September 2009

The Chamber ventures far from home

Submitted by Ruby Sinreich on September 18, 2009 - 4:54pm

If you thought the Chamber of Commerce's biannual Inter-City Visits were junkets of questionable value, you might be interested to note that now they're organizing a trip to China!  The most amazing part to me is that they charged participants $1,130 for a whirlwind 2-day trip to Michigan, but the cost for their 8-day China trip is only $2,099 (plus travel to JFK airport).  Someone must be underwriting this trip. Who is it and why?

Orange County Democratic Party Legislative Breakfast

Submitted by Jim White on September 19, 2009 - 2:19pm

REPORT FROM THE LEGISLATURE: The main purpose of the event is a report from our state legislative delegation about what has been happening in Raleigh. This year we will be using a new legislative “speed-dating” format that will give attendees the ability to speak with directly with their legislators about important state, local and national issues.

KEYNOTE FROM CONGRESS: There will be a keynote from Representative Price with the latest from Capitol Hill.

MEET OUR NEXT U.S. SENATOR: An opportunity to get a first impression of our 2010 U.S. Senate candidates (Cal Cunningham, Mayor Kevin Foy, Kenneth Lewis, and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall are all slated to attend), and a chance to talk one-on-one with local municipal candidates. Saturday October 17th, 8 am to 10 am 

Special Price for Buying in Advance: $40 adults, $15 Students

Tickets are $50 at the door, if they are available

Date: 

Saturday, October 17, 2009 - 4:00am to 6:30am

Location: 

NOTE OUR NEW LOCATION: Carolina Club on the UNC Campus

More Information: 

http://orangedems.com

OCDP Candidate Forums

Submitted by Jim White on September 19, 2009 - 2:53pm

The Orange County Democratic Party and its precincts and affiliate organizations is sponsoring a series of forums in  the local municipal races in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough.  All of the candidates have been invited:

September 24, 2009 - Thursday 7:30 – 9:00 PM
OWASA Community Room (lower floor of the Administration Building) located at 400 Jones Ferry Road in Carrboro
A forum, open to the public, featuring Chapel Hill - Carrboro Board of Education Candidates sponsored by the Orange County Democratic Women.

September 26, 2009, Saturday,
9:00 - 11:00 AM
Occoneeche Steak House, 378 S Churton St., Hillsborough, NC
A forum featuring Hillsborough Mayor and Council Candidates at the Orange County Democratic Breakfast.

2:00 – 4:00 PM
Umstead Park
A forum discussion with the candidates for Chapel Hill Mayor and Town Council sponsored by the Colonial Heights Precinct.

 

October 15, 2009 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Peace and protest, justice and injustice: marking Chapel Hill's sacred space

Submitted by Guest Author on September 19, 2009 - 8:34pm

[I read this entry by Chapel Hill Town Council Member Sally Greene on her blog and asked for permissionto cross-post it here. She graciously agreed. Tomorrow the Town will unveil the stone marker at Peace and Justice Plaza. =Ruby]

A little-known fact: grass used to grow around the flag pole in front of the old post office on Franklin Street. That's why those red brick pavers are there--as filler. It was only in latter times, probably since 1979 when the town purchased the property from the federal government, that the space was paved over.

Luckily for these four young men, it was grass during Holy Week in 1964 when they decided to fasten themselves to this place 24 hours a day, fasting in protest of the Town of Chapel Hill's refusal to pass a public accommodations ordinance.

Pat Cusick, LaVert Taylor, John Dunne, James Foushee (in the photo) and countless other activists will be remembered this Sunday at 3 p.m. as we unveil and formally dedicate the Peace and Justice tribute marker at the site we've named Peace and Justice Plaza.

OCDP breakfast with Hillsborough Mayor and Council Candidates

Submitted by OP Editors on September 19, 2009 - 8:42pm
September 26, 2009, Saturday,
9:00 - 11:00 AM
Occoneeche Steak House, 378 S Churton St., Hillsborough, NC
A forum featuring Hillsborough Mayor and Council Candidates at the Orange County Democratic Breakfast.

