August 2011
I’m the chair of the Board of Elections and wanted to clarify some of the discussion that has gone on about early voting:
Recently, I’ve gotten to know a lot of local business owners. Many of them are running retail shops selling products and services, but there are also a lot of people working in offices both downtown and in their homes. A large number of them use the Internet to make a living. The primary difference between these two groups is market size and how it makes or breaks businesses these days.
Many retail businesses have a finite market size, while an Internet business can have a global market size. Traditionally, a small retail business that sells physical products out of its building on Main Street can only sell to whomever walked in the door, meaning its total potential number of customers, or market size, is the number of people who live in the area plus a small number of tourists. However, not everyone in that group is interested in purchasing from a local business. The number of actual customers can be quite small, especially in bleak economic times like these.
Sunday's edition of the Chapel Hill News includes two letters in response to Molly De Marco's recent guest column imploring the Boy Scouts of America to welcome gay people into the organization. The paper's editors decided to publish the letters, despite the authors' inflammatory statements and deeply hateful rhetoric toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. In doing so, they have sent a message to our community that the Chapel Hill News is a no-holds-barred forum for the discriminatory fantasies of bigots.
One of the letters, by Tom Evans of Pittsboro, describes LGBT people as defective and mentally dysfunctional. The other letter, by Alan Culton of Hillsborough, likens homosexuality to violent assault, marital infidelity, and pedophilia.
Support Project Connect 2011 and Help End Homelessness in Orange County!
The
5th annual Project Connect will be held on Thursday, October 13, 2011
from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM at Hargraves Community Center in Chapel Hill in
Orange County. Project Connect is a one-day, one-stop center to provide people experiencing-or at risk of experiencing-homelessness with a broad range of services
including housing, employment, health and dental care, mental health
care, veterans' and social service benefits, legal services, and more.Formerly
called Project Homeless Connect, event coordinators changed the name
this year to reach out to more community members in need of services in
an effort to prevent homelessness. Organizers expect an increase
in guests this year as a reflection of the increase in need seen in our
community. Expected this year are 250 guests with over 50 social
service agencies and 300 volunteers participating. Since 2007 the event
has served over 700 people in Orange County. The event is a key strategy
of Orange County's Ten-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness.
PROJECT CONNECT
Thurs, October 13, 2011
9:00 AM to 3:30 PM
Hargraves Community Center, Chapel Hill
Visit our website for complete details:
www.phc-orange.org
Sign Up to Volunteer Today!
Volunteer positions are available for all schedules, abilities, and
interests. You can volunteer on the day of the event (the shifts are 2
to 2 ½ hours) or the evening before for set-up (volunteers will be
needed from 7-9pm on Wednesday, October 12th). Spanish speakers are especially needed!
For questions contact Megan Wooley at wooley@townofchapelhill.org or Amy Crump at 919-491-7361.
Donate to Project Connect!
Project Connect is possible because of the generosity of the entire community. Monetary donations
are graciously accepted and will go towards event costs such as
equipment rentals and supplies. All donations are tax deductible. In
2011, donations will also help launch a very unique and meaningful new
program to help homeless individuals in our community connect with
employers. Funds will go towards JOB PARTNERS through the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness, to help with assessment tests, background checks, and career portfolios.
Other Ways to Support Project Connect:
- Forward this email to friends, family and coworkers. Encourage them to get involved and volunteer with you!
- Post a link to our website (www.phc-orange.org) on your Facebook page, Twitter, or blog. Share the message that together we can end homelessness in our community!
- Include information about Project Connect on your neighborhood, church, or office listserv.
- Download a Project Connect flyer for both guests and volunteers. Post it on a community bulletin board, at your work, church, or school. CLICK HERE for flyers.
- Invite a Project Coordinator to come and talk to your church, office, or business about how to get involved. Contact event coordinator Jamie Rohe, Orange County Homeless Program Coordinator, at 919-245-2496 or jrohe@co.orange.nc.us.
Date:
Thursday, October 13, 2011 - 9:00am to 3:30pm
Location:
Hargraves Community Center, Chapel Hill
Date: October 18, 2011
Contact: Susan Romaine at 919-619-3408 (cell) or romaines@nc.rr.com
Hogan Farms Precinct of Orange County Democratic Party Hosts Forum for Candidates Running for Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education
The Hogan Farms Precinct for the Orange County Democratic Party will be hosting a candidate forum for Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education on Wednesday, October 26th from 7:30 – 9:00 pm at the Lake Hogan Farms Club House. The address for the Club House is 101 Commons Way, Chapel Hill, NC 27516.
There will also be a meet and greet at the Club House beginning at 7:00 pm.
The moderator for the evening is Fred Black, Host for WCHL News. The following candidates have confirmed that they will be able to attend the forum: Mia Day Burroughs, James Barrett, Kris Castellano, Annetta Stokes Streater, Michael Kelley, and Jamezetta Bedford.
