Get out and meet your urban chicken neighbors at the 4th annual Henside the Beltline Tour D’Coop.

More than twenty residents of the downtown Raleigh area will be opening their homes to visitors interested in this fast-growing hobby. Tickets are available Saturday morning at several area distributors. Admission is a donation of cash or non-perishable food, 100% of which will go to support Urban Ministries of Wake County.

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Last December, Western Lanes began a transformation. It was sold to a group of 20-something investors from the area. While promising to retain most of the features that give it charm, they wanted to give it a minor facelift and modernize it. The first change is the name–it is now known as “The Alley”. The fate of long time restaurant staff was less clear however, as it would have to temporarily close for restoration.

Late last year, we confirmed that Theresa Fenner, bartender at Western Lanes for 27 years, would in fact stay on staff and remain a part of the family throughout the transition process. When stopping by on a recent visit to check on her and the modernization effort, I learned of very sad news: She had contracted a very serious kidney infection, which for the past month has kept her out of work. On April 17th, she was airlifted to Winston-Salem to undergo treatment. According to her husband, her odds were at 50% for surviving. She fought through it, and 11 days later was discharged.
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Hello, folks! As you all may know, May 1 was First Friday, which meant that there was all kinds of biking, rollerblading, drinking and socializing, all in the name of Art! Several galleries were new to us, at least in the sense of us biking to them. Pictured above is the group at Flanders Seaboard. We had 90 riders in the photo, and at least 100 overall for the second month in a row! Way to go, Raleigh bikers!

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