BACK TO THE "BIG APPLE"

While in New York City a couple of weeks ago, it was clear that in the year since our last visit, change had come. You are struck with it as you start down Broadway. They have closed it as the sign indicates, created ped and bike lanes, and put out the table and chairs. Wow! And no, we saw nothing strange when we walked by the Late Show - the announcement had not been made yet.



Anytime you go to NYC, you have to be prepared for seeing what you don't usually see anywhere else. Broadway is like a magnet, it draws the unique and those who come out and take their pictures. Yes, I'm guilty too.
We saw a group of delightful clowns taking a break and enjoying their coffee on a wonderful fall afternoon.


Then there is the now-famous "Naked Cowboy." I don't get it, but you should have seen all of the young ladies hanging on to him while friends took their pictures.


The "silver" man was also out, demonstrating the fundamentals of American capitalism - put some money in his bucket and he moved. I think I also heard him humming "God Bless America!"



Also working the tourist were "Dora the Explorer" and "Mickey Mouse." They both had "tip" bags and waved to you when you put something in their bags. If you just took their pictures and provided no tip, you earned their ire.






But there is no substitute for what happens when night falls on Broadway - you see THE GREAT WHITE WAY in all of its splendor. You can't help but love THE BIG APPLE!

WCHL (A WCHL Commentary)

WCHL is my hometown radio station and I’m a big fan. I got hooked when we moved here in ’94, so count me among those who were upset when WCHL was sold to Curtis Media in 1995 and moved to Durham. Jim Heavner repurchased the station in 2002 and returned it to Chapel Hill with a commitment that WCHL would remain a local service to the community and would provide a daily news and programming service that is heavily local in character.

WCHL is our community voice and has demonstrated time and again its commitment to community. Therefore it really doesn’t matter to me a whole lot who owns the station; what matters is how it remains committed to being the voice of our community. I wish Barry Leffler well as he takes the helm as CEO and Managing Partner.

So please use all of your experience in broadcasting and be a leader who will creatively efficiently to take WCHL to the place where it represents, informs and supports our community better than any other medium. You also need to prepare folks when you decide to make changes and maybe even do some listener testing before implementation.

Again, good luck to you and to WCHL as we embark on a new chapter, and oh, we won’t hold it against you because your degree is from Miami. GO HEELS AND GO WCHL!

LABELS (WCHL Commentary)

We are back in silly season, also known as campaign season. There is nothing wrong with you if you thought of this as a season without end, because it does seem that way. What you can depend on in silly season is the use of lots of labels to describe people or their positions. These descriptive terms or epithets are hurled for a purpose; as the hurler hopes that the label will resonate with those who read or hear it. They don’t have to be accurate or appropriate; the goal is to paint that picture with a short phrase or word that will stick.

But how are label hurlers sure that everyone will get the meanings that they intend? Just last week a local reporter labeled some candidates as “pro-business.” Wow! Is that a good thing or bad thing? Each of us decides, but do such labels really capture who candidates are? Do we call elected officials who disapprove a business project “anti-business?” Makes you wonder, doesn’t it.

Then we have an editor of a local paper who seems to love writing columns that seem designed to poke a finger in the eyes of many readers. He had another one of those interesting labels the other day: “Einsteins of liberal elitism.” Hey, it’s a free country so he’s as free to write as he wants, just as I am free to adopt a new label for myself: “former subscriber.”

And in case you might be so inclined, you can’t in this case come back with “YOU LIE!”

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL? (WCHL Commentary)

Fall is in the air this week and on Saturday, Kenan Stadium and the campus will be alive with the sights and sounds of football. But it doesn’t stop at the edges of the campus – the entire community is enlivened by home football. Saturday is the first of seven home games, including a first time Thursday night game on October 22d.

Each game is an opportunity to welcome thousands of visitors to our community and show them some Tar Heel hospitality. Last year, eight Chapel Hill area organizations united to produce the “Touch Downtown Chapel Hill” campaign with the shared goal of bolstering the community, hometown spirit and economic activity during football weekends and that effort continues this year. The economic impact of one football weekend in Chapel Hill is $6.7 million, according to a recent study.

It’s good and smart that both UNC and our local businesses are working hard to get the message out that we value and appreciate the business that both new and seasoned fans will do in our community when they come to a game. The “Touch Downtown” will strive to encourage football fans, both residents and visitors, to start early and stay late in the Chapel Hill area after the game ends and enjoy nearly 100 restaurants, 50 specialty stores and a mile of family cultural attractions.

I think we all understand that a rising tide lifts all boats, so we will all benefit from being a warm and welcoming community. Sure, there are inconveniences but let’s focus on the benefits to UNC and our entire community. GO HEELS!

A TALE OF TWO CITIES

In late July, Town of Chapel Hill Councilman Bill Strom announced that he would not complete his third term and would resign effective August 1st. He resigned, he said, “to pursue other personal and professional opportunities outside the community.”

By resigning when he did, it was too late for his seat to be included in this year’s municipal races. The filing period for those races ended on July 17. According to Chapel Hill Town Attorney Ralph Karpinos, had Strom stepped down within three days of the end of the filing period his seat would have been included on the ballot and the town council would have been charged with filling his seat until the election.

Now, when the council reconvenes on Sept. 14, Mayor Foy will officially announce the vacancy. The council will then set a time period of not less than seven and not more than 30 days for applications for the seat. Council members will then review the applications and officially place names in nomination. After the nominations, the council must wait at least one week before making its decision. The council will consider the opening at each meeting but is not required to make a decision by any set date. The new council member will serve out Strom’s term, which ends in December 2011.

