December 2006
Guest Post by Jennifer Ferris
This Wednesday, Dec. 6, Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina is participating in a national historic effort to prevent unintended pregnancy.
Every visitor to Planned Parenthood's Chapel Hill or Durham clinics will be offered a free pack of Plan B, the emergency contraceptive recently approved by the FDA to be sold without a prescription.
While the significance of this promotion is probably clear to almost any man or woman of childbearing age who has ever relied on a forgettable method of birth control (condoms, the pill, a diaphragm, etc.) to prevent pregnancy, I understand some of you reading might need a little more convincing.
Emergency Contraception (EC) is essential: It prevents pregnancy when used up to five days after unprotected sex. It is currently in use in many emergency rooms and urgent care clinics to help rape victims avoid carrying their predators' children.
I was outraged when I learned about the detention of an Iranian woman who has been peacefully living in Carrboro for several years.
Sima Fallahi, 48, was detained last week after living in the United States for two decades. Her 104 Shelton St. duplex is a few blocks from Carrboro Elementary School, where she served in the Parent Teacher Association, and Weaver Street Market, the local natural foods hangout. Her paintings have hung in Town Hall.
Now Fallahi sits in a Mecklenburg County federal prison.
Her Western ideals, out-of-wedlock daughter and Unitarian beliefs would cause her to be "persecuted, tortured and/or killed" if deported, Fallahi wrote in a 1998 application for political asylum.
Mayor Mark Chilton and state Sen. Ellie Kinnaird urged Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat, to intervene.
- newsobserver.com | Fate of mom, girl worries Carrboro
Last night on the national NPR show All Things Considered Jessica Jones of WUNC reported,
A North Carolina family is having a difficult holiday season as it mourns Army Staff Sgt. Misael Martinez, who died in Iraq during his third tour of duty. A bomb exploded near the 24-year-old's vehicle in Ramadi. Martinez joined the military after finishing high school, hoping to attend college later. But even as the family grieves, it is preparing for another son to leave for Iraq on his first tour of duty in January.
- Having Lost a Son, Family Sees Another Go to Iraq
It's especially notable how honorably these sons of immigrant parents are serving the nation, even while the nation does a great disservice to the millions like them who have come here to help build the country.
It was tucked deep in an Under the Dome item about Edwards hiring former Michigan Congressman David Bonior to be the manager of his Presidential campaign, but apparently it will be run out of Southern Village.
Chapel Hill's really hitting the political big time I guess! And Edwards' presence is already bringing celebrities to town, as Hardball will be hosted live from Memorial Hall next Tuesday.
Setting up shop in Chapel Hill and realizing the importance of hiring political help from Michigan in the same day make Edwards look pretty smart to me anyway :)
My name is Shannon O'Neill and I'm the new outreach director at The Peoples Channel. I just wanted to let you know that we are having a potluck this Saturday from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM. There will also be a soapbox opportunity, so that members of the community can comment on the service that The Peoples Channel provides. This will help us to learn more about the needs and wants of our community. Please spread the word, as we want as many community members here as possible. If you want more information, please e-mail Chad Johnston at johnston@thepeopleschannel.org. We hope to see you and all your friends there!
Chapel Hill's police chief recently announced that he's retiring after working for the CHPD for over three decades. Chief Jarvies has constantly impressed me with his intelligence and sensitivity, which are not things you expect in a cop.
"I think we've done a great job in bringing in folks that understand how to work with the community," Jarvies said. "It takes a lot of effort to keep them here and keep them motivated."
- heraldsun.com: Jarvies to retire after seven years
I first met him when I was living next door to a very sensitive man that called the police whenever more than 5 people congregated on my porch. He was always very understanding and did his best to try to make everyone happy (although that was noever going to be possible.) In recent years, I have harangued him constantly about the lack of officers on foot patrol in Northside, and he has always listened and done his best to respond to my concerns.
Via UNC Director of Local Relations Linda Convissor-
This Wednesday, December 13th, there will be two public sessions for review of the draft ecological assessment recently completed as part of the discovery phase of our planning process for Carolina North.
Chancellor Moeser has said that Carolina North will be a model of sustainability. As one of the first steps to that goal, Biohabitats, Inc. has produced an ecological assessment to inform our planning. Your input can help us shape effective plans for sustainable development at Carolina North.
To accommodate different schedules, we will hold two sessions. The information reviewed at both will be the same so attend whichever is most convenient for you. Both sessions will be on Wednesday, December 13th in room 2603 of the School of Government:
3:00 – 5:00 PM. Parking available in either the Hwy 54 Visitor Lot or in the Rams Head deck.
