Housing & Development · Chapel Hill, NC
At its October 7 meeting, the Chapel Hill Town Council unanimously voted to rezone a four-acre site at the intersection of Weaver Dairy Road Extension and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to allow construction of a new Fire Station 4 and an adjacent affordable housing community with up to 105 multifamily units. The current Fire Station 4, built in 1982, is described as beyond repair; its replacement will use approximately $10 million from a 2024 bond referendum, with the remaining $5 million earmarked for a future Fire Station 3 replacement. The town selected Laurel Street as the affordable housing development partner, with financing through state Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and referendum funds; about a quarter of units will rent at or below 60% AMI. Council members raised concerns during the vote, including Melissa McCullough's criticism of replacing fire stations every 40 years and Amy Ryan's objection to reducing tree canopy to 11%.
Crime · Chapel Hill, NC
Testimony continued Oct. 8–13 at the Durham County Courthouse in the trial of Miguel Salguero-Olivares for the September 2012 murder of Faith Hedgepeth in a Chapel Hill apartment. State Crime Lab analyst Summer Maffett testified that a complete palm print on a blue Riesling wine bottle found at the crime scene was identified as matching Salguero-Olivares' left palm following his 2021 arrest. The defense challenged evidence handling, noting that a potential blood mark on a bathroom door frame was never tested and that crime-scene notes were incomplete. Chapel Hill Police Department investigators processed the original scene, and nearly 300 DNA collections were conducted during the investigation.
Crime · Chapel Hill, NC
Chapel Hill Police are seeking a driver who crashed a stolen Kia Optima through the living room of a home at 300 McMasters Street in the Northside neighborhood around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday before fleeing the scene. Multiple occupants were inside the vehicle, and a gun was later found at the crash site; no one inside the home was injured. WRAL reported that UNC students were inside the house when the crash occurred. The house sits near Church Street behind Northside Elementary School, which reported no disruptions to operations.
Social Events · Chapel Hill, NC
UNC is holding a 10-day series of free public events called "America 250 at Carolina" from October 14-23, marking America's 250th birthday with lectures, conversations, and live performances. Highlights include performances by Dawn Landes on Wednesday, Oct. 21, and Mike Wiley on Friday, Oct. 23. UNC historian Brett Whalen is among the event organizers.
Community News · Chapel Hill, NC
UNC Women's Basketball was selected to finish third in the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason poll Tuesday, receiving one first-place vote behind Duke (49 votes) and Louisville (22 votes). Freshman Kate Harpring, a five-star recruit from Marist Academy in Atlanta and the 2026 Naismith Girls' High School Player of the Year, led voting on the ACC's preseason All-Freshman team. The Tar Heels host Davidson in a preseason exhibition Sunday at 1 p.m. at Carmichael Arena, followed by an exhibition at Maryland on Oct. 24 and a season opener against Oklahoma in Paris on Nov. 2 as part of the "Oui Play" event. UNC enters the season after back-to-back NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearances under head coach Courtney Banghart.
