Bull City Rising

H-S drought perspectives, and the Conner irony

Sunday's edition of the Herald-Sun kicked off the paper's new Perspectives section, the Durham daily's version of a Sunday opinion section. Though it would be nicer to see a thicker section -- the inaugural edition consists of essentially three pages of expanded op-ed -- it's still good to see the Herald-Sun take a step forward towards broader, more analytical coverage of local issues.

Today's section focuses on how Durham moves forward from the drought, including a thoughtful background piece from Duke's Ken Reckhow and a perspective on the Durham's governmental approach from City Manager Patrick Baker. While neither covers strictly new territory -- many of the points in both have been captured in City Council meetings, the Herald-Sun, N&O, and Independent Weekly coverage, and on local blogs -- the presence of this level of discourse in the city's paper of record is a step forward for a daily that's for several years tended towards the depth (metaphorically and literally) of a box of tissue paper.

Baker's piece offered a nuanced, well-argued perspective on why continued conservation makes sense and why the city may not yet be out of the woods entirely on water use. Most ironically, his opinion piece ran the same weekend as the person Baker replaced as city manager, Marcia Conner, was indicted on misuse of funds charges in Atlantic Beach, S.C., where she'd wound up running the town after being turned out on her ear in the Bull City.

Forbes top-cities ranking? For Durham? Naw, couldn't have been!

First, some news that comes as little surprise to those of us who live in Durham and love it here: Forbes Magazine just ranked the Bull City as the twelfth-best city in the U.S. for business and careers. Sandwiched right between Provo, Utah and Albuquerque, New Mexico -- there sits the Durham MSA.

Heck, the issue in question has a picture of a bull on the cover, a good omen for some positive Durham news.

Now, some news that should also not be a surprise: I'll bet you haven't heard word one about this little award yet. Though I'm sure there's a good chance that you've heard something about the magazine's 2008 business and career issue.

You see, our friends just to our southeast over in Raleigh made #1 in the country in the list. Nothing to sneeze at, that's for sure. Funny thing is, if you read the local papers, or watch TV, you haven't heard word one about Durham's ranking.

WRAL ran a story on the rankings -- Raleigh's that is, as part of a piece that listed the whole top ten. Not Durham though; we may be one-third of the combined metro area, but number twelve didn't count in 'RAL's reporting. But WRAL -- an often-easy target for scorn, as the least-competent local media outlet by far when it comes to covering the Bull City -- isn't alone in missing this story.

The News & Observer, which covered the story only in a short three-paragraph blurb, also mentioned the Raleigh nod but not Durham's. (In last year's entirely separate Forbes.com jobs rankings story, the N&O celebrated Raleigh-Cary's #1 ranking while noting that Durham/Chapel Hill didn't make the list -- apparently ignoring the fact that Durham was not a large enough metro area to qualify for that particular ranking.)

New additions to the blogroll

It's a busy blogging weekend at BCR, working on some interesting stories to come in the next few days, and catching up on blog email. (A word of caution/excuse: I confess to being notoriously slow to answer personal email, something made even more challenging of late.)

In the interim, I wanted to catch up on one very important piece of housekeeping: the blogroll! I've been woefully behind in adding a number of new bloggers to the list, which is found on the left-hand side of the page.

Among the additions: Durham Bull Pen, which has quickly become one of my favorite new blogs in the Bull City. Some of us Durham bloggers focus on news, politics and local government; others on restaurants and food; others on the sites and sounds and culture that make Durham such a unique part of the Triangle, the state and the country. Durham Bull Pen somehow manages to do all of these things in an interesting and fresh manner just about every day.

Also new to the list: the N&O's Bull's Eye blog, former Herald-Sun reporter (and now NBC 17 community liaison) Ginny Skalski's entertaining look at the Triangle, and a real estate blog from Durham's own Jay Zenner. Plus, the great new blog Carpe Durham; this foodie blog from a team of Duke Law students is fast becoming a must-read for dining enthusiasts in Durham (and c'mon, we all know there's a ton of you.)

If you know other blogs that have an exclusive or primary focus on life in the Bull City, let me know.

Duke students to host downtown Durham forum Mon. 3/31

The Duke Real Estate student extracurricular organization has been busily drumming up publicity for what they've deemed their first annual Downtown Durham Conference, set for Monday, March 31 from 7-9 pm at the Love Auditorium in the university's Levine Science Research Center (map). A two-hour panel discussion will be followed by a reception.

