MEGHAN DAVIS

News

Lotto fiends flock to store

By MEGHAN DAVIS | March 30

Some people buy a ticket on a whim, a $1 addition to their gas or cigarettes. Others are old hands after only a year. The C Mini Mart #3 in eastern Raleigh had sold more N.C. lottery tickets than any location in the state as of March 17. Newcomers and regulars said it's not the store's location - which is just off the Beltline - that keeps lottery tickets moving off the shelves. "Everybody in here is just so nice," customer Sharon Illing said. "It's like a big family."

News

Nation dances for good causes

By MEGHAN DAVIS | February 23

When several hundred students collapse with exhaustion Saturday in Fetzer Gymnasium, they will have capped a year of fundraising with 24 hours of dancing - certainly an impressive feat. But the University's Dance Marathon isn't alone in using a dance floor as a fundraising tool. The grandfather of all dance marathons is Penn State University's THON, where students have raised $45 million in 35 years for The Four Diamonds Fund, which helps pediatric cancer patients.

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Discounts target campus crowd

By MEGHAN DAVIS | January 24

With newfound responsibility for feeding and clothing themselves, students often are left strapped for cash. To help out their fellow Tar Heels and encourage students to shop, campus groups and stores team up to offer discounts. Some students appreciate the coupons found in course packs. "Those course packs cost like $80," senior Lucia Opara said. "I want my free coffee." The General Alumni Association arranges discounts for members at restaurants, stores and services.

News

Civil rights progressing in Chapel Hill

By MEGHAN DAVIS | January 16

A group of almost 200 people gathered at the Chapel Hill post office Monday to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Many echoed King's opposition to the Vietnam War in calling for an end to the Iraq war. Others recalled local examples of King's influence. Chapel Hill was the site of student-led protests and community members of all races calling for local change, despite the town's progressive reputation.

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Roadmap needed for Chapel Hill-Durham development

By MEGHAN DAVIS | October 23

A draft plan of roads connecting Durham and Chapel Hill developments met strong opposition from Chapel Hill residents Wednesday at a Chapel Hill Town Council public hearing. The collector roads plan was proposed by the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization to create roads between southwest Durham and southeast Chapel Hill. The group saw the need for an orderly street system between existing and future developments with crossings at Interstate 40, said David Bonk, Chapel Hill's long range and transportation planning coordinator.

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Author: Let's talk about sex

By MEGHAN DAVIS | September 25

Amber Madison knows good sex. But she cares more about safe and healthy sex, so much so that she wrote a book about it for young women. Madison graduated from Tufts University in May, where she wrote a sex column for the Tufts Daily. But don't confuse her with Carrie Bradshaw, of "Sex and the City." Madison's book, "Hooking Up: A Girl's All-Out Guide to Sex and Sexuality," includes straightforward information about smart sex and the many implications of "hooking up." Madison, who grew up in Orange County, said she never quite fit in at her high school.

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'Proposition' is violent, haunting Outback tale

By MEGHAN DAVIS | June 29

MOVIEREVIEW "The Proposition" 3.5 Stars In most Westerns, people make decisions about right and wrong, there's a pretty woman to fight for and everyone gets a little dusty. But in "The Proposition," a Western set in the Australian Outback in the late 1800s, harsh reality is not so easily categorized. Violence is more constant than drought in the film's landscape. Screenwriter and soundtrack composer Nick Cave opens the film with a hymn-like song called "Happy Land" - ironic in a film depicting violence and betrayal of kind between the white settlers and Aborigines.

News

Starlu owner to host haircuts

By MEGHAN DAVIS | February 28

Sam Poley isn't a rock star, but like musical idols known for their locks, his new haircut promises to attract plenty of attention. Poley, owner and chef of Durham's Restaurant Starlu, will join TV personality Ann Curry in chopping off his hair for children. The restaurant will host at least 52 hair donors, who will be simultaneously sheered with Curry on The Today Show through a live feed. All the hair will benefit Locks of Love, which creates hairpieces for financially underprivileged children suffering from medical hair loss.

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Vacated Carrboro seat prompts questions

By MEGHAN DAVIS | January 10

Dec. 7 - Weeks after contention first arose, newly sworn-in Mayor Mark Chilton announced plans to schedule a special meeting of the Carrboro Board of Aldermen to discuss how to fill the seat he officially vacated Tuesday. Chilton said the aldermen will meet Dec. 13 to decide how they will go forward with filling the seat. "I don't really know what we'll come up with at the meeting," he said. "It sounds to me like we'll head in the direction of accepting applications."

News

Ryan to pursue Carrboro fourth seat

By MEGHAN DAVIS | January 10

Katrina Ryan, the fourth-place finisher in November's election, again will throw her name in the hat for a seat on the Carrboro Board of Aldermen, she said Monday. "Discussions with other potential applicants in the annexation area were fruitless," she said. "They all have children and would rather spend time with them than with the aldermen. "I've been getting calls and e-mails every day." The seat vacated by Mayor Mark Chilton after the November election will be filled by an application process.