BobbyDav

Ya. During a recession, as the WSJ has frequently noted, there is an increase in purchasing power that derives from deflationary pressure. While banks and other lending institutions sit on their cash the real money supply shrinks increasing the value of currency in the hands of consumers and other financial institutions. This deflationary pressure was exacerbated by the comparatively worse conditions in Europe which caused skeptical consumers to shed Euro and Pound based assets for the, if only slightly, safer Dollar based assets in the US. So if you are a company with extra cash but no safe investment options now is a good time to upgrade to new facilities, especially ones that reduce to labor to capital ratio since real wages are higher now than they have been for a few years.

Somebody brought up George Mason, but there recognition came from making it to the final four in Basketball. BC's recognition came from being in the ACC. So there are two methods mentioned here for increasing applicants through athletics. One is be in a good confrence and the other is play a game in the national spotlight. Why do either of these things require football? Why would a bad football team really help out? I'm not saying Charlotte doesn't deserve football team(though they may not need one). I'm just trying to find out what dynamic football brings out thats so special. Why is this the one sport that is really going to increase quality of life, get the school recognized, or help the school make money(the above post kinda answers this one)? Interesting tidbit though the Big East has 7 teams without in conference football. DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, Providence College, Seton Hall, and Villanova don't have football in the Big East. Each of these teams are in a major conference-obviously. Georgetown, Notre Dame, and Villanova each have football teams in other conferences. These are arguably the most recognizable teams on that list and certaintly they have the best academics. Still, Does recognition follow football or does football follow recognition? Are these teams capable of supporting football because of their academics or does football just not affect academics?

A lot of attention on this board is going to two former presidents of the University of North Carolina (proper). So who are they? One is Bill Friday, its founder; before him we had the consolidated universities which I believe only included State, UNC, and UNCG (at the time the women

Personally I hate the idea of expanding it to two stories. Larger Malls have a completely seperate apeal from SP and they feel so cold and distant. SP as of now support modest smattering of high end retailers already, and there is plenty of peripheral space in surounding and congruent shopping areas. A lot of high end shopping malls have surounding space for excess; Tysons comes to mind with Gucci, Hermes, and Tiffany's detached.

Sorry about confusing anybody here, nibletodell is right I was reffering to the whole chain not just our specific Dillard's. All the same I'm sure a number of us, myself included seem a little snoody, so maybe I ought to better explain my thought process. Dilliard's carries stuff that can be found pretty much anywhere, in fact most of their stock can be found in at least four or five other stores in SP. It's not that its bad stuff, in fact virtually everybody wears the stuff they carry. If you are looking for something interesting and different though Dillard's won't likely carry it. So to people who see fashion as an art or a hobby then Dillard's can seem dull.

I don't think Smith can move. Loads of NASCAR interest already exists in and around Charlotte. With the existing infrastructure, events, companies, hotels, hall of fame and wealthy NASCAR people it is just impossible. The second he thought of leaving any number of investors would be ready to step in and make the existing Lowes Motor speedway work, its just to perfect to pass up. Not to mention how many investors, executives, racers, and team owners have a sincere affection for the area the community. Getting NASCAR to sanction a track that will squander 100's of millions in investments and infrastructure built around the association's central hub while simultaneously pissing off dozens of racing elite just doesn't seem very reasonable. I've got a freind that works in the industry(he's pretty reliable), I'll see if he knows anything about what the heavyhitters think of Smith's complaints.

Speaking of boring stores that don't fit in: I used to think Tyson's Corner was categorically superior to South Park, but then I realized that you wade through miles(at least 1) of worthless sh*t just to get to one "unique" store. South Park on the other hand has a couple "unique" stores and a handful of actually unique stuff like Billy Ried. All of which are clumped together, and allow you to easily circumvent the mundane and uninteresting stores like Dillard's. So for my two cents Dick's and Dillard's are all right as long as they don't make it harder to get to the stuff you really want to see. PS. I find it odd that SP and the surounding are has pretty decent selection for men, which is funny because men in the area seem (no offense) relatively void of fashion sense. Although I should note that a lot of the stores seem well acclimated to the regional mindset, so you see less tampering with structure(ie. Thom Brown) and more tampering with color and prep (Etro[Paul Simon], Martin Gordon[Old Dog], Billy Ried).

I live in SP and I'll have to say there are deffinitely more pro-gay places, but on the other hand the South Park neigborhoods are generally freindly to all people in their own right. So the whole idea is perplexing, I doubt anybody would harass a gay couple and certaintly not a gay single, but at the same time I can't claim that places like F-croft will be all warm and fuzzy. A quick tip though, the most accepting people I know in the South Park area live in Governor's Square and the far side of Foxcrof East. Still, its entirely straight white Christians minus one Asian couple, one black family, and the occasional Jewish family. Thats also not to mention how expensive housing is right their. I hope you do move to a SouthPark though, we could really use some diversity. *Quick After the Fact Edit: Sorry if I implyed that being Chrisitian, white, or straight is a bad thing. I was just trying to bring to light the relative absence of other groups. Again apoligies to anybody who feels I may have demeened their lifestyle.

I live in the SouthPark area, and I know there have been a lot of new developments planned here, but I've been in Chapel-Hill since early August and I was wondering if any projects have come to fruition? Will I be able to tell a big difference when I come home for Thanksgiving?

I feel like with all this construction somethig ought to beat out the Bank of America, but all we ever seem to get is semi-substantiated rumors. Its enough to wet your beak, but still leaves you questioning. I really hope we get an official anouncement in a month or two (as mentioned), but I feel the trak record for this project speaks for itself. It's not that I doubt that cited sources come from people "in the know," but I just don't feel like people "in the know" have reached a stage where they can make concrete statements. At this point the project details only seem to specify that it will be "big" and happen "sometime." ...whatever happens though, I'll still be addicted to this topic down to the very last whisp of a rumor.

PDA among the gay community of Charlotte seems exceptionally rare, not that I can blame anyone for not wanting to be verbally abused. In fact most gay people down here seem to have made a habit of using colloquial terms to describe their relationships (ie partner,roomate,significant other) even in the presence of freinds. In DC, where I spend a lot of time, huge chunks of the city are mapped out as predominantly gay areas, and almost everywhere is gay freindly. To me, as a straight person, it is almost shocking how fear seems to underpin even everyday conversation here. It's a shame too; as a native I feel it's long past time for Charlotte to shed its biggoted past and start accepting diversity. PS. About your second question, I like that Charlotte doesn't have a lot of agressive PDA. There's nothing worse than sitting next to a couple making out on the subway, regardless of that couples orientation. (Of course I realize we don't have a subway, but you get the hint.)

I'm almost sad to see this built, it has been a family joke for a couple years now. The delay on this office building seems indicative of how the market in SP has differed greatly from the office markets in Uptown and in Ballantyne. What do you think the higher vacancy rates in sp mean for future office projects here, this one included?

Out of curiosity, is it the price range or the size thats making people feel that this project is in so much trouble? Are there deeper administrative issues keeping it grounded, or is this negativity driven by the market?

Correct me if I'm wrong on this but I'm assuming that they are going to build the Ritz first since I can't find any mention of a completion date on the bank tower. Assuming I'm right, when should they begin the bank tower, and (I know this has been debated before) are there any official renderings yet?