Bull City Rising

Shooting the Bull: Podcast for May 25, 2008

In this week's edition of "Shooting the Bull," Barry Ragin and I tackle the Duke Park fiasco, the proposed city budget, and talk a bit about upcoming topics for the week. Our guest this week is Aidil Collins from Uplift East Durham, who shares with us her thoughts on neighborhood activism and on the Alston Avenue widening project. Thanks as always to the folks at WXDU for the opportunity to host this weekly show.

(Apologies for the poor sound quality for the first few minutes -- until Barry remembered how to turn on his mic, that is.)

If you missed the Sunday night broadcast, you can download or listen to the show from the Internet Archive, or listen to it via this embedded player:

And now, less on the best-cities rated game

Earlier today, we ran a post at BCR ("More on the Best-Cities Rated Game") that discussed the 2008 Kiplinger's Personal Finance ratings for cities. That post referenced a story which ran online at WRAL's web site.

Only problem? Looks like someone at 'RAL jumped the gun on the announcement. We received the following request from a representative of Kiplinger's this afternoon--

WRAL actually broke an agreement on embargoed information -- in that this story was not to be posted until 9 AM on Thursday, May 29th. I've just spoken with the station's online content manager, and you will see now that the story has been pulled from their Web site....

You correctly stated that information on Kiplinger's Web site is from 2007. It will not be updated until May 29th. WRAL's story was filled with inaccuracies....

At Kiplinger's request, I've pulled the BCR coverage, too. That said, given that the Kiplinger's web site from 2007 contains accurate (and public) info on last year's rankings of Raleigh and Durham, I've retained that below:

[2007's] data list the city with the highest percentage of its workforce in the creative class as, er, Durham -- with 43.6% so qualified, tops in the nation. Raleigh-Cary came in 11th, behind Silicon Valley, Boston-Cambridge, and the D.C. area.

(I'm still going to quibble a bit with the idea that 43.6% of Durham-CH folks, or 36.6% of Raleigh-Cary residents, are actually creative class employees in the first place, and wonder what impact the outsized presence of medical centers and universities in our small metro areas play on this. But, hey, if you're playing the rating game, play it, man!)

Durham also beat out Raleigh on the creative-class salary growth number -- 24.9%, to Raleigh's 10.5% -- and was rated slightly more affordable on the cost-of-living index.

Then again, any study that ranks Fayetteville, N.C. as the fifth-best city for mid-career professionals, ahead of anywhere else in North Carolina for that matter, leaves some head-scratching to be done no matter what else it concludes.

So, we'll see how the 2008 numbers stack up. But in the end of the day, the right place is the place that feels right... a concept many Durhamites are just fine with.

When foodies collide: Doughman, Taste of Durham square off this weekend

What's that they say? It's hard to have too much of a good thing?

Well, if you put food in that category, it would seem this is the weekend to indulge. Not one, but two food events are making their way to the Bull City this weekend.

First up is an event that mixes quantity with quality: The DoughMan, a so-called "self-propelled culinary tour of Durham," described as a cross between a triathlon and a competitive eating event. Yes, proving the annual Raleigh Krispy Kreme run isn't masochistic enough -- now you get to engorge on food and then add swimming and biking to your running routine!

The race starts at Foster's Market, where each four-person team's first racer downs a Foster's breakfast before biking to Nosh. Racer 2 in this restaurant relay eats a sandwich and side there and runs to Luther's, off Ninth St. After Racer 3 downs a chili dog and hushpuppies there, it's off to Duke's Central Campus pool for a swim (no cramps, please!), freeing up Racer 4 to speed from there to Dain's on Ninth, down a load of bacon cheese fries, and run -- stomach contents hopefully intact -- to Locopops downtown.

All four team members then meet at the 'Pops and down some paletas before racing as a team down to the Farmer's Market finish line.

American Tobacco Starbucks to close June 9

Looks like the report that came across in the comments here yesterday morning was accurate: The Starbucks at American Tobacco is currently scheduled to close June 9.

The ATC coffee shop has been operated by the Compass Group, a provider of on-campus dining services at Duke, which agreed to run the Starbucks as part of its campus restaurant deal, as ARAMARK had before its contract with the university expired.

We've reached out to American Tobacco GM Paul Pope, CBC real estate head Michael Goodmon, and CBC media relations for word as to the future of the space, but there's no word back from the crew yet.

Reportedly the presence of a coffee shop at the ATC has been a hot-button issue over the years for CBC magnate Jim Goodmon, who's reportedly given input in the past to everything from the store's hours of operation to the brief closure during the ARAMARK-Compass transition.

