Stay-cation II

Sorry, sports fans, it’s no longer about the name on the front of the uniform. It’s about the name on the back. That has been the case in professional sports since free agency began, but now it has become endemic to college basketball as well. And who can blame the kids? Look at the numbers […]

Meet rising fashion designer Leigh LaVange. I’ve wanted to introduce Chapelboro readers to Leigh and showcase her designs ever since I started writing this column.  I have this talent scout intuition that tells me big things are in Leigh’s future. So here’s the story of how she got started. Leigh is one of our own…born […]

Fall is officially in the air; just step outside at night for a taste!  A fan favorite for sure, fall means pumpkin patches, football frenzies, fairs & festivals and to-die-for temperatures. Those of us lucky enough to live in the south bask in the glow of “Indian Summer.”  For fashionistas these warm days and cool nights […]

Several years ago my Mom, Pat Lopp, gave me the coolest black and crème skirt with a patch-work of panels in different fabrics sewn together….one corduroy, one polka dot, one toile, one swirls.  When I looked at the tag it said Uncommon Threads.  I thought, “What a creative designer!”  Fast forward a few years and Uncommon […]

Lemons-to-lemonade stories can be powerful leadership tools, which is one reason I love sharing them with people. Some people roll their eyes at them though.  That is – until something in their life goes sour and then man oh man are they glad to remember about that story they heard.    So I hope you will […]

It’s hot out there! So cool off at the mall and take advantage of the sales that have started and will continue into August at area retailers. Here are five summer fashion trends in full force.     Feathers – Fashion pays tribute to a Native American influence this season. Feathers faux and real have found their way onto […]

This Week: James Wood is currently Professor of Latin American and modern world history at North Carolina A&T State University. He is the author of The Society of Equality: Popular Republicanism and Democracy in Santiago de Chile, 1818-1851 and the co-editor of "Problems in Modern Latin American History: Sources and Interpretations", now in its fifth edition with Rowman and Littlefield. As a Fulbright scholar for Chile in 2016 he was a visiting professor at the Universidad Diego Portales in Santiago (where he observed Chilean student activism up close).

This Week: Bill Brown joined the North Carolina Museum of Art as a Conservation Intern in 1988. Thirty-two years later he retired from the Art Museum as Chief Conservator.  He received his M.A. and Certificate of Advanced Studies in Conservation from State University College at Buffalo, NY in 1989. At the Museum, he established the Art + Science Initiative, a collaborative program with Duke University math and science departments. Bill has a passion for Italian Old Master Paintings of the 14th to 18th century. He works part-time as a conservator in private practice and provides conservation support for the Museum and Gallery collection of old master paintings at Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC . He enjoys retirement with his wife and young adult son.

This Week: Author Nora Gaskin is a lifelong resident of the Durham-Chapel Hill area. Her latest is novel is "Lammie Loves Cubby". Nora has a bachelor’s degree in English with Honors in Creative Writing from UNC, and a Masters in English from the University of Washington in Seattle. She spent over 24 years as a stockbroker and financial advisor in the Durham office of a major investment firm. She retired in 2005 to focus on writing. She is the publisher at Lystra Books and Literary Services and the author of three novels and one nonfiction book. She lives and writes in Chatham County, inspired by her native landscape, her husband, and dogs. Her favorite word is "gratitude."

Founder and CEO of Therapy Smarts Avani Shah and N.C. District 20 Sen. Natalie Murdock speak with 97.9 The Hill on Monday, June 15.