Call the police, and check out their statistics

Call the police. That's the advice that Wilson Police Chief Harry Tyson and other officers provided Tuesday during a meeting with volunteers from Preservation of Wilson. If you see suspicious activity, call it in. Don't hesitate. Although it might seem unimportant or inconsequential, that tidbit could give investigators the lead they need to solve or prevent serious crimes.

Preservation officials had asked for a meeting with the police to discuss the erroneous perception that the downtown historic areas have high crime rates. Not so, police said, pointing to crime maps and statistics pinned to the meeting room walls. A list of criminal problem areas did not include any of the historic areas Preservation is involved in. You can check it out yourself at the city's Web site, where crime statistics are searchable by address. Click on the Police2Citizen link and you'll get a new screen with crime data, including the actual incident reports. The data are available thanks to the department's new OSSI law enforcement software. You can also request a daily bulletin of all crime reports for that day. (A few sensitive ongoing investigations and sex crimes are withheld from public view. It's a pretty amazing development, considering the difficulty in the old days of going to the police station and copying crime or accident reports.

The point, for Preservation officials, is that Wilson's crime rate is relatively low, and little of the crime that does occur happens in the historic areas where Preservation is focusing its efforts. Downtown is one of the lowest-crime areas of the city. Homeownership is one key. Neighborhood involvement is another. More transient, mostly rental areas, even in new developments, are more likely to have crime problems. Homeowners, who have a financial stake in the neighborhood and who expect to be around for the long term, are more likely to take an interest in what's going on around them. They're more likely to call in suspicious activities, and that helps police solve and prevent crimes.

It's sunny in downtown Wilson again

I spent this morning in downtown Wilson, enjoying coffee and conversation about how to market and enhance downtown Wilson. From a window seat on Tarboro Street, I watched a steady stream of pedestrians, some of them downtown workers walking for exercise and some of them business people headed for appointments. The vitality of the street was reassuring, reminding me of the days when my former employer was downtown behind the courthouse and across the street from City Hall. It seemed like a perfect spot for a newspaper. Reporters on the county, city, courthouse, sheriff's and police beats could walk just a few steps to their sources.

Much has changed since The Wilson Daily Times moved to Downing Street in 1983 (and I had to drive to work instead of walking, as I had done most days back then). But downtown Wilson is reviving, as could be seen in the coffee shop where I sat this morning. A couple of new restaurants have opened, and other signs of life are evident. The strong, bold coffee and the welcoming, continental atmosphere of La Doux provided a relaxed, comforting feel, and the passing walkers added a sense of vitality. These signs of revival are encouraging but not pervasive. Too many storefronts remain vacant, and this economy will make new business ventures (downtown or elsewhere) more difficult. Still, there's much activity downtown. The Wilson Arts Center, Imagination Station, the Edna Boykin Cultural Center, the city's renovations under way at the landmark First Union originally occupied, BB&T's continuing strength, the vibrant county library, restaurants, law offices and all the rest give a vivacity to downtown.

The key, as I've asserted many times, is to bring downtown-area housing back. Too many of the historic bungalows, cottages and other homes have been split into apartments or turned into rental properties. Owner-occupancy and restoration can make this area vibrant again, the heart of the city and a contributor to downtown business ventures. Downtown Development Corp., Preservation of Wilson, some city officials and some persevering homeowners are working to relieve the angina in the heart of Wilson.

A pleasant visit in a downtown shop on a sunny Friday morning makes it all seem possible.

A Halloween surprise that's not scary

After greeting a few trick-or-treaters last night, my wife and I headed downtown to discover a new Halloween surprise, but not a scary one — a reassuring, promising one. On the Night of the Dead, downtown was alive!

At the Arts Council of Wilson's Arts Center, a Whirligig Festival preview party was under way. Although we arrived late, near the tail end of the party, dozens of exhibitors and friends were wandering through the gallery, admiring the Wilson Woodcarvers' exhibit and munching on goodies from JAC's Grill.

Not content to eat supper off the hors d'oeuvre table, we walked across the Barnes Street Parking Lot, across the street and into Torero's, where a good crowd was enjoying the food, libations and live music. We shared a generous-size plate and a couple of drafts and marveled at the steady stream of patrons coming and going. Among them were families leading children in their trick-or-treat costumes and young revelers out for an evening a bit quieter than what they'd find in Chapel Hill or Greenville.

But downtown was clearly alive. Give people a destination, and folks will come downtown in the evening. Parking was more than ample. The Barnes Street lot, which is free in the evening, the Centre Brick lot, just behind Torero's, and street parking provided more than enough spaces for all the folks at the preview party, Torero's and other businesses. The crowd at the Mexican-themed restaurant was as diverse as you'll find anywhere in Wilson. There were the Hispanics you would expect but also a lot of whites and blacks. And a good time was had by all.

This, likely, is the future of Wilson. Downtown is being rediscovered. Jeff and Cindy Darwin have taken the bold leap of opening Torero's, and their success, which was clearly evident last night, will inspire others.