First of all, I hope everyone has had a chance to  read the love letter I wrote for Greensboro. I really wanted to set the record straight, especially as I move into a next chapter (details TBA) on this site and in life period. Plus, we’ve been doing a series on love here on the page and I did promise my love letter.

In addition, I got a chance to chat urbanism and changing urban landscape with a few friends on Saturday night. Usually, I’m the only one in the room that even thinks about how our shopping centers, which are gathering places in their own right, have changed, produced neighborhood tension or even lost neighborhood character. Around our heads, we observed how even though we were in a rustic Old South inspired microbrewery and then a classic Irish pub, the music was that of a 90s hip-hop club. Not too loud, but still very odd and possibly a nod to diversity in clientele.

Either way, it’s always nice to gather with friends and yes, I do love Greensboro after all. Now here’s some news for your Monday.

NC News Roundup

The snow and ice didn’t hurt Valentines deliveries and sales. However, it’s kept and continues to keep the NC Zoo closed. And even though we were warned about the snow storm, we were still surprised.

The state has 10 days to come up with a clean-up plan for an additional high-risk for explosion pipe on the Dan River.  Meanwhile, 5,000 gallons of oil have spilled out of a tank into a nearby creek and river in Buncombe County.

The City of Greensboro seems poised to work with Self-Help Ventures on the Renaissance Co-op and shopping center.

Meanwhile, the Northern Randolph County manufacturing megasite proceedings continue.

Photos from a Sunday afternoon on 9th Street in Durham.

Parking at Charlotte-Douglas Airport is already profitable, hence the question of why rate hikes are really needed.

This one story really illustrates how both slavery and the civil rights movement are intertwined and how you may not always know where you really came from.

Orange County’s Hog Day is back.

Nation and World News Roundup

The Jewish legacy in the South will be honored with a new cultural center at the College of Charleston.

Marion Berry is writing his memoirs.

The impact of gayborhoods.

The top ten cities with the highest tax rates. Also, the best and worst cities for workers.

A new documentary highlights Baltimore’s homeless tent cities and presents lessons to all cities, like ours that have active modern tent cities.

Grocery shopping in the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

And finally, Harlem has always been good.