January 2005

Guest Post by Eric Muller, crossposted from Is That Legal?

There's much talk here in Chapel Hill about a judge's recent decision to throw out the confession of Andrew Dalzell to the murder of Deborah Leigh Key--a murder that had gone unsolved for nearly eight years.

Dalzell, who had long been a suspect in the murder, was arrested in another part of the state for obtaining property by false pretenses. Dalzell was not immediately read his Miranda rights. In preparation for the ride back to the Chapel Hill area (Carrboro, for you local folk), Carrboro police officers prepared a fake arrest warrant for the murder and left it on the seat next to Dalzell so that he could see it. They also got a piece of the District Attorney's stationery (with the D.A.'s consent) and concocted a phony letter in which the District Attorney said he was seeking the death penalty for Key's murder. An officer read Dalzell the bogus letter during the ride back to Carrboro.

Carrboro's downtown is interesting in that it manages to support a community-owned, cooperative grocery store right next to a large, North Carolina-based, regional grocery store. If you're an owner of the cooperative, do you shop at the large grocery store for convenience and familiarity and frequent the co-op for socializing and small cafe purchases? What would it be like if you tried to make your major grocery shopping purchases at the co-op instead? I thought I would try to find out.

I became an owner of Weaver Street Market back when I was applying for in-state status for tuition purposes. Nowadays I find myself frequently surfing the web at the cafe and listening to music on the lawn, and occasionally I'll buy fish and vegetables for a single meal. But I've never gone there to buy 2-3 weeks worth of groceries, mostly because I'm familiar with the brands I grew up with--that I know I can get at Harris Teeter.

Two local coffee shops in Carrboro and Chapel Hill have won national TOPS awards from the Specialty Coffee Association of America, based "not only serv[ing] excellent coffee, but also distinguish[ing] themselves as outstanding businesses." Both the Open Eye Café and Caffé Driade are co-owned by Carrboro resident Scott Conary and have been a part of the community for 6 and 9 years respectively.

“For us, quality comes first whether it is the product, the environment or the service,” Conary said. “We are passionate about what we do.”

Although both cafes focus on providing the same quality to customers, each has its own distinct environment.

A laid-back and comfortable space that has been a part of the town for six years, Open Eye Café is sometimes referred to by locals as “the living room of Carrboro.”

Conary, a Carrboro resident, said the cafe reflects his desire to create a coffee shop that reflects the quaintness of the town and the community's closeness.

Can anyone explain to me why I should be glad about this:

Chapel Hill-based WUNC, the area's largest National Public Radio outlet, has struck a deal with an NPR business and finance program to launch a southeastern bureau in Chapel Hill. The bureau's reporter, slated to start around May, will concentrate on North Carolina news -- especially the Triangle's big businesses.
- Chapel Hill Herald, 1/18/04

Much to my surprise I actually like this business show, Marketplace. It's a little more interesting than NPR's headline news, and it doesn't always fall into the ideological rut you might expect. I can see why WUNC, especially it's leadership, would like to have their profile enhanced by this new situation. But how does it serve the people of North Carolina?