVH7iYz3yQYdFRz0T-Rji6mmBBR4vu88B7RUifKLwrK6T49Tn7HqOPH0cEKt1drv81b5_nMU5PsC_bd-mrPOXhkmRSWBRByyqdFkI9bvMzRiwir2km7f_ACkZ7_0wperP3vweYwfvyWwOeWOaD9wtzT3XdaPdvgClH4tmwLJ-Olug==. Please make a donation on your behalf or your company towards the Shaw University Disaster Relief Fund (c/o Mechanic and Farmers Bank, 13 E. Hargett Street, Raleigh, NC 27601). Questions can be directed to Shelia Graves at 919.832.8391 sheliawinston-graves@mfbonline.com.


You can also help by patronizing a downtown business this week! Many of them lost thousands of dollars over the weekend.


Sincerely,


David Diaz
President & CEO - Downtown Raleigh Alliance
www.youRhere.com - 919.832.1231




Original post:
Man, that storm/tornado was bad, bad, bad. I don't have to tell you that. One twister apparently came about a block from our home. We were lucky; it veered at about the last second. The only interesting thing was what the storm did with a large limb and our neighbor's vehicle. The wrath of nature, I guess.

I don't have any photos at the moment, but both City Cemetery and Historic Oakwood Cemetery are in tatters: big, old oaks are down; graves are pummeled. Shame.

Here's an update about Oakwood. Try to help if you can.

The Capital City’s historic cemetery, Oakwood, suffered a blow from a tornado Saturday which touched down in the cemetery, which is located just beyond the Governor’s Mansion. Numerous 200-year-old oaks are scattered across the eastern edge of the beautiful cemetery which offers final repose to many of the state’s leaders and everyday citizens.

Wind damage was concentrated in the area around the House of Memory that overlooks the Confederate cemetery. Some headstones may have suffered damage but that cannot be determined until removal of the huge oaks that conceal the condition of many markers.

A non-profit cemetery with space to accommodate the community’s needs for at least the next 200 years, Oakwood is of special significance to many people in Wake County and across the state. Tax deductible contributions may be made to help with the clean up by sending them to Historic Oakwood Cemetery, PO Box 26867, Raleigh, NC 27611. Those funds will be utilized for the restoration of the cemetery. Cleanup crews are already at the site and repairs are underway.

NCSU's 'Belly Button Biodiversity' project

This is fascinating. Gross -- but fascinating.

"A group of scientists at North Carolina State University is taking navel-gazing to another level," writes MSNBC.com.

Jiri Hulcr and his colleagues ... recently launched the Belly Button Biodiversity project as a fun way to interest people in microbiology and teach them about the bacteria that's found on skin.

Although the belly button is an unusual place to conduct research, in many ways it's ideal digs for germs.

"The belly button is protected, making it a safe haven for normal skin microbes," says Hulcr, a postdoctoral research associate who leads the project.

Another plus is that few people wash this area with soap. "That's great for bacteria," explains Hulcr, because you get more interesting things growing there. (So far, they've found lots of Staphylococcus epidermidis, which is the most common bacteria found on skin -- but also bright yellow colonies of Micrococcus luteus, and gooey globs of Pseudomonas.)

A third advantage is that the "belly button doesn't produce any special secretions or oils, such as other protected body parts, such as the nose or armpit," Hulcr says. "So the microflora inside the belly button is fairly representative of the rest of the body."

..

"People are always surprised at how much stuff grows from even this superficial sample," Hulcr says, adding that a moderately disgusting discovery their project has made was that "very few people wash their belly button with soap."

In the nearly 500 samples collected since the project began in February, Hulcr says they've found the diversity of microbes you would expect to see on skin -- "almost universally bacteria, some molds and fungi, but not as many yeast as anticipated." (Finding yeast on skin is quite common.)

'A basketball coach walks into an Italian restaurant ...'

We didn't really "cover" this, but State has a new men's basketball coach in former Alabama coach Mark Gottfried.

Gottfried is quickly learning that basketball is sorta big here.

From the NCSU Alumni blog:

Mark Gottfried knew he wasn’t in Alabama anymore when he went to Amedeo’s Italian Restaurant on Western Boulevard in Raleigh for dinner one night this week. “No knock on Alabama. I loved Alabama,” Gottfried said. “But you couldn’t find a restaurant within a hundred miles of that campus that had ten basketball pictures on the wall. Everything was football. “I walked in (to Amedeo’s) and I’m in heaven, with all the tradition and history and banners and players and pictures. I’m excited about being a part of that, for me, as a basketball guy.” We talked with Gottfried this week for an article for the summer issue of NC State magazine. But we wanted to share the story of Gottfried’s visit to Amedeo’s, which came up during a conversation about the history and traditions of Wolfpack basketball. “I’m taking a crash course, trying to learn as much as I can,” Gottfried said. “I have a pretty good understanding, but I want to learn more. It’s a tradition-rich basketball school.” One tradition that Gottfried is undecided about is the red sport coat that Sidney Lowe and other NC State coaches have worn for big games. “I’ve been asked that question,” Gottfried said. “I don’t know about that just yet. I’m going to hold out on that answer.” Other than discovering a new favorite Italian restaurant, Gottfried said his most pleasant surprise so far has been the warm welcome he has received from Wolfpack fans. “I wasn’t the guy this year that was on the tip of everybody’s tongue as far as, you know, he’s going to be the coach,” Gottfried said. “But I have been surprised by the response. I’m appreciative, tremendously appreciative, of the positive letters, comments … in regard to us being here. And I don’t undervalue that. I get it. I understand it. So that’s been a great thing.”

The Club (free drinks!) to open at RDU on May 1

According to a press release, The Club at RDU will open May 1. This airport VIP lounge offers some nice perks. It is slated to be in Terminal 1, across from Gate A-4.

"RDU thinks all of its customers deserve VIP treatment," says the website. "That's why on May 1, a lounge open to passengers traveling on any airline will open in Terminal 1 across from Gate A-24. The Club at RDU requires no membership and features:

• Complimentary drinks
• Full service bar
• Free snacks
• Wi-fi and satellite TV
• Flight information
• Computer workstations
• Printers
• Telephone and fax
• Newspapers and magazines
• Meeting rooms
• Luggage storage

Day Passes for The Club at RDU
Enjoy the amenities at The Club at RDU for an introductory rate of $24.95.

The Club at RDU is also part of the Priority Pass family of clubs located around the world. Sign up for Priority Pass and gain exclusive access to more than 600 airport clubs.

Ruben's may open this week

Wow, Person Street is on quite the roll. First PieBird, now Ruben's.

"It’s been a long year of renovations for Ruben Bowens and crew down on Person Street," writes Tyler.

After many months of red tape they are finally ready to open shop. Ruben is a long-time veteran of the service industry and his latest creation will specialize in turkey nuggets, turkey burgers, wings & eventually beer after 5:00.

According to employees, Ruben’s will open this weekend. Best of luck and welcome to the neighborhood!

Mia Francesca's restaurant coming to North Hills

Francesca's Restaurants out of Chicago are planning to open a Mia Francesca's restaurant at 4100 Main in North Hills. That is the address of the Renaissance Raleigh hotel.

According to sources, the restaurant will boast more than 9,000 square feet of space. The project is slated to cost about $1.1 million.

The restaurant chain currently only has locations in Illinois, Arizona, California and Wisconsin. This will be their first in North Carolina.