We're hosting a pet food dirve at Carrboro Plaza Vet this month to donate to local shelters. Animals don't have a voice and so we as community must be that voice
that makes their needs heard. And hunger is a most basic need. To be
honest this is the first time I've ever heard of a pet food
drive, but hopefully it wont be the last. If things go well I am
going to try to make this into an annual event. You can check out the website for details: http://www.carrboroplazavet.com/
OWASA invites comments on proposed changes to water conservation requirements
on Wednesday, September 24th at 7 PM Based on customers’ feedback and experience in the drought of 2007-08, OWASA has drafted and will seek public comments on potential changes to its water conservation requirements.
OWASA staff will host a community meeting on Wednesday, September 24th at 7:00 PM to receive comments and questions from OWASA customers and other interested stakeholders. The meeting will be in the Community Room on the lower floor of the OWASA Administration Building, 400 Jones Ferry Road, Carrboro (near the intersection of Barnes Street and Jones Ferry Road).
“The proposed changes are intended to give customers more flexibility and to put greater reliance on our water rates to encourage conservation,” said Ed Holland, OWASA’s Planning Director.
“One of the frequent comments we received during the drought and various stages of water use restrictions was ‘Don’t tell us how to use OWASA water. Just tell us how much it’s going to cost, and let us decide how to use it,’” Holland said.
Key proposals:
Some of the key changes under consideration are:
ü Greater flexibility for irrigation of “Public Purpose Athletic and Recreational Fields” and “Public Purpose Botanical Sites” for which OWASA approves a watering plan. Public facilities are now subject to the same irrigation restrictions as private properties.
ü Spray irrigation restrictions would be relaxed for non-turf vegetation such as trees, shrubs and gardens, which are now subject to limits on days of week, hours, etc. The current spray irrigation limit of 1 inch per week would continue to apply to grass (turf).
ü Drip irrigation, underground hose emitters, soaker hose, hand watering, and other non-spray irrigation would be allowed at any time, duration, and frequency except during a Water Supply Emergency, when all irrigation would be prohibited. Greater flexibility is proposed because it is impractical to know when non-spray irrigation meets or exceeds the current limit of 1 inch per week (1/2 inch per week under certain shortage conditions).
ü Spray irrigation of turf would be allowed during normal water supply conditions before 10:00 AM and after 6:00 PM three days per week (depending on odd or even address). Spray irrigation is now permitted before 9:00 AM and after 8:00 PM three days a week under normal conditions.
ü Swimming pools could be filled, refilled, or topped off at any time except during a Water Supply Emergency regardless of whether the pool is public or private. OWASA has determined that swimming pools account for a small fraction of outdoor water use. Under current standards, restrictions for pools begin in a Stage 2 water shortage.
For more detailed information, including the specific wording of proposed changes, please visit http://www.owasa.org/agenda/UploadedFiles/2008/Parts_08-28-2008/Item11.pdf on the OWASA website to read a report to the OWASA Board of Directors on August 28th, or contact OWASA at 968-4421 or webmaster@owasa.org.
Citizens who wish to receive electronic updates on the consideration of changes to the conservation standards and related items are invited to send a short note to webmaster@owasa.org to be added to OWASA’s electronic news list.
Process for consideration and action on OWASA’s water conservation standards
Sometime after the Sept. 24th community meeting (date still to be determined), the OWASA Board of Directors will make decisions on changes to the utility’s conservation standards and will make recommendations to the Towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Orange County for changes in their water conservation ordinances.
OWASA will publicize the dates of future OWASA Board meetings when the proposed changes in conservation standards will be scheduled for discussion.
For more Information:
Ed Holland, AICP, Planning Director, 537-4215; e-mail: eholland@owasa.org
Patrick Davis, Utility Manager Generalist, 537-4210; e-mail: pdavis@owasa.org
Greg Feller, Public Affairs, 537-4267; e-mail: gfeller@owasa.org OWASA is the community-owned, non-profit public water and sewer agency serving the Carrboro-Chapel Hill community.
Orange County Community Organizations Join Forces to Oppose Waste Transfer Station
The Orange County Organizing Committee (OCOC) has come forward to support the Rogers-Eubanks Neighborhood Association (RENA) and the Coalition to End Environmental Racism (CEER) in their on-going efforts to oppose the building of the proposed Orange County Solid Waste Transfer Station at the present site of the Orange County Landfill.
The Eubanks Road landfill site is immediately adjacent to the historic Rogers Road neighborhood, home to a vibrant African American community for more than 150 years. The Rogers Road community has borne the burdens of living with Orange County's garbage for 36 years, and now the Eubanks Road landfill site is near the top of the list of proposed sites for the Waste Transfer Station.
