August 2006

While I appreciate the effort to address this growing problem, this policy seems destined to not have much impact besides affirming for teenagers that gangs are really cool. Why else would The Man be trying to shut 'em down?

The Board of Education is slated to discuss -- but not vote on -- the policy during a 7 p.m. meeting Thursday at Lincoln Center in Chapel Hill. ...

Chapel Hill-Carrboro's proposed policy, however, lays out some possible consequences in instances where students are "suspected of displaying gang affiliation."

The steps include a verbal or written warning, photographs, the removal or covering of gang-related clothing or markings, and the removal of any identifying signs of belonging to a gang.
- heraldsun.com: Schools consider new policy on gangs

I'd like to see some policies that try to better understand and validate student voices and do more to let students air the frustrations that make them consider violence and violent culture.

A few weeks ago, the Chancellor appointed yet another administrative honcho to lead UNC's efforts to build Carolina North. Gone is the language of listening and visioning that we heard about the Ken Broun committee. In the Chapel Hill News, the Chancellor is clearly taking sides calling Jack Evans a "quarterback" for Carolina North: "Moeser said Evans should be adept at reading the defense, i.e. the community leaders and residents who are wary of the massive project."

It's interesting to watch UNC cycle through it's various PR phases. First we're supposed to be buddies, acting as partners, sharing the same goals for the community, etc. But next thing you know we're on opposing teams, lobbing bombs, and trying to advance our goals at any cost.

Guest Post by Adam Compton

This past week, while I was at home in Cedar Grove, I received a very interesting phone call.

The woman on the line, who never identified herself, asked, "Sir, are you a registered voter in the Orange County area?"

When I said I was, she continued to tell me I had been selected for a survey. I had a little time on my hands, so I agreed to answer her questions. She began by running through a list of people and asking if I had heard of them.

"Mike Easley?"

"Charles Anderson?"

"Adam Stein?"

"Carl Fox?"

"Allen Baddour?"

After I replied that I knew them all, she asked who I planed to vote for in the election for Superior Court Judge. I told her that I was an Anderson supporter.

That's when things got interesting.

The woman ran through a series of questions, asking me if I would be more or less likely to vote for this candidate under a given set of conditions.

Oh that bookstore's at it again, what with their guerrilla fundraising and the secrets, oh the secrets...

Do you like to eat food? Good. You're invited to eat some secret food, in a secret place, for a not so secret good cause. Internationalist Books & Community Center is hosting a secret cafe.

When:
Saturday Aug 26, 2006
at 7:00 PM

Where::
Secret! call 919-942-1740 for info!
Carrboro, NC 27510, USA

or email them for the shibboleth at:

ibooks@internationalistbooks.org

Shhhhh...it might be the best meal you never ate.

Just in case any of our neighbors in Chatham County had any shreds of a doubt about whether Bunkey Morgan is the head of a power-hungry cabal with no concern for ethics or democracy, not to mention smart growth...

Late Monday night following a public hearing, the Chatham Commissioners voted 3-2 to redraw election districts. The change means Patrick Barnes shares a district with newly elected commissioner George Lucier and will not be allowed to run for re-election when his term expires in 2008. He instead will have to wait until 2010 to file to run office again.
...
The county now is divided into five districts. Commissioners must live in the district they represent, but all voters elect all commissioners.

At a meeting last month, commission Chairman Bunkey Morgan proposed redistricting and district representation, saying he was prompted by county Republicans to suggest the change.

During Monday night's public hearing, supporters and opponents argued their cases before the commissioners.

After the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership spent considerable time and money last spring developing their retro logo and slogan, their board has decided it will not pony up for a local artist to assess the condition of downtown's murals.

If someone's going to put money into assessing the condition of the murals painted on various walls around town, it likely won't be the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership.

The partnership's board declined Wednesday to earmark $800 for artist Michael Brown to spend about three days studying the state of the murals and writing up a report on their condition. The board had expressed some doubts this spring about paying for an assessment and deferred action, and partnership director Liz Parham brought the matter back to the board's agenda Wednesday.
- heraldsun.com: Downtown group declines to pay for assessing murals, 8/24/06

It's another bittersweet end of summer. The students are back, and the first-years are wandering around as lost as ever. I love the heat, but I'm ready for it to start feeling like fall any day now.

Looks like this year's Daily Tarheel Tar Heel editor is a local!

In his new job as editor of the Daily Tar Heel, Joe Schwartz says he wants to keep the paper focused on not just UNC, but all of Orange County.

Schwartz graduated from Chapel Hill High School.

- WCHL 1360: New DTH editor familar [sic] with Chapel Hill, 8/28/06

Looks like Joe knows at least one thing blogs are good for: speaking in your own words instead of just being filtered by the media. ;-)

Dan Siler: Being from Chapel Hill gives you a unique perspective to share with your staff, how do you use it?

I talked about how I know the area. Great. I didn't ever leave Chapel Hill. If I weren't able to use that for the newspaper, or say having connections to South Building as an SBP, it might make me seem kind of scared of the outside world.

¡La danza continúa! Demostrations against the Carr Mill dancing ban and Weaver Street Market's "Live on the Lawn"program will continue with a dance-in today at 5:30. See how much fun we had last week, and read on to learn more about what's going on...

From Tamara Tal:

For more of that community magic…

We're Alive on the Lawn!

Same time, same place, same dance… let Carr Mill know that we're still here. Bring your friends, musical instruments— and your dancing shoes!

WSM lawn, Wednesday, August 30th 5:30 PM, the Carrboro community dances back!

Please forward widely.

From Sammy Slade: