An Aphrodite Fritillary is just one of several butterfly species attracted to the common milkweed. Photo by Ken Moore

Perhaps it’s really the nature of art! Art and nature were inseparable during the recent two-week Session 3 at Penland School of Crafts in Western North Carolina. Fifteen different studios — including glass blowing, metal sculpture, ceramics, photography, weaving and sketching — demonstrated that images and experiences of nature were dominant sources of inspiration expressed in the works of instructors and students.
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by Susan Dickson
Staff Writer

Several weeks after school officials announced that about a dozen advanced placement and honors courses would not be offered at Carrboro High School next year, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools officials say they will make changes to offer several of those courses.

Carrboro High students and parents said that Carrboro High would become a “second-class” school without offering the AP and honors courses and asked district officials to reinstate the courses.
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Green Awakening Project students Ruth Pineda and Mariela Martinez construct a model bridge. Photo by Kirk Ross.

This summer, rising freshmen from schools across Orange County are taking advantage of a new approach to learning math and science, building solar cars and constructing model bridges as part of the Communities in Schools Green Awakening Project.

For the project, Communities in Schools staff worked with Chapel Hill-Carrboro and Orange County school staff to identify rising high school freshmen who traditionally do not enter advanced math and science classes.
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The blueberry bush sans bird netting. Photo by Valarie Schwartz.

It’s not easy being green. Even growing blueberries as a measure of creating biodiversity in my yard turns out to have a downside. I planted two blueberry bushes three or four years ago and during the first few years, because they take time to get established, I freely shared the meager bounty with the birds and squirrels. Last year, I started wanting more than the few leftovers I could nab each morning to decorate my yogurt, so after seeing some black netting at Southern States, I brought it home and placed it over the two plants (having since planted a third bush in a different part of the yard that I left for the birds).
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Thursday July 10

ArtsCenter: 10 by 10 In The Triangle: An international festival of new, 10-minute plays. 8pm
Local 506: Paper Route, Brooke Waggoner. 9:30pm
Nightlight: The Men Who Control The Weather, Captain of Industry, Chiaroscuro. 9:30pm
The Cave: The Club Is Open Festival feat. Rat Jackson, Maple Stave, Beloved Binge. 8pm
Reservoir: Rockin’ Ammonia Karaoke. 10pm
Blue Horn Lounge: Tain Collins.
General Store Café: Jazz with Club Boheme. 8pm
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by Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

The North Carolina House and Senate will need to work out differences for a bill that would allow the University of North Carolina and UNC Health Care to create an airport authority, but supporters anticipate that some form of the legislation will pass this session.

The Senate passed its version earlier this month. This week, the state House modified the bill to more narrowly tailor it to efforts to site and build a new airport in Orange County.

Kevin Fitzgerald, executive associate dean for finance and administration with the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine, said that among the changes the House adopted is language that specifies Orange County as the site for a new airport.
On Wednesday, the Senate voted not to concur with the House version, a formality that paves the way for a conference committee to be named to work out the differences.
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A series of heavy weekend thunderstorms downed trees and clogged stormwater systems throughout southern Orange County.

David Poythress, Carrboro’s streets superintendent, said public works crews for the town have been cleaning sand, gravel and plenty of sticks and other debris out of storm drains and culverts.
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UNC News Services

Scientific evidence has long suggested that moderate drinking offers some protection against heart disease, certain types of stroke and some forms of cancer.

But new research shows that stopping drinking — including at moderate levels — may lead to health problems including depression and a reduced capacity of the brain to produce new neurons, a process called neurogenesis.
The findings from the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies at UNC appear online in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.
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Orange County is accepting nominations for the 2008 North Carolina Awards for Outstanding Service.

The awards recognize and identify outstanding volunteers who have made a significant contribution to their community. Orange County will select five individuals, businesses or groups to be recognized for their outstanding contributions. One of the five individuals from each county will be nominated for the N.C. Outstanding Volunteer Medallion award.
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The town of Hillsborough may get a train station. The N.C. Department of Transportation and Amtrak have said that a rail stop there may be financially viable, after Mayor Tom Stevens, at the behest of a number of citizens, asked for a formal study of the possibility. Before Hillsborough would get a stop, the town would have to work through a complex long-term transportation plan as well as seek funding. Early estimates put construction costs between $1 and $6 million.

The Family Violence Prevention Center of Orange County offers an evening domestic violence support group.

The group meets on a drop-in basis and is provided for women who have experienced abuse in a relationship. The support group is free and confidential and provides women with the opportunity to learn about abusive relationships and gain support from women in similar situations.

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Zach Ward, owner of DSI Comedy Theater, has issued a challenge to the disc golfers of Carrboro. Ward says that if donations to the Carrboro Parks Project, a nonprofit advocating for parks and greenways in town, reach $4,200 by October, he will match his own $4,200 for an 18-hole disc golf course at Anderson Park. To donate, see www.carrboroparks.org

A skunk found in Hillsborough tested positive for rabies on Tuesday at the State Laboratory of Public Health.

The skunk was submitted after a resident in the vicinity of Larkspur Lane and Miller Road saw one of her two dogs with the skunk in its mouth.
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Sen. Ellie Kinnaird is scheduled to discuss her campaign to retain her NC Senate District 23 seat on Monday, July 14 at 4 p.m. at Town Hall Grill.

Town Hall Grill, located in Southern Village, is hosting a nonpartisan community-issues forum called “The Village Voice,” featuring political candidates in a series of seven events. The forum is sponsored by The North Carolina Center for Voter Education and MyNC.com.
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Special Events

Computer classes — free computer classes: Internet, Email, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, NC Live. Registration required. Wednesdays, through Aug. 6, 7pm Century Center 918-7387 cybrary@co.orange.nc.us

The Music Man — Summer Youth Conservatory presents the musical. July 24-27. Thu-Sat 7pm, Sun 2pm. Tickets and information at 962-7529 or playmakersrep.org
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