6:00 – 8:00 PM. Parking available in the School of Government parking deck.
I've been very impressed with the work done by the Orange County Board of Elections since its new director, Barry Garner, took over.
While I was managing Adam's campaign, they were always extremely fast in responding to information requests. Now they've taken what I believe to be the unprecedented step of tabulating and posting the write in totals for the Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor race, the full list of which you can see here.
Since no one really knows what the supervisors do and the races are nonpartisan, there are a lot of write in votes.
Some of the highlights:
Daffy Duck got a vote, but was far outpassed by Donald Duck who received four.
Jerry Garcia may have died over ten years ago, but at least a couple Deadheads think he would do a good job stewarding our natural resources.
Guest post by Tamara Tal
Exactly one month ago, a new Army recruiting station opened its doors. Today, the Town of Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce will officially 'welcome' this station into our community.
What motivations should the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce have in celebrating the arrival of this institution into our community?
In addition to the nearly 3000 young Americans who have lost their lives, a recent study based upon household surveys reports that 600,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed thus far during this most recent Gulf War (Burnham G. et al. Lancet. 2006 Oct 21; 368 (9545):1421-8). A sustained flow of youth from communities like ours is necessary to continue occupying Iraq, resulting in the continued loss of both American and Iraqi lives, as well as the near complete destruction of Iraq's infrastructure.
When it rains, it pours, I guess. The second-biggest municipality in Orange County has recently been blessed with several new journalistic efforts talking nothing but Carrboro.
The Carrboro Commons is a project of a class at UNC's School of Journalism. It's not clear to me whether it will be sticking around now that the semester is over. They kicked out a few interesting pieces like a profile of Mike Nelson, a Carrboro High preview, and coverage of growth in Carrboro. I haven't seen the print edition but apparently there is one, published semesterly.
As published in the Chapel Hill Herald on December 16th, 2006:
You probably know Sally Greene, Mark Kleinschmidt and Laurin Easthom well as members of the Chapel Hill Town Council. You may not, though, know about another pastime that the three of them also share. They are among the ever-growing cadre of local bloggers.
Greene is one of the most intellectually well-rounded people I have ever met, and it comes through in her blog postings. She practices law, lectures and teaches about racial issues in the South and has edited an essay collection about the writings of Virginia Woolf. Her postings in the nearly two and a half years since she started her blog, titled GreeneSpace, have touched on all of those topics as well as her more public role as a member of the council.
Some of her more recent postings have included a preview of a panel that she will be moderating next month in relation to desegregation in Chapel Hill, a discussion of Barbies and advice on affordable Christmas gifts.
Of course she has also delved into the scale of buildings downtown and other more political stuff.
OK it's not politics, but it seems worthy of passing on this tip from my friend Ross for the show at the Cat's Cradle tonight in Carrboro:
If you've never seen the Cat's Cradle completely packed to the gills with equal parts middle-aged parents and teens, all screaming wildly for the occasionally pretty-damn-good (or at least pretty-damn-weird) high school bands onstage, then maybe it's time you gave it a try. I'm not saying you'll enjoy it per se, at least not in the traditional "what a great rockshow" way, but it can be gratifying to see how many kids are in bands, and how many of their friends want to see them play.
- trianglerock.music
The John Edwards campaign staff is moving into offices in Southern Village. From Dec. 28-30, Senator Edwards will be holding rallies in five different states, culminating with a rally here in Chapel Hill on Dec. 30 at 4 pm on the Southern Village Green. This will be a very special announcement. It is free of charge but attendees need tickets in advance. For free tickets, please visit www.johnedwardsevent.com . For questions, folks may call an Edwards staff person at (919) 265-7394.
It is very exciting to have this announcement happening in Chapel Hill!
Rosemary Waldorf
I swear Rosemary and I didn't plan this, but I just read and wanted to post about this article by my friend Micah Sifry about Elizabeth Edwards. He says she is the "only person who I think we can genuinely say is participating in the blogosphere, as opposed to just using it." One of his supporting examples is Eliabeth's visit to OP to answer some questions I had raised about the location of their new home and the status of their voter registration.
As usual, she responded openly and directly. As I wrote to Micah, Elizabeth is so smart and fierce and charming it's scary. Further proof was seen in her graceful handling of that clown Chris Matthews on live TV recently. I sometimes have complaints about her husband's policies (the same I have of almost every Democrat), but as a person I only admire her more the more I get to know her. I wish nothing but the best to the entire Edwards family.
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