A pretty decent and interesting panel has been lined up for the evening, including Mike Woodard and Patrick Baker from the city, Michael Lemanski of Greenfire, Andy Rothschild of Scientific Properties,
Bill Kalkhof from Downtown Durham Inc., and Phail Wynn and Scott Selig from Duke. Given the presence of Selig, Duke's go-to guy for real estate decisions, we may come to hear more about Duke's role as a tenant and backer-by-reputation of downtown projects.

Free parking is available at the Bryan Center parking deck for the Monday night event.

City Council ponders legislative agenda: housing inspections, fees, crime on the plate

One of the unusual -- and, from a local government perspective, problematic -- aspects of North Carolina law is the difficulty it creates for innovation and decision-making at the city and county level. Cities like Durham are restricted to enacting ordinances and policies to areas within which that power has been authorized by the General Assembly, a change from many states' approach, which allows a more federated model in which municipalities may govern themselves as long as the state government does not proscribe such an action.

Which is a big reason why Durham and other cities keep a close and generally wary eye on our state representatives in their travails through the lobbyist-rich corridors of power in Raleigh. The laws they pass can provide tremendous support and sometimes autonomy to cities like Durham -- or can shut down local initiatives in a heartbeat.

The City Council today ponders its legislative agenda for the upcoming short session. Once the Council agrees on a direction, the Durham delegation will be lobbied in a breakfast session with Hizzoner and the Council; the City Manager's office also tracks legislative progress and coordinates "staff advocacy" on issues in coordination with the Council's vote.

The entire proposed legislative agenda priorities list is a good read; here are a few that stand out from our perspective:

Housing inspections kiboshed? One of the real eyebrow-raisers in this year's short session is SB 1507 -- a bill that's passed the Senate and is due up in the House that would, if passed, effectively ban the City's ability to conduct regular inspections of all rental housing stock in Durham.

American Tobacco: East Deck to get banners (but not apartments) for now

It's been almost a year since we talked about the site plan for Phase III of the American Tobacco project here at BCR, after Ken Reiter from Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse talked about Cline Design's layout plans for the eastern side of the ATC (bordered by Pettigrew, Mangum, Jackie Robinson and Blackwell.)

A lot's changed in a year. For one, relations between SBER and Capitol have reportedly taken an icy turn; for another, Phase II of the ATC project is still under construction, with the Old Bull building just getting ready to open up as apartments and small office space. And, of course, the residential market nationally is at a cooler point than it was.

No surprise, then, that construction hasn't kicked off on the next wave of residential apartments for the ATC, which are proposed to include both a standalone building north of the future Diamond View III site along Blackwell, as well as a residential structure wrapping/lining the south and west sides of the East Deck parking structure set to serve Diamond View and the Durham Performing Arts Center.

From Capitol Broadcasting's perspective, the lack of a wrapper residential structure presents one small problem: Under the terms of the deal they signed with the City, if the wrapper buildings aren't  under construction before September 30, 2007, Capitol would have to "treat the west and south walls of the East Deck with an architectural facade treatment acceptable to the Appearance Commission and City Council," according to a note from OEWD director Alan DeLisle reaching City Council tomorrow. (DeLisle notes that the wrapper project is currently "in the planning stages" at Capitol, though no word is given on when it's going to kick off.)

Brightleaf: Piazza Italia scrunches over, makes room for seafood digs

Still more dining news from this crazy, hungry city: Regulars to Brightleaf Square may have noticed that Piazza Italia, the one-year-old Italian restaurant at the Main/Gregson corner of the shopping center, appeared to have vacated the north end of the premises where their gelato store was.

The first bit of good news is, the gelato's not gone -- it's moved over to Amelia's the dessert/cafe shop on Brightleaf Square's southern end. Amelia's, like Piazza Italia and the Brazilian churrascaria Chamas, is owned by Raquel Siqueira and Rosana Silva.

The second bit of good news is, the gelato's moved for a good reason: According to a source, Siqueira and Silva are reportedly opening a seafood restaurant in the northern corner of the Piazza Italia restaurant. No news on what the new restaurant -- which will be in plain view of Fishmonger's, celebrating its 25-year anniversary just across the street -- will be named or when it will open.

More on the Ambacco restaurant rumors

Last week, we reported the chatter coming out of the downtown rumor mill's about a high-end steakhouse for the Power Plant complex at American Tobacco.

An additional source has confirmed that negotiations are, in fact, underway for a Ben Benson steakhouse in the heart of downtown Durham. If consummated, this would represent the first such expansion by this restaurant beyond the borough of Manhattan.

