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TWo downtown restaurants close their doors; spaces remain unfilled as yet
Students returning from winter
break will notice changes on their
first trek to downtown Chapel
Hill. The Rathskeller, at 157 1/2 E.
Franklin St, has closed indefinitely,
and Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant
formerly at 206 W. Franklin St, has
dosed permanently.
RATHSKEUE^^^^
A letter to the Rathskeller's
patrons on its Web site said it
closed "in a nonhostile agreement
with the Department of Revenue.'
The letter cited three mam rea
sons for its indefinite dosing: the
“drastically changed* downtown
business climate, a former manager
who did not pay withholding taxes
for eighteen months and the dete
riorating building itself.
Signs on the Rathskeller's win
dows warn against trespassing and
Court hears Ky. lethal injection case
Decision could affect N.C. executions
BY ERIC JOHNSON
SENIOR WRITER
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The
U.S. Supreme Court heard argu
ments Monday in a case that has
effectively put the death penalty
on hold across the country.
The justices are considering a
challenge to the method of lethal
injection used in virtually every
state that still administers the death
penalty-, including North Carolina.
Two Kentucky inmates are suing
to stop their executions on grounds
that the three-drug formula used in
lethal injections has the potential to
cause cruel and unusual suffering.
Until a ruling is delivered this
spring, there is a de facto morato
rium on executions in the United
States.
“The lethal injection cocktail
they’re talking about in this case is
the same cocktail of drugs we have in
North Carolina,' said Jeremy Collins,
campaign coordinator for the North
Carolina Coalition for a Moratorium.
“We’re on hold until we hear back
from the Supreme Court."
Moeser steps in to fund literature festival
BY ABBY FARSON
STAFF WRITER
A $200,000 grant from
Chancellor James Moeser has res
cued a celebrated literary festival
that was set to end.
The biennial festival will be
revived in 2009 and hosted at
UNC. It originally was scheduled
for this spring, but library officials
at UNC said they would be incapa
ble of hosting the festival because
of budget constraints.
"It is a tremendous commit
ment, particularly financially,'' said
Judith Panitch, director of library
communications at UNC.
Because the festival, which
rotates locations among UNC, Duke
University, N.C. State University and
N.C. Central University, is held even
two years, schools essentially have
to start from scratch each year, said
Aaron Greenwald, Duke’s 2006 fes
tival director.
The festival cost Duke $280,000
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John Morris, the property man
ager of Ratshkelier’s building, said
foe business's property is scheduled
to be auctioned Feb. 2.
Morris said that he had no indica
tion foat the current owner planned
to reopen foe restaraunt but that he
hoped someone else would.
Randy Kabrick, a shift leader
at Firehouse Subs and a former
employee of Rathskeller, said it’s
'pitiful* that the restaurant has
closed.
'There's 60 years of history
there,* he said. 'People foat have
been working there since the six
ties lost their jobs.'
[BUFFALO WILD WINGS j
Buffalo Wild Wings closed
because of a change in foe
Challenges to the three-drug
method of lethal injection have
been brought in federal courts for
decades, but Monday marked the
first time the Supreme Court has
waded into the issue.
Death penalty opponents had
hoped the Court might strike down
the widely used procedure, which
involves one drug to anesthetize the
inmate, another to induce paralysis
and a third to stop the heart.
But during Mondays hearing,
several justices expressed skepticism
that a better alternative exists.
Donald Verrilli, the lawyer for
the condemned Kentucky inmates,
tried to convince the Court that cur
rent lethal injection procedure lacks
safeguards and has the potential to
inflict excruciating pain if the drugs
are not administered properly.
But several justices questioned
whether a risk of improper proce
dure was enough to invalidate the
method.
“Of course there is a risk ofTiuman
error,’ Justice Stephen Breyer said.
“But the question here is, can we say
to host in 2006. So even with the
chancellor’s grant, some additional
funding will need to be procured,
Panitch said.
“With the other obligations that
we have and the services that we
are seeking to provide, we didn't
feel like we could responsibly
host it at the point it was first dis
cussed," she said of the initial deci
sion to cancel the festival.
