May 2006
This week I launched a new website called Chapel Hill Wireless. The sites first goal is to help people find public wireless hotspots. It uses a Google Map to plot markers where you can find wireless. I hacked together a bit of javascript using the Google Maps API to make it work. This site will cover the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, North Carolina.
I've included wireless provided by municipalities and businesses. As long as the wireless is available to everyone for free or a nominal fee - like a cup of coffee or a sandwich. (I didn't include the wireless on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill because its not open to the general public.)
If you've used one of the hotspots on the map WRITE A REVIEW. Here's how:
1) Register on the Chapel Hill Wireless website
2) Login
3) Write a review in a blog post
4) Send me an email. Tell me you've written a post.
The Indpendent is taking votes on the Best of the Triangle for 2006. They must have been afraid that OrangePolitics would sweep Best Blog for a third year in a row because they have removed the category! Can we declare ourselves Best Blog for Life? ;-)
(And this after snubbing me last year by never sending my award packet. Hmph.)
Anyway, what other local blogs do y'all read (or write)? I've been collecting them under the local blogs link in the sidebar.
WCHL 1360 AM and WCOM 103.5 FM will both be covering the local elections today and tonight.
First, at 12:30 this afternoon, WCHL will have a midday update on how turnout looks and how the new voting technology is working. Through the afternoon WCHL will also be having further updates during breaks in their programming.
At 8 PM, WCOM will be covering the election with host Triangle Slim and special guest appearances from some local pundits (including some possibly familiar names from OP). Tune in to hear the early returns and analysis.
Then at 9 PM, WCHL will have its election night special coverage of both the Orange County races AND the Chatham County primaries.
Also note, News 14 Carolina on cable television will be having live coverage of 17 races from around central and eastern North Carolina and will be reporting on a total of 74 different races with an on-screen ticker and other updates. Their coverage will start at 7:30 PM and run until 10 or 11 PM.
And the winners are:
County Commissioner (3 seats available)
Candidate Votes Percent
Barry Jacobs 6446 25.40%
Alice Gordon 6314 24.88%
Mike Nelson 5100 20.09%
Fred Battle 3934 15.50%
Betty Tom Phelps Davidson 1748 6.89%
Robin Cutson 1189 4.68%
Artie L. Franklin 651 2.56%
Superior Court Judge District 15B (2 seats available, 4 primary winners)
Candidate Votes (Orange/Chatham) Percent
Carl R. Fox 11345 (7066/4279) 36.64%
Adam Stein 6505 (4817/1688) 21.01%
Chuck Anderson 5145 (2863/2282) 16.62%
Allen Baddour 4736 (2577/2159) 15.30%
Michael W. Patrick 2031 (1300/732) 6.56%
Kenneth B. Oettinger 1197 (784/413) 3.87%
Orange County School Board (4 seats available)
Candidate Votes Percent
Susan Hallman 2819 22.94%
Debbie Piscitelli 2496 20.31%
Ted Triebel 2467 20.07%
Anne Medenblik 2378 19.35%
Tony McKnight 2035 16.56%
These maps of the race for county commissioner are based on the unofficial results from the Orange County Board of Elections (May 2, 2006).
[Scroll down or widen your browser if you don't see the maps. -Ed.]
Individual candidate maps are available here. They include charts that show the five best and five worst precincts for each candidate. I'm sure someone will have something insightful to say about all of this. Direct links are as follows:
To hear local patriot Terri Tyson describe this community, it's a wonder we don't have a Taliban party primary for Orange County Commissioners. Her diatribes in the local media are truly a last ditch effort to save Chapel Hill's soul. But unfortunately the backs of our cars reveal that it may be too late:
Every politically successful conservative position gets twisted. Now peace is patriotic and the phrase "God bless America" has been corrected to include a blessing for every nation on earth.
...
One bumper sticker proclaims that the real axis of evil is Bush, Cheney and Ashcroft, not the terrorists. This is blatantly anti-American.
...
The village in Texas that is missing its idiot, according to one bumper sticker, should admit that the Yale graduate, professional baseball team owner, Texas governor, and two-term president has gone a long way.
