Glenwood South vs. Downtown Raleigh, a proposed tuition hike, a look at the N&O’s annual Great Eight Showcase and a live interview with actors from the Burning Coal Theatre are all part of this week’s segments on EOT.
NEWS
News anchor Evan Garris gave listeners the top headlines for the week. For more on some of these stories, check out the links below.
Red, Hot & Blue on Hillsborough Street closes, again
Congressman Murtha dies
Burj Khalifa, world’s tallest tower, closes a month after opening
Iran’s nuclear plans start new calls for sanctions
Super Bowl 2010 Ratings: 106 million watch, top-rated telecast ever
SPORTS
Correspondents Tyler Everett and Derek Medlin gave us an analysis about the past week and week ahead:
EDITORIAL
This week’s topic was the North Carolina General Assembly’s proposed $200 tuition hike per student. The UNC Board of Governors will meet about it this Friday, Feb. 12. While some students have banded together against this hike, Evan’s view was different. Here is an excerpt from his editorial:
“Still reeling from the credit crisis, statewide unemployment is around 11 percent; local school boards are attempting to accommodate more students with fewer resources; and our infrastructure is in desperate need of an overhaul. No one likes paying the government – no one – but it’s a necessary evil …$200 may sound like a lot, but when factored into the thousands each of us doles out to our respective universities annually, it’s a small amount to pay. Here’s a situation that presents us with a rare opportunity – unlike humanitarian crises and social inequalities, sitting back and throwing money at this problem will make it go away.”
[DISCLAIMER: Evan’s opinions do not reflect those of WKNC 88.1, Student Media or NCSU.]
Is Evan’s opinion right on, completely ridiculous or just needs some tweaks? Let us know.
VIP
Raleigh’s planning department expects that the results of this year’s national census will push the city’s population past the 400,000 mark, more than doubling the city’s population in 1980. As the city grows, the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization projects some of its neighborhoods, particularly downtown Raleigh, will experience huge growth. The organization expects the downtown area, which now has a population of about 22,000, to reach 40,000 residents by 2035. Additionally, the development of Glenwood South brought mixed-use condominiums to the area, boosting its population. But what do the “new images” of these areas do to independently drive in enough traffic to each area, despite being only blocks apart? Local business owners discuss their ideas.
At the same time, these two neighborhoods have been working on re-inventing their images. Sara Coleman, owner of Glenwood South’s The Cupcake Shoppe, says when she moved in to her location in 2006, Glenwood South was only Glenwood Avenue, a strip of road composed mainly of office space, warehouses and a few staples like 518 West. In the three years since she’s opened her shop, she says the area has come in to its own identity – a kind of “neighborhood-y” feel that brings people from all parts of Raleigh out on Fridays and Saturdays.
The owners of the Busy Bee Cafe, Chris Powers and David “Woody” Lockwood, worked on Glenwood Avenue before opening up their downtown location this past spring. They said they chose their 105-year old Wilmington Street building to help revitalize downtown Raleigh to its roaring 20’s heyday. Since much of the area has been developed by restaurant group Empire Eats (Raleigh Times, Sitti, Gravy, etc), Chris and Woody said the area has the same beer-loving, laid-back energy they hope to obtain with their restaurant/bar.
As someone who was one of the first to open bars on Glenwood South and in Downtown Raleigh, Van Alston (of Havana Deluxe, Slims and MoJoe’s were opened in the late ‘90s) spoke on the distinctions between the two areas, as well as what he predicts for their future images. Van said those who frequent Glenwood South are there to be seen, while those who go downtown are there to chill out with a beer – if they were televisions shows, he pegged Glenwood South as MTV’s “Jersey Shore” and downtown Raleigh as Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations.” As for what’s in store for the two areas, Van pointed to the recently high price of property leases on Glenwood South and around Wilmington and Fayetteville streets. These areas might see fewer of the small local entrepreneurs who have been popping up over the past ten years in favor of restaurant groups, which have more funds available.
Chapel Hill’s Franklin Street and neighboring town Carrboro’s Main Street can be described as parallels to Raleigh’s downtown and Glenwood South. UNC-Chapel Hill senior Spencer Lee, a Carrboro resident, said the two locations have their own identities, despite their proximity to each other.
SOUNDBYTES
In conjunction with our VIP segment about Glenwood South and downtown Raleigh, Correspondent Chris Cioffi asked students about their thoughts on the two locations, if they think there’s a rivalry between the two and which they tend to go to more.
COMMUNITY CANVAS
General Manager Mike Alston interviewed actors from the Burning Coal Theatre’s Seafarer live in the studio. From the theater’s Web site on the play: “On Christmas Eve, the boys have gathered at Sharky’s place for their weekly poker game. But one of them has brought a stranger into their midst. And there will be Hell to pay.”
HEAR THIS
This week for Hear This, Correspondent Jacob Downey checked in with WKNC staff members to see which bands they would like to see featured in the New and Observer’s annual Great Eight Showcase. David Menconi, music critic for the N&O, will for the seventh year in a row unveil his list of eight local bands that he thinks will be important to pay attention too over the year. Here are last year’s picks. This year’s list will be unveiled on Feb. 26, and the Local 506 will again host a showcase of the selected musicians. We at EOT would love to know what area bands you are keeping your eye on this year, so e-mail us at publicaffairs@wknc.org or post below.
As always, e-mail us with your thoughts, gripes or ideas to publicaffairs@wknc.org and keep on nominating people for Wolfpacker of the Week!