August 2005
Guest Post by James Carnahan
A Concept Plan for Carolina North, the June 29 presentation by the Village project, will be re-broadcast Monday, August 1, 7 to 9pm on local cable channel 18 in Carrboro & Chapel Hill. This concept plan represents a year-long, unfunded effort by the local non-profit walkable community advocacy group to offer an alternative view of how UNC's Horace Williams property might be developed.
Not meant to be definitive, the presentation is primarily intended to answer the question, "what would Carolina North look like if citizen input were incorporated?" and to encourage the University to utilize a facilitated collaborative process to further develop its plans for the new campus. Key differences are a multi-modal transportation approach making possible greatly reduced parking and dependence on the automobile, 4 times the housing proposed in the Ayers/Saint/Gross plan, and a half-mile long reservoir for holding rainfall harvested from rooftops, that doubles as a outdoor recreation space.
James Carnahan is the Chair of The Village Project.
This weekend, Eric Muller's blog pointed me to a story in the Chapel Hill News about El Centro Latino. I'm not sure whether I should write that El Centro is having trouble again, or that their struggle continues.
There's no doubt their path has been rocky. From my vantage point, it's difficult to tell how much of these problems are from working with a low-resource population on problems that the majority of people may not know exist, and how much of it stems from poor management. It's likely to be at least a little of both. But having worked professionally in the nonprofit sector for over a decade, I have a lot of sympathy for the challenges of a brand-new organization just trying to get on it's feet while the problems it hopes to address are exploding. It's certainly annoying to see people take the time to complain about them instead of volunteering or donating to make the programs better.
Chapel Hill Herald, Saturday July 30, 2005
The prospect of a Wal-Mart in northern Chatham County provides an opportunity to reflect on questions of economics, workers rights and the future of our society. Most importantly, it allows us to contemplate our own ethical responsibilities.
Consider the following: Sexist discrimination is business as usual at Fortune's "most admired corporation." In her book "Selling Women Short," Liza Featherstone documents rampant sexism at Wal-Mart, denial of promotion opportunities to women, underpayment of female employees and the prevalence of exclusive, men-only meetings.
Rather than pay a living wage, Wal-Mart encourages its employees to make ends meet via public assistance programs. Along with their paltry paychecks, Wal-Mart employees receive instruction on how to apply for food stamps, state health insurance for the poor and other welfare programs.
A congressional report found that a 200-employee Wal-Mart costs federal taxpayers $420,000 a year, an average of $2,103 per employee.
There are three days left to file for office, and so far the School Board, Hillsborough Town Board, and Chapel Hill Mayor are all running unopposed! Where are the challengers?
By the way, a geek who is watching the Orange County candidate filings page closely noted that OP reader Katrina Ryan filed for Carrboro Board of Aldermen today!
All of this and more can be gleaned from the new OrangePolitics Elections 2005 page!
This page will be the place to get information about all the races in Orange County. Please share it with your friends. Lots more info will be added as the race progresses. What would you like to see there? What info would you need if you knew nothing about local politics?
I'm interested in having one or two interns help out on OrangePolitics during the elections this year. This would be a great opportunity for a young person to learn about grassroots politics, local government, and the trendy new world of political blogging! We can't offer money, but may be able to arrange academic credit.
Here's the job description:
Local Government Watcher, Civic Engagement Specialist, and/or Local Politics Blogger
OrangePolitics is an online community which exists to encourage residents of Orange County, NC to get involved in local government and civic activities by offering progressive perspectives on local and regional issues.
Qualifications
Must be registered to vote, preferably in Orange County!
Must be interested in politics or advocacy.
Must be articulate and able to write clearly.
Must be comfortable with online research and eager to learn about about new issues.
Blogging experience is a plus, but not required.
Position description
Does anyone know what became of the many "diverse" candidates who were vying for the empty school board seat back in December? It's not that I'm unsupportive of Pam, Lisa, or Jeff, but I can't think of anything that differentiates these three on any issues.
Is the public just worn out by school controversy? Does no one want to think about our ailing schools for awhile? It's a shame. "No Child Left Behind" is leaving our children behind. We are spending too much time and money measuring, and not enough time teaching. We're losing sight of the social, cultural, and spiritual needs of our children.
Today's eagle-eye award goes to
Tom Jensen who notes that a Kevin A. Wolff has
filed to run for Mayor of Chapel Hill! Anyone heard of this guy? I can't even find his
voter file.
Today is the LAST day to file to be on the ballot for this fall's election!
Filing actually closes at noon, but I will be pretty busy until about 1pm, so please keep your eyes on this page, my friends, and report what you see! Thanks.
Also, feel free to ruminate on this: what do you think of candidates who wait until the last minute to thoroughly assess the field before they declare? Are they being strategic or just chicken?
Chapel Hill Herald, Saturday August 06, 2005
Today is the 60th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. This is a somber moment for humanity to reflect on the destructive potential of our weapons and on the apparent inability of our political systems to render those weapons obsolete.