But members of the Triangle
community were not pleased with
that decision.
“Since our initial statement that
we weren’t going to continue, we
heard from a lot of members from
the community that this is an
important and enriching event,"
Panitch said.
Once Moeser became aware of
the festival’s discontinuation, he
decided to allocate $200,000 from
private funds for the 2009 festival.
He wrote a letter to the president
of Duke and the chancellors of N.C.
corporation's business model,
said Antoine Puech, president of
Prestige Associates. The partner
ship owns foe building that housed
Buffalo Wild Wings.
‘They're changing foe emphasis
of their restaurants and focusing
more on family-oriented restau
rants and away from student-ori
ented bars,* Puech said.
While he could not say how long
Buffalo Wild Wings had been plan
ning to leave, Puech said he imag
ined foe move had been a priority
for several years.
Liz Parham, executive direc
tor of the Chapel Hill Downtown
Partnership, said it's typical for
businesses to come and go down
town.
She said foe town has already
received four offers from other
businesses for foe Buffalo Wild
Wings building.
'The fact that they're leaving
that there is more of a risk than with
other execution methods?"
Justice Antonin Scalia pointed
out that executions are not required
to be painless but simply to avoid
“unnecessary and wanton" pain.
The case could be sent back to
the Kentucky courts for a more
thorough comparison between
the three- ,-ug method and other
alternatives. That would have the
effect of keeping death sentences
nationwide on hold.
“It could take years," Scalia Said,
adding that he would prefer to
avoid that outcome.
Regardless of what the Court
decides about the legality of lethal
injection, executions in North
Carolina are unlikely to resume
anytime soon.
“There are going to be a number
of hurdles before that happens,’
said Richard Rosen, a UNC law
professor who teaches a seminar
on capital punishment.
Like many other states. North
Carolina is dealing with a proce
dural impasse involving the partic
ipation of doctors in executions.
Regulations call for a licensed
physician to be present during
State and N.C. Central on Dec. 14,
notifying them of his decision.
In the letter, Moeser described
the event as “an outstanding show
case for the area’s important liter
ary heritage."
Duke’s 2006 event, called the
N.C. Festival of the Book, lasted four
days, drew more than 10,000 people
Find hosted 80 authors, including
Tom Wolfe, Barbara Kingsolver, Pat
Conroy and Ann Patchett
“We wanted a more open and
popular festival for the wider
community- of the Triangle and
beyond," said Deborah Jakubs,
university librarian and vice pro
vost for library affairs at Duke,
who helped organize the 2006
festival.
UNC’s 2009 festival now is in
the early planning stages.
“The first job we’re facing is
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News
doesn't mean foe demise of a
downtown,* she said.
While Parham said there is
interest from a restaurant for the
Buffalo Wild Wings building, foe
fact foat there are 81 restaurants
downtown means foat the down
town partnership is looking to
diversify.
But Puech noted foat foe devel
opment of the nearby Lot 5 will
make parking an issue for any
future tenant.
Students on Franklin Street on
Tuesday said they would miss the
restaurant.
Nicole Lynch, a UNC senior, was
shocked to hear foat Buffalo Wild
Wings had closed.
'I love B-Dubs! Their wings
are awesome,* she said. “Where
are we gonna watch Superbowl
games?*
Compiled by Anasa Hicks
A breakdown of
Baze v. Rees
► The case was brought by two
Kentucky death row inmates.
► It challenges the three-chemical
combination foat 36 states, includ
ing North Carolina, use to execute
prisoners by lethal injection.
► It daims foe procedure vio
lates foe ‘cruel and unusual
punishment* clause of the
Eighth Amendment.
► It does not challenge the con
stitutionality of foe death penalty
or lethal injection.
► Its outcome could affect how
N.C. executions are handled.
a lethal injection, but the state
Medical Board has called such par
ticipation an ethical violation.
The Court touched briefly on
that issue Monday but is unlikely
to offer any firm guidance in its
ruling.
