WSTB

There are ways to prepare Southern and soul cuisine health. Collard greens, okra, sweet potatoes, kale, and green beans are types of soul food that can and are increasingly are prepared in a healthy manner.

Indeed . . . leave out the pork and other animal-based seasonings and fats.
Same goes for pizza.

But there goes the flavor

Possum does raise an interesting question about the use of public funds. The “good” in question is development of a previously fallow property and enhancement of the area. That seems an entirely reasonable use of our tax dollars. Another “good” is public health and, as Possum points out, fast food in general is inimical to public health. Since a very substantial use of public funds is to provide health care, worsening health outcomes carries with it not only a human cost but a financial one as well.

I hate to admit it but the toothy critter has me persuaded that any restaurant receiving public support would best be one that offered a healthy (or at least not overly unhealthy) menu. Various other strings could be attached such as disclosure of calorie counts, sodium levels, etc. for offerings.

Well, I reckon I must agree with all of this discussion as well. In fact, I don't think public funding should be provided for any restaurant venture - such business ventures should succeed on their own merit or not.

I was shocked to read in the Journal regarding the death of Michael Murrell, the WSSU alumni from Atlanta who submitted one of the three bids that was accepted for consideration in opening a restaurant in Union Station, from complications of Covid-19. He was on a ventilator for 32 days becoming succumbing to the disease! Thoughts and prayers to his family

His daughter Jessica, who lives in Durham and worked with him on the proposal, intends to press forward toward winning the restaurant concession contract. Consideration of who would be awarded the contract was sidetracked by the coronavirus pandemic. I seemed to recall that Murrell had actually been awarded the contract and that there was some "controversy" over the awarding the contract to an out of towner instead of one of the locally based vendors.

Union Station on track to become office space . . .

https://journalnow.com/news/local/union ... -top-story

Any reason we're still calling this "transportation infrastructure"?

I think we all know that definitely was, is, and most likely will continue to be a pipe dream. There’s no passenger trains in the WS MSA, no scheduled passenger airline service in the WS MSA, and woefully under represented highway transportation even with building the beltway (finally). The strategy to attract any business to W-S is to emphasize what great transportation infrastructure there is in the GSO MSA and hope there’s spillover.

I think the decision to resurrect Union Station and return it to functional use was a good application of public monies for several reasons. First it saved a structure that was of historical relevance to the city. Secondly, it retained a substantial building in East Winston that will serve as an anchor project for that portion of the city and will contribute to enlivening the area around WSSU. The utilization of space in the building as offices (and hopefully a full service restaurant) serves the purpose of enhancing jobs in the immediate area and allows the building to be mostly self supporting as we position the city to be ready to spring into action should in the unlikely event that Federal/State transportation officials decide to re-emphasize train transportation as a viable public transit option.

Taking pot shots at local officials due to the lack of passenger train service in my view is very unfair. By rehabilitating Union Station, it actually represents a very proactive posture by these local officials in teeing Winston up for whatever unknown future opportunities could arise regarding this topic. Until the Federal government and/or Congress makes different decisions regarding a comprehensive passenger train system in this country there is absolutely nothing the city can do to move the needle. With regards to regional transit, that too remains a nebulous and unwieldy goal that even one of the most economically vibrant metro areas in the country (the Triangle) has found to be excruciatingly difficult to do, re: the Durham/Orange line that was K-Boshed by Duke Uni.

There has been some talk, in the past two or three weeks, at City Hall to be sure Winston-Salem is included in any rail transportation projects from the State. I think the City hasn't made any real effort to bring State-level rail transportation to the station in nearly two decades (that is when the State said they needed to restore the train station first!), but they are ready to step-up efforts at the State-level to be sure Winston-Salem is included in all plans and discussions. This is important as Democrats gain the power needed at the Federal-level to make rail transit investments possible. Winston-Salem made the investment the State asked for, with a restored Union Station and that shows the City is committed to doing what is necessary to bring rail transportation back to Winston-Salem. The leases signed wouldn't impact any parts of the station required to bring rail transportation back to Union Station. They don't need much space in that massive building for rail transportation. It's important to note the second floor was originally office space and kitchen back-of-house space and wasn't a part of the station passengers would use. The ground floor at track-level was originally used for mail and cargo operations and had the building's boiler. Even the main-level spaces offered for-lease to restaurants/retail/offices aren't needed for any future rail transportation operations. They need the main waiting area and ticket windows, along with the elevators to the platform. This could also be a good time to maybe revisit streetcar projects to see how much, if any, rail money is out there? Rail transit could be part of an infrastructure package to help with economic recovery? I would maybe look into the streetcar line between Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem State University, since it would have riders already in place from the Wake Forest shuttles and could help with development and attracting tenants at the Innovation Quarter. A growing number of companies only look at sites near rail transit. Something I've become very aware of here in metro Atlanta. Some suburbs are now wanting rail extensions for this reason. I've also seen it at other cities' innovation districts and it's often included as something an innovation district should have. This could be extended to Union Station at a later date? It would be important just to have a starter line connecting the Innovation Quarter and its development sites to the two largest universities. Any extensions deeper into neighborhoods or to Union Station could happen in a second phase. I think it's important for cities to remind everyone that streetcars and light rail (LRT) are usually more about attracting economic development projects than actually providing transportation.

Probably, but can fair and/or unfair be applied in such a case, one wonders. The last passenger train hailed W-S in 1970. Admittedly, I have not researched the matter, but why would responsible officials allow such an action - the same ones, I reckon, who allowed the new airport (then) to be built in Greensboro instead of straddling the county line north of Kernersville (re Dallas/Fort Worth et al). Seemingly the officials in charge in W-S in the 1970s did nothing to keep W-S in the transportation game. Furthermore, all officials since the 1970s do not have seem to have done much either. Inaction does not get the job done. I know it's a heap of variables that caused all of this right - no doubt, but mitigation from W-S and Forsyth officials should have been the prime transportation directive of the time (and still). As an aside, these same officials over a 50 year period allowed W-S (hopefully still a player in the State) to be in the backwater of Interstate Highway development. At least part of the beltway is finally under construction even though NCDOT has broken every Interstate numbering rule and seemingly has been allowed to do so.

I know that I’ve written this before so I apologize...

To folks who would like to see local politics take more proactive positions, I can write from personal experience that it’s extremely easy to effect change. All you have to do is to get personally involved. There are numerous committees and study groups desperate for energetic folk to join. It’s amazing, just amazing how much power even a single voice can have in those venues. I got interested in a particular issue some years ago and my involvement resulted in substantial changes to an expensive project.

I know our time is stretched thin and we all wish our elected officials would just do everything we want. But the fact is that many of them are part-time and giving a tremendous amount of effort on behalf of this city. I urge all of us to find ways to take the energy we have here on this board into the public sphere and contribute.