I hear the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership is conducting a survey about parking. They are asking what kind of businesses we visit downtown and how often, where we park (if we drive), how much we want to pay for it (none, duh), and what our opinions are about towing.
They're not clear about whether the survey covers downtown Carrboro as well. They usually say that it is within their sphere of interest, but it will certainly change the results if Carrboro is included, don't you think? Anyway, make up your own mind and go take the survey now.
I was glad to read in Lisa Sorg's article in the Independent ( www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A168911 ) a couple of weeks ago that OWASA is contemplating emergency back-up plans for providing water to Chapel Hill and Carrboro. But I was concerned to read that one of the options under consideration is the construction of a new water-intake at Jordan Lake.
While we all hope that the drought will break before we run out of water, it is only prudent to consider what our back-up plans will be. Even with more drastic mandatory conservation measures on the way next week ( http://owasa.org/Press_Releases/press_release_20080218.pdf ), it is possible (but not likely) that our water supply could run out.
Note: The DTH source article was incorrect; read Bob Hall's comment below. Thanks, Bob. -JB
Did anyone else read the article in today's Daily Tar Heel about the meeting of the Mayor's Committee on Campaign Finance on Monday? Below is an excerpt, which concerns me a bit..
The committee decided to include rescue funds as a separate provision despite concerns about complicating the campaign process, financing the fund and enforcing the necessary spending reports.
Benchmarks for matching candidates' spending with public funding also were also established.
Candidates for council office will receive $3,000 in public funds if they can raise $750 from personal contributions and $2,250 from other local avenues.
Mayoral candidates must raise $1,500 in personal contributions and an additional $4,500 from community sources to be matched with $6,000 in public funds.
"It does open up the field to more citizens who do have a real base in the community but may not necessarily have access to a lot of money," said Bob Hall, executive director of Democracy North Carolina, a Durham-based nonprofit that advocates for campaign reform.
I found this very disturbing because we are on one hand trying to help people who are homeless - who probably have mental health problems and don't have any health insurance and don't have a provider to give them help - and we are shutting down another health provider that was doing great work in all three counties. Here's the article:
Around 1500 mental health patients won’t get services this year because of cuts in state reimbursement rates [says] Doctor John Gilmore, a psychiatrist at UNC Hospitals. The funding cut
has caused mental health assistance group Caring Family Network to
cease offering services in Orange, Chatham and Person counties.
CFN
received around 12 million dollars from the federal and state budgets
this fiscal year, and has dealt with financial problems. Gilmore says mental health funding for the state doesn’t provide enough money to go around.
Gilmore
believes the problem centers around the privatization of local mental
health centers so that public mental health systems are now in the
hands of private companies.
Will students shop there? Will downtown residents? Will it draw customers away from Carrboro's market?
The Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership is working with local farmers and the town's Parks and Recreation Department to establish an afternoon market on top of the Wallace Parking Deck this spring.
- newsobserver.com | Chapel Hill seeks farmers market, 2/18/08
And my main question: Will the Town finally clean up the scuzz at the Wallace Deck? The place is currently filthy, dark, and smelly. One of the least appealing parts of our downtown.
I'm all about supporting local businesses, fostering vitality downtown, and sustaining local agriculture. But I'm not clear how a farmer's market makes the top priority list, especially when we have a great one established a mile away in Carrboro (and sometimes in Southern Village). I'd like to hear more about the rationale for this.
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