July 2011

Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA Merger Talks Raise Discrimination Concerns

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA (CHCYMCA) took a stand recently against discrimination when it asked Boy Scout Troop 505 to find another location to meet because the Boy Scouts of America's policy against LGBT youth and adult leaders is at odds with the inclusive nondiscrimination policy of the CHCYMCA. While the CHCYMCA board members receive complaints about their decision, they should remember that the same complaints were made when the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and Binkley Baptist Church told the Boy Scouts they could no longer meet at their facilities and when the local United Way determined that it could no longer provide funds to the Boy Scouts.

The CHCYMCA made the right decision in the Boy Scout case, but they are now contemplating another move that members are concerned may not come out right.

The Shape of Things

July 28-31 (Thursday-Sunday)

When: 8:00 pm
Where: The Hanes Art Building on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Cost: $5

Due to limited seating, reservations in advance are highly recommended. E-mail Christine Zagrobelny at zagrobel@gmail.com to reserve.

This production is sponsored by the Cultural Arts Division of the Parks and Recreation Department for the Town of Chapel Hill.

Directed by Christine Zagrobelny.
Featuring: Jacob Williams, Carolyn McDaniel, Jeb Brinkley, and Kirsten Ehlert.

The production is an exciting collaboration between UNC undergrads, community members, and local businesses. The performance will move to multiple venues downtown, in Hanes Art, and on campus. 

Date: 

Friday, July 29, 2011 - 8:00pm

Jaywalking

In Atlanta last April, a woman named Raquel Nelson, with her three children in tow, jaywalked. They were hit by a car and her four-year-old son was killed. Astonishingly, she was convicted of vehicular homicide, although public outrage has helped her secure a new trial.

This is an extreme example of something we see in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and around the country: blaming the victim when our automobile-dominated transportation system, which is inherently lethal, kills or injures someone just trying to walk from one place to another in the urban environment.

Raquel Nelson did nothing wrong when she jaywalked. In all likelihood, the motorist driving the car that killed her son was breaking the speed limit. But even if, although I find this hard to imagine, the driver was doing everything they could reasonably be expected to do, the proper conclusion in that case is that no one is to blame. It is just another tragic instance in which our insane transportation system proved to be far too dangerous.

NC and abortion

By a vote of 29-19, the NC Senate overrode the governor's veto of HB 854, the anti-woman bill which imposes significant limitations on the availability of abortions and makes numerous intrusions in the doctor-patient relationship. A 3/5 vote was necessary to override, and the 29-19 margin just made it.

But wait, aren't there 50 members of the NC Senate? And didn't 20 members of the Senate vote against the bill when it came to vote, meaning it shouldn't have passed? You would be right. Senator Stan Bingham, Republican who represents Davidson and Guilford counties, was the only Republican to vote against the bill when it was originally passed and continued to oppose it up until yesterday. However, in an event which will go down in history as one of the most cowardly acts ever taken by a politician, he absented himself from the Senate today and thereby paved the way for the veto to be overriden by the narrowest margin ever.

I wrote a letter to Senator Bingham which I've reprinted below. It's not the height of political criticism, in large part because I wrote it quickly, in anger:

Public Comment Session for Regional Rail Alternatives Analysis

 The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO) has released for public comment the Alternatives Analysis Reports for the Triangle Regional Transit Program.  The Alternatives Analysis provides information and recommendations on proposed transit light rail transit between Durham and Orange counties, and commuter rail service between Durham and Raleigh.

The DCHC MPO will hold two workshops on the Alternatives Analysis.  Staff will work one-on-one with citizens to answer questions and receive comments.  The workshops are:
·        Chapel Hill Town Council Chambers: August 29th, 4pm to 7pm, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Chapel Hill.
·       August 30th at the Durham Station Transportation Center (515 W. Pettigrew St., Durham), 4pm to 7pm.

 

Date: 

Monday, August 29, 2011 - 4:00pm to 7:00pm

Location: 

Chapel Hill Town Hall

Why I am a Voter-Owned Candidate

During my campaign to be elected to the Chapel Hill Town Council this Fall, I have decided to be a Voter-Owned or VOE candidate.  Voter owned programs are sometimes called public funded or clean elections.  The basic premise is that in return for a commitment to limit spending on electoral campaigns, the public provides funds to the candidate for campaign costs.  I decided to be a VOE candidate because I believe the program supports basic tenets of democracy, fairness and accessibility.

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