Dine-in menu wins award

CARRBORO -- Tyler's Restaurant & Taproom was honored in the 2009 American Graphic Design Awards when its dine-in menu received the Awards Certificate of Excellence.

This competition, which is judged by the editors of Graphic Design USA magazine, honors outstanding new creative work in more than 20 categories including print, packaging and interactive. The award-winning menu was designed for Tyler's by The Menu Company of Lancaster, Pa., and was selected from among more than 8,000 entries.

Tyler Huntington opened the original Tyler's in Carrboro in 1998. He was joined by partners Rob Stover and Daniel Kulenic, and restaurants were added in Durham, Apex and Raleigh.

Drug firm plans presentations

CHAPEL HILL -- Cempra Pharmaceuticals, on Quadrangle Drive, will be making oral and poster presentations at the Infectious Disease Society of America's 47th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia Thursday through Sunday.

Four presentations on CEM-102 will present results on the compound's in-vitro activity against gram-positive organisms, featuring resistance frequencies, and the drug's PK-PD profile when a novel dosing regimen is used. A fifth presentation will present data on CEM-101's activity against multidrug-resistant S. pneumoniae.

CEM-102 is an oral formulation of fusidic acid, an agent with activity against gram-positive organisms including methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). The compound is Cempra's lead molecule currently in Phase 2/3 clinical trials, vs. linezolid, being investigated for the treatment of acute bacterial skin structure infections (ABSSIs).

Elections subject of Thursday talk

CHAPEL HILL -- Fred Black, a retired political science professor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, will talk about "Chapel Hill Elections by the Numbers" on Thursday at the Franklin Hotel at the Friends of Downtown meeting.

The event begins with coffee at 9:30 a.m., and the meeting kicks off at 10 a.m. Parking is available in the lot behind the hotel.

Meetings of the Friends of the Downtown are free and open to the public.

Handmade items to battle hunger

CHAPEL HILL -- The West End Wine Bar is set to host a new event called "Handmade on the Hill," an evening of shopping for locally handmade items to benefit the Food of Bank of Central and Eastern N.C.

Handmade on the Hill, which will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 10, brings together six area designers and artisans, all of whom were selected to create an eclectic mix of goods.

In lieu of an admission charge, those attending are asked to bring a nonperishable food item or make a monetary donation for the Food Bank. Vendors will also be donating a portion of their proceeds from the evening.

Coordinator and designer Karen Balcom is excited about the prospects for the event in its inaugural outing.

"Handmade on the Hill is all about boosting our local handmade community while helping out the food bank, which really needs our help. It's very exciting to feel like we can accomplish some good on both of these fronts," she said in a statement.

West End Wine Bar is at 450 West Franklin Street in Downtown Chapel Hill. For more information, visit www.handmadeonthehill.com.

Insurance group gives funds to UNC

CHAPEL HILL -- The Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina has given a $30,000 contribution to its existing endowed scholarship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This gift fulfills the association's commitment to donate $100,000 in scholarship funds to the school.

The merit-based scholarship will help support the academic pursuits of deserving students in the Kenan-Flagler Business School.

In addition to the scholarship at Chapel Hill, IIANC has also endowed a $100,000 scholarship at each school in the University of North Carolina system.

Hospital backs Kidzu program

CHAPEL HILL -- Thanks to a $25,000 donation from Durham Regional Hospital, Kidzu's Free Sundays Program has been extended for another year. Kidzu will continue to be open for free every Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. through September 2010.

Kidzu's Free Sundays Program was introduced in September 2008 with funding from Durham Regional Hospital. According to Kidzu's Executive Director Cathy Maris, the Free Sundays Program is the centerpiece of the museum's outreach initiatives, designed to ensure that all members of the community have access to Kidzu's educational hands-on exhibits and programs. The Free Sundays Program has served more than 8,000 children and adults in its first year.

Durham Regional Hospital has sponsored programs and events at Kidzu Children's Museum since 2006, when the hospital first hosted a Teddy Bear Clinic at Kidzu. Durham Regional also sponsored "The Amazing Castle," a traveling exhibit that was on display at Kidzu in 2008.

RSVVP planned for Nov. 10 at eateries

CHAPEL HILL -- RSVVP (Restaurants Sharing V/5 & V/5 Percent) is coming up Nov. 10.

Participating restaurants donate 10 percent of their gross receipts for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner from that day to the to the Inter-Faith Council's hunger-relief programs, the Community Kitchen and the Emergency Food Pantry.

This is the event's 21st year.

In Chapel Hill-Carrboro, $21,500 was raised in 2008 and cumulatively, since 1989, the project provided $308,000 for the agency's hunger-relief programs.