Washington — For most architects, designing a building so important the president attends the groundbreaking could only be a dream.
For Phil Freelon, it was Wednesday at the groundbreaking for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C.
“There is a sense of turning the earth that makes it snap into today’s real time,” Freelon said.
Freelon found out almost three years ago that his firm, in collaboration with some others, had won a design competition for the museum.
“For me, as an African-American, it’s part of our heritage and so being involved is an honor and a privilege,” Freelon said.
Freelon graduated from North Carolina State University, before heading to MIT for graduate work and a career that eventually brought him to Durham to build his 55 person firm, the Freelon Group.
“It feels like we’ve been preparing for this our whole careers,” he said.
The museum, which opens in 2015, could be one of the last built at the National Mall, and Freelon wants it to be a place where everyone feels welcome to learn about the African-American story.
“The stories of, yes, struggle, persecution and so on, but also the triumphs and the jubilation of the African American experience will come through in the building and the exhibits,” Freelon said. “(So,) that everyone can find something worthwhile and inspiring when they go there.”
“It is a big moment when you know that the child is about to be birthed in a short period of time, relatively speaking. When the construction starts, it really does add a sense of reality to the project,” he said.
Freelon is married to singer Nnenna Freelon who has been nominated for six Grammy Awards.
RELATED TOPICS: Durham, NC State University, African-American Voters
Durham, N.C. — Sharon Finch Van Vechten, who won Miss North Carolina in 1964, was diagnosed with colon cancer two years ago. She counts herself a survivor, but still makes frequent visits to Duke University Hospital for tests and exams.
“I’m at least here once a month and last week I was here three times,” Van Vechten said.
This week, she had her first visit to the new Duke Cancer Center and its new boutique where she enjoyed a makeover.
“At least when you look in the mirror, you like what you see, even if the rest of you is hurting and going through a tough time,” Van Vechten said.
The boutique is just one of the attractions of the new center, which includes a quiet room – a serene spot to get away from it all.
The center, which opens Monday, pulls all cancer-related services under one very large roof.
It represents an amazing evolution in cancer care over 35 years, Duke Medical oncologist Dr. Joseph Moore said. The center includes 28 examining rooms, 78 treatment rooms, 73 infusion stations and three new linear accelerators.
Under one roof, cancer patients can move from radiology to chemotherapy to imaging and consultation more easily.
Waiting rooms also give patients and family members more space in a comforting environment. A roof top garden terrace offers another scenic getaway.
On Thursday afternoon, Duke will have a dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting.
http://wwwcache.wral.com/presentation/v2/flash/video/vp-wral.swf?v=20100913a
Original article on WRAL.com
South Durham’s dining scene is nothing but restaurants in shopping centers and big-box chains.
Well, yeah, pretty much. You say that like it’s a bad thing. “Chains essentially are successful businesses that started small,” says
Becca Gomez Farrell, a Woodcroft resident and frequent contributor to the seminal food blog
Carpe Durham. “At what point do we decide we hate them? And strip malls. That just means it’s hard to know ahead of time what’s there, so you have to, you know, read up before you go.” She sees the bias all the time among the commentariat at Carpe Durham, Yelp and Chowhound. To get “real” Durham food, you have to go somewhere in the vicinity of downtown, according to the conventional wisdom among some foodies. True, when most people think South Durham, they think
Southpoint, which means lots of chains. Not that there’s anything wrong with them, which we’ll address in a bit. But did you know that within a few short miles of the mall are two authentic Korean joints, four sushi restaurants, the first LEED-certified restaurant in the state, an authentic carnicería, and Jamaican, Cajun, Chinese, Thai, Italian, Mexican and Indian food galore? Downtown and thereabouts rightfully get attention for their groundbreaking contributions to our food scene. But, if you think about it, South Durham offers the best of both worlds: authentic locally owned restaurants and a variety of top-shelf brand-name restaurants. As Becca says, you just need to know where to look.
The revolution was not televised
Tony Sustaita saw the transformation first-hand. “I’ve been in Woodcroft Shopping Center for 15 years,” says the owner of Bandido’s and Chubby’s Tacos. “When we opened Bandido’s here, there weren’t even any chains except for fast food. You didn’t come to the Woodcroft area unless you lived here.” What a difference a decade and a half makes. The success of Bandido’s led Tony and a partner to open five Chubby’s restaurants three years ago, including one in Woodcroft and another in RTP. Tony says Southpoint helped the area go from a bedroom community to a destination. Though his restaurants are a mile down the road, he still draws plenty of folks stopping for a bite after a day of shopping or a trip to the movies. But before Southpoint opened in 2002, it was RTP workers that drove the culinary scene. There was a premium not only on speedy service, but on quality and variety. The array of world cuisines found within a few miles of the park reflect the diversity of the workforce there.
UNC students have been known to take a stand from time to time. This weekend, they stood for 24 hours straight to support the N.C. Children’s Hospital during the largest ever Dance Marathon — the 14th year for the event that’s held inside Fetzer Gym.
Two-thousand students signed up, breaking the previous record of 1,800 in 2009.
The marathon featured several Children’s Hospital patients, families and caregivers; and campus and community performance groups.
Dancers were divided into 24 teams, each with a spy-related name to keep with the event’s theme of Mission Possible. In addition to dancers, hundreds of moralers and volunteers also participated in the marathon. Moralers worked six-hour shifts to keep dancers energized, while volunteers worked three-hour shifts and helped with the operations and logistics of the event.
The Dance Marathon is not just a two-day event, but is a year-round effort that started in 1998 and has grown tremendously. During the past 13 years, it has raised more than $3 million, and this year it raised $483,000.
Full article at ChapelHillMagazine.com
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