Our story here last week speculated on whether Struever Bros. would be shut out of the restaurant biz in ATC by such a catch making its way to the Capitol Broadcasting-controlled portion of the complex. Not so: It seems SBER is themselves negotiating with restaurants to fill up to two slots in the ATC's Coal Shed, which would be glassed in or otherwise sheltered from the elements and converted to eateries.

Sources inform BCR that an additional restaurant with a Northeastern presence may be interested in a new Durham home. Add this to the planned unveiling of Jim Anile's new restaurant Revolution at the Baldwin Lofts -- the opening date of which looks to fall in early summer, if our reports are right -- and Dos Perros at Greenfire's Rogers Alley project, and you see a range of new dining choices on the horizon.

Durham's always had a range of fine dining options, with local bellwethers like Magnolia Grill, Nana's, Four Square, Anotherthyme and the like staking out prime culinary mindshare for decades in some cases. Still, the number of new restaurants in the Bull City that are at or close to that level -- including Piedmont, Rue Cler, Watts Grocery included -- has led to a marked expansion in dining options in recent years.

It's slightly mindboggling to imagine not a couple, but a full five new such establishments possibly opening shop in the next few years... with all of them spitting distance from the home of Durham's ancestral housing, to boot.

Greenfire plan: "It's a Wonderful Vote"

The discussion of the Greenfire incentives plan at Monday night's City Council meeting was one of the, well, more unusual such sessions I've ever attended. The mood was something more akin to a Frank Capra film, with a parade of well-wishers from within and outside Greenfire's direct sphere of influence.

Sure, you expect to see Bill Kalkhof from Downtown Durham Inc. and Ted Conner from the Durham Chamber of Commerce to step forward and support the plan. And, similarly, for some of what we termed here the "loyal opposition" to raise points they'd like to see considered as the deal moves forward.

But you really didn't expect to see Kevin MacDonald, the founder and president of TROSA, to come into the meeting with one-hundred-plus TROSA staff and program participants -- themselves drawing a well-earned round of applause for their dedication to self-transformation -- and to talk in support of the program, based on their experience with downtown and Greenfire (which is the landlord for the frame/furniture shop they lease on Foster St.)

Nor to see Steve Channing, filmmaker of "Durham: A Self-Portrait," praising Michael Lemanski and Carl Webb for supporting the documentary film in a way second only to the legendary K. v. Dey. Or the head of Big Brothers/Big Sisters, testifying to Lemanski's work first as a volunteer, then a board member. Or the artist-in-residence in Baldwin Lofts, praising Greenfire for offering rent-free arts space. Or restauranteurs Charlie Deal and Jim Anile, expressing their enthusiasm for Greenfire's vision and their hopes for their own new projects.

Ah, here comes Ms. Victoria Peterson. Here must stand the opposition to the plan. Right, Victoria?

Drought update: Durham's reservoirs now 93% full

The rains have been falling a bit more steadily around the Bull City and the Triangle in general, something that's come to bear on our water reservoir levels. At tonight's City Council meeting, city manager Patrick Baker announced that Lake Michie is now full, and the Little River Reservoir sits at 352.4 ft., or 2.6 ft. below normal.

The total reservoir capacity is now set at 93% of total maximum capacity, up from the drought low level of 11% on December 23, 2007. At the current 19.82 million gallons per day (MGD) consumption rate, there are 299 days of premium water and 379 days of total water supply available.

Lake Michie and the Little River Reservoir are so full, you could swim in them -- and, heck, now you can. As of this Saturday, both will be open for recreational purposes from 6:30am until 6:00pm on weekends.

Baker mentioned that the City would bring forward more data and thoughts on the lake levels and drought restriction levels at this Thursday's Council work session. BCR sources suggest that a move to throttle back to less-restrictive Stage III restrictions may be on the docket at Thursday's session.

...

Not that water was the most-amusing beverage on the Council docket last night. The Full Frame documentary festival brought its annual request for the right to serve alcoholic beverages at the Civic Center Plaza during its award-winning annual festival (scheduled to take place again this year April 3-6.)

The pro forma vote passed 6-1 -- over the objectives of Howard Clement, who intoned in his deep voice that it hardly seemed proper or necessary to sell alcohol in public in this way.

It was an oddly Broadway moment for a City Council meeting that seemed more like a Hollywood film (a phenomenon we'll explore in discussing the Greenfire plan)... with the esteemed Councilman Clement playing the role of the Professor, warning us that we've got trouble right here in River City.

Er, okay. Oenophiles, rest assured, you'll get your aqueous treats come Full Frame. Just another night in Durham's political, er, theater.