The snowflake look would be usable beyond Christmas into February. I don’t know the last time Burlington changed its Christmas lighting downtown but the lackluster displays from recent years were in place when I moved back here in 2007. So the look has been around for a while. That’s about to change. The Burlington Downtown … Continue reading Burlington’s new brighter holiday look coming to downtown
Author: madisontdawg
Looking for a comfort zone in 2021
I wore a lot of hats in 2020. This is neither euphemism nor metaphor. It’s a fact. I also sported a large variety of shorts, T-shirts, sweatshirts and sweatpants – lots and lots of sweatpants. Coats and ties became a thing of the past. Button-down shirts, optional. Sneakers, flip-flops and slippers replaced work shoes. Yes, … Continue reading Looking for a comfort zone in 2021
Things I’ve dropped like a bad habit
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is another column from my Burlington Times-News days, published on May 17, 2015. It starts with some thoughts I had about boxing, a sport I used to love, and wound into a list of the things I once enjoyed or engaged in that I don't seem to do anymore. And in the … Continue reading Things I’ve dropped like a bad habit
‘You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone’
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a column I wrote for the Burlington Times-News in 2014, when Tim Sutton attended what was then thought to be his last meeting as an Alamance County commissioner. He was defeated in the 2014 primary after 20 often controversial years on the board. He told me then he was likely through … Continue reading ‘You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone’
For sale: Smitty’s a cool business opportunity for the right owner
Smitty's Homemade location on Front Street before the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo courtesy of Smitty's. Smitty’s Homemade Ice Cream, a signature and beloved Alamance County business with stores in three downtown areas, is for sale. Alamance County Superior Court Judge Tom Lambeth and Amy Nakhle, co-founders of the business in 2002, made the tough decision to … Continue reading For sale: Smitty’s a cool business opportunity for the right owner
New partnership, new personality and a little wine in downtown Burlington
Two leaders in the ongoing renaissance of downtown Burlington as an entertainment and art district are partners in a new venture that will occupy part of the former Mary Katherine's store on East Front Street. Tracy Schmidt, general manager of Burlington Beer Works and Holly Treadwell, owner of The Blend and Co. are joining forces … Continue reading New partnership, new personality and a little wine in downtown Burlington
Saying goodbye to Frances Woody, a community treasure
Local newspapers used to be in the business of creating community treasures. They did so either through stories about people who step up to make a positive difference time after time in the cities and towns where they live or through manufacturing them in-house. The former was relatively easy. The latter takes some doing. Time … Continue reading Saying goodbye to Frances Woody, a community treasure
Graham ‘looks a lot like Mississippi in the ’60s’
A couple of weeks ago I received a message via social media from a friend who lives in another county. He was curious about what’s going on in Graham, the county seat of Alamance County. At the time only 48 hours had passed following another tense Saturday of protests, counter-protests, shouting and arrests in a … Continue reading Graham ‘looks a lot like Mississippi in the ’60s’
A team by any other name, please
This is a column I wrote in 2013 about the nickname of the pro football team in Washington. There have been calls to change the name over the years and now it looks like it just might happen or at least the owner seems closer than ever before. That is a positive thing. Overlook the … Continue reading A team by any other name, please
A crazy week in Alamance County
The past 10-plus days in Alamance County have produced the greatest amount of sadness, frustration, agitation, outright anger, half-truths, gaffes, misstatements, fabrications, miscalculations, social action, political action, protests, vigils, walks, marches, racism and antiracism that I can remember over such a short period of time in this community --- a place I've lived for 21 … Continue reading A crazy week in Alamance County
