Jana Antos writes that she loved last week’s cover story, “27 Reasons We Love the Triangle Right Now,” but says we missed something: “The incredible open space and trail systems available to Triangle residentsfrom the American Tobacco Trail (twenty-two-plus miles of trail!) to the Capital Area Greenway system (over one hundred miles of connected trail, including a fabulous Art Walk at the N.C. Museum of Art) to Lake Johnson to William B. Umstead State Park. Where else can you strap on your hiking boots, running shoes, or mountain bike and be just a minutes from total immersion in nature, right in the heart of a metro area? Triangle residents value these amenities and have voted frequently to support their expansion. Our outdoor space is the emerald in our vibrant asphalt/concrete community.”
Ellen Schrader Stutts adds another: “Because the writers of Stranger Things, the Duffer Brothers, are graduates of Jordan High!”
Commenter toastmasterbone writes: “Also notablethe state’s contribution (Hillsborough’s, specifically) to the Bill of Rights in 1788.” This is an important point that requires a quick history lesson: for two weeks in the summer of 1788, delegates debated whether to ratify the new U.S. Constitution. Ultimately, they decided neither to accept nor reject itNorth Carolina was the only state in the union to do sobecause the Constitution did not, in their view, fully protect basic freedoms. This led to the development of the Bill of Rights.
Last week’s paper also featured a story on the Emerald City Ultra Bar and Lounge in the Tuscaloosa-Lakewood neighborhood, which, after a recent shooting, some neighbors were demanding the Durham City Council take action against [“Shut the Club Down?”]. Spindy writes, “The article poses a question: ‘Is Emerald City a nuisance to its Lakewood neighbors, or is it just in the way?’ The article provides a clear answer: ‘There have been nine assaults and 104 fights or disturbances reported, eight instances of shots being fired, and thirty-five reports about intoxicated people or drivers.’”
Trudy, meanwhile, denies that Emerald City being a black-owned business has anything to do with the neighbors’ complaints: “Residents of the Tuscaloosa-Lakewood neighborhood are objecting to the presence of murder, gunshots in the middle of the night, and noise. We are not objecting to the presence of people of color in the neighborhood. Our neighborhood is beautifully diverse, with people of many races and socioeconomic backgrounds coexisting peacefully and respectfully.”
Commenter hottlyricsent takes to the club’s defense: “Well, aren’t we using alternative facts? Just wow! I was born and raised on the West End, which is the neighborhood that you are now calling Tuscaloosa-Lakewood. Please stop acting as though the source of the West End’s problems is solely Emerald City’s. If I’m not mistaken, and I’m not, a Duke student was murdered near Bivins Street few years ago, as well as the worker at the corner store on Morehead Avenue, as well as the young lady who was strangled in her apartment across from the YMCA. Need I go on? These crimes have occurred within the last five to ten years, so I as a resident and citizen of Durham do not appreciate the lies in this article. The club is not responsible for how people act upon departure and cannot be held accountable, and if they are, will you [prosecute] the riff-raff that leaves the bars weaving and bobbing in our newly redecorated and unrecognizable downtown area?”
Finally, a couple of corrections to last week’s cover story. First, we incorrectly stated that Jordan Staal was a player on the 2006 championship Carolina Hurricanes team; it was his brother, Eric Staal. Second, Anne Tyler won the Pulitzer Prize, not the Nobel.
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