---

Schools

UNC Receives Kiplinger’s Top Honor for Seventh Year
The February issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine named the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill the best value in public education for in-state students for the seventh year in a row. An article about schools that made the best value list attributed UNC’s commitment to raising private funds as one of its best resources for making an outstanding and affordable education for North Carolina residents. The fundraising campaign at UNC, which concluded last year and brought in an extra $2.3 billion for the school, is just one example of the university looking outside of the tuition box to fund its prestigious academics and research. Kiplinger also commended UNC for being committed to meeting the financial need of students by allowing students from low-income families to graduate debt-free. The first group of students to benefit from this program, called Carolina Covenant, will graduate in May. To read the full article, click here.

---

Orange County

University Mall, Rams Plaza Sell for $53 Million
In December, Madison Marquette, a Washington D.C. based company, purchased University Mall and Rams Plaza in Chapel Hill for $40 million and $13 million, respectively. According to Madison, the company specializes in purchasing and renovating underperforming assets. At this point, a spokesperson for Madison was unable to comment on specific plans for the properties. For the full story, click here.

Nine New Businesses Slated to Open Downtown
Downtown Chapel Hill is set to welcome nine new businesses to downtown. Everything from a gourmet burger place called “Buns” to “Sugarland Bakery”, downtown Chapel Hill will have quite a menu for restaurant goers. Beyond eateries, “Glee Kids”, a children’s clothing boutique, and Jernigan-Wicker Fine Arts & Pearson Fine Arts will also open in February and give residents more places to shop in Chapel Hill. In all, these nine businesses join another twenty businesses that opened or re-opened in the downtown during 2007. For more information about these businesses and downtown, click here.

Town Council Lets Moratorium Expire
A vote was made on Monday by the Chapel Hill Town Council to allow a moratorium in the Northern Study Area to expire this month. In November the council asked town staff to consider extending the moratorium for more time to explore other options for the plan to develop areas of northwest Chapel Hill. By allowing the moratorium to end in January the council accepted the proposals of Roger Stancil, manager of the Town Council and J.B. Culpepper who serves as the planning director. Another vote made by the council will allow a final report from the Chapel Hill Northern Area Task Force to be included in the town Comprehensive Plan. It will also add a “development opportunity areas” aspect to the current Land Use Plan. For the full story, click here.

UNC and Town Council Move Ahead with Carolina North Plans
The UNC Board of Trustees and the Chapel Hill Town Council met last Sunday to discuss the collaboration of both groups in the plan for Carolina North, the university’s new research campus on MLK Jr. Boulevard. The meeting addressed concerns from council members about UNC’s willingness to work with the town council in forming the long-term vision of Carolina North, especially its effects on the town. Chairman of the UNC Board of Trustees, Roger Perry, said that the university is flexible in its plans for the future of Carolina North and that it would work with the town in the process of developing the 250 acre campus. An agreement was made between the two groups that an official presentation would be made before the council and a public hearing would be held before moving forward with the Carolina North development. For the full story, click here.

New Traffic Pattern for Erwin Road/Europa Drive
As of Tuesday, January 8, vehicles will no longer be able to make left turns or through movements from Erwin Road/Europa Drive onto U.S. 15-501. According to the NC Department of Transportation, the new pattern will reduce traffic congestion at the busy intersection. For more information, contact Donnie Huffines at 336-570-6830.
From the Chapel Hill eNews

Visitors Center Sees Major Increase
The Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau recorded a 58 percent increase in visitors from 2006 to 2007. For all of 2007, the Center recorded 15,778 visitors compared to 9,947 in 2006. The Center, located on West Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, says July is the busiest month followed by April. For the full story, click here.

Town Hires New Business Management Director
Town Manager Roger Stancil announced in early January the appointment of Ken Pennoyer as Business Management Director. Pennoyer comes to Chapel Hill from Durham where he served as finance director for the past 4 years. Stancil said Pennoyer will be tasked with “transitioning the finance department into one that manages the business of the Town including budget, accounting, business analysis and information technology.” Pennoyer will begin on February 4.
From the Chapel Hill eNews

Hearing to be Held Concerning Town Towing Ordinances
The Town Council announced Monday that it will hold a public hearing regarding proposals to change town towing ordinances. Consideration of amendments were brought to the attention of the council in October through a petition by Margaret McCann, who voiced her discontentment with excessive fees and abusive towing practices regarding two towing incidents of family cars on Franklin Street. The council is especially concerned with the existing ordinances’ lack of position on the issue of vehicle operators returning to cars while towing process is taking place. McCann has proposed that towing sign regulations be reconsidered and has suggested booting as an alternative. The Chapel Hill Police Department has submitted its suggestions to include $100 limit on removal fines and a provision preventing towing operators from removing a vehicle if the operator returns. To read all of the Chapel Hill Police Department ordinance proposals, click here.

---

The Triangle

State Tells Pittsboro to Redo Election
After listening to accusations of voter intimidation and other election law violations, the State Board of Elections backed a new election for the Pittsboro Town Board. The special election will occur on March 18 between November’s third and fourth place finishers, Hugh Harrington and Michelle Berger, respectively. In the November election, Harrington beat Berger by six votes, though it was later determined that 17 voters received an incorrect ballot. The new election will come at a cost of $2,000. For the full story, click here.

