RailHawks run out of chances

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Buzzing twice gets a rise out of him

Mashing the elevator button at the Snow Building results in an audible buzz that rattles down the vertical shaft and reverberates into a lobby with opulent marble walls and buffed terrazzo floor.

It might be a good while before you hear the smooth electric hum that indicates the the elevator has started to descend, but please resist the temptation to press the button a second time.

Ronald Chester knows you're waiting. As the Triangle's last human elevator operator, he does his best to enforce a one-buzz decorum.

Fire singes history in Durham

There was an eerie silence in the historic Snow Building on Thursday afternoon after a fire destroyed the seventh-floor penthouse.

Doors were open and lights were on, but offices were empty. The 74-year-old art deco building at 331 W. Main St. was vacant, except for a few contractors called in to get rid of the smell of smoke and contend with the water damage.

"[Firefighters] did what they're supposed to do, but the result is whenever you have a fire, the rest of the building is [messed up] by water," said David Pierce, building manager, who said he hopes to have the building open today.

Raleigh takes owners to task on eyesore

For nearly a decade, the building at 618 N. Person St. near downtown Raleigh has been condemned and boarded up with plywood by the city. Officials say it is unsafe, and they don't want vagrants or trouble-seeking teens to get hurt inside.

Nearby residents and business owners in the Mordecai and Oakwood neighborhoods have complained to city officials countless times over the years to get the owners to fix the property - including a recent complaint when bricks fell from the building onto the sidewalk.

Chris Mutos, co-chairman of the Mordecai Citizens Advisory Council, said the neighborhood group has complained to the city about the building's absentee landlords. The neighbors want Person Street to become popular and vibrant, like Ninth Street in Durham.

Empty stores rouse hopefuls

Nearly two dozen vacant storefronts on one of the Triangle's most trodden streets have Town Council candidates once again debating how to revitalize Franklin Street.

With five seats in play and the election weeks away, the majority of the current council has decided investing taxpayers' land and money to get more people living downtown is the best approach.

Challenger Penny Rich thinks there's another way: She wants to start fining downtown property owners such as Joe Riddle who leave ground-floor storefronts empty for more than two years.

Decisions on Dix: Emptiness costs

Lesson: Maintain empty buildings or eventually they will be torn down.

Case study

Made of masonry and brick in the mid-19th century, state mental hospitals were built to last, but they can quickly decay under the wrong circumstances.