What Should Durham’s Resolutions be for 2008?

I headed to Durham today to ask residents what they believe the city should work on in 2008. I was accompanied by fellow NBC17 blogger Wayne Sutton, who held the camera and kept me sane through some computer glitches this afternoon. A lot of residents were hesitant to share their thoughts on camera. But the six folks who agreed to be interviewed offered some insightful suggestions for the Bull City. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Discovering the Goodness that is Raleigh’s Farmers Market

I checked out the State Farmers Market today for the first time and walked away loaded with incredibly fresh, inexpensive fruits, veggies and cheeses. Several people have told me the market is ridiculously cheap and brimming with fresh goodies, so I knew the trip would be fruitful (insert rimshot here). Still, I couldn’t believe what I managed to snag:

• Strawberries that would make Strawberry Shortcake jealous for $4
• Goat cheese and jalapeno spread for $5 along with this friendly exchange: “Do you know what cerveza is? Well, what you’ll want to do is buy some tortilla chips and dip them in this here cheese and follow up with one of them there cervezas.”
• A pound of cherries for $2
• Cilantro for $1
• Avocados for 89 cents each
• And four gorgeous, plump tomatoes for $2-something

If you haven’t been to this place yet, you must check it out. In addition to fabulous deals, the people watching is amazing. The blend of cultures is almost as refreshing as my ripe strawberries. If you have been, how often do you go and what do you buy?

And if Raleigh’s too far to head for fresh goodness, there’s always the Durham Farmer’s Market, which is now open year round and has moved into its new digs under a pavilion downtown in Durham Central Park. I’m sure there are other markets around that I just haven’t found yet. If you know of any I haven’t mentioned, tell me about them.

Drinking with Dinosaurs

If you want to see some Dinosaurs next week, head over to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh. The museum is sponsoring a free showing of the 1960-flick “Dinosaurs” at 7 p.m. Jan. 4. Click here for more details.

The featured movie is being aired as part of the museum’s First Friday event, which runs from 5 to 9 p.m. At the Jan. 4 event, visitors can check out the museum’s latest exhibit, “Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries” for a discounted $5 admission. You can buy beer and wine at the museum’s cafe and listen to the sounds of The Scarlet Divide, a local band that will perform at 6 p.m. Check out the band’s sound on its MySpace page.

Bar Owners Are Helping Me ‘Go Green’

North Carolina lawmakers have made keeping my New Year’s resolution so much easier. That’s because starting next week state law will require bars and restaurants to recycle beer and wine bottles. My resolution is to recycle everything that the city of Raleigh collects curbside.

This resolution shouldn’t be too hard for me to keep, because I already toss all my recyclables into a bin each week … right down to my toilet paper rolls. But when I’m at work, I’ll toss my plastic half-and-half containers into the trash. This never bothered me until I noticed my former roommate and coworker, Tim, keep a stack of recyclables at his desk to be brought home. Likewise, when I go to a restaurant or a bar, I let the staff throw out my plastic cups and glass bottles.

But, under my resolution, I plan to be more like Tim and take all my recyclables home and dispose of them properly. I hadn’t considered that my trips to the bar might require me to bring an oversized bag for all my bottles or, as an alternative, only drink what’s on tap. But it’s a moot point now, thanks to this new law.

What will be interesting, of course, is how it’s enforced. Anyone else willing to take on my recycling resolution?

A Turning Point for Downtown Durham?

Today, the Herald-Sun declares that historians may some day look back at 2007 as the turning point for downtown Durham. After all, this is the year that the long-awaited streetscape project was finally finished and the controversial Performing Arts Center is finally taking shape, and there’s even more on the horizon.

Indeed, downtown Durham seems to be looking better every time I cruise over there. But with a few exceptions (Christmas parades, Durham Bulls games, summer concerts at American Tobacco), downtown still tends to shut off around 5 p.m. on weekdays and throughout the weekends.

So, I look forward to the day when downtown Durham can light up like it did in this 1957 photo posted on the always fun-to-look-at EndangeredDurham.org. What do you think needs to happen in downtown Durham in order for it to be considered vibrant in your eyes?

