Great article in the Commercial Appeal this morning about the conversion of the old WDIA building, at Main and Union, to apartments. Those have got to be some unique living spaces with lots of character, and it’s great to see new apartments (as opposed to condos, of which there are already too many) opening Downtown.
Also in the news: The conservative movement really is dying. Literally. Former North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms kicked the bucket this morning.
Cool site I found this morning, Zon, an interactive multiplayer site for learning Chinese language and culture. I’ll have to spend some time on this site. Chinese girls are hot.
Speaking of foreign nationals who are hot, it’s the time of year when Eastern European college students travel to America on their summer vacations. They come over here on visas that allow them to work in the US for up to four months, and many of them take service industry jobs. Hottest among these Eastern Europeans are the Romanians. I encourage all Downtown business owners to beautify Downtown by hiring some Romanians if any come to you and apply for work. Then e-mail me (paul@paulryburn.com) and let me know where they’re working.
Lenny’s in the Falls Bvilding (no I didn’t misspell that), at Front and Court, has expanded their hours. They are now open 10:30-6:00 Monday-Friday, and 10:30-3:00 Saturday. That’s a great move… it’ll give Downtown residents a chance to run by after work and pick up a sub for dinner. My favorite: The #11 Philly Cheese Steak sub with hot pepper relish. Nice to see them open on Saturdays too. Looks like they’ve cut out their breakfasts. Recommendations for displaced Lenny’s breakfast customers: Elliott’s on Second just south of Madison, and Blue Plate Cafe on Court Square.
My plans for today: Going to work on the two websites I plan to roll out this weekend. Later today I’ll be watching fireworks. This time I’m actually going to the celebration at Tom Lee Park, rather than watching from a rooftop as I’ve done the past several years. A friend of mine wanted to go, and I realized that the rooftops have become a “been there, done that” thing over the past couple of years, so this will be something different.
Downtown rooftops are taking measures to prevent filling up beyond capacity. My apartment building is only allowing residents one guest each this year. The condo building where I’ve spent the past two July 4s is only handing out 40 passes to their rooftop, mostly to residents and a few to go to guests. If you’re looking for a rooftop, the Madison Hotel will have a party on theirs with Amy LaVere tonight, although you might want to call in advance and make reservations.
Time to get some websites done… happy Fourth!