Given the long lines most mornings for coffee, I'd wager to say that a coffee shop can be successful in the space, though perhaps not so much so as to meet the standards of an outside operator who is likely to have little interest in such a one-off business. More as we learn it on this one.

Week's end wrap-up: Thursday's news galore

It's a busy day in the local news cycle, between local government happenings from the school board and City Council yesterday and all other manner of what's what. (Actually, one of the busier days in the Metro sections in recent memory, period.)

We'll focus on some of these stories in the days to come, but for now, let's just highlight the big picture of all that went on yesterday, with links to the H-S and N&O coverage:

Education: The school board approved the plan to open a Montessori magnet middle school in the old Lakewood Y, though not without some questions over the curriculum choice. Still, this should just about seal the deal for the future of the YMCA of the Triangle facility.

Spring Valley Elementary is the name of the new school opening up adjacent to the Brightleaf at the Park development in East Durham and which will split up the Oak Grove district. At the same time, the school board is considering changes to Durham's general school transfer policy, acknowledging the deep socioeconomic inequality in school demographics and performance.

(I'm hoping we'll have more coverage here on local schools coming soon, with the help of some additional correspondent contributions to the subject.)

Local Government: The City Council approved an ordinance change to allow Neighborhood Improvement Services to conduct housing inspections on a proactive basis before complaints are called in, though any such implementation is expected to be targeted to high-need neighborhoods. (And, of course, could all be moot thanks to real estate interests in Raleigh.)

In intriguing news, Durham's water management staff are requesting permission to sell 1 million gallons/day of water to Chatham Co. -- a number that would grow to 4 million by 2015 -- in exchange for Chatham joining into Durham's plan to build a new Jordan Lake water intake and treatment plant.

(Quick reaction: expect this one to get some grousing from the public, especially given the sweetheart cheap rate Chatham's proposed to get for Durham water, but given Chatham's linchpin status to expanding Durham's water supply, it could make sense from a long-run perspective.)

Meanwhile, DPD chief Lopez reveals an 8% rise in overall crime in Durham's 1Q 2008 versus 2007, though data from April appear to show the start of some reductions. Still, the struggling economy -- as evidenced by the hordes of folks waiting almost twelve hours for a tank of free gas -- could, to our mind, provide an upward pressure on larceny and burglary.

Ironically, on the same day as the idiotic free-gas-traffic-jam promotion idea, the Special Transit Advisory Commission has released its Regional Transit Vision Plan. The proposal is available on the web for perusal, but the N&O reports it won't be considered by local governments until after the fall elections.

American Tobacco wants your restaurant opinions

The folks at American Tobacco have released a web-based survey on dining options and interests, noting that the District "is expanding, and as part of this, we’re thinking about adding more dining venues and would like your help deciding what they should be."

Currently, the ATC has four restaurants and a Starbucks; the eating venues range from the popular Tyler's and Mellow Mushroom, to the more mixed-bag Symposium Cafe, and Cafe Zen, which gathers a decent lunch business but far less business on nights and weekends. Meanwhile, the Starbucks -- which is actually operated by Duke University's outsourced dining vendor -- rolls the gates down at 4pm on weekdays and all day on weekends.

(As much traffic as these options get at lunchtime, one definite change I've noticed in the past year has been how much more frequently Ambacco employees are walking up Blackwell at lunch, breaching the railroad tracks and downtown loop and walking to Toast, Rue Cler, and other City Center locations. Twelve to eighteen months ago, you saw practically no one taking the stroll; these days, I usually see a few lunch bunches heading out and up to the rest of downtown.)

Golden Belt updates covered on WUNC's "The State of Things"

WUNC's "The State of Things" carried an interesting interview with Andy Rothschild, head of Durham-based Scientific Properties, in its Monday program. The Frank Stasio-helmed program has been posted to WUNC's site as a podcast, available for listening or download from the station's web site.