Hike Off Your Hangover

It’s pretty easy to guess where I’ll be on New Year’s Day — on the couch recovering from the night before. And while I expect many other Triangle residents will be doing something similar, apparently some will be doing something a little more productive — running five miles while playing trivia.

That’s right, a little brain exercise to go along with the run. The Carolina Godiva Track Club is sponsoring the run through Duke Forest, which will feature trivia questions hollered out by host Owen Astrachan. The runner who gets the most right answers will win something, the News and Observer reports today.

And if thinking while running is more than you had in mind for your New Year’s Day, the N&O highlights some of the other active events going on in the Triangle:

• The 5K annual Resolution Run through N.C. State’s Centennial Campus sponsored by the N.C. Roadrunners Club
• The 38-mile bike ride around Jordan Lake sponsored by The Spin Cycle
• A hike around the Eno River State Park, an annual event put on by the Eno River Association

Do you have any New Year’s Day traditions? Or are you like me and usually spend it relaxing on the couch?

Spreading Cupcake Cheer to Co-workers

So last week I decided to surprise some of my co-workers with cupcakes from a somewhat new downtown Raleigh cupcake bakery. I seized the opportunity to test out my new camera and editing software. The result is posted below. Still working out some kinks, so it may take a tiny bit to load, but I hope you’ll take a look.

I Took My Friend’s Dog to an Orphanage

I found another cool Raleigh park this weekend. It’s called Fred Fletcher Park, and I caught it out of the corner of my eye while driving downtown on Glenwood Avenue.

I spent the last few days dog sitting my co-worker’s Golden Retriever, so I took him to check it out with me. The park sits on the former campus of the Methodist Home for Children, according to the city of Raleigh’s Web site.

The park features the Borden Building, which was built in 1900 and provided quarters to the orphanage’s superintendent before later housing hundreds of children. The city bought the house and park in 1982, according to its Web site, and renovated the building in 1992. Apparently it’s now offered to the public for weddings, conferences and other meetings.

We didn’t know all that while we were running through the park, though it did seem to sit on a campus-like setting. Are their any parks in your neighborhood worth checking out?

Help Wanted: Durham City Manager, Must Have Common Sense

It’s that time of year when we get a little reflective and start thinking about the woulda-coulda-shouldas. For a lot of people, that includes reflecting on job satisfaction and deciding whether it’s time to update the old resume and start hunting for a new gig.

This week, The Independent Weekly takes a playful look at one of the area’s most high-profile job vacancies: Durham City Manager. The paper has published a spoof application for the post, which is being vacated by Patrick Baker.

Anyway, if you don’t know anything about Durham city government, you might not get the not-so-subtle digs the Indy makes. The fabricated, multiple-choice application asks questions like:

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Don’t Let A Pet Turtle Give You the Runs

When I was five, I woke up on Christmas morning and found two parakeets in a cage waiting for me and my brother. Santa left them the night before, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I truly believed Santa managed to carry the birds (soon named Jimmy and Peepers) down our chimney.

I’m not sure how common it is to give your kids pets for Christmas. But apparently it happens often enough for the North Carolina Division of Public Health to be concerned. Health officials are warning parents not to give their kiddies pet turtles for Christmas because of the risk of contracting the intestinal infection Salmonellosis, which is caused by the Salmonella bacteria. Turtles have prompted recent outbreaks in children living in Burke, Lincoln, Union and Montgomery counties.

In case you didn’t know (who knew?), Salmonella is a naturally occurring bacteria in turtles and other reptiles and turtles who are contaminated with it don’t appear to be sick, according to a news release health officials sent this morning. Not only that, but technically it’s illegal to buy turtles with shells smaller than four inches in diameter. The Federal Drug Administration banned such transaction in 1975 after Salmonella was linked to the handling of small turtles.

And if you just can’t resist playing with a turtle, health officials advise to always wash your hands afterward. As for my Christmas parakeets, they died not long after we got them. Not sure how, but they both died on the same day. We buried them in the backyard of our Chicago neighborhood.