April 2006

The Chapel Hill chapter of Drinking Liberally will be meeting this Thursday, April 6, at Tyler's (back in the Speakeasy) from 7pm until 10pm. To keep up with goings-on, you can sign up for the chapter mailing list here. A word or two about DL:

An informal, inclusive progressive drinking club. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, left-leaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don't need to be a policy expert and this isn't a book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it's not taboo to talk politics.

Bars are democratic spaces - you talk to strangers, you share booths, you feel the bond of common ground. Bring democratic discourse to your local democratic space - build democracy one drink at a time.

For any of you that are Democrats or plan to vote in the Democratic primary*, the local party is having some events of interest including their convention this weekend.

The County Convention is on Saturday, April 8, at the Orange County Courthouse in Hillsborough. Registration begins at 11:00, barbecue lunch ($10.00 donation) at 11:30, and the meeting itself at 12:45. Candidates will be politicking in the parking lot before the convention, and the keynote address is by Patricia Timmons-Goodson, Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.

Meet the candidates for District 15B Superior Court Judge at the April 6 meeting of the Orange County Democratic Women, 6:00 pm at the Exchange at Meadowmont.

Come to the Open House for all Democratic candidates at the Occoneechee Steak House, 378 S. Churton Street, in Hillsborough from 6:30 - 9:00 pm on Monday, April 10.

I was pretty shocked to read today that Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy has written a memo to the Town Council proposing that they should end the Horace Williams Citizen's Committee (old web site, new web site). Just a few months ago, I helped to draft a plan for how the HWCC would proceed in the next year or two to study some of the issues surrounding Carolina North and to make recommendations on them to the Town Council.

In all of the discussion of Ken Broun's new committee to advise UNC's leaders, it has always been made clear that the HWCC would still exist to advise Chapel Hill's leaders. I have not seen any change in situation that would mean we don't need this service any longer. This decision would be a major reversal and it deserves more explanation than the Mayor has given.

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce is partnering with EmPOWERment, Inc., the Village Project, and WCHL 1360AM to host an Orange County Commissioner candidates forum on Tuesday, April 11 from 7:30pm-9pm at Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill. The forum will be broadcast live on WCHL 1360AM. The forum partners hope that you can attend or listen to the live broadcast on WCHL.

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce also asked candidates to complete a questionnaire and interview. The Chamber elections brochure complete with questionnaire answers and chamber commentary on candidates is available online at http://www.carolinachamber.org/elections/