Contact the State W National
Editor at stntdeskfa) unc.edu.
to find a festival director," said
Michele Fletcher, director of
library development at UNC. “We
have not posted a job listing yet."
Library officials have not set
a salary for the festival director,
though they said they are confi
dent the chancellor’s grant will
provide money to hire a director
as well as one or two assistants,
Fletcher said.
A committee of faculty, students
and local writers will be estab
lished to help plan the festival and
choose its theme. Panitch said.
“We are extremely grateful that
the chancellor was responsive in
this way," she said. “And we are
committed to providing a great
festival in 2009."
Contact the University Editor
at udesk(a> unc.edu.
WEDNESDAY. JANUARY 9, 2008
One-woman
show up next
for Play Makers
Performance
uses three stories
BY ALYSSA GRIFFITH
STAFF WRITER
The Chapel Hill community will
be served a triple dose of horror
and humor in Lisa Kron’s auto
biographical show “2.5 Minute
Ride," which opens today at the
Elizabeth Price Kenan Theatre.
Kron, who wrote and performs
in the one-woman show, weaves
together three different stories in
Play Makers Repertory Company's
first offering of 2008.
“2.5 Minute Ride" is PlayMakers'
second installment in its new PRC-'
second-stage series. The perfor
mances all highlight unique and
true-life stories.
“Our focus has been to create
work that invites dialogue," said
Joseph Haj, PlayMakers’ produc
ing artistic director.
“We want to present works that
are challenging in form and in
theme."
Every performance will be
followed by an interactive dis
cussion between the artist and
audience members in an effort
to personalize the experience for
theatergoers.
And because of the smaller and
more intimate size of the Kenan
Theatre, those who attend a PRC-’
show might have a different kind of
theater experience.
Aside from a stool, some blank
slides and a laser pointer, Kron will
perform onstage alone.
Haj said one of the goals of
PRC'- 1 is to preserve a place where
artists, performers and audience
members can indulge in challeng
ing pieces outside of the financial
pressure of large-scale produc
tions.
“2.5 Minute Ride" received an
OBIE Award, an L.A. Drama-
Logue Award. Drama Desk and
Outer Critics Circle nominations
and the GLAAD Media Award for
best play on- or off-Broadway.
Kron’s show, a storv about her
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SWIMMING & DIVING
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SATURDAY, JAN. 12
AT 4:00 PM
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SATURDAY, JAN. 12
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WRESTLING
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SUNDAY, JAN. 13
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SUNDAY, JAN. 13
AT 3:00 PM
Come experience
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DINING SERVICES
ATTEND THE SHOW
Time: Various times, today to Jan. 13
Location: Elizabeth Price Kenan
Theatre
Info: www.playmakefsrep.org
own family, was selected for the
series because of the performer’s
ability to bend form in order to
reveal theme.
“Lisa crashes together Auschwitz
and roller coaster rides in a search
for connection and identity," Haj
said.
The performance wTaps itself
around the links between two
very separate journeys —a family
trip to a theme park and a pain
ful passage Kron makes to the
Auschwitz concentration camp
where Kron's grandparents lost
their lives.
Through the dramatic and
funny events that occur, Kron
also explores the emotional evo
lution of her relationship with her
father.
Using depictions of personal
events, Kron’s performance wTes
tles with global ideas and issues.
“The goal of autobiographical
material should not be to tell sto
ries about yourself but to explore
something universal." Kron said.
Kron integrates audience mem
bers by allowing them to imagine
their own family photos on the
blank slides on stage.
Toward the end of “2.5 Minute
Ride," Kron arrives at the third,
seemingly disconnected tale of
her performance as she recounts
the emotional change of heart she
experienced at her brother's wed
ding.
This is the final twist to her
tale as all the elements of the
previous two stories feed into the
moment.
“Lisa Kron’s personal story
shares her compassion for human
ity," Haj said.
“Her monologues emphasize the
resilient human spirit."
Contact the Arts Editor
at artsdexk(aiunc.edu.
5