- Terri Tyson, letter to the Chapel Hill News, 5/7/06
Chapel Hill is missing an excellent opportunity to deploy up to a hundred Internet hotspots along our transit corridors. Last week, the town signed a contract with NextBus, Inc. to provide, at a cost of $949,030, digital signs at 14 bus stops to inform riders of expected bus ETAs. NextBus, unlike competitors Motorola and Cityspace, uses last-gen cell technology over next-gen WiFi-MESH.
Instead of purchasing an open standards system utilizing WiFi/WiMAX wireless technology - technology allowing Chapel Hill to provide ubiquitous communication services to police, fire, public works and the general public from as many as 100 bus stops along the 26 bus transit routes - the town's transit department recently endorsed NextBus' proprietary cellphone-based bus-tracking system.
Specifically, NextBus is providing 14 digital signs, tracking of 83 vehicles and web-reporting on 26 routes for $949,030.
With all the focus on the selection process for Chapel Hill's new Town Manager, it's easy to forget that Orange County is in the market for a new staff leader as well. It may be an afterthought, but the County wants to know what you think they should be looking for.
The Orange County Board of Commissioners wants public input on the search for a county manager.
There is not much time left in the first phase of the manager search.
Comments from the public need to be received by Monday. Comments should respond to the following question: "What are the most important characteristics for a county manager in Orange County?"
Comments may be submitted to the BOCC by mail to Manager Search, Orange County Board of Commissioners, P.O. Box 8181, Hillsborough, NC 27278 or by e-mail to managersearch@co.orange.nc.us . They also can be hand-delivered to the clerk's office, 200 South Cameron St., Hillsborough.
- heraldsun.com: Input sought on manager search
At their meeting tonight, the Chapel Hill Town Council will be considering 4 possible Neighborhood Conservation Districts, covering Coker Hills, Greenwood, King's Mill, and Pine Knolls. Tomorrow the Planning Board will discuss the NCD process in light of the fact that at least two more neighborhoods are requesting them.
I've written before about the many concerns I have about this process. What is the best way to preserve the character of our beautiful older neighborhoods, while still allowing a moderate amount of well-managed change that is necessary to keep our community healthy and affordable as we grow?
I love walking around in downtown Hillsborough, but as long as these things keep starting at 9 am on Saturday mornings, I guess I'll have to keep reading about them in paper.
[The Walkable Hillsborough Coalition] is planning for this year's Walkable Hillsborough Day, which will be held June 3...
This year's theme may be the Churton Street Corridor Plan that includes pedestrian and bikeable ways from I-40 to N.C. 57. WaHC member Holly Reid said three walks are being considered for this year, including the Margaret Lane Cemetery and Turnip Patch Park loop, Historic Cameron Park and the Nature Trail and the West End Park Trail by Ben Johnson Dam...
All walks begin and end at the courthouse, with a start time of 9 a.m.
- News of Orange: Walkability of town focus of annual event, 5/11/06
In response to the After Chill shooting, the Town Manager is proposing that ALL downtown gatherings be cancelled, moved, or severely curtailed with the exception of NCAA championships. This seems like a really bad idea to me. Not only are these festivals and parties great community-building events for the town, many of them can't be stopped even if we want to.
When over 70,000 people come downtown for an event that no-one has organized or even planned, you can't just tell them to go away. They are individual adults with their own decision-making authority. Just like you don't get to tell me what do on my Saturday nights, you don't get to tell them where to celebrate Halloween.
Franklin Street's days as party central might be numbered. Town staff members are floating proposals that could eliminate all but one of the main drag's main events.
The unofficial Halloween celebration might be killed by a 10 p.m. curfew. Wins over Duke and in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament might move to campus. Festifall could go to Chapel Hill High School.
Hey Orange County Friends!
I just signed up to host a Positive Agenda House Party with MoveOn (and co-host, Erika Simon) and wanted to invite y'all too. It's going to be a really fun, useful event. We're going to be talking about what we progressives most want to fight for, to help MoveOn come up with their new positive agenda. And it should be a great way to meet other progressives in the community.
Here are the details of my event:
Where Do We Go From Here?
119 Justice St.
(Justice & Barclay, off MLK Blvd.)
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
Thursday, 25 May 2006, food at 6:30, focus at 7:00 PM
I think now is a really important time for progressives to start talking about what we stand for, not just what we're against. This house party sounds like a great start. Hope you can make it.
To sign up for this event, click here:
http://political.moveon.org/event/positiveagenda/8765
--
John Bonitz
Silk Hope, NC
Some local parents have been watching the process to appoint a new member to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education and hoping for someone who would represent the growing Asian population in our schools.