The forum will feature two-minute opening statements from each of the six candidates, followed by 40 minutes of questions from the moderator and 40 minutes of questions from the audience, and then two-minute closing statements from the candidates.
“At a time when the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public Schools are facing many pressing issues, the forum will give the voters an opportunity to determine which candidates can provide the best leadership over the next four years,” says Susan Romaine, chair of the Hogan Farms Precinct for the Orange County Democratic Party.
Date:
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 - 7:30pm to 9:00pm
Location:
Lake Hogan Farms Club House (101 Commons Way, Chapel Hill)
I've been encouraged to hear municipal staff and elected leaders in Chapel Hill talk about how broad, inclusive, and engaging they want the process of revising the Town's Comprehensive Plan to be. I've also seen some positive steps in this direction, but have also been frustrated about my inability to get information about what is going on with the process so far. Hopefully, this frustration will end when the public part of the process kicks off on September 27th (OP's birthday, coincidentally).
The town's "2020" web site lists ways that people can get involved including: Become a Stakeholder, Join a Working Group, Subscribe to our email list, Take a survey, Attend a Meeting, Tell someone about Chapel Hill 2020, and Tell us who's missing. This is a great start. I think this process is an opportunity to think more broadly about how to get residents more involved more effectively and creatively in our local government, and I bet we can think of some different formats and different venues for this to happen.
News release from the Town:
A public input meeting on the expansion of the Eubanks Road Park and
Ride lot will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31, in the
Great Hall of the Seymour Senior Center, 2551 Homestead Road.
Park and Ride is an important component of Chapel Hill's
transportation system. To allow adequate time for the planning, design
and construction of an expanded park and ride lot in the north end of
Martin Luther King Boulevard, the six-month process will begin with a
feasibility study.
Chapel Hill Transit (CHT) desires adequate park-and-ride capacity
developed in an environmentally-friendly, financially-efficient manner
that supports transit-compatible redevelopment of adjacent properties.
The objectives of the study are to:
- Confirm the level of demand for park-and-ride spaces in the Eubanks Road facility for both CHT passengers and other users;
- Review the site suitability and configuration options
presented in the Eubanks Road Concept Plan in relation to an expanded
park-and-ride facility and formulate alternatives for park & ride
expansion in the planning area;
- Develop an effective access plan including determination of
impacts and service requirements so that transit service, walking and
biking access, and traffic needs are addressed;
- Understand financial strategies and implications of park-and-ride development;
- Define a variety of potential alternatives, test the
alternatives, complete NEPA requirements and select a preferred
alternative for environmental permitting, funding,
construction and operation;
- Define and manage an inclusive public and agency process to
develop consensus around the Eubanks Road Concept Plan, facility options
and study outcomes.
To be included in future notifications, send an email to transitplanning@townofchapelhill.org
with "Eubanks Notifications" in the subject line.
For more information, visit www.chtransit.org and click on "Projects."
CHT wants to hear from you! If you are unable to attend the
meeting, there are several ways to share your thoughts and suggestions:
1. Call CHT at 919-969-4900, press 1
2. Email us at transitplanning@townofchapelhill.org
3. Fax to 919-968-2840
(Attn: Transit Service Planner)
4. Mail to CHT, Attn: Transit Service Planner, 6900 Millhouse Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27516
Date:
Wednesday, August 31, 2011 - 6:00pm to 7:30pm
Location:
Seymour Senior Center, 2551 Homestead Road, Chapel Hill
NOTE: This is NOT a public hearing or a forum, nor is it a meeting, but public comments will be received. It is one-on-one with staff, Monday 8/29, 4-7 pm, CH Municipal Bldg. Attendees will get a chance to see DETAILS of the Durham-Orange Rail Transit Plan. Durham County residents (including 2,071 voters in the Town of Chapel Hill who live in Durham County) vote November 8 on a 1/2% sales tax to fund rail and bus transit expansion. Orange County has not yet set a vote.
http://www.dchcmpo.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=85&Itemid=35
The DCHC MPO has released the rail transit Alternatives Analysis for public comment. See Web page for report copies and opportunities for providing comments, and for a recent addendum (August 2011) to the report.
From the Town of Carrboro:
50th Anniversary Commemoration of Vickers v Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools
This landmark civil rights case was rendered from the United States Federal Court in August of 1961. The case changed the course of school integration in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro District and served as a model for antidiscrimination in schools within North Carolina and across the Southeastern United States.
The program will salute the courage exhibited by Carrboro native Stanley Vickers, his parents, and a multi-racial community support system that took a bold stand for equity and justice a half-century ago.
Monday, August 29, 2011
5:30 PM until 7:00 PM
Second Floor - Century Hall
The Century Center
100 North Greensboro St.
Carrboro, North Carolina
The program is free and the public is cordially invited to attend this celebration of history and courage
Date:
Monday, August 29, 2011 - 5:30pm to 7:00pm
Location:
Century Center, 100 N Greensboro St, Carrboro
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