360 replies to this topic

[dbull75]

According to Helen Schwab, this is what is going on at the old Molly McPherson's spot: 5Church...

http://helendining.b...-spring-at.html

[dubone]

I wish it well.  It is certainly something that I would actually go to, unlike the last few iterations of that spot.  Hopefully the pricing and food comes out well.

[mallguy]

Walgreens coming to BofA Plaza, where there used to be a wine store and a few other nondescript stores, I see.

Why is Founders Hall so dead?  It was mostly occupied before the renovation. Isn't the point of a renovation to ATTRACT stores, rather than to run them off?

[tozmervo]

[for the life of me I can NOT find the Bobcats thread. I'll let someone move this post]

There's been an interesting momentum/movement recently to take back the Hornets franchise name as the team in New Orleans faces extinction. The guy running this campaign has made it into a lot of local media and is organizing a "Bring Back the Buzz" rally at the March 30 game against the Nuggets.

http://www.bringbackthebuzz.com/ / https://www.facebook...110429122320741

As unlikely as a rebranding seems, I'm way in favor of it. I've never bought any Bobcats merchandise - I've just never been "inspired" by it - but there's something really appealing about getting the Hornets brand back.

[The Escapists]

^I used to think the "Bring back the Hornets Crowd" were sore losers crying about the way things used to be... and since I wasn't in Charlotte for the Hornets days (and I actually think the colors are atrocious), I thought ditching the Bobcats logo for the Hornets was silly. But over this season I've started to change my mind... but now I actually think they should rebrand as the Cougars (their throwback team and uniforms) - and use the Bobcats and Hornets as the new "throwback".  That way it's a neutral decision for something new... and neither brand is completely forsaken (basically saying to everyone that ever bought Bobcats stuff that their investments were all for naught).

[dbull75]

The thing that gets me is people saying, "Well, if they change the name, I will actually go to some games." However, they won't support the team otherwise (regardless of whether or not they are winning). To me that's just stupid. I didn't live here during the glory days of the Hornets so I have no emotional tie to the name, so maybe that's why I don't get it. Personally, I don't care what they call they call the team (yea, I know I have the Bobcats logo as my avatar). Winning is what's most important, and that's what the franchise has to fix, not some silly name. However, until the franchise that resides in New Orleans relinquishes the name it's moot point about the whole change the name campaign.

[norm21499]

tozmervo, on 07 March 2012 - 02:51 PM, said:

[for the life of me I can NOT find the Bobcats thread. I'll let someone move this post]

There's been an interesting momentum/movement recently to take back the Hornets franchise name as the team in New Orleans faces extinction. The guy running this campaign has made it into a lot of local media and is organizing a "Bring Back the Buzz" rally at the March 30 game against the Nuggets.

http://www.bringbackthebuzz.com/ / https://www.facebook...110429122320741

As unlikely as a rebranding seems, I'm way in favor of it. I've never bought any Bobcats merchandise - I've just never been "inspired" by it - but there's something really appealing about getting the Hornets brand back.

why is the team in new orleans facing extinction?

[Vitamin_N]

I always thought the "Charlotte Money" would be a good name. It reflects local history and culture (the gold rush, mint, banking), the team colors pick themselves (gold, silver, and green, of course), there are lots of great puns sportswriters can make with the name, and there are a lot of good money-themed songs to play on the PA.

[dbull75]

norm21499, on 07 March 2012 - 11:42 PM, said:

why is the team in new orleans facing extinction?

They are currently owned by the NBA. George Shinn was basically losing money and couldn't afford to pay his debts, so he sold the team to the league. So essentially, the other 29 teams own the Hornets right now. The league is in the process of trying to sell the team to some prospective California investors. What's not known is if 1) they keep the team in New Orleans or move them to some place like Seattle or Anaheim. and 2) They keep the name. It may be a situation where they want to put their own stamp on the team and rename them. If they went to Seattle for instance, they would take the Sonics name back as the city owns the rights to it. Last I read the league was trying to find a way to keep the team in New Orleans though.

[norm21499]

I do not think that New Orleans can really support both football and basketball. Especially after the population loss after Hurricane Katrina. If the team does move and change names, I somehow doubt that Michael Jordan would sign off on having to pay millions of dollars to rename and re brand the Bobcats back to the Hornets.