Date: 

Saturday, September 26, 2009 - 5:00am

Location: 

Occoneeche Steak House, 378 S Churton St., Hillsborough

More Information: 

http://www.orangepolitics.org/2009/09/ocdp-candidate-forums

OCDP Carrboro Mayor and Aldermen Candidate Forum

Submitted by OP Editors on September 19, 2009 - 8:46pm
October 22, 2009 – Thursday 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Lake Hogan Farms Club House, 101 Commons Way.
A forum featuring Carrboro Mayor and Aldermen Candidates co-hosted by the Hogan Farms and Town Hall precincts.

Date: 

Thursday, October 22, 2009 - 3:00pm

Location: 

Lake Hogan Farms Club House, 101 Commons Way, Carrboro

More Information: 

http://www.orangepolitics.org/2009/09/ocdp-candidate-forums

What do you want on a voting guide?

Submitted by SarahFrier on September 20, 2009 - 2:11am

The Daily Tar Heel is planning on making a voter guide to be published on early voting day -- a page that Orange County voters can take with them to the polls from Oct. 15 until Election Day. We're envisioning a chart that you can use to match Chapel Hill and Carrboro candidates with their plans for addressing issues that are important to you, so you can compare them.

We've made a list of issues that we think concern those candidates. Some are more for Carrboro, some are more for Chapel Hill:

- economy
- development
- town-gown relations
- safety
- panhandling
- immigration
- environment

I want this guide to be as useful for voters as possible. What would your list look like? What are we misisng?

Fact Checking Matt Czajkowski's Web Site

Submitted by Jeff Danner on September 21, 2009 - 9:46am

The first statement you find on Matt Czajkowski's web site is:

"It is very clear that the property tax burden has become unsustainable. Many of the very people who have contributed to making Chapel Hill a special place are now being forced to consider leaving our town, counter to our cherished goal of preserving diversity at all levels."

Being an engineer and a numbers person I wondered two things.  What was the data used to support the statement that diversity in the town was declining and, if so, what is the basis for connecting this to the property tax?

Building a Green-Brown-Bridge

Submitted by Graig Meyer on September 21, 2009 - 10:32am

Recently I’ve been thinking about Barack Obama, Henry Louis Gates, Van Jones, and Greenbridge.

When tension around race comes up, our society has a really difficult time differentiating between individual incidents of incivility and patterns of bias. South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson thinks that an apology for his single act of disrespect is enough. But others see his “You Lie” comment towards the President to be part of a larger racial pattern questioning Obama’s authority. Henry Louis Gates saw being arrested in his own home in the light of a larger pattern of racial profiling. The police officer who arrested him thought he was just arresting a guy who threatened his authority.

Closer to home, Greenbridge and its developers continue to come under criticism for gentrifying Northside, and some attacks this summer called the Greenbridge developers racist. UNC-NOW and other Greenbridge critics see this project as a part of the larger pattern of African-American displacement in Chapel Hill. Not surprisingly, Greenbridge’s developers say they’re just one project impacting the neighborhood, and one that came relatively late to the gentrification party at that.

What Would You Be Willing To Do Without?

Submitted by George C on September 21, 2009 - 1:28pm

One of the recent threads raised the issue of the unsustainable increases in taxes that Chapel Hill citizens are faced with.  I'd be interested in knowing what services/benefits citizens (this includes Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Orange County) would be willing do do without in order to minimize tax increases or to even decrease taxes.  Would you be willing to have trash picked up every two weeks instead of weekly?  Would you be willing to have recycling every other week as well?  What about schools?  Would you be willing to have larger class sizes and/or fewer teachers?  How about fire/police protection?  Would you be willing to have fewer police and fire persons or to have fewer stations and longer response times?

Anyone who watched the Chapel Hill budget process last year knows that the Town Manager and his staff worked hard to cut the budget to the bone, in many cases leaving staff positions unfilled to make the Council-requested percentage cuts.  Although I don't believe public safety was jepoardized by these cuts it is hard (for me, at least) to see where any future cuts might come from.

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