Image courtesy of the White House (www.flickr.com/whitehouse)-After visiting the state legislature earlier this month, UNC’s championship basketball team had their official visit to the White House yesterday, as President Barack Obama applauded the Heels for both winning their fifth national title and “salvaging my bracket, and vindicating me before the entire nation.” The president also had a few other gems in his congratulatory speech, including reminiscing about his time scrimmaging with the Heels last summer:

Now, I did have a chance to play ball with this crew just over a year ago when I visited Chapel Hill. I don't know who rubbed off on who - there was just a good vibe going on there - because they are now national champions and I'm president. When we played, everybody went out of their way to pass me the ball, set screens for me, let me take a shot, Tyler chose not to block my shot, but I was so intimidated by him being near me that I missed it. There was one exception, though: Jack Wooten. He stole the ball from me, he blocked my shot, he fouled me once - Coach Williams had to remind him that there were a bunch of guys with guns around. But just to show that there are no hard feelings, Jack, I want to congratulate you.

You can find the full transcript of Obama’s speech here.

-Yesterday marked the start of Triangle Restaurant Week, a celebration of the local culinary talents, exquisite cuisine and dynamic atmospheres you’ll find at restaurants all over the Triangle area. Participating restaurants offer a fixed-price, three-course meal that include an appetizer, an entrée and dessert in the hopes that locals will explore new offerings at their favorite restaurants or try out some new venues where they haven’t eaten yet. The three participating Chapel Hill restaurants are Il Palio, Spice Street and Weathervane. If anyone’s tried their three-course menu, let us know!

-Newsmax magazine ranked Chapel Hill third in it’s recent list of “Most Uniquely American Cities and Towns,” behind only Wichita, Kansas and Madison, Wisconsin. Newsmax had commissioned Peter Greenberg, travel editor of NBC’s Today show, to rank the nation’s most uniquely American communities according to comfort and “high-touch.” The magazine says of Chapel Hill, “This college town has all the culture of a big city and some of the best education institutions in the country.” Sounds like a pretty good place to start! See the full rankings here.

-And finally, Robin Vail is asking locals to mark their calendars for 9am on May 23, when Snow Camp Outdoor Theatre will be hosting a clean-up day. The theatre, which has been a local staple for 35 seasons, is asking for volunteers to bring rakes, blowers, tools and cleaning supplies to help clean up the venue for its summer rehearsals and performances. If you’re interested in helping out, call 336-376-6958 or email snowcampot@aol.com.