Albert Einstein, Time Magazine's "Man of the 20th Century," was the author of a 1939 letter to President Roosevelt that spurred America's search for atomic weapons. Later, he wrote again to Roosevelt urging that he not drop the bomb on Japanese cities. After the war, Einstein became a leading proponent of nuclear disarmament.
On May 24, 1946, Einstein sent a telegram to prominent Americans saying "the unleashed power of the atom has changed everything save our modes of thinking, and thus we drift toward unparalleled catastrophe."
Einstein was clear that the bomb itself did not represent a fundamentally new problem for mankind, only one which unalterably raised the stakes. "The release of atomic energy," he wrote, "has not created a new problem. It has merely made more urgent the necessity of solving an 'existing one.'"
Orange County's Information Technology group, in conjunction with departmental webmasters and the office of the clerk to the Board of County Commissioners, has developed and deployed a new search tool for our website (www.co.orange.nc.us). This tool was developed to help the public quickly locate information and services of interest.
To use it, go to www.co.orange.nc.us, type search terms into the left frame's search window and click "Go," much as you would a traditional occurence search engine. Results will appear in the right frame.
We would appreciate any feedback on this tool. In particular:
- Is the tool intuitive?
- Did you quickly find what you were looking for?
- How does it compare to a traditional occurence search engine (e.g., google, yahoo)?
- Do you have any suggestions for improving this tool?
Thanks in advance for helping Orange County better serve the public.
Guest post by Patrick McDonough
As we approach the fall elections, various candidates for public office in Orange County have mentioned improving or reducing Chapel Hill Transit service as an issue they would like to discuss in the campaign. In January 2002, Chapel Hill Transit went fare-free. Despite characterizations to the contrary by some, the numbers indicate that the policy has been quite a success. Since Fare-Free began, the number of passengers per hour using the system has gone up, and the cost of carrying each individual passenger has gone down. In short, the towns and UNC are getting more units of mobility for each dollar spent.
For candidates (and citizens!) who have mentioned transit and transportation issues as something they would like to address, I recommend some of the following links:
This announcement comes from Lucy Lewis via Joe Straley:
Subject: Dan Pollitt speaks out on Roberts nomination
Dear Friends,
Please help circulate info about this event to friends and listservs that you think would be interested - thanks! Hope to see you there.- Lucy
Dan Pollitt Speaks Out on Roberts Nomination to Supreme Court
Daniel Pollitt, Kenan Emeritus Professor of Law at UNC-CH, will present a talk on the nomination of John Roberts, Jr. to the US Supreme Court, on Sunday, August 14 at 11:45 am at the Community Church of Chapel Hill Unitarian Universalist, 106 Purefoy Road. Discussion will follow. Pollitt is an expert on constitutional law, and a former president of the NC branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. This program is being presented by the Charles M. Jones Peace and Justice Committee of the Community Church. The public is invited to attend. Free childcare is available by calling in advance. For more info, contact Lucy Lewis, 929-5983.
Guest post by Susan Brown
Politics, culture, health, art, justice -- these are all things that matter to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community. They also make great conversation. This fall, area residents are invited to participate in a new discussion series that will touch on these topics and many others while bringing the community together over a good book.
The Carrboro Cybrary, in partnership with the Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department and other area organizations, will launch the Community Book Forum this fall. The Forum will be an occasional series of programs that center on ideas and events that are important to Carrboro, the surrounding area, and the world. To help shape these meetings, sponsors will select a book that touches on the relevant themes. In the weeks leading up to the discussions, multiple copies of the selected titles will be available at the Cybrary. On the night of the forum, the community will gather together in the Century Center's Century Hall for a discussion of the issues at hand, using the selected book and a panel of speakers to help shape and guide the conversation.
On Tuesday August 16th the Orange County Commissioners will make a decision about how to address the funding disparity between our two school systems. The current plan is to put a district tax on the ballot this fall, and let county school district voters decide for themselves.
According to the Chapel Hill News, the entire Orange County School Board opposes this referendum. And County Commissioner Moses Carey says "Obviously, what the school board thinks is important, but we won't base our decision solely on what they think."
Should the commissioners assume that the county school board is the voice of the people and abandon the referendum, or should they take the attitude that this is an activist school board that may not reflect the will of the people, and go forth with the referendum?
According to school board member Randy Copeland, the proposal will "put a tax on those who can least afford it." Fiscal conservatives want to leave things as is.
Chapel Hill Herald, Saturday August 13, 2005
Now that the candidates are known, Chapel Hillians can expect a different kind of Town Council campaign this year. The old green/green split that has marked town politics for the past decade has not emerged in this year's field. By "green/green," I mean environment vs. profits.
Among this year's challengers, only Laurin Easthom is explicitly running on bread-and-butter environmental and neighborhood protection issues (although her campaign Web site lists a raft of other concerns). At this juncture, no candidate is clearly identified with a business constituency.