[tozmervo]

ASC posted a bunch of photos of the new light display under the 77 bridge over Trade St. Looks good! A nice start for improvements to a lousy stretch of Trade Street.
https://www.facebook...&type=1

edit:
WFAE has kindly posted a video

Edited by tozmervo, 22 March 2012 - 03:11 PM.

[uptownliving]

Speaking of LEDs (that don't change color).... Charlotte is FINALLY  going to install some LED street lights that will replace the high pressure sodium lights.

They will be doing a pilot project in the blocks roughly between the EpiCentre/Arena and NASCAR Hall of Fame/Convention Center. 229 old fixtures will be replaced with LED lights in July. These lights will be about 30% more energy efficient than the current ones.

Glad to finally see this happen and hopefully will see these in the rest of Charlotte in the not too distant future.

Edited by uptownliving, 24 April 2012 - 06:17 PM.

[carolinagarnet]

Does anyone know the cost difference between the sodium lights and the LED lights? If the LED lights are cost efficient, it would be great for them to make a permanent switch.

[tozmervo]

LEDs are far more expensive, but they have been coming down in price rapidly for the past few years. My expectation is that they would start phasing them in as the sodium lights burn out, but flat out replacing them all would make no financial sense. (They've been doing this with the traffic lights for years now.)

[dubone]

I read something a while back that something about the color temperature of LED lighting being pure white, simulating moonlight, helps people see better at night.   We evolved with moonlight as our lighting source at night, and somehow it is easier for us to discern objects in low light with the white light than the yellowish sodium lighting, even with lower lumens.


I am not sure of the reliability of the sodium lights vs LEDs, but I have replaced a few of my CFLs at home with LEDs and I have had 1/3 of them die prematurely.   Luckily they are covered by warranty.   There is nothing more frustrating than walking through a dark area past lots of dark streetlight poles.

[orulz]

The closer to "pure white" that a light source is, the fewer lumens we need in order to see well.

Low pressure sodium lamps still have higher efficiency (lumens per watt) than any other source by a significant margin. However, that doesn't tell the whole story. The quality of the light from these bulbs is terrible. It's orange. Lower quality light means that you need more lumens for humans to see well.

Part of what makes LEDs so beneficial is the quailty of the light is pretty high and the efficiency is also quite good. You need less lumens of LED light than you need of Sodium lamps for us to percieve it as the same brightness level. As you mention, LEDs also have a long lifetime. Therefore, ror a greenfield installations or where the existing hardware is at the end of its useful life, LED makes a good bit of sense.

Metal halide lamps are another interesting alternative. They have the best color quality of all. These are what they use in commercial settings such as Lowe's. In contrast to LEDs which require replacing everything from the ground up, these are essentially a screw-in replacement for Mercury and High Pressure Sodium lamps. They are less efficient than sodium, mercury, or LED, but they have better color quality so you can get away with a dimmer bulb and still achieve the same perceptual level of brightness. For installations where the masts are already there and are in good condition, but there is a lot of pedestrian traffic and therefore a higher quality of light is desired, these are a good option (until the masts/ballasts/lenses reach the end of their useful lives and need to be replaced.)

[Spartan]

Looks like the city is finally widening a sidewalk in uptown. This is E 5th St looking from College towards the Arena.

[dubone]

That is unexpected.   I'm trying to picture what it was like before (nevermind. thanks Google streetview)... so it was already wider than the section by Conolly's, hopefully they're widening that section too.


I also went past the rejuvenation of the sidewalks by Charlotte Plaza yesterday.   Basically they are replacing the sidewalk pavers which were ugly black-painted concrete to 'Tryon-style' brick, and hopefully making their fountain and other open space more welcoming.  I guess they are also expanding the outdoor patio space for Ale House, so hopefully that will all more al fresco nightlife there and capitalize on the proximity to Epicenter.

[ah59396]

They are expanding the Ale House site.  Which is probably the best thing ever for that corner.  It'll add just a little bit of life, outside of that gargantuan LED advertising sign they threw up.  Which is awesome by the way.

[nonillogical]

ah59396, on 25 May 2012 - 09:18 AM, said:

They are expanding the Ale House site.  Which is probably the best thing ever for that corner.  It'll add just a little bit of life, outside of that gargantuan LED advertising sign they threw up.  Which is awesome by the way.

VERY nice what they're doing there, a full-fledged purpose-built patio, not just a few tables and shrubs! It seems like it is going to be largely wood construction and not trying to be super modern. Its a very un-uptown move and that little touch will go a long way to breaking the monotony of that block.