Ruby Sinreich's blog
Great news for music lovers in Chapel Hill! Long-time WXYC DJ and indie rock afficionado Glenn Boothe has bought the Local 506.
Glenn Boothe, who has worked for major labels including Epic and Island, will take over as [Local 506's] new owner on Saturday (pending various permit and license issues). But patrons won't notice much difference, at least at first.
"My goal is to keep the doors open and operating as-is, then make some gradual changes this summer," Boothe says. "I'm not sure what or when, but I've got a bunch of ideas. Musically, it will still cater to alternative and local music."- News & Observer, 4/29/04
I find it very disheartening to hear that the progress made against racism in the Town of Chapel Hill's Public Works department could be undone by the departure of two leaders. This indicates that not much progress was made at all, which is exactly what the Black Public Works Association (BPWA) would have probably told us in the first place.
The Black Public Works Association also suggested a number of remedies to the problems. Until the recent change in leadership, workers said, the department had made progress on stemming some of the problems pointed out in previous years.
"We know it is impossible to change attitudes, stereotypes and behavior overnight," Steve England, president of the association, said in a letter signed by eight other employees.
"But because there are no black people in the highest levels, we know that leadership will backslide in its commitments to being even nonracist -- much less the anti-racist commitment that should be the goal of all management."- News & Observer, 4/29/04
How many more multi-million dollar floods will we have to clean up from before we decide to do something pro-active?
This week the Town Council approved a Stormwater Management Utility for Chapel Hill. I know a lot of people will be complaining about the cost to taxpayers - even before it's been determined - but I really think this is an idea that's overdue.
The council's decision to create the new utility was unanimous, but the panel stopped short of approving the recommended $2.03 million budget for the first year of the outfit.
The proposal calls for an annual budget of between $2 million and $2.5 million over the first five years of the program.
The utility would implement controls on and mitigate the effects of stormwater runoff.
As outlined, people with 2,000 square feet or less of impervious surface on their property would pay $45 a year.
- Chapel Hill News, 4/28/04
Many of it's neighbors have wanted state-owned Horace Williams Airport closed for a long time. It appeared that they had a powerful ally in the plan for Carolina North which took advantage of the airport's flat, already-cleared land to begin it's own march westward from Airport Road.
The N.C. General Assembly has had other ideas and continues to resist closing the airport. One of the best arguments on their side is UNC Hospital's AHEC program which uses the airport to fly doctors to more remote (and less affulent) parts of the state.
The Chapel Hill Town Council is getting pressure from UNC to move more quickly toward their presumably inevitable approval of Carolina North. But the Council has some pretty important concerns that will need to be addressed before the Town can invest more in this huge development effort.
Earlier this month, the Council unanimously passed this resolution drafted by Councilmember Cam Hill:
UNC has been promising for years now to build more student dormitories. Until recently, there had been no new dorms built since the 70's even though enrollment grows every year. The result of this has been more and more students living off-campus, which has lead increasing housing prices as groups of students push working families out of affordable in-town neighborhoods.
With the new Campus Master Plan, UNC has finally begun to construct more housing for students. But lest we breathe a sigh of relief, some members of the UNC Board of Trustees are now proposing to demolish the biggest dorms on campus!
UNC-Chapel Hill's four high-rise dormitories have long been derided as the ugly ducklings of the picturesque campus.
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