There were a few pieces of interesting news on the program related to the future of Scientific's various Bull City projects -- including the ambitious Golden Belt arts complex on East Main Street:

• Over 90% of the studio space at Golden Belt has been pre-leased, and the developer is no longer taking reservations for these spaces.
• Rothschild noted that "we have several restaurants that are going to move in" to Golden Belt, a fairly definitive statement, though he provided no more detail about what establishments might be in line for the project.
• The Scientific honcho fretted about Heritage Square's progress, noting that it's "far from a realized project at this point," and that the developer "have been unsuccessful of late really getting the money that we need from the county that we need to move forward," and implying that the project would be DOA without County Commission incentives.
• Golden Belt will host a Jacob Lawrence exhibition, "The Migration of the Negro" -- a complete, 60 piece exhibition that's been shown in part before at the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum; this will offer an opportunity to see the entire 1941 series in one place.
• Rothschild confirmed a plan for a large project massing at the site of today's Elkins Chrysler across from Diamond View and the DBAP and next door to the future county courthouse site, noting that the site would include "a new [corporate] headquarters building, and great new tall architecture, the first tall buildings to be built in Durham in a generation." A hotel and residential development are also intended for the site. The mention of Scientific's being the first such new building in a generation can almost be interpreted as an interesting competitive dig at Messrs. Lemanski and Webb, who've also proposed Durham's next tall building for the city center on the Woolworth site.

Sharpen those pencils -- it's budget time, and Durham's hiring

As the Herald-Sun and N&O both pointed out yesterday, the City of Durham's proposed FY2009 budget represents a pretty sizable jump in spending from the current year's issue.

The City is proposing an increase in spending this year of 5.3%, a rate that's a fairly digestible number in the abstract, and representing $17.9 million in additional spending for the coming budget year over this year's figure.

Who's Paying the Bill?

Of course, the number that's garnering attention is the increase in property tax revenues: a sizable 16.5% increase over the FY08 figure. The biggest contributor to that is a 28.6% increase in Durham's assessed property values thanks to last year's revaluation, bringing the Bull City property tax base from $17 billion to about $22 billion. Yet the City's budget proposes only a 9.4% reduction in the property tax rate. (Which also means, an 11% rise from the revenue-neutral rate.)

The net result? A $17.6 million increase in Durham's estimated property tax collection. Though that's not the only net new increase in cost to most residents. An additional $12.3 million in operating revenue increase is projected, almost of all of which is attributed to the implementation of tiered water rates.

Of course, this impacts businesses as well as residents, but given the increase of pricing across-the-board for all residents with the increase of base sewer and water fees, this revenue source is one to be borne by practically every household. (And don't expect the rates to stay constant -- the city is projecting water/sewer revenue to rise from $58 million this year to $70 million next under the tiers... then all the way to $93 million by 2014.)

Uplift East Durham to advocate for a better Alston Ave. at Thu's Council work session

From the folks at Uplift East Durham comes this plea for citizen support at Thursday's City Council work session, when Aidil Collins and supporters will advocate for the City to back away from supporting the current NCDOT design for widening the highway:

This particular design to widen Alston Avenue is hostile to the community.  Various neighborhood groups have met to agree on a slate of changes to the design in order to minimize the negative impacts of the NC DOT's plans.  They are as follows:

• Removal of dedicated turning lanes (Leaving these would be detrimental to bikers and walkers.)
• Striping all bike lanes within the project (This improves level of service and safety for bikers.)
• Commitment to relocate a grocery store in the neighborhood (Such a crucial asset in a community needs to be replaced since the existing store will be demolished by the widening.

On Thursday, May 22 at 4pm during the City Council Work Session (2nd floor Committee Rm.), these requests for changes to the NC DOT plan for Alston Ave. will be presented.  PLEASE attend to stand in support during this presentation.  City Council will do little to negotiate these changes with NC DOT until they know the community is serious. With a little over 70 seats in the committee room, I would like to see it filled with supporters for a more responsible road design for Alston Ave.

More good news on the drought/water front

Ah, remember those bad old days of the drought? When folks waited with bated breath for the latest biweekly water update from Durham City Manager Patrick Baker? When councilfolk reminded us all of the need to conserve the dregs of water remaining in our reservoirs -- down at one point to just 11% of capacity? When the news media hammered home details about the number of days remaining?

Well, the good news is, we're out of the way of immediate harm. Baker confirmed at last night's City Council meeting that the reservoirs remain at 100%, with Durham relying on its two primary reservoirs instead of pricy Cary/Jordan Lake water and temporarily-accessed Teer Quarry supply. Factoring in the latter supply as well as the non-premium water supply (that below the intakes from Little River and Michie), and we're at 344 days of supply.

But here's the better news: water usage remains down relative to last year's pre-drought-awareness levels, with Durhamites using only 23.11 million gallons per day in May 2008 to date -- about a 25% reduction from May 2007's 31.18 MGD.

This is important news, since human nature and Mother Nature don't often see eye-to-eye, especially when it's within the purview of the former to go back to old habits after critical events like droughts are over.