Chatham Retail Leakage Reported
Early results of a study commissioned by Chatham County’s Commissioners reports, among other things, a sizeable retail leakage in the county. The following table details the amount of sales captured in the county and amount leaked outside the county. All figures are in millions.

Chatham 2004-2005	Captured in County	Leaked Outside County	Total Spending	Leakage Rate
Apparel	$2	$27	$29	92%
Automotive	$74	$72	$146	49%
Food	$134	$88	$222	40%
Furniture	$28	$16	$44	36%
General Merchandise	$110	$182	$292	62%
Lumber and building material	$44	$86	$131	66%
Unclassified	$41	$287	$329	87%
Total	$448	$788	$1,236	64%

Source: Presentation by Jason Jolley, Chatham County Economic Development Summit

Commercial Nodes Urged in Chatham County
A 19-member task force created by the Chatham County Commissioners recommended the development of targeted commercial nodes as a way to preserve the county’s rural character. The task force recommends development occur along U.S. 15-501, the intersection of N.C. 902 and U.S. 421, N.C. 87 north of Gum Springs Road and south of Chicken Bridge Road, the intersection of U.S. 64 and N.C. 751, and U.S. 1 near Moncure. Further, the task force recommends varying sizes of commercial development at each node. A “neighborhood node”, for instance, would consist of two small retail or grocery stores each around 40,000 square feet. The nodes progressively increase in size all the way up to a “regional node” which would not be limited in size. A regional node is recommended for the intersection of N.C. 902 and U.S. 421. Beyond the nodes, the task force recommends parking areas be behind buildings and have at least 50 percent shade along with the use of proper landscape to screen the buildings from the road.
From the News and Observer

Chatham County Commissioners Approve $270 million in Construction
The Chatham County Board of Commissioners approved a five-year construction plan that will upgrade the county’s water lines and treatment plant and add a new elementary school in the northeastern part of the county. Northwood High School will also be expanded and Bonlee, Bennett and Silk Hope schools will receive new gyms. All told, the work will cost about $270 million and the Commissioners say they will do whatever they can to reduce the impact on property taxes. The new projects and costs require $84.5 million in funding, which would represent about 7 cents on the tax rate. For the full story, click here.

Durham Water Bills Likely to Rise
Mandatory water restrictions and the purchase of pumps and pipes to connect to new water sources will cause water bills in Durham to rise. Water use in Durham has decreased since mandatory restrictions were enacted September 21 and City Manager Patrick Baker said that means the water management department will not meet its revenue projections for the year. Leakages resulting from cracked pipes also costs Durham about 3.3 million gallons of water a day. For the full story, click here.

Durham Considers Expanded Incentive Policy
Durham County Commissioners proposed changes to the County’s current incentive policy last week, broaching the idea of offering financial assistance to high-dollar commercial and retail developments occurring in targeted historic business districts. The districts include downtown, the Fayetteville Street corridor between Main Street and Cornwallis Road and North/East Central Durham. While Durham’s existing incentive policy has resulted in new businesses moving to the County’s business parks, this expanded policy would only offer money to businesses locating in the historic business districts. The new policy would require some level of investment or the creation of at least 200 new jobs by the business seeking incentives.
From the News and Observer

Raleigh Mayor Outlines Plan to Increase Water Bills by 50 Percent
In an effort to stimulate conservation, Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker announced to the press that he will ask the city council to increase water bills, both residential and commercial, by 50%. If approved the surcharge would take effect in March and not appear on bills until May. Below is a chart illustrating what the increase would mean to a household consuming 6,000 gallons per month and the relative prices of water in comparable cities.

	Current Price Per Year	Proposed Price Per Year
Raleigh	$356.76	$535.14
Cary	$693.48	--
Durham	$533.88	--
Charlotte	$480	--

If the rate hike works as the Mayor hopes, Raleigh would pump an average of 6 million gallons less water per day. For the full story, click here.

RDU Reports Major Increase in Travelers for 2007
Raleigh Durham International Airport recorded over 10 million passenger flights in 2007, up 6.4 percent from 2006. The record for RDU is 10.4 million in 2000, prior to the September 11th terrorist attacks. According to the airport, the uptick in travelers was a nationwide trend and the addition of ExpressJet and new lines to Denver and New Orleans also helped. For the full story, click here.

---

State

N.C. Bankers Forum Forecasts More of the Same
At the N.C. Bankers Annual Economic Forecast Forum, three keynote speakers all projected 2007’s economic trends to continue in 2008. David M. Walker, U.S. Comptroller General, told the audience that it would not be until 2009 that economic conditions might begin to improve. Walker did point out that the U.S. economy had seen similar slowdowns in previous decades and sited his alarm over current Federal spending patterns. David F. Seiders, the Chief Economist of the National Association of Home Builders, projected that it would not be until the third quarter of 2008 that the housing industry would see improvements.

---

Nation

Wachovia Economist Says U.S. Recession Unlikely
The 2008 economic forecast presented by Mark Vinter, senior economist for Wachovia, does not include a recession for the U.S. economy. On Tuesday Vinter explained to the North Florida chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth that current talks of an economic recession are premature. Wachovia’s models for the national economy predict that in the next six months there is around a 50 percent chance that there will not be a recession. The key factor in the health of the economy lies in the annual growth of the GDP, which is expected to increase in the last six months of the year. Though the housing market is causing GDP growth to be lower, Vinter says that strengths in the economy such as manufacturing and income data will most likely keep the economy healthy. For the full story, click here.