Roughly one in eight Chapel Hill-Carrboro students is Asian.
Among school board members, it's more like none in seven.
A group of Chinese parents hope to change that by presenting an Asian candidate to fill departing member Ed Sechrest's seat.
"It's a different culture with different thinking," said Yu Lou, member of the Chinese School at Chapel Hill's board of directors. "If the school board could have at least one Chinese representative, it will bring a lot of benefits."
- newsobserver.com | Asians want board seat, 5/19/06
The Chapel Hill Herald reports that yet another joint meeting of our local school boards and commissioners passed without any signficant agreements about how to proceed with equalizing school funding. Is it even possible that some progress can be made on this issue during this heated budget season?
I'm an internet studies researcher at Syracuse University studying the local blogging phenomenon and writing a book chapter on the topic, focusing on OP as a case study. In late March I visited Chapel Hill and Carrboro and conducted a series of interviews with about 14 contributors to the site. I would like to expand the net of participants in my study to include more readers/lurkers, and others who post and comment.
I am interested in hearing feedback on the following questions:
1. Why do you participate in this site (whether as reader or contributor)?
2. Has your participation changed your ideas about local politics or your community in general?
3. Have you taken any direct actions or made any decisions based upon your participation in the site?
4. Describe instances in which your life in the community has been affected by events played out in the site.
5. What new role if any does the site play in the local community and the lives of its residents?
The Orange County Democratic Women will host a screening of the documentary "Running in Heels" at 7:30 p.m. June 1.
State Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, Orange County Commissioner Alice Gordon and other notables will be in attendance for a discussion of the challenges facing women running for office. The screening will be held in the SunTrust boardroom at the Meadowmont Exchange Building. Refreshments will be served.
For more information, call Katrina Ryan at 967-9623.
- heraldsun.com: FedEx gives $5M to UNC project
Actually, I'm confused. Running in Heels was a Women Against Bush effort in 2004. "Running in High Heels" is a film about women running for office. Anyway, it's more like Running in Birkenstocks round these parts. ;-)
What an interesting week for UNC-watchers! On Wednesday, the Board of Trustees (BOT) came out firing against the Chancellor's Leadership Advisory Committee, specifically the local elected officials who were invited to be members.
Seems the BOT does not share the Chancellor's faith in Chair Ken Broun's leadership, as they are complaining that too much time is being spent on process and not enough on developing plans. That's funny because according to UNC's own press release, plans were never a part of the committee's, um, plan:
The committee's purpose is to get community input on Carolina North from as broad a range of interests as possible. The committee is being asked to develop principles that will guide the university in preparing plans for submission to the local governing bodies as part of the regulatory process.
- OP: Broun Committee on TV, 2/28/06
Guest Post by Alan McSurely
The Grassroots Impeachment Movement (GRIM) began Four Months Ago in the 4th congressional district when we learned President Bush and Vice President Cheney had ordered the National Security Agency (NSA) to violate the 4th Amendment of the Constitution with an unconstitutional domestic spying program. Up until January 2006, the sporadic calls for impeachment were driven by northern anti-war activists. Bringing criminal charges, or impeaching Bush and Cheney seemed impossible. But the news about massive phone taps, in the wake of Katrina, torture, the Downing Street Memo, and profiteering illegalities in Iraq, caused many ordinary citizens to say, "Enough." We all realized together: 2008 Is Too Late! By mid-January a grass roots impeachment movement had spontaneously begun to spread here and a few other areasâ€â€a movement that now has taken roots across the country. A February poll showed 53% of Americans wanted to conduct investigations that would lead to impeachment.
The Daily Tarheel reports that the Downtown Partnership has picked a logo and slogan, and they are not impressed.
The Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership made a great leap forward in bringing more shoppers to Franklin Street, as it picked a slogan and a logo.
Unfortunately, it picked a fairly lame design that should be reconsidered.
The logo is a triangle that features a lamppost similar to those found on Franklin Street; the Old Well, representing the University; and awnings to stand for all the shops and restaurants downtown.
And the slogan that shall grace this icon of Chapel Hill commerce: "Sophisticated travel destination."
- Lame-o logo - Opinion, 5/25/06
It does sound pretty weak. Does anyone know where we can see the logo?
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