Dig they must

I think they're almost done with the work under 7th Street in front of Fig Tree restaurant. Looks like they were fixing the drainage under 7th Street, although I can never seem to find someone to ask. Cut up a good slice of Independence Park while they were at it. I'm sure they'll make it as good as new when they're done.

Conformity in Dilworth

Who's behind the cool new project in Dilworth known as Southborough? Elizabeth's own Conformity Corp., of course.

Hermitage report

Don't we all want the kind of close-knit neighborhood they have over on Hermitage Court? A deep sense of history, a sense of belonging, a sense of ownership not just of an individual property but of a piece of the place where you live. Former Bay Street Elizabethan Ian Kutner is amont the people who have found it there. Don't we also have it here?

Lambla's British Tradition

Elizabethan June Lamblas' show "The Figure: A British Tradition" has opened at the McColl Center for Visual Art uptown. The Observer takes a look at it.

UCLA

It's the state's largest community college, with 2,100 employees, 70,000 students and six campuses -- and a huge impact on the city. Yet it rarely feels like CPCC's main campus is a part of the neighborhood, despite the visionary leadership of Tony Zeiss. Is that a fair statement? Do we need to start a dialog?

Allan Reed

Many of you may remember Allan Reed, the piano teacher who for a time lived and taught on Clement before moving to Chambwood in our neighbor Plaza-Midwood. I'm sorry to say Mr. Reed passed away Jan. 25. He was a fantastic man, an excellent piano teacher and he will be missed.

Thousands perish in neighborhood disaster

The Tanglefoot is doing its job, capturing thousands of cankerworm moths as they try to climb trees in Elizabeth. I see the moths everywhere -- on sidewalks, porches, trees -- and I have to say I'm snuffing out as many of their lives as I can (while feeling somewhat guilty about my naked agression). It certainly seems like they had a fruitful mating season. More on cankerworms here.

Elizabethans on parade

There was Jennifer Roberts on the Local front of the Observer Sunday and Dan Clodfelter on page 2 on Monday. I'm sure you noticed.

Brixx bits

Perhaps the successful Brixx Wood Fired Pizza restaurants got their start in Dilworth in 1998, but co-owner Eric Horsley chooses to live in Elizabeth. The Charlotte pizza chain has expansion plans.

Surreal streetcars

The continuing saga of mass transit in Elizabeth now enters its surreal phase. How else can you describe the decision to lay the tracks now but not use them for 12 years? This decision makes no sense. If we don't have streetcars we don't need track. Twelve years is an eternity when it comes to public policy. Will laying track now guarantee a route will go up Elizabeth Avenue? No. Will it guarantee we'll even have a streetcar? No. So what's the point?

Dilworth break-ins

Note the brief item in The Observer (can't find it on the Web site) on page 2 of the Local section about a series of break-ins in nearby Dilworth. People were home during the break-ins. I think this is rare -- and I certainly hope it stays that way.

Who's next for a booth?

If you really miss Anderson's restuaruant, buy one of the old booths from the Habitat Restore.

Gorman in the 'hood

CMS Superintendent Peter Gorman will talk on "The Mind of Charlotte" from 6:45 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10 (pdf), at St. John's Baptist Church on Hawthorne Lane at 5th Street. It's free. (Thanks Andria.)

More ink for Roberts

More nice comments for our own Jennifer Roberts, this time from Creative Loafing: "In a county that has grown politically stale, Roberts is a fresh new face to watch." (scroll down)

Wake-up call for Elizabeth

Hope you're watching what's happening to our friends in Dilworth. They face the same pressures we do as a popular inner-city neighborhood dealing with growth. But they have a wild card we don't: Light rail. Mass transit for our corridor has been put off so far in the future it likely will never happen. Unfortunately that does not relieve us of the burden of preparing for what it might bring. Look what happened Monday.

Charlotte City Council approved a rezoning that will allow a massive project on the edge of Dilworth -- despite opposition from the Dilworth Community Development Association, despite reservations (pdf) from city planners. "The vote is a test case for the kind of development the city will allow along the rail line," the Observer reported.

Anyone who follows local politics knows developers hold tremendous sway over all our elected bodies. I'm not suggesting anything untoward. The Dilworth project will increase revenues for the city, put people to work, provide housing and likely spur further development. A few neighbors and planners can't compete against that -- even in a society where the "will of the people" is supposedly sacrosanct.

This should serve as a wake-up call for Elizabeth. How do we make sure we don't get steamrolled by the city and developers in the future? We get together now, all of us, and decide what's right for our neighborhood. Let's start with a small area plan (not that it helped Dilworth in this case) and go from there. Maybe we work with our friends in surrounding neighborhoods. Democracy it won't easy. Demoracy isn't. But if we don't start acting now, it will only get harder.

Rezoning approved

The city approved B&E Properties, LLC request for a rezoning at the corner of Hawthorne Lane and E. 5th Street Monday night. A medical office building is planned for the site.

7th Street stats

Examine the November Elizabeth Crime stats and notice that 29 of 61 incidents -- almost half! -- occurred on East 7th Street. No surprise, I suppose, since 7th carries the highest traffic and the most people. It might be easy to dismiss the stats because of that. Maybe many or even most of the incidents happened to people who live elsewhere. We should avoid thinking like that. East 7th Street is the gateway to our Elizabeth and our entertainment center. We need to take care of it.

Captains of the block

Crime Dawg writes:

The ECA also needs block captains who live on the west side of 7th (towards Randolph). The core responsibility is to occasionally (approx. 5-6 times a year) distribute flyers to the houses in your area/block. It’s actually a lot of fun and a great way to see you neighbors on a weekend afternoon. And it only takes a little time (most routes can now be done is less than 30 minutes), especially if we have more captains to break up the routes. Remember, the more captains and the shorter the routes. Please contact Russell Crandall if you are interested in becoming an ECA block captain.  Please DO NOT contact the Crime Dawg! He’s got more than enough crime fighting on his hands.

Let's party

Yo it's time to party Elizabeth style. See you at Jane and Roxie's at 7 p.m.

Thunder Road

The Thunder Road Marathon will be run Dec. 9, and the route goes right down Hawthorne Lane. Make sure you take that into consideration when you're making your Saturday morning plans.