The North Carolina chapter of the Public Relations Society of America seeks nominations for its Inspire Awards. Submissions are welcome from public relations, communications and marketing agencies, teams and solo practitioners.
Deadline is Feb. 27. Nominate online at www.ncprsa.org.

Margot Carmichael Lester
Staff Writer

It’s all doom, gloom and pestilence if the latest housing data from the National Association of Homebuilders is to be believed.

Overall housing starts for October declined 4.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 791,000 units – and 38 percent less than October 2007’s 1,182,000 units. That’s the slowest pace on record since the U.S. government began tracking housing data in 1959.
More »

Photo by Ava Barlow. The Franklin, a hotel on West Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, has an atrium on the third floor.

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro area could add as many as 520 hotel rooms to its current 1,052-room inventory in the next few years. Projects have already been approved at 300 East Main in Carrboro and at East 54 in Chapel Hill to add 290 rooms, while projects in various planning stages at Southern Village, Chapel Hill 40 and the Carolina Inn could add another 230 more.
More »

Small businesses are feeling the economic slowdown just as much as the rest of us. To help them learn more about financial options, Carrboro’s Office of Economic Development invited loan officers from Durham-based Square 1 Bank and Chapel Hill-based Harrington Bank to address the Carrboro Business Association on Thursday, Oct. 30. Representatives of the Small Business Technology Development Center and U.S. Small Business Administration also were on hand.
More »

On Monday, Nov. 17, the Chapel Hill Town Council will discuss four development projects and will hear public comments on each.

• Southern Village: A six-story, 90,000-square-foot hotel or multi-family development located in the parking area in the commercial center between Market, Kildaire and Aberdeen streets.
More »

What does the future hold for the Internet and companies related to it? Find out at the Internet Summit, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 19 at the Friday Center in Chapel Hill. Experts will discuss capitalizing on the Internet’s shifting dynamics and trends and opportunities created by web 2.0 technologies, social media, online advertising, widgets, online video and other essential new web-oriented technologies. CED members get 20 percent off by calling Jessica Hegele at 226-0464 for the promotion code. For more information, visit www.internetsummitevent.com

Margot Carmichael Lester

You may have noticed the inconspicuous “For Sale” sign stuck in the high grass on the corner of Roberson and South Greensboro streets. It’s no joke. The much-ballyhooed 91,575-square-foot Roberson Square property is on the market.
More »

Fans of Stonyfield Farm yogurt or social entrepreneurism will want to attend a presentation and book signing by Stonyfield’s CE-Yo Gary Hirshberg, author of Stirring it Up: How to Make Money and Save the World. The free event will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 11 in Gerrard Hall on the UNC campus.
More »

Phydeaux, purveyor of products for your furry friends, will celebrate its grand opening at 400 S. Elliott Rd. in Chapel Hill from 12 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 2.
More »

Photo by Ava Barlow. UNC student Anh Duong, left, tries on clothing for potential use as a Halloween costume, while her friend Tiffany Dixon, also a UNC student, looks it over. The two were at Time After Time vintage clothing store on West Franklin Street in Chapel Hill Sunday afternoon.

Tales of street closings and unruly hordes of revelers in Chapel Hill have many folks thinking it’s better to stay in on Halloween. But Carrboro’s downtown business owners will have special treats for locals who don’t want a homebound All Hallow’s Even.
More »

By Clai Watkins
Courtesy of The Carrboro Commons

Carrboro may be the smallest town in the state to have two bead shops.
With the Sept. 19 opening of Rare Earth Beads on West Main Street in Carrboro, local beaders now have two shops in which to draw a bead, as it were.
More »

3CUPS will open at its new location on South Elliott Road in Chapel Hill on Oct. 30.
The wine, coffee and tea merchant closed its location at The Courtyard on West Franklin Street earlier this year after the business was unable to resolve a dispute regarding parking with Courtyard owner Spencer Young.
More »

Photo by Hannah Sharpe. Ben Harper, owner and manager of Harper Arts Design and Screen Printing, can see the temporary offices of Main Street Properties across the street from his store-front window while he works. Harper has been looking at the potential economic affects on his business of the 300 East Main Street project.

While much of Carrboro holds its breath awaiting finalization of the 300 East Main Street project, businesses across the street from the project’s site see opportunity for growth.
More »

The Carrboro-Chapel Hill Foundation for a Sustainable Community will hold its annual meeting on Oct. 30. from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at The Carolina Club.

The foundation started as an offshoot of the chamber of commerce. Its mission is advancing long-term sustainable solutions for the community.
For more information, contact Ann Mckune at 967-7075 or amckune@sustainablefoundation.org

The Carrboro Cybrary will host a Fair Trade Expo Oct. 25 from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Carrboro Century Center. The show will educate people on the meaning of Fair Trade, which is a movement that attempts to pay a fair price for products coming from underdeveloped or depressed economies in other nations.

The expo features local businesses selling Fair Trade products as well as games and educational materials for children.