This decision by Strom brought the blogs to life, in what had been a pretty slow summer. Some questioned Strom's timing, especially since there had been rumors of his departure for some time. Some, including this writer, wondered why he wouldn't trust the same voters who elected him three times to fill his seat. Some called on the four incumbents on the ballot to support the 5th place finisher for the appointment. Some candidates on the ballot, including incumbents, declared that they would not seek an appointment. Nothing is certain at this point except that this resignation and process to fill the seat will be an election issue.

Meanwhile, over in Carrboro, they also have a resignation. On August 20th, Carrboro Alderman John Herrera, who had already said he would not seek re-election this fall, has resigned effective immediately, five months before the end of his term and has moved out of Carrboro.

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen has not decided on a process yet, but many think that they will leave the seat empty since it will be filled by the election. The Strom seat has two years; should it be filled quickly, after the election so we know who came in fifth, or what?. The interesting thing to me is the Carrboro situation received no where near the reaction that the Chapel Hill situation did. What explains the "tales" in these two cities? Timing is everything!

CAMPAIGN 2009 (WCHL Commentary)

We know who will be on our ballots in November. Congratulations to all of our citizens who have decided to run for office and try to serve our community in this very special way. One difference in the Chapel Hill elections is that we are engaged in a state experiment with voter owned elections whereby candidates receive tax dollars to finance most of their campaign costs. One argument for this plan is that removing the barrier of money, candidates who might not run for office would now do so.

We have one mayoral candidate of the four participating and one of the eight Council candidates participating. The mayoral candidate participating was a vigorous supported of the plan. One not participating is a Council member who was a vigorous opponent. Nothing surprising there. But on the Town Council ballot the only participant is a second time challenger who finished 6th in 2007. What is puzzling to some is that the three incumbents on the ballot who voted for taxpayer funded elections (let’s call it what it is!) are not participating. Why is that?

I still think we are trying to fix a problem that doesn’t really exist. Money to win a seat is not the problem; time to serve is the challenge. There is no evidence that campaign spending is corrupting our elections. And I do favor publically funding those judicial elections; they give me a choice on giving my money or not. Choices matter and that’s what elections are and should beall about.

IT WAS JUST SUPPOSED TO BE A WALK!

Last Monday the 13th of July, we started as we do each weekday - we got up and went for our walk. I don't remember anything different about that morning as we walked and talked about nothing in particular. About 20 minutes into our regular route, we were on a slight incline when the ball of my left foot rotated on a small rock, causing me to loose my balance and fall to my right.

What are you not supposed to do? Well, I did it. Instinctively, I put out my right arm to break my fall. As I rolled over I said to my wife that I think I broke it. She had no idea what I was talking about until she saw that my hand was dangling from my arm in a real funny position. She asked if it was painful and I told her that I could feel nothing. And I couldn't!

She helped me to struggle up and hold things as still as I could, we made it back to the house to get my wallet with my insurance cards (don't leave home without them!)and made it to the UNC Hospitals ER.

Since it was just after 7AM and the more "interesting" cases usually come in much later, we were greeted by a full staff looking to help someone. One staff member walked by the intake station and proclaimed, Somebody broke their wrist!" I then told my story for the first of several dozen times.

After processing in and answering the battery of questions, they took me back to begin treatment. They gave me an IV and some very welcomed pain meds that went to work quickly. I was taken for xrays and when I returned, the doc injected something into the wrist then tied up my thumb and finger with gauze and hung my arm from an I stand. He then tried to rotate the bones. The xray showed him that both were broken. He then put a temp. cast on to hold it where he wanted and they took me back for more xrays. They also took some of the elbow just to see if it was OK.

After consulting with the trauma orthopedic doc. The first question was when did I eart Last. About 9PM Sunday was the answer, and I kinda knew what was coming. I didn't know he was going to give me a choice: surgery now or a cast and surgery later. I'm a do-it-now guy so I told him, "let's do it!" Back to xray for a chest picture prior to surgery, then I "rested" in a small room in the ER. Note I have yet to be admitted.

They came after a while and took me to the OR where we did the explanations of what they were going to do and what I was agreeing to. When they put that stuff in my IV, I went out like a light and the next thing I remember was waking up with this erector set/tinker toy looking thing screwed into my hand and arm.



My doc explained that I didn't have a clean break - I had bone gravel - so they got some bone from the bone bank (who knew?)and ground some of it up and injected it into my arm. The pins are suppose to hold things tightly together for a few months so the bone can heal.

The doc had us come in the next day to his office so he could admire his work. He went into his tool box and came out with a socket wrench and a small crescent wrench and tightened me up. Wow!

I've learned that:

1. You take that pain med even if it makes you feel lousy, puts yo to sleep, and causes you to have no appetite (not that bad a thing);
2. Every night you search for a new comfort sleeping position since as the swelling goes down, you have to adjust;
3. I'll be glad to get off meds, get the use of my hand back, and be able to turn the pares of the paper while lying in bed;
4. It's great to live in a community that has such great medical care available and such a caring staff of professionals;
5. It's really great to have so many friends who are so willing to do what they can to help; and
6. It's the greatest to have wife who will lovingly nurse you back to health 24/7 and never complain about all the things the fall has changed. I can only wonder what those who have no one do when they need help!

The heck with Fridays the 13th - it's Monday the 13th that I'm going to worry about!