Whither Kerr Drug, University Mall?

Kerr Drugs will soon move from University Mall to a new location on rte. 54.

That may not seem a particularly earthshaking bit of news. However, for those of us who have a long-standing relationship with that pharmacy, it is a bit of a tremor. For those of us watching the economy change the paths and patterns of Chapel Hill, and for those who've kept an eye on the Mall ever since Belk closed and the K&W moved, through at least two (is it?) changes of ownership, it's at the very least a notable rumble underfoot.

As I learned visiting in Florida, Dillard's recently announced that it was closing both Sarasota stores, shocking the non-Saks shoppers in the area and, even more, the other occupants of the Dillard’s-anchored malls. I instantly thought of the valiant survival of our University Mall Dillard's, despite the opening of Southpoint and shifting ideas about the Mall’s target market. It's hard not to wonder whether it can yet survive the shaky consumer economy, especially if the parent company is sharpening its cost-cutting razors.

Bill Strom resigning!

As reported by Kirk Ross of the Carrboro Citizen on OP and on the CC site, Chapel Hill Town Councilmember Bill Strom has announced that he will be resigning as of August 1, and will be leaving the area.

The interesting political implication is that I think the Council will now be expected to appoint a replacement since this resignation did not happen within the 40-day window before an election candidate filing period which would have led to an automatic appointment of the 5th vote-getter.

Should OWASA pursue access to Jordan Lake water?

Despite serious misgivings among some local officials, OWASA is moving forward on discussions with the City of Durham, Chatham County, Orange County, and other neighboring jurisdictions to secure future access to Jordan Lake water.

There is a lot of pressure from Chatham County because they over-built beyond their capacity to provide water during the high growth heyday of the Bunky Morgan era.  OWASA is a valuable ally to these other jurisdictions because it owns a prime piece of land on the west shore of Jordan Lake that is ideal for a water intake.

Map

County Board of elections data on all 2009 candidates formatted in KML by the wonderful Damon Seils, imported to Google Maps by Ruby Sinreich. Click here to see the full map and a list of candidates.

Election 2009 - let's do this

Hey all! Thanks for doing such a great job of keeping the conversation going while I am jugging a new job and my newly expanded family!  With the municpal and city school board elections coming up, I want to make sure OP continues to be a key source of information for voters. In the past, our election section has carried nonpartisan candidate information, links to media guides, and listing of events.  On the new OP we can do much more.

Since we have a proper calendar now, folks can submit events directly, and we'll all be on top of the latest forums and candidate schmoozefests. We can also use the database power behind the site to make more useful candidate lists (I got halfway there with the 2008 candiate list last year), and maybe even some handy maps like those contributed in 2007.

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