Another difference in this year's race is the weakness of the field. Along with 2001, when only one incumbent sought re-election, this is the least experienced group of candidates in many years. Only two incumbents are on the ballot and, among the challengers only Easthom and Will Raymond currently serve on town advisory boards.
I wish!
Internationalist Books and Community Center will be showing "The End of Suburbia" on Wednesday August 17 at 7pm at the store. This film explores the American Way of Life and its prospects as the planet approaches a critical era, as global demand for fossil fuels begins to outstrip supply. World Oil Peak and the inevitable decline of fossil fuels are upon us now, some scientists and policy makers argue in this documentary.
The consequences of inaction in the face of this global crisis are enormous. What does Oil Peak mean for North America? As energy prices skyrocket in the coming years, how will the populations of suburbia react to the collapse of their dream? Are today's suburbs destined to become the slums of tomorrow? And what can be done NOW, individually and collectively, to avoid The End of Suburbia ?"
Next week all of OrangePolitics will be on vacation! The archives will remain available, but no new comments will be allowed and there will be no new posts from Sunday 8/21 to Sunday 8/28.
We hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to enjoy the summer weather before schools starts again and the fall campaigns get fully underway.
Congressman Price:
I felt your pain during the policy speech and discussion on the Iraq war on August 12 at Binkley Baptist Church. The problem is one of epochal proportions. The human and financial costs of war already are astronomical, and far worse probably is ahead. You have given the dilemma great study and thought, and wrestled with the morality of pulling American troops out despite the consequences. Your very serious conclusions deserve your constituents' very serious consideration. Instead you received for your efforts not understanding, but a firestorm of protest and criticism. It was a sad occasion for all of us.
When it was being built, some neighbors complained about the new 4-story building at 605 West Main Street. So much so that Carrboro is now developing stricter standards for downtown development. A similar building that is now almost finished at the corner of Merritt Mill and West Rosemary Street is a great illustration that a building that size can be very attractive and complimentary to its environment without costing a whole lot. I'd love to hear some discussion of why one looks so much better than then other (besides the obvious: bricks are nicer than vinyl siding).
Also, the Chapel Hill Town Council will have a work session today to continue developing designs for redevelopment of two downtown parking lots. That starts at 5:30 at the Town Hall at 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Chapel Hill Herald, Saturday August 20, 2005
Political observers appear baffled by Carrboro's mayoral race. None seems willing to go out on a limb to characterize how the race may play out. But all agree that it will be tough to find clear-cut political differences between aldermen Mark Chilton and Alex Zaffron.
Current Mayor Mike Nelson told a reporter recently that he could not recall any time that Chilton and Zaffron were on opposite sides of the issue. He characterized their opposing votes on the northeast area annexation as a disagreement on timing and procedure rather than on outcome. Alderman Jacquie Gist, herself seeking re-election, said "they both come from the same progressive base."
Chapel Hill political veteran Joe Herzenberg concurred, offering that, "As far as the issues are concerned, there is not a great deal of difference between the two. It has a great deal more to do with style and what kind of person you want as your mayor." Nelson added that "as aldermen, their role is different from what their role as mayor would be."
Chapel Hill Herald, Saturday August 27, 2005
Last Wednesday, the Chamber of Commerce hosted an event to allow members to react to Chapel Hill's recent increase in the fees for privilege licenses for business. In the face of a crowd that was varyingly confused, frustrated or angry, chamber director Aaron Nelson rose to the occasion and showed some real leadership.
Typical of the comments in the early part of the discussion was the notion that "the town is not friendly to small business" or that "to suggest that this wasn't noticed [by Town Council members] is a bit naïve." But when one business owner asked, "Why were no business leaders part of this decision?" Nelson spoke up.
Nelson acknowledged that he was part of the budget committee that met 20 times over several months and worked with the town's budget consultant. He told attendees that he was an author of the committee's final report which he described as "very sensitive to the business community," adding that "he has never felt better about business interests being represented."
I was very pleased this morning to read an editorial encouraging student participation and voting in municipal elections. But I was astonished at the misunderstanding of the keg registration issue. Did the editors actually read the proposal we sent to our legislative delegation? Did they listen to the discussion? Did they read the DTH or any newspaper coverage of the issue?
The Lottery passed the Senate 24 to 24, Chapel Hill citizen and Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue cast the deciding vote.
Opening a movie theater is one of my oldest dreams. With this first showing we're starting the journey to create a nonprofit movie theater in Carrboro. Please come out to see a great film and support the concept. Tomorrow (August 31) we're showing the film Monster Road made by locals Brett Ingram and Jim Haverkamp.
What: Monster Road, a documentary about Bruce Bickford
When: Wednesday, August 31 7:30pm (THIS WED.)
Where: Carrboro Century Center, 100 N. Greensboro St., Carrboro, NC
Why: We're starting a NONPROFIT movie theater called the Carrboro Cinema.
How Much: FREE
Here are some directions to the Carrboro Century Center in case you didn't know. You can also view a trailer of the film Monster Road here.
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