Town a 'hotspot' for retirement

CHAPEL HILL -- Chapel Hill has been named as one of the Top 11 Southern Retirement Hotspots to be featured in the upcoming January/February/March 2010 quarterly edition of Retirement Lifestyles, a 10-year-old magazine that highlights locations, communities and lifestyles for prospective retirees across the United States.

"While each of these communities have their own character and pace, we were impressed by the relative stable to strong economy, the wide variety of activities and colleges in the region, the moderate cost of living and great transportation options, said Retirement Lifestyles Executive Editor Dan Owens. "Our editorial staff feels that in North Carolina, the nearby Triangle towns of Wake Forest, Cary and Chapel Hill should all be at the top of the shopping list in North Carolina for relocating retirees coming from other states."

The magazine also recommends the Lake Norman area towns of Denver, Cornelius, Davidson and Mooresville and Fayetteville as outstanding retirement spots.

Retirement Lifestyles magazine, with about 100,000 readers, focuses on communities and retiree lifestyles in 11 Southern states: Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Builders of Hope to receive grant

RALEIGH -- A Chapel Hill business is among 18 small North Carolina companies that will receive grants up to $100,000 to develop and market promising green and alternative energy technologies and products.

Builders of Hope, based in Chapel Hill, will receive $95,000 that was included in the third round of grants distributed by the state Department of Commerce's Green Business Fund, which is using more than $1 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding in North Carolina.

"North Carolina continues to position itself as a leader in the emerging green economy with these kinds of smart investments in promising technologies and products," Gov. Beverly Perdue said in making the announcement. "These creative entrepreneurs and businesses are turning green into gold by growing new companies and creating jobs."

Applications were reviewed on a merit basis by an external advisory committee.

Builders of Hope is developing State Street Village, a green, affordable community of homes for low-income families in downtown Raleigh. At-risk youth will be trained and employed to work on this project.

Uniquities plans fashion show

CHAPEL HILL -- Uniquities, which sells women's contemporary and designer clothing and accessories, will host a special mother-daughter benefit fashion show at West End Wine Bar in downtown Chapel Hill on Dec. 6 at 5 p.m. The show honors young women with Crohn's & Colitis at the N.C. Children's Hospital. All proceeds will be donated to the Pediatric IBD Group at UNC.

The show will feature seasonal and holiday fashions such as cocktail dresses, sweaters, boots, coats and blazers just in time for holiday parties and gift-giving lists. All of the fashions will be modeled by young women patients of the N.C. Children's Hospital and their mothers.

Tickets to the event are $15, which includes admission to the show and one complimentary glass of wine, beer or soda. They are available at the door or in advance at Uniquities of Chapel Hill, 452 West Franklin St. Call (919) 933-4007. Tickets are also available at www.uniquities.com.

For more information, contact Julie Jennings at julie@uniquities.com or 919.219.3741.

Shred-A-Thon draws 15K pounds

HILLSBOROUGH -- Orange County residents, local government representatives and small businesses brought 15,000 pounds of confidential documents to be shredded at the Shred-A-Thon event held Nov. 14, county officials announced.

The Shred-A-Thon was sponsored by the Orange County Solid Waste Department with assistance from the Sheriff's Department. It was held at the Hampton Pointe Recycling Drop-off Site in Hillsborough.

A Shred Ahead, a Durham-based document destruction contractor, shredded the paper and sold the resulting tonnage to Sonoco, a recycled paper processor also located in Durham. From there, the shredded paper will be baled and shipped to a recycled paper mill to be made into tissue products.

Shred-A-Thons continue to be popular locally and the county will host two more in the spring of 2010. The next, in partnership with the Chapel Hill Police Department, will be held at University Mall on April 22 and then again at Hampton Pointe in Hillsborough on May 1. Both events are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Residents named to county boards

HILLSBOROUGH -- The Board of Orange County Commissioners recently appointed the following resident volunteers to county advisory boards and commissions:

- Katherine Brooks, Animal Services Advisory Board.

- Anthony Carey, Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau.

- Steve Rankin, Historic Preservation Commission.

The board also reappointed the following citizen volunteer to a county advisory board:

- Vivian Herndon-Latta, Affordable Housing Advisory Board.

For additional information on volunteer opportunities, visit the Orange County website at http://www.co.orange.nc.us/boards/index.asp.