Articles by Sarah Morayati

Downtown shuttle proposed as tourist attraction

In an attempt to lure tourists away from growing Wake and Durham counties, the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau has proposed a tourist shuttle for downtown Chapel Hill and Carrboro.

But history suggests it might not be as successful it is hoped to be.

In choosing a firm to study downtown Chapel Hill, the town looked mere miles down the road — to Raleigh.

The Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership announced Wednesday that KlingStubbins, a Philadelphia-based architecture and planning firm with an office in Raleigh, was chosen out of eight candidates to develop a master plan for downtown.

Town to forge new vision for downtown

Downtown Chapel Hill, long beset by worries about empty storefronts and slow development, will soon be getting a new vision.

The Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership and the town of Chapel Hill have recommended hiring a consulting firm to help create a master plan for downtown redevelopment — which will help define how the area grows and changes in the next decade.

Bus driver Jeffrey Hinckley was at a computer last week, not behind the wheel.

On the screen was a list of job postings dating back to early 2009, which is when he moved to North Carolina from Wisconsin.

Despite 10 years of professional driving, he’s still looking for a job.

Home sales in Orange County were sluggish throughout 2009, but they’re beginning to show signs of recovery.

New mayor, council step in

11:15 p.m. Dec. 8. - Due to a reporting error, this story incorrectly stated that none of the 10 Town Council applicants have served before. Applicants Joe Capowski and Lee Pavao are former council members. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.

After years of planning, Kidzu Children’s Museum can finally move forward on a large expansion.

The Chapel Hill Town Council approved a lease for the museum to build a new site on the roof of the Wallace Parking Plaza at Rosemary and Henderson streets.

Fifth Town Council seat debated

Four seats on the Chapel Hill Town Council were decided in Tuesday’s election, but there’s one more to fill.

Tonight, the council will again discuss a seat vacated when former member Bill Strom resigned in August.

Despite a particularly divisive race for Chapel Hill Town Council, familiar faces won the day.

Incumbents Laurin Easthom and Ed Harrison will return. And the newcomers, Penny Rich and Gene Pease, are no strangers to local politics. They proved they could reach a broad base in a year where candidates were pigeonholed as “pro-environment” or “pro-business.”

It’s looking more likely that the newly elected Chapel Hill Town Council will determine who is appointed to a vacant seat — despite Mayor Kevin Foy’s disagreement.

Six out of eight council members said at a Wednesday meeting that they supported waiting until December, after a new council is elected, to appoint someone to the seat vacated by Bill Strom.

All twelve applicants for the seat were formally nominated. They will not make their presentations on Nov. 9, as was originally planned, but at a later date to be announced.

Articles by Sarah Morayati

Most Read Today

Breaking News

The Daily Tar Heel newsletter