Molly De Marco's blog

Greenways for the 21st Century

This commentary, written my fellow OP editor Travis Crayton and myself, originally appeared in the Chapel Hill News on September 6, 2015.

Work on phase three of the Bolin Creek greenway began earlier this summer – and that’s great news for Chapel Hill residents. Phase three of the greenway is the first step in connecting where the current greenway ends at Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd below the police station to Tanyard Branch trail, the Northside neighborhood, and downtown Chapel Hill via Umstead Drive. The greenway extension will also serve as a vital link to the future trail systems planned by Carrboro and Orange County.

Healing After #ChapelHillShooting

Until Yusor Abu-Salha, her husband Deah Barakat and her sister Razan Abu-Salha, three young people who practice the Muslim faith, were shot to death on February 10, 2015 in Chapel Hill, many of us likely had not thought much about Islamophobia or that our community, one of the most liberal in the state, might harbor such sentiments. But we are not immune, as a search for the hashtag #NotsafeUNC will bare out. For example, at the time of these murders, I was teaching a course at UNC that happened to have two Muslim students enrolled. They were both close friends of the young people who were murdered. As my TAs and I worked to accommodate our students’ need to grieve and deal with the fear brought on by these hate killings, we heard that not all Muslim students at UNC were met with compassion.

2016 Orange County Bond Referendum - For Schools Only?

This week's Indy Week features this article, documenting how affordable housing, parks, and senior services have so far been left out of the proposed 2016 Orange County bond referendum. 

When Orange County commissioners approved plans this year for a $125 million school bond vote in 2016, it passed with little public input, scant public outreach and one absent county commissioner. Now some county residents are calling for commissioners to reconsider their priorities, particularly their decision to exclude public-housing funding from the deal.

At this point, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, in a 4 to 2 votes, voted to only include funds for schools that will go before the voters in 2016.

Are We Designing for 2017 or 2070?

In a cross-post from today's Chapel Hill News, Travis and I ask: Are we designing for 2017 or 2070? Read the text below and tell us what you think.

The reality we live in presents numerous challenges and long-term threats. Scientists have been documenting these trends for decades. We know, for example, that climate change is a pressing problem that requires action today (yesterday, really) to mitigate existing damage and prevent further environmental degradation. We also know that rates of obesity in the United States, and in other nations, has risen rapidly, leading to a decline in life expectancy for the first time in modern history.

These two examples highlight the importance of modifying patterns and behaviors today to shape a better future. Local action can be important in setting a positive path forward, especially when state and federal action is insufficient. How can local action help address these major issues? For one thing, we can change how we develop our community.

After 4 Years, Worker Center Set to Open

About four years ago Orange County Justice United came together with El Centro Hispano, the Human Rights Center, the Town of Carrboro, and a number of other partners to create a task force that would work to develop more dignified working conditions for people loooking for work at the corner of Jones Ferry Road and Davie Road in Carrboro. After much work together, on Sunday April 26th we will celebrate the grand opening of the Center for Employment and Leadership (CEL) at El Centro Hispano at 201 W. Weaver Street in Carrboro.

The celebration will start at 3:00 pm at the corner of Jones Ferry Road and Davie Road with a march to the new Center. After the ribbon-cutting, entertainment and food will be provided.

The CEL will have two primary functions, (1) to serve as a safe place for local day laborers to gather and seek work, (2) to serve as a safe place for community members of Carrboro, Chapel Hill and the surrounding areas in Orange County to hire workers in the center, rather than the common gathering spot on Jones Ferry Road. 

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