Supporters of this community-wide effort to block the siting of a Waste Transfer Station on Eubanks Road are encouraged to join the large community turnout on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at 5:30 p.m. The Orange County Board of County Commissioners Waste Transfer Station work-session will be held at the Southern Human Services Center, at 2501 Homestead Rd., Chapel Hill.
________________
The Orange County Organizing Committee is a broad-based, non-partisan organization of dues-paying member congregations, associations, neighborhoods and non-profits committed to building power for sustainable social and economic change. OCOC is affiliated with the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), the oldest and largest national organizing and leadership development network in the United States.
The Coalition to End Environmental Racism (CEER) and the Rogers-Eubanks Neighborhood Association (RENA) consist of residents of the Rogers Road community along with residents of Orange County and members of UNC. They have been working on the Waste Transfer Station relocation issue since April 2007.
For more information contact:
RENA/CEER: Minister Robert Campbell, 933-6210 RENA/CEER: Neloa Jones, 360-1364 OCOC: Tish Galu, 225-2986 Background information at: http://rogersroad.wordpress.com/
Date:
Tuesday, September 16, 2008 - 1:30pm
Location:
Southern Human Services Center, 2501 Homestead Road, Chapel Hill
I took some photos today but they are truly horrible. Wlil post later. Some of my biggest impressions so far:
The
empty Pfizer campus, and the Chamber director talking about nearby
businesses that are about to go under from losing the business from
2,000 employees & 1,000 contractors that used to work there. Are
you listening Carolina North folks?
There
are lots of tall buildings (5 - 10 - 15 feet stories) and most of them look
really nice and seem to work well. Some of them don't though. I
talked with some folks tonight about how Chapel Hill lacks the
regulatory tools to analyze tall buildings. How do we know how tall is
"too tall", what are factors that make it work or make it fail? One
local suggested that I meet a woman from their downtown commission, but
I'm really more interested in the perspective of a City Council or
Planning Board type.
Two paths diverged in the woods and I took the third.
It occurrs to me that there might be another way to meet (or even exceed) AHEC's needs while also preserving land and avoiding a protracted debate and a souring of town-gown relations.
So far the paths being argued are: 1) Build a new airport in the county or 2) Base all operations from RDU. I believe there is a third path that hasn't been considered.
In short, build a heliport. Let that sink in for a minute and then read on for more...
We all know helicopters don't need much space to operate, so this is an easy one. In fact, it could even be sited on the existing Horace Williams airport while still allowing for plenty of space for the new campus.
Drastic reduction in trip time for AHEC physicians. Not only could AHEC potentially keep helicopter or tilt-rotor aircraft at UNC Hospitals, but it could deliver passengers directly to many of the hospitals they service throughout North Carolina instead of landing at their regional or local airports and then driving to their ultimate destination.
The Peoples Channel, Chapel Hill & Orange County's Community Media Center & Public Access TV Station, is opening the airwaves to
members of the community to come in the studio to watch the Presidential
debates. We will be going LIVE Friday Sept. 26th at 8:30pm with the first debate between Sen. John McCain & Sen. Barack
Obama on the big screen. The community is welcome to come in to share their
thoughts before, during, & after the debates. Live coverage will go on
until 11pm with rebroadcasts the following day. Don’t let the
corporate pundits have the last word, come in & tell the community what you
think while you watch.
What: TPC Watch & Share of the
Presidential/Vice Presidential Debates LIVE
When: Friday Sept 26th.
Doors open at 8pm, we will broadcast LIVE at 8:30 until 11pm.
Where: TPC Studios 300AC S Elliott RdChapel Hill
Please call 919.960.0088 or email tpc@thepeopleschannel.org if you
have any questions.
During our tours and discussion of Ann Arbor, which were expertly organized by the staff of our Chamber of Commerce, I kept feeling like I wanted to get another two or three sides to the story. We heard from some business, nonprofit, and government leaders - ones that were recommended to us by the Ann Arbor Chamber. All of the panelists were knowledgeable and informative.
But missing were voices of residents, students and faculty, community advocates, downtown boosters, bloggers and that much-vaunted "creative class." Interestingly, I returned home to get several messages by e-mail and twitter from some of the very folks who felt left out of our visit! The Ann Arbor Chronicle, a new local news website not unlike the Carrboro Citizen, wrote about our visit. And Ann Arbor consultant Bill Tozier tweeted about it and shared some local frustrations on his blog:
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